Open The Pod Bay Doors

Welcome to another edition of the OTPBD News Special, our fortnightly series analysing the news that matters for Australian and Kiwi startups.Meet this week's panel...Colette Grgic, AWSSteve Fanale, DriveYellowSimon Cant, ReinventureTopics we discuss:In this edition, we discuss local startup funding news, including raises by Fast, DesignCrowd and Adatree and NAB's acquisition of Neobank 86 400. The panel also dives deep on cryptocurrency, the GameStop fiasco, what's happening in fintech and the future of work.If you are an Aussie startup founder keen to network with investors from around the country, be sure to apply to pitch at the _SOUTHSTART x Innovation Bay Startup Showcase in Adelaide this May. We will be selecting the top 16 startups to present. Apply here: https://bit.ly/southstart_showcase__________________Innovation Bay is holding AI and health tech-focused pitch events this May for Horizon, our community of experienced angel investors. If you are the founder of an AI or health tech startup looking t

Suse Reynolds is a pillar of the New Zealand startup ecosystem and a passionate believer in the power of angel investment. She is the Executive Chair of Angel Association New Zealand and sits on the board of Angel HQ, the Wellington region's angel network which she founded in 2006. Since its founding, AngelHQ has invested over $30m in 100+ New Zealand companies.In this chat with Phaedon, Suse shares...-Her personal angel investing philosophy-How she sources and evaluates deals-Her advice for founders seeking angel investment-What gets her excited to invest-Why she's focused on founder wellbeingQuickfire Round Recommendations-Book: Stalin's Wine Cellar and Upside of Stress-Podcast: Dare to Lead Brené Brown episode with Barack Obama-News Source: Newsroom, Business Desk, New York Times, BBC-Holiday Location: Palau and Tonga-Favorite Founder: Ben Gleisner (CoGo)-Productivity Tool: Spend 10 minutes everyday setting 3 goals-Ted Talk Topic: Why Open Borders Are a Good Thing__________________Innovation Bay is holding

About DanDan Krasnostein is an Investment Partner at Square Peg Capital. A Melbourne native, Dan spent the early days of his career working in strategy at Seek before joining Square Peg in 2012 as the first non-founder hire. He spent a few years working for Square Peg in Melbourne before relocating to Tel Aviv where he spent 6 years growing Square Peg's business in Israel. Square Peg has deployed over $140M in Israel across 13 companies, including Fiverr, Aidoc, Feedvisor and Puresec.In this chat with Phaedon, Dan shares...His advice for entrepreneurs - work hard building your network and never stop talking about your ideaKey differences between the startup ecosystem in Israel vs. AustraliaHow the fear of failure is holding Aussie founders backWhy speed in shipping product, hiring, executing, following up and more is such a big advantage in a competitive worldWhat can be learned from Israeli startups that are global from day 1Why arguments are healthy but grudges are notRecommendationsBook: Breath: The New Sc

After a brief holiday hiatus, we're back with another edition of the OTPBD News Special, our fortnightly series analysing the news that matters for Australian and Kiwi startups.Meet this week's panel...Marisa Warren, ALIAVIA VenturesAndy McKeon, SafetyCultureFrancis Vierboom, Propeller AeroTopics we discuss:In this edition, we discuss local startup news such as the tech stocks set to list on the ASX in 2021, Afterpay's $42B valuation and recent raises by AgriWebb and Vow. There is also lots of global news to cover, including a boom in Bitcoin, the impeachment of Trump, the inauguration of Biden, and Elon Musk's new spot atop the world rich list.__________________Innovation Bay is holding AI and health tech-focused pitch events this May in Sydney and Melbourne for Horizon, our community of experienced angel investors. If you are the founder of an AI or health tech startup looking to network with angels who can offer advice, connections and capital, apply to pitch here: https://bit.ly/PitchHorizonMayWomen-led s

