The High Flyers Podcast with Vidit Agarwal Archiv

Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on iTunes and Spotify, it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show! 

Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter 

Contact Vidit directly at vidit@curiositycenter.xyz to discuss sponsorship opportunities, recommend future guests and share feedback. 

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Welcome to episode #78 w Matt Allen! Here are 5 key takeaways you will learn from this episode:

1. How Matt found his passion for music and computers in high school

2. Why success at age 20 was building out his first startup, providing web based solutions for insurance companies

3. Balancing a conservative approach to finance with investing in high growth (and high risk) startups 

4. What is venture debt, how it's structured and when should founders consider it

5. The five active hall of fame investors in Australia / New Zealand to be in a room with

Please enjoy!

***

TIMESTAMPS

02:28 - Birth place and residence now

 

03:16 - First job and various roles now

 

04:07 -  High Flyers under the radar

 

05:08 - eldest of 3 brothers and attending agricultural school

 

08:24 - Computer teacher being an influence

 

09:37 - Infamous blue hat

 

10:25 - Early days of the internet: building web based solutions for insurance companies

 

11:25 - Biggest unknown for startups in the 90’s

 

14:03 - Balancing financial conservative approach with investing in high risk startups

 

16:10 - Most painful learning

 

17:43 - First time into angel investing

 

21:30 - Process for getting to know founder / business from scratch

 

24:33 - Meeting thousands of founders at Amazon startups

 

28:02 - 5 people to have in the “active hall of fame investors” room

 

30:24 - Decided to be a founder again with Tractor Ventures

 

36:04 - Financial structure within Venture Debt model

 

38:23 - 3 use cases for a founder to consider revenue based financing

 

41:10 - Supporting the longevity of a company

 

43:42 - Building education in community about finance and debt

 

46:56 - Matt’s routines to balance his various roles

 

49:09 - Building and maintaining reputation

 

52:07 - How Matt got started making websites for bands

 

54:02 - final sprint

 

Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on iTunes and Spotify, as it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show and grow the show with sponsors and partners. 

Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter for more!

Contact Vidit directly at vidit@curiositycenter.xyz to discuss sponsorship opportunities, recommend future guests and share feedback. 

***

Learn about Rachael’s sunrise in New York, with her dad being the son of jewish immigrants and mum from a rural part of New York with 8 brothers and sisters with Rachael's mum being the eldest. 

Welcome to episode #77 w Rachael Neumann! Here are 5 key takeaways you will learn from this episode:

1. Influences of growing up in New York with two sides of the family, with her parents bringing different perspectives

2. Navigating her career having varied interests and taking the the entrance exams to law, business & medical school

3. Why the transition from the US to Australia was hard personally and professionally

4. 2 big learnings from leading eventbrite and Amazon startups teams

5. Process to get to know founders from scratch to consider investing in, how to say no with empathy and valuations vs hype

Please enjoy!

***

TIMESTAMPS

02:25 - New York and Melbourne

 

04:00 - Re-imagining a high flyer

 

06:00 - Being a social chameleon navigating the two sides of her family

 

08:33 - Wanting to leave New York City

 

11:33 - Heroes in Nobel Prize Winners

 

13:30 - Success at 20

 

15:35 - Painful learning from having varied interests

 

22:04 - Moving to Australia by accident

 

25:25 - Major differences between US and Australia

 

28:51 - Hiring a team for a new category that doesn’t exist yet

 

33:10 - How investing in startups started

 

36:45 - Process for getting to know a business from scratch

 

40:26 - Dislocation of Valuations vs hype in valuations

 

43:33 - How to say no with empathy

 

48:17 - Transition from individual investor to a fund

 

53:22 - Final sprint! 

 

Explore your curiosity w Kate Dinon about PR, communications and investment to scale startups.

Learn about how Kate had her break into PR & CommunicationsBuilding out her own firm Character & Distinction, based in Melbourne with a roster of recognisable brands. First few months of starting the firm, client relationships, bad story telling and displaying culture in their office space. Unpacking Kate’s foray into supporting startups through mentoring and investment via Protagonist Capital & what they're looking for in founders and early stage startups. Don’t miss out on a special rapid fire round with your community questions! 

