Ep 39. Harry Uffindell on Scaling Partly, The ONE Thing and Lessons from the Climb
Calling Operator with Laura Nicol
Intro
This chapter explores the author's transition from a legal career in Auckland to the dynamic world of startups. Highlighting the founding of Meat Mail and contributions to Tilt, the narrative showcases their growth and current focus on culture and innovation at Partly.
Today, I'm connecting with Harry Uffindell, Chief People Officer at Partly. Harry’s worn just about every startup hat—founder, growth, bizops, revops, people, culture—you name it. But he ultimately found his calling in the people space. Now, he’s scaling Partly, hiring the world’s top 1% talent, and building a culture where people stay excited about their work a decade in.
In today’s episode, we discuss:
- Scaling Partly from its first non-technical hire to ~100 employees—and the lessons behind making it the best startup to work for.
- Building a company culture that lasts—where 10 years in, you’re still buzzing to show up.
- Co-founding and selling MeatMail (a food subscription startup) with David Booth—the zero-to-one story.
- “This is a pretty good V1”. What Tim Ryan (Atomic8) taught Harry about quality work and scaling startups globally.
- Tilt to Airbnb: From first APAC hire to Country Manager, scaling Tilt, and what it takes to land a global “boots on the ground” role.
- A bad-reception phone call that changed everything. How Airbnb’s acquisition of Tilt set Harry on a path to making ANZ Airbnb’s most penetrated market worldwide before the IPO.
- Focus as a superpower. Mastering the art of focus is the most impactful skill an operator can develop.
- Learning from the best. How Patti McCord, Reed Hastings (Netflix), and the Collison Brothers (Stripe) are shaping Harry’s playbook as a world-class Chief People Officer.
- Angel investing 101. His advice for operators making their first bets.
Find Harry Uffindell:
Harry Uffindell’s Northstars and Frameworks:
Books:
- Delivering Happiness (people and culture)
- No Rules Rules (Netflix culture)
- The Hard Thing About Hard Things (gritty leadership)
- Amp It Up (high-performance culture)
- Powerful by Patty McCord (freedom + responsibility)
- Radical Candor (feedback and relationships)
- Great by Choice (10x leadership)
- How to Win Friends and Influence People
Podcasts:
Frameworks:
- The Quarterly Rhythm That Fuels Growth and High-Performing Teams (includes duplicatable resources/Notion pages)
- The One Thing (goal-setting)
- Eisenhower Matrix (urgent/important prioritization)
- Radical Candor (caring personally + challenging directly).
Operators—Future leader/vision:
- Patti McCord and Reed Hastings from Netflix (culture)
- Patrick Collison and The Collison Brothers (execution)
Ones to Watch:
- Pene Barton (CEO at Crimson Global Academy)
- Kirsti Grant (Chief People Experience Officer at Auror)
- Jamie Beaton (CEO and co-founder Crimson Education)
Other Folks Mentioned in the Episode:
- Dave Booth (Founder in Residence at Blackbird)
- Mike Duboe (General Partner, Greylock Partners)
- Levi Fawcett (CEO at Partly)
- Tim Ryan (Co-Founder & CEO at Atomic8)
- Andrew Huynh (GTM Strategy Lead, New Products at Culture Amp)
- Dan Brockwell (Co-founder and head of program at Earlywork)
Guest ideas?
Do you have an operator on speed dial who could be perfect for the show? Please share your suggestions with me via LinkedIn.
A note from your host, Laura:
My goal for Calling Operator is to open-source stories from startup operators across various functional areas and learn how they excel at building and scaling companies. As a Chief of Staff, I often find myself in (virtual) rooms with people facing similar challenges and reinventing the wheel. I want this podcast to open a line for operators across Australia and New Zealand to learn from fellow operators. Each episode shares personal stories, the execution behind big ideas, career-defining moments, successes, failures, and lessons.
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