Angus Hervey is a political economist and a journalist specialising in the impact of disruptive technologies on society. Angus is a champion of "intelligent optimism" and co-founder of Future Crunch, a Melbourne-based think tank of sorts dedicated to informed, optimistic thinking about tech and the opportunities that it presents. Before co-founding Future Crunch, Angus was the founding community manager of Random Hacks of Kindness and was the first editorial manager for Global Policy, one of the world's leading international policy journals. He also holds a PhD in International Political Economy from the London School of Economics.In this wide-ranging chat with Phaedon, Angus discusses the three pillars of intelligent optimism, why he considers social media a drug, what the emergence of "the passion economy" means for online businesses, and why the media can't portray what life is like for the average person. Angus also talks about the key transformative technologies he thinks will drive the next industrial r

Tim Power is a talented, passionate, resilient founder who has co-founded and created some of the world's largest education communities including the World Education Games, World Maths Day, Mathletics and ClickView. He is currently the cofounder and CEO of Inquisitive, the Sydney-based education startup on a mission to simplify access to quality lessons for teachers.In this conversation with Ian, Tim talks about why he made the switch from being a lawyer to being an entrepreneur, the highlights of growing Mathletics, how he transformed the insights he collected observing teachers in classrooms into Inquisitive, and the progress Inquisitive has made since its founding in 2016. Tim also dives deeper into how Inquisitive improves learning outcomes and saves teachers valuable time, why building community has accelerated the growth of the company and Inquisitive's fundraising journey.Quickfire Recommendations-Book: A Fortunate Life-Podcast: Conversations with Richard Fidler and The Mojo Sessions-News Source: The G

Today's episode features one of Australia's best and most prolific angel investors, Matt Allen. Matt's portfolio includes companies like BuildKite, Practice Ignition, Spaceship, Kasada, Donesafe, Pin and Goterra. At one point or another Matt has been a software developer, founder, technical recruiter, investor and now, a CEO. Most recently, Matt launched Tractor Ventures, a new vehicle for investing that offers founders revenue-based financing. Matt and his team at Tractor Ventures are grounded in the belief that secure founders make better business decisions; venture capital money simply isn't the right fit for every business, so Tractor Ventures is filling a funding gap for ambitious founders who want to grow their businesses at a pace that suits them.In this chat with Ian, Matt talks a lot about his journey as an investor and his approach to angel investing. He explains how making a pretty big bet on Xero got him started with investing, how he collaborates with his wife Aprill on investments and the import

Welcome to the latest edition of the OTPBD News Special, our fortnightly series analysing the news that matters for Australian and Kiwi startups.Meet this week's panel...Bex Eastwood, Ignition LaneNick Gainsley, OneVenturesElliot Smith, Maxwell PlusTopics we discuss:In this news special, we discuss local fundraising news including the announcement of new funds from Square Peg, OneVentures, EVP and Tractor Ventures, as well as funding rounds from Coviu and Healthmatch. We also cover global news and deals like Doordash and Airbnb IPOs, the acquisition of Slack by Salesforce, and Uber's sale of their autonomous driving unit.For weekly startup news, subscribe to Ignition Lane's Weekly Wrap newsletter here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode features Mike Kleine, the U.S. Consul General to Melbourne. Mike has spent over 20 years of his career working in the Foreign Service; he's been posted across the globe including in Laos, Vietnam, South Korea, and Kosovo. Mike has a deep-seated interest in entrepreneurship, a fascination with innovation, and a passion for the U.S.-Australia relationship. These passions converged and led to the creation of his podcast series, 37 Degrees Latitude.In his podcast, Mike meets the Australian founders and entrepreneurs who cut a path between 37˚ N & S (at 37˚S, you’ll find Melbourne, Australia; at 37˚N, you’ll find Silicon Valley!) and found capital, partners, markets and success in the United States. He interviews the likes of Didier Elzinga from Culture Amp, Nick Crocker from Blackbird and Kate Kendall from CloudPeeps. Season 2 of 37 Degrees Latitude will feature conversations with Aussie startup founders currently based in the U.S.In this chat with Phaedon, Mike starts off talking a bit about wha