Please enjoy exploring your curiosity as I did mine through this conversation!

***

Find out more about Curiosity Center, including 75+ episodes at www.curiositycenter.xyz 

Find out more about Character + Distinction and Protagonist Capital at https://ofcharacter.com/

Share your feedback and discuss partnership opportunities with us at vidit@curiositycenter.xyz

Follow the show on Linkedin / Instagram

***

TIMESTAMPS

02:20 - Where you were born and live now

 

03:02 - Do you remember the first time you heard of PR & Communications?

 

04:16  - Was it a conscious decision to start your own PR firm?

 

06:08 - What were the first months like in 2017 and unknowns?

 

07:55 - Did you find building relationships was a focus moving back to Australia from Switzerland?

 

10:31 - How does a client relationship work in practise?

 

12:40 - How does a first client meeting work and what can PR help with?

 

15:14 - What is bad story telling?

 

17:22 - Are there high maintenance vs low maintenance industries?

 

19:44 - What are your sources of learning and inspiration?

 

22:17 - Importance of Character and distinction visible in their office space

 

25:15 - Supporting startups through Protagonist Capital

 

27:32 - What are you looking for in the deals? Specific sector or person to support?

 

29:00 - Supporting founders in consumer facing brands and enterprise tech for future of work

 

30:32 - Naming conventions for Protagonist and Character + Distinction

 

32:29 - Rapid fire round of your community questions 

 

Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on iTunes and Spotify, as it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show and grow the show with sponsors and partners. 

Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter for more!

Contact Vidit directly at vidit@curiositycenter.xyz to discuss sponsorship opportunities, recommend future guests and share feedback. 

***

Learn about how curiosity has driven his professional journey in Science, Retail, Pharmaceuticals, Energy & currently Last Mile Delivery leading Deliveroo in Australia. Ed shares how to transition well into a new industry, how to build strong personal relationships, how to manage up authentically, and the advantages and disadvantages of being a generalist. I was curious for Ed’s take on structured education and whether an MBA is helpful on your journey to being a leader. And stay tuned to learn about Ed’s varied interests including Bee Keeping, Archery and more!

Welcome to episode #75 w Ed McManus! Here are 5 key takeaways you will learn from this episode:

1. How parents shaped Ed and his 2 siblings

2. Curiosity leading to PHd in Biochemistry and transition to business

3. How to manage up authentically in your career

4. Should you do structured education to position yourself to become CEO

5. Advantages and disadvantages of being a generalist leader

***

TIMESTAMPS

03:08 - Ireland and Australia

 

04:08 - Primary and secondary carers

 

05:27 - Growing up in Ireland in the 80’s in a fractured country

 

07:30 - How parents shaped Ed and his 2 siblings

 

12:27 - Sporting heroes

 

13:57 - Curiosity driving work in science, business & more

 

16:44 - Doctors and nurses being high flyers for Ed’s family

 

19:47 - Transition from biochemist to commercial business roles

 

23:26 - How to build strong personal relationships

 

26:58 - How to figure out a new environment and where to add value

 

30:20 - Don’t be under pressure to come up with answers only

 

32:54 - Transparency, performance and managing up

 

37:50 - Advantages and disadvantages of being a generalist vs specialist

 

41:21 - Side hobby as amateur bee-keeper

 

43:45 - Should you do structured executive education?

 

46:59 - Supporting startups through capital and knowledge

 

Please enjoy!

Hear from Kal Jamshidi, founder of Letter of Intent -- the daily Australian business activity newsletter read by 6k subscribers. This conversation will take you inside: How and why Kal started this newsletter, being anonymous at the beginning, utilising the power of LinkedIn, Creating a habit for the readers and serving utility, defensibility, media trends and we end with some of your most requested community questions. 

Please enjoy exploring your curiosity as I did mine through this conversation!

