Wild Hearts

Amber Joseph is rewriting the rules of learning.After scaling a solo business to $700,000/year without cofounders or funding, she pivoted to tackle online education’s biggest flaws.Now the founder of NextWork, Amber is building a platform that teaches real-world skills, validated by real companies. In our latest episode of Wild Hearts, we sit down with Amber and dive deep into:🚀 How Amber Joseph scaled a solo services business to $700,000/year with no cofounders or funding.🤔 Amber’s pivot from a solo business to a startup solving online education’s biggest challenges.🌍 The “learning loop” framework that redefines knowledge acquisition, application, and validation.🎯 Why launching imperfect products accelerates progress and drives better user outcomes.💡 How Amber built a 40,000-strong fan community in three months, and why fans turned into co-creators.🤝 Amber’s approach to embedding her team within the customer community for faster iteration and trust-building.🔑 How seamless onboarding and cultural insights are critical to NextWork’s growth.This episode isn’t just about Amber Joseph’s achievements—it’s a masterclass in turning failure into fuel and building communities that power transformational learning.

Liam Millward, the founder of Instant, shares his remarkable journey to building a company valued at over $100 million. He recounts how a pivotal rejection fueled his obsession with speed and revenue, radically shifting his focus from perfecting products to maximizing customer impact. Discover why Instant thrives without managers, embracing a flat culture that enhances autonomy and quick decision-making. Liam's insights into adaptation and real-time customer engagement reveal how even failures can lead to extraordinary successes.

In this engaging conversation, Craig Piggott, CEO and Founder of Halter, shares his vision for revolutionizing farming with smart technology. He unveils the innovative Halter app that enhances productivity and streamlines pasture management. Craig reflects on the intensity of daily leadership meetings and the role of gratitude in fostering a high-performance culture. He discusses Halter's ambitious plans for international expansion and the art of fundraising through compelling storytelling, all while maintaining a strong connection with farmers.

Ines Lizaur, a former SpaceX engineer and now Head of Manufacturing at Vow, shares her incredible journey from aerospace to sustainable food production. She discusses the high-pressure environment at SpaceX and the vital lessons in decisiveness and innovation that she learned there. Ines dives into the importance of teamwork and problem-solving both in rocket launches and cultured meat production. She also explores how to balance ambition with reliability in scaling new technologies, emphasizing a culture of ownership and customer-centric design in her current work.

Robert Kawalsky, Head of Product at Canva, dives into the secrets behind Canva's explosive growth and product strategy. He discusses the power of simplicity and user-centric design, which keeps products intuitive. Robert shares insights on maintaining product velocity while scaling, integrating generative AI, and fostering innovation through internal feedback loops. He also highlights the importance of community engagement and goal alignment in driving continuous iteration. Packed with wisdom, this conversation reveals how Canva empowers creativity across the globe.

What does it take for a startup to go from a house of brands to a healthcare powerhouse? And what changes about your leadership to get it there?This is the third time Tim Doyle, the founder of Eucalyptus, has joined us on Wild Hearts. Last episode, Tim shared his ambition to shock the business into a new level of growth. In this episode, we reflect on what’s changed at Eucalyptus over the past few years, his lessons as a CEO of a rapidly-changing company, and making good on Euc’s mission to serve 1 million patients by 2027.In this conversation, we cover: 🤔 How Eucalyptus built resilience through tough decisions around redundancies (30:00)🚀 Tim's strategy for making impact in a highly competitive industry (23:00)🌏 Why Australian startups can thrive globally (50:00)🧑‍⚕️ Tim’s reflections on trusting clinical professionals and giving up control (39:00)This episode is not just about the challenges faced by Eucalyptus; it's a deep dive into the vision of a company that's transforming healthcare and doing so in one of the most competitive markets in the world. 

✨ What does it take for a startup to go from 14,000 users to 19 million in less than a year?How about being acquired by Canva within two years of launching?In the case of Leonardo AI, the answer lies in innovation, speed, and strategic growth, as explored in this episode of Wild Hearts featuring Leonardo AI co-founder and CEO JJ Fiasson.Leonardo has transformed the world of generative AI, helping creators develop hyper-realistic art for gaming, video production, and marketing. In the words of JJ, the company ‘democratises creativity’ and makes artistic expression accessible to all.🔍 Across two conversations and many months, we will dive deep into the stories behind Leonardo AI’s unprecedented growth and acquisition, and hear first-hand what it took to reach such heights at breakneck speed.🤔 How Leonardo AI build the third-largest discord in the world.🚀 JJ’s philosophy on how to achieve a dizzying product velocity.🔥 The story behind building the first Australian-built foundational model, Phoenix.🎨 How the Canva acquisition came about.🎭 How JJ views AI in the context of human creativity.This episode is not just about the technical marvels of Leonardo AI; it's a deep dive into the vision of a company that's redefining the boundaries of imagination.

What does it take to grow from one of the first hires to leading the team at one of NZ’s fastest-growing tech startups?Welcome back to our Wild Heart Operator series!This series is dedicated to surfacing the lessons from verified world class operators, the Australians and New Zealanders at the forefront of building generational companies. From product to manufacturing, engineering to marketing, each of these conversations is a masterclass in how someone at the top of their game gets it done. The answer is a mix of leadership, strategy, and the ability to adapt and thrive in a fast-paced environment.In this episode of Wild Hearts, we’re excited to welcome Mikayla Hopkins, Head of Marketing at Tracksuit, a company empowering marketers with always-on tools that measure brand health and give them a seat at the boardroom table. Tracksuit is currently scaling globally, and Mikayla has been at the forefront of its marketing success.We’ll dive deep into Mikayla’s journey from individual contributor to team leader, sharing insights into: Tracksuit’s unique marketing philosophy What makes a high-performing marketing team The key metrics Mikayla tracks as Head of Marketing The principles and tools the team relies on daily How Mikayla reinvented herself to grow alongside the company If you're curious about scaling teams and brands, this is your episode.Listen and subscribe on Apple & Spotify for more.

What does it take to go from running a family-owned service station to being the global chair of Tesla? The answer is curiosity, courage, connections and the ability to collect as many ‘Pokemon Cards’ (skills) as possible.In this episode of Wild Hearts, we are honoured to be joined by Robyn Denholm - Global Chair of Tesla, Chair of the Tech Council of Australia, and Operating Partner here at Blackbird.We’ll dive deep into the lesser-told stories from Robyn’s career to uncover the lessons and insights from her hall-of-fame rise to become a technology titan of industry. Why does Denholm credit curiosity for driving her career? What was it like navigating the Dot-Com Bubble? How did Denholm turn not getting the CFO role at Sun into a growth opportunity?  Why does Denholm believe balancing innovation with operational discipline is a key to company success?  This episode is dedicated to Australian exceptionalism. 

Holly Cardew, Founder and CEO of Carted, talks about revolutionizing shopping by standardizing and organizing products into a shoppable knowledge graph. The podcast explores the challenges of developing Vop for TikTok, creating a multi-merchant checkout, the rise of universal commerce, and the launch of the Swirl consumer app. It also discusses the power of packaging and branding, building a business, and the pros and cons of remote work.