CEO at CodeYourFuture & CEO at upReach:
My Duvet Flip by Jack Parsons
Jack Parsons
4.2 • 5 Ratings
🗓️ 30 October 2025
⏱️ 47 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Episode Guest:
Nick Bent is the CEO of upReach, a UK-based social mobility charity helping university students from less-advantaged backgrounds secure top graduate jobs. With a background spanning government, business, and the third sector, Nick co-founded upReach to level the playing field for talented young people.
German Bencci is the CEO and founder of CodeYourFuture, a volunteer-driven organisation training individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds to launch successful careers in tech. Originally from Venezuela, German built CodeYourFuture into a global community offering accessible, flexible, and impactful tech education.
Episode Timestamps:
0:00 Introduction
0:41 Why mentoring and informal conversations matter
1:26 Meet Nick Bent and German Bencci
2:03 First jobs and early career lessons
4:00 Nick's pivot from law to public policy
5:00 German's journey from Venezuela to Europe
6:42 Taking leaps before you're ready
7:49 The power of asking for help
8:13 How mentors shaped Nick and German
9:32 Why in-person learning still matters
11:00 Role models and mindset shifts
12:02 Mentorship at CodeYourFuture and upReach
13:37 From volunteering to founding a charity
16:03 Turning passion into full-time purpose
17:31 Spotting a gap and launching CodeYourFuture
19:02 How young people can start volunteering
21:03 Volunteering as work experience
22:54 The real value of giving your time
24:04 What upReach does for young people
25:26 The graduate job gap and social mobility
27:36 How CodeYourFuture supports career changers
29:54 Removing barriers: childcare, laptops, and support
32:00 How the HG Foundation makes it possible
33:19 What is the Tech 500 programme?
35:12 VIP access to Google HQ
37:05 Restarting CodeYourFuture’s software programme
39:52 How corporate partners can get involved
42:31 Paid internships and practical pathways
44:59 Final question: What's your duvet flip?
Episode Partners:
Hg Foundation
Together with The Hg Foundation, we’re on a mission to motivate and inspire young people like you to explore, or even start a career in technology through inspirational talks from industry.
https://bit.ly/4mwzRGs
Disclaimer:
The content provided on Duvet Flip is for informational and entertainment purposes only and should not be considered professional advice. The views expressed by hosts, guests, brands or contributors are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the show's producers, sponsors, or affiliates. The information shared is not a substitute for professional advice, including but not limited to career counseling, financial guidance, legal consultation, or mental health support.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | A lot of the most valuable conversations happen informally. |
| 0:04.3 | So get as much air time as you can with people that inspire you, people that are more senior. |
| 0:09.8 | A mentor, they can show you the way when they can tell you that it's not impossible. |
| 0:15.1 | Sometimes if you don't think you're completely ready, that's probably the best time to actually just give it a go. |
| 0:20.8 | Hi, my name is Nick Bent. I'm Hermann. I'm the chief executive of Upfried. I'm the CEO and |
| 0:25.1 | founder of Gordi Future. We support about 3,300 young people a year on their career journey. |
| 0:30.6 | We are over 350 community members and we train people of disadvantaged background into great tech jobs. And this is my D-Day Flip. |
| 0:39.3 | I'm a young person, I want to volunteer. What would be your advice? |
| 0:43.3 | You've got a passion for what you're doing and you care about the young people that you're supporting. |
| 0:47.3 | You're more likely to be, you know, a kind of good, reliable volunteer. |
| 0:50.3 | Am I passionate? Am I reliable? |
| 0:52.3 | Volunteering, you have to see it as work experience. |
| 0:55.0 | How did you end up going into the world of charity? |
| 0:59.0 | My professional world and my personal passion around supporting young people sort of ended up mashing together. |
| 1:06.0 | I just started doing it and very quickly it just became a community. What's your dovee flip? What gives you out a bit in the moment to flip the dovee? |
| 1:14.6 | For me it's... Yeah. |
| 1:20.6 | Hi my name is Nick Bent. I'm Hermann. I'm the chief executive of Upreach. |
| 1:23.6 | I'm the CEO and founder of God You Future. I'm feeling really excited about doing this |
| 1:28.4 | podcast with Jack. I haven't met him before, but I have read about his experience and I could find |
| 1:34.2 | such an alignment with Kodi Future. I said yes to coming on my duvet flip, partly because it was |
| 1:38.9 | recommended by James Turner. And if he recommends something, generally it's really good. Yes, |
| 1:43.4 | you can do it. Yes, give it a go. Yes, ask for help. |
... |
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