Startup Theatre Podcast

In this episode of the WFLS podcast we chat with Claudia Batten. Claudia is currently is Chairperson of NZX and ASX listed digital travel company Serko and a Director of NZX and ASX listed Vista Group and NZX listed Air New Zealand. Are you subscribed to us? Only half our listeners are subscribing and we are hoping the rest of you will follow and subscribe. We talk on this podcast about a lot of topics, from Claudia’s roots in commercial law to how she has been a founding member of two highly successful entrepreneurial ventures. As part of the founding team of Massive Incorporated, a network for advertising in video games, she helped pioneer “digital” as a media buy. Massive was sold to Microsoft in 2006, where Claudia then spent 3 years scaling the in-game network. In 2009 she co-founded Victors & Spoils, the first advertising agency built on the principles of crowdsourcing. After two years in market, V&S was acquired by French holding company Havas Worldwide. Claudia also spent three years running North American operations for NZTE, supporting disruptive thinking for the growth of NZ exports in North America. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsor: - Talent Army: ⁠www.talent.army⁠ EPISODE LINKS: Claudia's LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/claudiabatten Claudia's Instagram: ⁠www.instagram.com/claudiabatten/ Claudia's Twitter: ⁠https://twitter.com/ClaudiaBatten Claudia's Information Share (book): ⁠Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman Marian's Information Share (podcast): ⁠The Knowledge Project with Shane Parrish www.squigglylife.com PODCAST INFO: Podcast website: ⁠https://linktr.ee/wefuckinlovestartups⁠ Apple Podcasts: ⁠https://lnkd.in/g8Ae8czg⁠ Spotify: ⁠https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8⁠ RSS: ⁠https://tr.ee/E4yOBnw-OW⁠ YouTube Full Episodes: ⁠https://lnkd.in/dq6ZsuZD⁠ YouTube Clips: ⁠https://tinyurl.com/4tnxp2ze⁠ SUPPORT & CONNECT: - Check out the sponsors above, it's the best way to support this podcast - Twitter: ⁠https://twitter.com/WFLSPodcast⁠ - Instagram: ⁠www.instagram.com/wefuckinlovestartups⁠ - LinkedIn: ⁠www.linkedin.com/company/wflspodcast⁠ - Facebook: ⁠www.facebook.com/WeFKINLoveStartups ⁠- TikTok: ⁠www.tiktok.com/@wefukinlovestartupspod⁠ OUTLINE: Here are the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players, you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time. [00:02:17] Natural flow state in conversation. [00:04:43] Power dynamics in conversations. [00:06:18] The power of listening. [00:10:40] Māori Pacifica Technology [00:14:40] Tech boom and e-commerce. [00:18:26] Relational networking over transactional. [00:21:09] Deep diving topics and information. [00:24:17] Massive Incorporated pivot. [00:27:12] Software pirate. [00:30:16] Solving problems for companies. [00:33:41] Traits to look for in a board. [00:37:36] Making hard decisions. [00:39:04] Making hard decisions with grace. [00:44:28] AI and human interaction. [00:47:22] Changing the game with AI. [00:50:06] Squiggling philosophy. [00:55:03] Thinking Fast and Slow. [00:57:06] Share your knowledge and stories.

In this episode, we chat with Marian Johnson the CEO of Ministry of Awesome 💡 🔔 Are you subscribed to us? Only half our listeners are subscribing and we are hoping the rest of you will follow. Marian has been leading the Ministry of Awesome team since late 2017 helping to drive a dynamic startup and innovation ecosystem that will power NZ’s future success. Marian is deeply passionate about engineering the serendipity required for a successful Kiwi high-growth startup community - driving collaboration between founders, investors, government, talent, and corporates through MoA and their ChristchurchHQ and startup hub Te Ōhaka. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsor:- Talent Army: www.talent.army EPISODE LINKS:Marian's LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/marianejohnsonMarian's Instagram: www.instagram.com/marianjohnsoninnz/Marian's Twitter: www.twitter.com/MarianInNZMarian's Information share (book): www.a16z.com/book/the-hard-thing-about-hard-things/Marian's Information share (website): www.abroad.io PODCAST INFO:Podcast website: https://linktr.ee/wefuckinlovestartupsApple Podcasts: https://lnkd.in/g8Ae8czgSpotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8RSS: https://tr.ee/E4yOBnw-OWYouTube Full Episodes: https://lnkd.in/dq6ZsuZDYouTube Clips: https://tinyurl.com/4tnxp2ze SUPPORT & CONNECT:- Check out the sponsors above, it's the best way to support this podcast- Twitter: https://twitter.com/WFLSPodcast- Instagram: www.instagram.com/wefuckinlovestartups- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/wflspodcast- Facebook: www.facebook.com/WeFKINLoveStartups- TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@wefukinlovestartupspod OUTLINE:Here are the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players, you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time. [00:02:08] Mistakes and startup lessons. [00:05:04] Ministry of Awesome's backstory. [00:07:39] Christchurch's transformation post-earthquake. [00:12:18] Dragging partners to New Zealand. [00:15:08] Trump's unexpected victory. [00:19:39] Tech hub in Budapest. [00:24:29] Americans and their orating skills. [00:26:02] New Zealand's global recognition. [00:31:42] High-growth startup community. [00:35:07] Startup environment as a career path. [00:37:10] Kiwis think too small. [00:42:47] Startups and early stage volume. [00:45:06] Women founders and inclusivity. [00:48:51] Electrify Aotearoa. [00:53:20] Minister for startups. [00:57:03] Founder development program [01:00:15] The power of podcasting.