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TIMESTAMPS

—————

02:30 - Life before Letter of Intent

 

04:23 - How 6 years in San Fransisco was inspiration

 

06:57 - Building a habit for the consumer

 

09:52 - The growth engine of LinkedIn

 

11:04 - Anonymous marketing

 

14:05 - 5 hours each night

 

15:20 - Filtering news into 1 page

 

16:22 - Creating habits and serving utility

 

17:38 - Peleton and RM Williams

 

19:44 - Balancing gossip and facts

 

21:04 - The Aussie corporate

 

21:34 - Unique community

 

23:55 - Changing landscape in Media

 

28:28 - Community questions

***

Find out more about Curiosity Center at www.curiositycenter.xyz 

Find out more about Letter of Intent at https://www.letterofintent.com.au/

Share your feedback or questions directly with us at vidit@curiositycenter.xyz or via Linkedin / Instagram

Learn about drive and determination at a young age with a deep desire to be a professional athlete, to then having his startup shut down and making his way into VC and co-founding AfterWork Ventures, a community led VC doing things differently for the next gen. 

Welcome to episode #73 w Adrian Petersen! Here are 5 key takeaways you will learn from this episode:

Deep determination and focus to be a professional athlete, being obsessed with Tennis & Cycling at a young ageThe importance of be team first and win collectively with an "open up" policyAdrian's non traditional path to Venture CapitalThe birth of AfterWork and the cold start challenge of building a communityBiggest surprise about investing in Sports Tech startups

***

TIMESTAMPS

02:31 -  Perth, Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra

 

03:48 -  Dream to become a tennis player

 

05:25 - Both parents worked in grandpa’s scaffolding company

 

06:25 -  Roger Federer and Lance Armstrong

 

07:25 - Australian Institute of Sport

 

08:45 - importance of be team first now vs being single mildly focused in his past

 

10:11 - Working with people smarter than you

 

12:00 -  Learning the importance of “open up” when closing his first business

 

15:12 -  First 3 months re-setting to find next opportunity

 

16:40 - The path to becoming a VC

 

19:55 - The birth of AfterWork

 

24:28 - Cold start challenge of building a community

 

26:20 - Deal flow sources being a community first VC

 

30:23 - Ability to significantly follow on

 

32:21 - Direct to consumer investments

 

34:15 -  Investor changing sentiment

 

36:46 - Mentors that have shaped his thinking

 

38:20 - Going from zero to one and beyond

 

40:26 - In house team complimenting the community advisors

 

42:14 - Investing in sports focused startups

 

43:30 - final sprint

***

Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on iTunes and Spotify, as it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show and grow the show with sponsors and partners. 

Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter for more!

Contact Vidit at vidit@curiositycenter.xyz

Learn about power of self belief, dreaming big, dealing with the lowest of lows and coming out stronger with a level headed perspective on work and life, Mac shares his journey to founding the VC firm, Rare Beed. 

Welcome to episode #72 w Mac Conwell! Here are 5 key takeaways you will learn from this episode:

How his father always made Mac dream big and push to do moreFiguring out life at age 19, after loosing his dad and being homeless to securing a job in government that paid more than what his parents earntHow to secure 1000+ meetings via Twitter to raise Rare Breed Ventures and 3 secrets of cold emailingHow should founders get the attention of investors through succinct company updatesVC's that inspire Mac and markets outside of the US he wants to invest in

***

TIMESTAMPS

02:30 - From seasoning fried chicken to venture capital

 

03:10 - Mac’s father being a high flyer

 

03:45 - Dad was postal worker and Mum was bank teller

 

05:55 - Mr Davis & Patrick Jackson

 

08:00 - Success at age 20

 

09:15 - From lowest of lows to making an impact today

 

11:23 -  Heroes

 

12:15 - Most painful learning

 

14:55 - Attraction to Venture Capital

 

16:48 - learnings about people from 1000 meetings to start RareBreed VC

 

20:12 - 3 biggest secrets about effective cold messaging

 

23:00 - Managing influx of requests

 

24:20 -  Giving founders the room not to be perfect

 

28:00 - How to get VC’s attention with company performance update

 

29:35 - Founders that make the receptionist rich, make everyone rich

 

32:38 - Not hiring the quarterback

 

36:46 - Market outlook

 

38:00 - Interest in Africa and Pakistan startup ecosystem

 

39:45 - Inspiring VC’s and founders

 

42:05 - Final sprint

***

Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on iTunes and Spotify, as it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show and grow the show with sponsors and partners. 

Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter for more!

This show showcases relatable role models, re-imagining a high flyer to help you achieve your potential and be 1% better everyday!

Contact Vidit at vidit@curiositycenter.xyz

Learn about the the Diplomacy & International Relations Industry, What it means to adjust to new cultures every few years, Providing value to stand out and dealing with unconscious bias 

Welcome to episode #71 w Michelle Wade! Here are 5 key takeaways you will learn from this episode:

How being a "small fish in a large pond but aware of the ocean" provided perspective in her childhoodApplying 6 years of symphony orchestra learnings to diplomacyAdjusting to new cultures every 4 years in India, Spain, Malaysia, ItalyManaging the $45M covid relief fund for the Victorian GovernmentOpening the eyes of employers to the value of hiring foreign students

***

TIMESTAMPS

02:08 - First women life guard

 

04:25 - Michelle’s sunrise: small fish in a large pond but aware of the ocean

 

06:02 -  Influences growing up in a small town

 

07:30 - Finding success at age 16

 

08:50 - Full circle now living in India

 

10:40 - Painful learning: Unconscious Bias

 

12:55 - Dealing with repercussions of speaking up

 

16:10 - Applying 6 years from music to diplomatic career

 

18:10 - Transition from symphony orchestra to Aus Govt posting in Milan

 

21:40 -  Building her diplomatic career in the first 5 years to stand out

 

27:10 - Adjusting to new cultures every 4 years in India, Spain, Malaysia, Italy

 

32:40 - The unknown human element of having a global transient career

 

35:55 - Opening the eyes of employers to the value of hiring foreign students

 

38:35 - Learnings and inspiration from the Israeli Consulate General in India

 

40:50 - Managing the $45M covid relief fund for the Victorian Government

 

44:20 - How can International students integrate into Australia and stand out

 

47:00 - Role of universities supporting students with practise alongside theory

 

51:05 - Final sprint

***

Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on iTunes and Spotify, as it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show and grow the show with sponsors and partners. 

Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter for more!

This show showcases relatable role models, re-imagining a high flyer to help you achieve your potential and be 1% better everyday!

Contact Vidit at vidit@curiositycenter.xyz

Hear from Tom Richardson, Head of Startups & SMB for APAC + Japan @ Stripe. We take you inisde: the exciting world of startups and specifically the 3 roles Tom plays, what they are, how they look in practise and his biggest learnings.

Learn about how Tom joined Stripe and what his focuses are as head of startups for APAC & Japan, his biggest learning from scaling the team from 8 to 30 people in 12 months. I asked Tom how he’s gone about using his experiences at Stripe and previously in various markets to now mentor startup founders and what it looks like in practise. And the 3rd aspect of this flywheel you’ll learn about is how Angel Investing became another avenue for Tom to be of service to startups and some examples of founders he’s helped and how.

Please enjoy exploring your curiosity as I did mine through this conversation!

***

KEY POINTS COVERED

03:40 - How did Tom join Stripe?

 

05:25 - What does a head of startups role mean?

 

06:50 - Biggest learning in scaling Stripe from 8 people to 30 people

 

11:40 - Using his leadership and operator knowledge to mentor startup founders

 

14:50 - Which areas can Tom help startup founders with and how?

 

17:55 - What does mentoring founders look in practise?

 

21:00 - Mentoring is not a transaction

 

22:45 - How did Tom start Angel Investing?

 

27:30 - Balancing value add vs cheque size as an angel investor?

