Wild Hearts

George Howes, former creative lead at Eucalyptus and founder of Magic Brief, dives deep into the cluttered world of online content. He highlights how creative teams thrive on feedback loops, not just freedom. Discussing AI, George emphasizes that it should enhance, not replace, creativity, while also sharing his 15 principles for high-performing teams. He offers insights on optimizing marketing strategies and the evolving role of technology in fostering genuine customer engagement. A masterclass for marketers seeking innovation!

Vu Tran, co-founder of Go1 and Black Sky Industries, shares his unique journey from edtech to the defense sector, driven by concerns for future generations. He discusses the moral dilemmas that guided his shift to missile manufacturing and emphasizes the need for Australia to become self-reliant in its defense. Vu believes in adopting a startup mindset to innovate within this slow-moving industry, advocating for a defense philosophy akin to an echidna—small yet formidable. His insights on personal mission and national security spark a conversation about reshaping Australia’s military landscape.

Jesse Creighton, Director of Heidi Health in the US, dives into the challenges of scaling a healthcare startup in a competitive market. He shares insights on awkward networking experiences and the obstacles of initial customer outreach. Jesse discusses how switching to a freemium model transformed their growth and the importance of adapting strategies to achieve product-market fit. He also explores building a customer-focused team and the unique hiring dynamics between Australian and American talent. Get ready for lessons in persistence and product innovation!

What does it take to achieve nuclear fusion in less time than it takes to build a traditional power plant prototype? In this episode of Wild Hearts, we’re joined by Ratu Mataira, CEO of OpenStar, a company that just hit the crucial "first plasma" milestone in a staggering 16 months. We unpack the misconceptions surrounding fusion, the unique design of OpenStar’s levitated dipole reactor, and why the pathway to commercial fusion might be shorter -and more valuable - than most people think.🔍 In this conversation, we cover:⚡ How OpenStar achieved first plasma in just 16 months—years faster than competitors💥 Why fusion isn’t “30 years away” anymore—and never really was 📉 How misconceptions about cost, scale and safety are holding the industry back 🔩 The engineering breakthrough that allows OpenStar to iterate faster 🧪 Why their first product won’t be a power plant—and what it might be instead 🏥 Medical isotopes, nuclear waste and imaging: the early use cases for fusion 🔧 “Always include a crank”: how failure tolerance fuels rapid learning 🚀 The startup mindset behind building a trillion-dollar fusion company This episode goes beyond fusion hype; it’s a candid look at how OpenStar is breaking barriers in one of the world’s hardest engineering challenges.

How do you take a scientific hunch and turn it into a breakthrough that could change medicine forever?In this episode of Wild Hearts, we sit down with Elise Jenkins, co-founder of Opto Biosystems, to discuss the journey of building a first-in-class brain implant that merges neurotechnology with oncology. 🎧 Subscribe on Apple or Spotify to learn.We explore the highs and lows of moving from academia to a high-stakes startup, the unexpected hurdles of working with neurosurgeons, and the race toward first-in-human trials.In this conversation, we cover:🧠 Bridging the gap between neuroscience and cancer research🔬 How brain-Computer interfaces could transform oncology📈 The road to the first-in-human clinical trials and what It means for the future💡 The challenges of moving from academia to a high-impact startup⚡ Why the next generation of neural implants need to be MRI-invisible 🏥 What It takes to get regulatory approval for a revolutionary medical implant 🌎 Opto’s long-term vision: using neural biomarkers beyond brain cancerIf you're fascinated by the intersection of science, engineering, and medicine, this conversation is for you.🎧 Subscribe on Apple or Spotify to learn.

In this episode we cover:✅Challenges of creating a hardware product✅Helping people overcome shame and stigma✅Building a brand beyond a visual identity✅Investing in your own mental health✅Reaching your audience where they areWith its range of sex toys and sex education resources, NORMAL has reimagined the sex shop into an online experience that is fun and informative, with the mission of empowering absolutely anybody to explore their sexuality free from stress and stigma.In this special live episode of Wild Hearts, founder of NORMAL Lucy Wark spoke with me on stage at Blackbird’s Sunrise Festival.Episode highlights from Lucy:“More than 1 in 5 searches on the internet is about sex. There’s an incredibly large organic interest in this topic.”“As a culture, we have a long history of religious and cultural ideas about sex being sinful, sex being something that should only exist inside marriage, or should only exist for the creation of children.”“It’s not like selling toilet paper or mattresses. You’re trying to help people tackle quite deep psychological stigma.”“Things like libido, desire, arousal, changes in the body, sexual dysfunction, relationship skills, and sex while ageing, sex in menopause, there is this enormous suite of challenges for which we are incredibly poorly prepared for by formal sex education.”“A brand is not a logo and colours. To build authentic brands that mean something to people, is about a lot more than just building a visual identity.”“I think having practices like therapy are incredibly helpful investments in yourself as a founder, and an operator, and just a good human being to be around, so that’s been probably the highest ROI thing I do.”

