Startup Theatre Podcast

For nearly two decades, Heather has worked across strategy, operations, product marketing, revenue, and executive go-to-market roles in 𝗦𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗻 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘆 startups and multinational companies.On this episode, we discuss the impact of AI on business and the importance of 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗜 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀 to stay competitive. Heather shares her insights on the future of work, the necessity of adapting to new technologies, and the 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗰𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗔𝗜. "𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘢𝘩𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵." ~ Heather GadonniexIn this engaging conversation, Heather shares her insights on the evolving landscape of startups, the impact of AI on productivity, and the importance of 𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗚𝗼-𝗧𝗼-𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀. "That's mind-blowing." ~ Adrienne MuirThis podcast was brought to you by our amazing sponsor in Vanta 🙌🏻Get USD $1000 off Vanta using the link https://www.vanta.com/startuptheatre.

​Hamish Edwards hasn't told his story in detail before. and so you get to hear it for the first time. Renowned for co-founding Xero with Rod Drury in 2006 in his accounting companies' boardroom, before they ever moved to said apartment. As a practicing accountant at the time and working with Rod, Hamish played a pivotal role in Xero's early growth, shaping the product and expanding its customer base across New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom by closely collaborating with accounting firms.In this episode, Hamish tells us how and why Xero was founded and what he is doing now with https://www.firmcheck.com/. We discuss the importance of obsession in achieving success and whether all founders have to be obsessed or not. Now worth in the vicinity of $300 million, we ask Hamish: Has success changed you? If you are a founder looking to go global, this one is not to be missed.This podcast is brought to you by our amazing sponsor in Vanta and could not be done without them.

Lowry Gladwell has been at the forefront of some of New Zealand’s most iconic companies, from law to payments, tech partnerships to sales. Playing a key role in Vend’s journey through to their successful exit in 2021 and leading Xero’s embedded finance strategy and execution, Lowry knows his domain well. Now, as Head of New Zealand at Airwallex—an Australian unicorn transforming banking and financial service, Lowry is focused on building the local team and introducing Airwallex’s game-changing product to the New Zealand market.In this episode, we discuss all things revenue and channel partner growth, and how you should build a function and hire a team. If you are a product company looking to go global, this one is not to be missed.

Rowan Simpson has been at the heart of New Zealand's most successful technology companies. As a founding team member at Trade Me and Xero, he witnessed firsthand how great companies are built through consistent execution. His subsequent investments and hands-on work with ventures like Vend and Timely have helped shape a generation of high-growth companies.If you’re the kind of person who hates being wrong (let’s be honest, that’s most of us), then How to Be Wrong is a game-changer. It completely flips the script on failure, showing that being wrong isn’t something to fear—it’s something to embrace. The book and ultimately this podcast is packed with real-world wisdom, practical advice, and a refreshing perspective on how to navigate uncertainty without letting your ego get in the way.

Nicole Retter, the founder and CEO of PAM, shares her journey of creating an AI-powered personal admin manager designed to ease the mental load of busy families. With two decades in marketing, she highlights the challenges of juggling parenthood and work while pushing for innovative solutions. Listen as she discusses the importance of community support, refining pitches for investors, and how her app aims to simplify daily family tasks. Nicole's insights into startup life and the unique hurdles faced by women in tech add depth to this engaging discussion.

Philip Fierlinger co-founded Xero, playing a major role as Head of Design, leading Xero to become a disruptive platform and an iconic global brand. Now he is the co-founder of Upstock, a B2B e-commerce & logistics platform transforming the food & beverage industry. His early career highlights include work for Beastie Boys and General Magic. In this episode Philip goes deep on the Xero story and the lessons he has learned to make Upstoack a 🦄 also. Please check out our sponsor in Talent Army who are NZ's best tech startup recruiters.

In this episode, we chat with Derek Handley Derek is an entrepreneur known for co-founding alongside Sir Richard Branson The B Team - a global collective advocating economic systems change to protect our natural environment and secure a safe, sustainable, and equitable future for all Before The B Team, Derek was one of the first young Kiwi entrepreneurs to build a global start-up, The Hyperfactory, an early pioneer driving the transition from the PC world to the mobile world. He started it out of University and took from a balcony in Anzac Ave Auckland to offices across the world from New York to India and almost 200 people, before selling to a 100 year old NYSE-listed giant Meredith Corporation. Have served on the Board of Sky TV, sustainability board of Air New Zealand, as Adjunct Professor at AUT; Innovator in Residence at Wharton University of Pennsylvania and as campaign Chair for Prince Harry Duke of Sussex for his sustainable travel initiative “Travalyst”. Founder of Aera VC, a global climate-tech seed fund investing in transformative technologies to radically reverse climate change. Our 25+ portfolio companies have gone on to raise over $2b NZD. Personal angel investor in over 50 start-ups, still actively backing 2-4 companies a year - most recently examples x.Ai Series B and Tracksuit. Awarded Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Sir Peter Blake Leader, and Victoria University Distinguished Alumni awards He is now building his latest company in Aera. Aera is a new Kiwi fintech start-up helping first-home buyers build a deposit in half the time.

Will Palmer is a seasoned entrepreneur with a successful track record in tech, co-founding Movio, Cupla, and DevRamp. As Movio's CEO, he led its growth to dual listings on the NZ and Australian stock exchanges before exiting to build two entirely different businesses. Consumer app start up Cupla and the developer tool, DevRamp. With the massive success of Movio, we talk with Will on his lessons and learnings. Will is not stopping until he’s reached that unicorn status and we can see this happening. Thanks to our sponsor in Talent Army who are NZ’s best IT recruiters

For 8 years, Oxygen Advisors has stood behind over 100 New Zealand startups. Amazingly, only 3% of their startup portfolio have not survived and we wanted to know why. In this episode we chat with Matt Dold the founder and Mike Mandis the Co-CEO. As the founder and Director at Oxygen Advisors, Matt has been at the forefront of empowering start-ups and high-growth businesses across New Zealand for over a decade. Matt's served as a Director, Advisor and CFO partner to many of New Zealand's most successful high growth companies such as Auror, Thematic, Archipro, Woop, Thundergrid, Conqa, Weirdly, Preno, Wipster and many more. Mike is Co-CEO at Oxygen Advisors. Over the past four years he has helped technology companies raise over $150m in capital and has supported companies scaling globally from pre-revenue to $15m+ ARR. Tune in and learn how this company has been able to help the ecosystem so much. Thank you to our sponsor in Talent Army

Simon Pound, Managing Partner at Previously Unavailable and host of the popular Business is Boring podcast, offers a riveting conversation on entrepreneurship amidst adversity. He shares insights on balancing family life with business demands and discusses the innovative strategies that enhance brand visibility. The chat also highlights the evolution of retail resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic and explores trends in non-alcoholic beverages. Simon emphasizes the significance of community support and the importance of authentic storytelling in the evolving media landscape.