Anna Podolsky turned a home-cooked meal for her dog into one of Australia’s fastest-growing startups. In this episode, she shares how Lyka scaled from her kitchen to a 400-person team and hundreds of millions in revenue.

We dive into mission-driven leadership, operational complexity, and the mindset behind building a generational company. If you care about startups, pets, or building with purpose - this one’s for you.

00:00 Introduction

02:02 Anna's Background and Early Influences

03:24 Building and Leading a Team

06:54 Operational Complexities and Growth

09:23 Vanta Ad

12:36 Navigating Supply and Demand

16:30 Lessons from Consulting to Entrepreneurship

23:04 Empowering Teams for Success

24:04 Day-to-Day Life of a CEO

25:21 Mission and Culture: Keys to Success

27:05 The Importance of Brand and Marketing

29:37 Personal Growth and Leadership

32:27 Balancing Work and Personal Life

36:20 The Drive Behind the Mission

38:53 Working with a Partner

42:56 Final Thoughts and Reflections

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Thanks to Vanta for the episode sponsorship. Our audience gets a special $1,000 off Vanta through our promo: https://www.vanta.com/sachinandadam

Vanta automates compliance for global frameworks like ISO 27001 and SOC 2 and, the latest Australian frameworks like CPS 234 or Essential 8, saving you time and money.

Over 8,000 global companies like Atlassian, Handle, FireAnt, and Tactiq.io use Vanta to manage risk and prove security in real time.

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About us

We are two best friends, trying to build a community around in-depth interviews and short documentaries with the best minds in technology and startups.

Through bold storytelling and candid conversations, we explore how visionary thinkers are shaping the future. The best way to support is subscribing, truly it makes all the difference for us 💙

Episode 183: Is it Possible to Work Less?