In this episode of the WFLS podcast, we chat with Nick Houldsworth. Nick Houldsworth is co-founder of AI tax startup Prosaic, a board member of Ambit and Melodics, and an investor at Tradify, Spotrisk, and Redshield. Nick was the first employee and CMO at Vend, and Exec GM for the Developer API and App Store at Xero. Sadly, he’s no longer available for children’s parties. In this episode, we chat about Nick's journey from being the #1 employee at Vend and then leading the Ecosystem marketplace at Xero. Nick gives his advice to people that want to be in a startup and why you should sit when you are offered a seat on a rocket ship. He talks about life now and what he is up to with his latest startup. Nick talks about his band Hobotalk as his information share and you can check them out here. He believes that you should join a startup and 'start a movement' and you can see the video "How to start a movement" to see how it evolves. Please help us to continue producing these podcasts by subscribing. Thank you and enjoy the episode. Timestamps: [00:03:25] Taking a career break. [00:06:36] Filtering through creative ideas. [00:10:22] Finding balance in work and life. [00:14:47] User-friendly accounting software. [00:16:17] Consumer brands building business applications. [00:20:10] Failed entrepreneurial attempts. [00:23:24] B2B marketing and emotional motivation. [00:26:00] Creative marketing strategies. [00:29:23] F bomb gate. [00:32:06] Writing job descriptions and blow-up. [00:36:34] Obsession with Trade Me. [00:38:05] Sliding door moments. [00:42:28] Midlife crisis and hobbies. [00:45:20] Music archives and Virgin Records. [00:47:26] People smarter than you. [00:51:30] Marketing team and business growth. [00:53:37] Leaving for new opportunities. [00:57:55] Entrepreneurial mindset and prioritization. [01:00:27] Career trajectory and joy. [01:03:52] Building a marketing team. [01:08:07] Personal cashflow struggles. [01:09:09] Open banking and AI opportunities. [01:11:32] Companies thriving and growing. [01:16:37] Hobo talk on Spotify. [01:19:26] Getting involved in startups. [01:21:08] Nick's imposter syndrome.

In this episode of the WFLS podcast we chat with Justin Soong. Justin is the founder of Authsignal, an engineer by craft, and product and customers are his passion. He is no stranger to success as Justin has been part of multiple FinTech successes in Australasia. Justin has been CTO of ASX-listed NZ company Laybuy. Was a vital member of the team working on the Afterpay code base at Paloma Group, and launching P2P lending at Harmoney. During this journey Justin's teams have processed billions dollars of payments and lending, and he's taken his learnings from scaling and managing risk consumer applications into Authsignal. We talk about why he decided to found AuthSignal with Paloma Ventures and how he loved it. Justin shared many lessons on his journey and his information share is doing Toast Masters. Please help us to continue producing these podcasts by subscribing. Thank you and enjoy the episode.

In this episode of the WFLS podcast, we chat with Miriana Lowrie. Miriana is the Founder & CEO of 1Centre - Trade Credit & Customer Management Platform. Her laser focus is on solving everyday problems for their Sales & Finance Teams when they onboard business customers and manage their ongoing credit risk. She is highly motivated and driven, Miriana founded 1Centre as a result of supporting other businesses by setting up systems and processes in her spare time. Miriana says: “I just couldn’t quite figure out why opening accounts was so laboriously manual, repetitive and time-consuming” – so she set out on a journey spanning over two years to interview as many suppliers and business consumers as she could, about what their experiences were like with opening trade accounts – as a result, 1Centre came to life. With over 20 years of banking experience, a passion for making life easier for business (herself included), and a BBS in management and sales, she has all the right ingredients to roll her sleeves up and drive 1Centre forward. In this episode, we chat about Mariana's journey from being a single Mum at 17 to going back to University to give a better life to her children. Mirinana says being a Wāhine Māori founder has taught her many lessons and she shares a lot of these on the podcast. Her information share is to go and watch the TV show Silicon Valley and you can check out her son's Instagram we mention on the show here. Please help us to continue producing these podcasts by subscribing. Thank you and enjoy the episode.

