Security Check:
Our passenger is Avery Roth. She currently lives in Miami but not long ago was a New Yorker in London.
She is also the founder of The Startup Consulting Group, which aims to be the McKinsey for startups. A group that is providing business advisory and analysis such as business planning, marketing planning, financial modeling, pitch deck building, sales strategy and digital marketing strategy. A website and social media presence is on its way.
Avery is no stranger to the world. She has also lived in Barcelona, Paris and Sao Paulo. In addition to living abroad, she is an avid solo traveller and loves exploring places off the beaten path. A woman of many talents, she has a passion for the arts, loves singing and playing the drums.

What’s your historical London and New York connection?

I lived in London for about 10 of the last 15 years. I moved to London directly after college and set up my life there with job in the City. I adore the city and the people. I have Barclays biked to every little nook and cranny of the city checking out cafes in the “London Coffee Guide.”

Describe your experience in New York as a Londoner.
I loved living in London because I could create my identity. Nobody could ask me “which neighbourhood did you grow up in,” “where did you go to school,” or “do you know so and so” and be able to quickly judge me. Instead, they had to spend time with me and make an assessment of me based on who I am on not data points. On the other hand, living in London felt very natural because it’s a large, walking city with a very international vibe and the culture is somewhat related. I love the fact that London is built upon a network of villages, so each neighbourhood really is its own village with its own high street. This means that you can live “locally” without really having to leave your neighbourhood if you don’t want to. And yet you don’t have the overbearing frenzy of capitalism that is characteristic of NY in order to achieve this self-contained neighbourhood feel.

How can New York and London better engage with each other?

London has a very creative spirit but the English culture emphasises humility. So my sense is that a lot of the creativity stays inside the country instead of being promoted globally. This applies in the start up world. It would be great for the startup communities in London and NY to collaborate more and share ideas. My sense is that this may be the case in the FinTech universe but not necessarily beyond. Maybe there’s someone in London who wants to try to champion the city’s startup scene on the global stage?

Favorite NYC secret spot
Umi Sushi – The sushi here is to DIE for. It’s a little hole in the wall run by a former Nobu sushi chef.

Favourite London secret spot:
Pham Sushi – How funny that I am choosing another sushi spot. This ones is really tucked away in an area of Old Street/ Clerkenwell that isn’t very trafficked. I used to live around the corner in 2004 and was TOTALLY blown away by the taste and quality. I used to pick it up on the way home and also order it for lunch on the trading floor at Deutsche Bank. From what I hear now, the entire trading floor orders from there now so I’d lie to think I started a trend ;). You MUST get the spicy crunchy tuna roll, the scallop, and the jalapeño yellowtail sashimi. 

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why? 
Exactly where I am living now, in Miami Beach. I have had the good fortune to have lived abroad all over the world so I kind of got the travel bug out of my system. I am happy to be relaxed, living a healthy lifestyle by the beach, and running my company from my laptop wherever I fancy. Eventually, I want to move home to New York. Having said all this, the 2 cities I love where I can see myself living at some point are Tokyo and Buenos Aires.

In flight entertainment: 

• What’s playing in your headphones right now? Mi Terra – Gloria Estefan.
• And what are you currently reading? The Challenger Sale by Matthew Dixon.