Liam Millward is the 21-year-old co-founder and CEO of Instant — one of the fastest-growing startups in Australia valued at $100M. In this episode, he reveals how he went from dodging WeWork rent at 17 to raising $18 million in just 10 days at 21.
We dive deep into Liam’s wild founder journey:
- How he scaled Instant to millions in revenue with zero pitch deck
-The real story behind their lightning-fast Series A raise
- Why momentum solves every issue — and how to create it
- Why every person at Instant has a revenue target (including engineers)
- His unconventional hiring strategy, leadership style, and obsession with speed
- Expanding into the US and building AI-powered marketing tools- What drives him to prove people wrong — and what it takes to win
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Rapid Growth
00:08 Liam Millward's Entrepreneurial Journey
00:38 Challenges and Proving Doubters Wrong
01:37 Fundraising and Expansion
02:12 Podcast Interview Begins
02:29 Scaling the Company
03:18 Revenue Obsession and Company Culture
04:48 Fundraising Strategies and Investor Relations
08:10 Zeller Ad
11:25 Driving Momentum and Setting Goals
21:09 Leadership and Personal Drive
28:27 KC Ventures Ad
28:58 Optimal Timing for Founders
29:19 Managing Founder Psychology
31:43 Hiring and Talent Strategy
33:32 Scaling and Product Expansion
36:01 Global Expansion Challenges
37:47 Revenue Obsession and AI Integration
48:52 Operational Efficiency and Team Focus
53:14 Leadership and Decision Making
59:33 Future Goals and Reflections
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Thanks to our sponsors Zeller and KC Ventures. Zeller is building the financial stack to help startups scale, called Zeller for Startups.
Every founder unlocks exclusive rewards and offers when you use Zeller for Startups — including a high-interest savings account, 12-month free access to Zeller Corporate Cards and expense management, and discounts on amazing partner solutions from Employment Hero, Xero, and Pop Business.
https://www.myzeller.com/startups
KC Ventures helps Australian startups scale by providing strategic financial advice. You can find KC Ventures at http://kcventures.com.au/ or message their founder Luke Rix on Linkedin to get in contact directly.
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