 

29:40 - How to contact Tom for mentoring / support

***

Find out more about Curiosity Center at www.curiositycenter.xyz 

Find out more about Tom Richardson at https://www.tomrichardson.info/

Share your feedback or questions directly with us at vidit@curiositycenter.xyz or via Linkedin / Instagram

Welcome to episode #69 w Jaddan Comerford! Here are 5 key takeaways that I think you will learn from this episode today:

How his parents inspired him to have a go which led to starting his music record label at age 17?What helped Jaddan succeed starting his own business right out of high school? Unified Music Group today has 70 employees and $20M in revenue without any external capital raised. A-Z of Unified Music Group and the support it provides artistsThe challenging economics in music and why artists earn less than 20c a stream on Spotify?How did Jaddan get started investing 4 years ago?

BONUS: Jaddan mentions, “not all that glitters is gold” and ask yourself, is it an opportunity or a distraction?

***

TIMESTAMPS

03:00 - Jaddan quick facts

 

03:45 - High Flyer in Jaddan’s life

 

04:50 - Jaddan’s sunrise: influence of family + environment

 

07:30 - Inspiration from his entrepreneurial parents

 

08:50 - Not fitting into private school

 

11:05 - Average marks graduating high school

 

11:50 - First 3 months of starting Boom Town records at age 17

 

14:35 - Learning how to run a startup early on

 

16:20 - What helped him succeed starting out at 17?

 

20:30 - Balance between inner belief and over confidence

 

24:00 - Dynamics of people in music industry: trust in relationships

 

27:15 - Basic introduction into Unified Music Group and operations?

 

30:20 - How does an artist get discovered?

 

32:20 - Monetisation model in Music: Do Artists earn less than 20c a stream on spotify?

 

36:40 - Independence vs going direct to audience and discovery

 

38:50 - Touring provides biggest return for artists and how it’s returning after COVID downturn

 

40:35 - Involvement in MODA DAO and Web3 for Music

 

42:45 - How did Jaddan get started investing 4 years ago?

 

48:00 - How has Rachael made him a better person?

 

49:40 - Final sprint

***

Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on iTunes and Spotify, as it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show and grow the show with sponsors and partners. 

Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter for more!

This show showcases relatable role models, re-imagining a high flyer to help you achieve your potential and be 1% better everyday!

Contact Vidit at vidit@curiositycenter.xyz

Hear from Lauren Humphrey, co-founder of The Mintable about how they are building the empowerment platform where the best people managers come to succeed; learning, community, and tools built for managers by managers and welcome to episode 5 of this curiosity series taking you inside topics, companies and industries. 

Please enjoy exploring your curiosity as I did mine through this conversation!

***

KEY POINTS COVERED

02:45 - What is The Mintable?

 

03:15 - Problem they’re solving and co-founders based in USA & Australia

 

05:55 - How they turned an idea into reality to create the startup?

 

08:30 - How did they go about customer discovery?

 

11:00 - How to ensure Learning & Development is continuous and engaging, not a set and forget exercise?

 

13:30 - Focusing on current managers or aspiring to help them become managers?

 

15:15 - How to commercialise and Go-To-Market?

 

19:00 - Marketplace and How does The Mintable provides differentiation?

 

20:45 - Difference between Australia and US for Managers?

 

22:50 - Career paths available at The Mintable?

 

25:15 - Expectations of having great managers in-house

 

26:30 - Risks to mitigate

 

28:55 - COVID impact on management style

***

Find out more about Curiosity Center at www.curiositycenter.xyz 

Find out more about The Mintable at https://getmintable.com/

Share your feedback or questions directly with us at vidit@curiositycenter.xyz or via Linkedin / Instagram

Welcome to episode #67 w Niki Scevak! Here are 5 key takeaways that I think you will learn from this episode today:

How accessing his first internet modem in his childhood changed Niki's worldWhat is the source of his courage and ambition and seeking it in othersHow does Niki structure his week to balance thinking, meeting founders and growing Blackbird?Applying the Orchids and Dandelions concept to parenting and businessWhat prevents investors from making the first move?