What happens when a 10-second TikTok video changes everything overnight? For Annabelle Hay, co-founder and CEO of CLUTCH, it meant selling out 5,000 units in hours, navigating a manufacturing disaster, and scrambling to scale. In this episode, Annabelle shares the rollercoaster journey of building a consumer brand from scratch, the unexpected lessons of going viral, and the challenges of breaking into retail.In this conversation, we cover:🔥 The TikTok video that went viral overnight and sold out 5,000 units 💥 The manufacturing disaster that led to exploding tubes and mass refunds 🚀 How Annabelle scaled CLUTCH from a side hustle to a retail success 🦈 The Shark Tank investor who tried to rip her off—and how she fought back🎯 The unexpected challenges of retail, from supply chain issues to hidden costs 💡 The founder-led brand strategy that resonated with millions 📈 Lessons in growth, hiring, and relinquishing control in a fast-moving startupIf you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to scale a consumer product from zero to retail shelves, this conversation with Annabelle Hay is a masterclass in resilience, adaptability, and strategic growth.

What happens when artificial intelligence isn't just assisting—but reshaping—the world of investment?In this episode of Wild Hearts, we chat with Armina Rosenberg, an investor combining traditional fundamental research with revolutionary AI-driven techniques. Armina dives into how her firm, Minotaur, leverages AI to break down barriers, uncover global opportunities, and make investment decisions at unprecedented speeds. It's not just about efficiency; it's about reshaping the way capital is allocated worldwide.In this episode, we cover:📈 How AI can remove language barriers in global investment research (03:30)🔍 Armina’s innovative strategy for identifying mispriced companies (11:45)🧠 How large language models (LLMs) transform fundamental analysis (14:10)⚖️ Managing risk and building conviction with AI analytics (23:50)🛠️ The competitive advantage of building proprietary AI software (29:30)🚀 Future AI investment trends and capturing economic value (34:20)This episode is a rare inside look at how AI is transforming the art of investing, and what it means for the future of software.

Imagine being able to understand your customers better than ever before—instantly. That’s the promise of AI-powered product management. In this episode, Matt Hinds, Co-founder and CEO of Sauce AI, explains how AI is transforming the way companies prioritise, iterate, and execute on their product roadmaps. We dive into the tools, strategies, and mindset shifts that are allowing top teams to unlock massive leverage in world of product development.In this conversation, we cover:🧠 The evolving role of product managers in an AI-powered world🚀 How Sauce AI is transforming product insights and decision-making 📉 Why some companies are eliminating PM roles – and why others are doubling down💡 How top product teams use AI to unlock customer insights 100x faster🛠️ The must-have AI tools that product managers should be using right now 🔄 The future of product iteration: instant feedback loops and automated workflows

Winning against billion-dollar incumbents isn't about money—it’s about strategy. In this episode, we talk to Steve Hind, the co-founder of Lorikeet, about how he and his team built an AI-powered customer support tool that’s not just competing but winning in one of the most crowded markets in tech. Steve shares the moment that led to their pivotal product shift, the principles guiding their success, and why they believe 2025 is the year AI will truly transform enterprise support.In this conversation, we cover:💡 The breakthrough moment that led to Lorikeet’s pivot into AI-driven customer support 🚀 How Steve and his team outperformed well-funded competitors in Silicon Valley 📈 The underestimated value of customer engagement over customer love 🎯 Why AI in customer support isn’t just about summarising FAQs—and why that matters 🛠️ The power of engineers talking to customers and building based on real needs 💰 Why Steve believes the best startups should focus on making their existing customers wildly successful ⚡ How startup founders can avoid “doom loop” hiring behaviors and build teams that win 🔮 Why 2025 will be the year of enterprise AI—and how Lorikeet is positioning itself to lead Steve Hind and his team at Lorikeet are proving that startups can outcompete legacy players—not by outspending them, but by outthinking them. This conversation is a deep dive into strategy, execution, and the mindset that leads to real impact.