In this episode of the WFLS podcast, we chat with Barnaby Marshall. Barnaby is a Partner at Icehouse Ventures, a leading NZ venture capital firm. He has also been an early investor in Dawn Aerospace, First AML, Basis, Narrative, Jasper, and many more. Barnaby is an entrepreneur and investor, his previous role before Icehouse Ventures was as the managing director of I Love Ugly. He is also a co-founder of New Ground Coffee. In this conversation, Troy and Barney go deep on investing, and the mindsets needed for founders and Barney sets out to debunk the myth that: "More money means more results" At 20 mins we reference his old bFM show and you can listen to that here, and Barnaby's information share is The Star Principal book by Richard Koch. You can read Barnaby's blog on The Startup Efficiency 'Boiling Point'​ here where he goes deep on "Some are calling this new start-up funding environment a period of financial "austerity," and startups need to adjust to the "new regime." Please help us to continue producing these podcasts by subscribing. Thank you and enjoy the episode.

In this episode, we chat with Frances Valintine CNZM Frances Valintine CNZM is a passionate educator and technologist who is focused on developing education opportunities that connect professionals to the knowledge they need to be successful in today’s rapidly advancing world. For 25 years she has been dedicated to shifting education and business practice to develop the capabilities, knowledge, and mindset needed to respond to the future of work, changing societal expectations, and the protection of the planet. Frances is an education futurist from NZ. She has won numerous awards for her educational programmes and is the Founder and CEO of AcademyEX which includes: The Mind Lab, Tech Futures Lab, and Earth Futures Lab. She is known for her commitment to working to improve the outcomes for the next generation through contextualising education delivery and content in the 21st Century. Frances's information share is Hard Fork podcast. Please help us to continue producing these podcasts by subscribing. Thank you and enjoy the episode.

In this episode, we chat with David Downs. David is CEO of The New Zealand Story and a director on several boards, including as Chair of The Icehouse. David is an ex-comedian, TV, and radio actor, semi-finalist for New Zealander of the Year, cancer survivor, and a published author of books No.8 Re-wired, No.8 Recharged, A Mild Touch of the Cancer, and Silver Linings. We spoke about the relationship between board and exec, government and startups, and everything else in between. David is a lovely and amazing man and someone who has championed tech startups and New Zealand for his lifetime. Please help us to continue producing these podcasts by subscribing. Thank you.

In this episode of the WFLS podcast we chat with Simon Brown. Simon Brown is co-CEO at Banqer, the financial education platform which has been used by over 300,000 Australasian school students. His role leverages his passion for finance, technology, and education to support teachers in enhancing their students' financial literacy and overall wellbeing, making a positive impact on the world. We chat about how and why Banqer was founded to help kids become better with money. Simon is no stranger to founding startups with CrashCram being his first and Banqer his second with co-founder Kendall Flutey. Banqer is on a mission to prepare the next generation for their financial future. They believe that everyone should have access to a quality, engaging, effective financial education that sets them up for financial success - whatever that means to them.They started with a vision to teach one student about money (their co-founders' little brother), and since then they’ve helped financially educate over 300,000 students. The impact they’ve had through their innovative approach to teaching critical life skills has been celebrated externally, but most importantly it’s what motivates them each day. Please help us to continue producing these podcasts by subscribing. Thank you.

In this episode of the WFLS podcast we were lucky enough to speak with not only one crime fighting Aurors, though two in Kirsti Grant & Phil Thomson. Kirsti is the VP People Experience and all around amazing person. Phil is the CEO and Co-founder and NZ Entrepreneur of the Year 2022. We sat down with them both to learn how People Experience is helping to shape the future of Auror. In this episode, Phil and Kirsti share the story of Auror from being founded by friends realising that $100B+ was lost every year by retailers but there was no effective technology being used to report, solve, or prevent crime. Now in Australia, New Zealand, North America, and the United Kingdom, Auror needed to re-look at their company values and how to scale this rocket ship for grown. Kirsti and Phil go deep on the successes and attempts they have taken over the years and how they are now seeing magical moments across their business by letting the people in their business shape the next phase of growth at Auror. We also asked Kirsti and Phil to share some things that have moved them recently: Kirsti suggests you watch "How AI could save (not destroy) education" by Sal Khan and Phil suggests you look at two books that he learned from life and death situations. Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win by Jocko Willink (Author), Leif Babin (Author) and the second is Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World by General Stanley McChrystal  Thank you so much for watching and listening to the podcast and please subscribe wherever you are reading this.