BONUS: Starting Blackbird Ventures in 2012: out of 500 meetings, 97 people said yes to raise $29M fund

***

TIMESTAMPS

03:05 — Niki quick facts

 

04:30 - High Flyer in Niki’s life

 

06:45 - Niki’s family unit and growing up in Newcastle

 

08:25 - How the internet very early on influenced Niki

 

10:00 - Source of being courageous and highly ambitious

 

12:15 - Learnings about successful characteristics in people

 

14:05 - Living in New York in the early 2000’s

 

18:10 - How leading thinkers like Peter Thiel have shaped Niki’s mindset

 

22:30 - How does Niki structure his week to balance thinking, meeting founders and growing Blackbird?

 

26:00 - Being out of his comfort zone in last 12 months?

 

28:35 - Niki’s insights on his framework to taking a meeting and pitch decks

 

32:40 - A career is not a 10 move chess match

 

34:10 - Applying Orchids and Dandelions concept to parenting and Blackbird

 

38:30 - Managing the dynamics with Blackbird going from the new kid to now one of the big players

 

40:15 - The key mechanisms that scaled Blackbird

 

45:10 - Media first investor landscape in the USA and Australia

 

47:35 - Providing value add as a board member

 

52:15 - What prevents investors from making the first move?

 

56:44 - Starting blackbird in 2012: out of 500 meetings, 97 people said yes to raise $29M fund

 

57:20 - Final sprint

***

Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on iTunes and Spotify, as it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show and grow the show with sponsors and partners. 

Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter for more!

This show showcases relatable role models, re-imagining a high flyer to help you achieve your potential and be 1% better everyday!

Contact Vidit at vidit@curiositycenter.xyz

Hear from Peter Vranes & Hitesh Mehta, co-founders of Nutromics about how they are building the future of health monitoring to prevent chronic disease (and deaths) and welcome to episode 4 of this curiosity sseries taking you inside topics, companies and industries. 

Please enjoy exploring your curiosity as I did mine through this conversation!

***

KEY POINTS COVERED

03:50 - What is Nutromics and the problem they’re solving?

 

05:20 - How did they turn their idea into reality?

 

07:00 - Creating an impact with medical devices

 

11:00 - How does the operation in the ecosystem work?

 

13:20 - Example of therapeutic drug monitoring with vancomycin

 

14:45 - Does Nutromics save the system money by managing outpatients vs inpatients?

 

17:03 - How is the dosing of Vancomycin cost effective through technology?

 

20:35 - Potential size of the opportunity and market

 

26:30 - Biggest threat to their technology

 

28:30 - Biggest surprise to date

 

30:50 - Smart watches and wearable devices

***

Find out more about Curiosity Center at www.curiositycenter.xyz 

Find out more about Nutromics at https://www.nutromics.com.au/

Share your feedback or questions directly with us at vidit@curiositycenter.xyz or via Linkedin / Instagram

Welcome to episode #65 with Prisca Ongonga-Daehn! Here are 5 key takeaways that I think you will learn from this episode today:

How growing up in Kenya inspired her drive for fairness, accountability and helping othersExperiences living in Africa, Asia, and AustraliaHow Prisca first connected with sustainabilityFirst steps to building Baresop and participating in startup acceleratorsExploring crowdfunding to be people and community first

***

TIMESTAMPS

02:30 - Quick facts about Prisca

 

03:10 - High Flyer in Prisca’s life

 

04:00 - Prisca’s sunrise in Kenya

 

06:30 - Influence of family

 

08:45 - Living in Africa, Asia, and Australia

 

10:10 - Seeking independent success in life

 

12:00 - Why journalism

 

15:00 - First trip overseas to feature Zimbabwe

 

16:40 - Most difficult cultural transition

 

18:30 - First connection with sustainability

 

23:00 - First steps to building Baresop

 

30:00 - How did they create products and launch?

 

33:05 - Benefits of participating in startup accelerators

 

35:10 - Raising capital through crowdfunding

 

37:10 - Final sprint

***

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Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on iTunes and Spotify, as it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show and grow the show with sponsors and partners. 

Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter for more!

This show showcases relatable role models, re-imagining a high flyer to help you achieve your potential and be 1% better everyday!

Contact Vidit at vidit@curiositycenter.xyz