In this episode, Phaedon is joined by Clare O'Neil MP, the Shadow Minister for Innovation, Technology and the Future of Work and Federal Member for Hotham, Victoria. We don't often feature politicians on the podcast but we believe that it is important to understand the view of government and how government policies impact the startup ecosystem. Clare speaks with candor and openness on the changes she wants to see in the future of politics.To start, Clare talks about her background, including her path to politics (starting when she joined the Labour party at 16!), what it was like growing up with entrepreneurial book publishing parents and how her experience working in the private sector shapes her outlook as the Shadow Minister for Innovation, Technology and the Future of Work. She also shares her views on the role of government and her advice for anyone considering a career in politics.After Clare covers her personal journey, the conversation shifts to the startup ecosystem. Phaedon and Clare discuss:Clare's

Welcome to the latest edition of the OTPBD News Special, our fortnightly series analysing the news that matters for Australian and Kiwi startups.Meet this week's panel...Yolanda Redrup, AFRJames Alexander, Galileo VenturesJustin Webb, AgriWebbTopics we discuss:In this news special, we discuss recent raises by Marketplacer, Morse Micro, Flare, Hypr and Diffuse Energy. There was lots of big news coming out of the Victorian startup ecosystem to cover, including the new budget which allocates $186m to startups and the establishment of a $25m Victorian venture fund. We also talk about the tech founders that made this year's AFR Young Rich List, Andreessen Horowitz closing two mega funds, the spike in Bitcoin, Macquarie Telecom becoming a unicorn and lots more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to the latest edition of the OTPBD News Special, our fortnightly series analysing the news that matters for Australian and Kiwi startups.Meet this week's panel...James Riley, Innovation AusAmanda Price, KPMG High Growth VenturesVuki Vujasinovic, Sling and StoneTopics we discuss:In this news special, we discuss the recent and upcoming IPOs of several Aussie companies including Hipages, Booktopia and Airtasker, as well as global and local funding news like Hopin's recent $125m raise and Aussie accounting platform Bookipi's $1.6m seed round. We also talk about how the recent positive vaccine news and the results of the US election might impact the Australian startup ecosystem.As mentioned in this episode, the 2020 Founder Survey from KPMG High Growth Ventures is now live. If you're a startup founder willing to reflect on your work-life balance, health and wellbeing, participate in the survey here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Patrick Llewellyn is the CEO and President of 99designs, the global creative platform that makes it easy for designers and clients to work together. Patrick is Open the Pod Bay Door's second ever two-time guest. Since we've last chatted with Patrick, a lot has happened for 99designs. 99designs now employs over 100 people, has a community of over 25,000 active freelance designers, and in October, was acquired by global printing giant Vistaprint.In this chat with Ian, Patrick speaks about his lockdown experience living in Melbourne, how a plan for a massive global restructuring was completely disrupted in March by COVID-19, and how a casual coffee meeting with the founder of Vistaprint ultimately led to an acquisition. Patrick dives deep into his mindset and decision making progress around the acquisition and how the company and his role will evolve as a result of the new partnership. Some other topics covered include how reverse brain drain may be impacting the talent market and the key macro insights from the

Welcome to the latest edition of the OTPBD News Special, our fortnightly series analysing the news that matters for Australian and Kiwi startups.Meet this week's panel...Rebecca Wilson, Starts at 60Justin Lipman, EVPJodie Imam, SBE AustraliaTopics we discuss:In this news special we cover Adore Beauty's ASX debut, lots of recent local raises from the likes of Linktree, Sundrive, Zero Co, v2food, and SafetyCulture and the downfall of Quibi. Elections are up for discussion, including how the outcome of the US election could affect local startups and the results of the Queensland election. We also discuss Antler Sydney's hot streak and the arrival of the "no-code" generation.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to a very special milestone for Open the Pod Bay Doors -- our 100th episode! To mark the occasion we brought back some of our favorite guests from the past 3 years of the podcast and asked them what they're most looking forward to in the next 3 years.A rockstar lineup of investors and founders shared their insights: Daniel Petre (E1), Luke Anear (E20 & E79), Niki Scevak (E14), Leigh Jasper (E86), Kate Cornick (E45), Patrick Llewellyn (E26), Ben Keighran (E56), Sam Sicilia (E60), Paul Bassat (E69), Alan Jones (E33), David Walsh (E96), Olympia Yarger (E94), Sam Wong (E42), James Cuda (E43), and Emma Weston (E51). Their vision for the next 3 years certainly has us excited for what's to come.We'd like to extend a huge thank you to our listeners, all of our amazing guests, and our supportive sponsors AWS, AIG Firemark Ventures, KPMG High Growth Ventures, and Macquarie who have made the last 100 episodes possible. Here's to the next 100!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to a fresh edition of the OTPBD News Special, our fortnightly series analysing the news that matters for Australian and Kiwi startups.Meet this week's panel...Sam Wong, BlackbirdBronwen Clune, InklMick Liubinskas, Director of Product and Growth for BCG Digital Ventures and Author of She's Building A Robot!Topics we discuss:As always, we cover recent local and global deals like 99designs being acquired by Vistaprint, an oversubscribed Epi Minder Series A, Hopin raising a new round at a valuation of as much as $2 billion, and two new deals from agtech-focused VC firm Tenacious Ventures. The panel discusses whether COVID-19 is accelerating reverse brain drain with more Aussies and Kiwis flocking home, the decline in funding for female founders shown in Quarterly VC's funding report, a recent instance of Facebook and Twitter cracking down on fake news and what measures can be taken to regulate the role social media plays in society, à la Social Dilemma. We also talk about a splash for cash for science and

Chris Hitchen is the Germany-based, Australian-born Founder and Managing Partner of Inventures. Inventures invests €100k - €500k globally in early stage tech companies and actively helps founders reach their first institutional VC Round. Chris started out as an entrepreneur; he built and sold price comparison business Getprice to News Corp, eCommerce marketplace Next Commerce to Future PLC and programmatic ad marketplace Hynt to Zalando. He has invested in more than 60 startups. Prior to establishing Inventures, he was an angel investor and worked as Venture Partner with VC funds EQT Ventures, Project A and SquarePeg Capital.In this chat with Phaedon, Chris talks about:His investment thesis and the structure of his portfolioWhat he looks for in a founderWhy he doesn’t join boards anymoreThe backchannels he uses to conduct due diligenceThe LPs that make up his fundRecommendations from Chris:Books - Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Evans, The Road to Character by David BrooksPodcast - The Twenty Minute VC, Noti

Welcome to the OTPBD News Special, our fortnightly series analysing the news that matters for Australian and Kiwi startups.Meet this week's panel...Tim Burrowes, MumbrellaJackie Vullinghs, AirtreeSteve Fanale, Drive YelloTopics we discuss:Our panel discussed the explosion of e-commerce in Australia, changes to the JobKeeper program, and recent revelations about the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Some other topics include the launch of Amazon's new indoor home drone, Airtree's new explorer program, and easing restrictions in Melbourne. We also talk about recent raises from companies including Airwallex, Airbirds, Snapper and Catalyst and IPOs from Adore Beauty, Palantir and Asana.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Daniel Darling is the founder and managing partner of Darling Ventures, an early stage VC firm based in San Francisco. Daniel is an Aussie that's been working in the California tech scene for over a decade. He started his journey on the founding team of Mobile Interactive Group, an advertising tech startup that was acquired by NASDAQ-listed Velti for $60M. Back in 2014 he identified a unique opportunity to build a venture firm that would grant Aussie investors access to US-based investment opportunities. He swapped his operator hat for an investor hat, and founded Darling Ventures. Their specialty is writing the very first check for domain-expert founders using software and data to transform an industry. 6 years on, the firm has made 23 investments to date and recently launched Fund 3, a $30 million pre-seed fund.In this conversation with Phaedon, Daniel discusses his early career experience working in ad tech, his unique investment thesis, and how he prepares portfolio companies for rockstar series A rounds.

Welcome to Innovation Bay's OTPBD News Special, our fortnightly series analysing the news that matters for Australian and Kiwi startups.Meet this week's panel...Founder: Olympia Yarger, GOTERRAInvestor: Andrea Gardiner, Jelix VenturesEcosystem Leader: Alex McCauly, StartupAusTopics we discuss:Some of the biggest headlines our panel discussed are the continuing war over media bargaining between the Government and the tech giants, and what to expect from the the Federal budget in a few weeks. We also talk about the Safety Culture's first acquisition of EdApp, Atlassian's announcement of a new $70M venture fund, plus Snowflakes record breaking IPO with predictions on which other unicorns will go public.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.