The High Flyers Podcast with Vidit Agarwal
Vidit Agarwal
The High Flyers Podcast is a global top 10% ranked show, launched in 2020.
Hosted by Vidit Agarwal, our 200+ episodes to date go beyond headlines and fluff to unpack the real journeys behind influential leaders and companies — from their earliest beginnings to the decisions, failures and inflection points that shaped how they think, lead and build.
Listeners often describe the show as “meticulously researched” and say “I learnt more about the guest from this episode, even after knowing them for 10+ years.”
We're proud that more than 60% of our 200+ guests have trusted us for their first-ever public interview — or to go in-depth on their personal story for the first time. These include:
➝ Malcolm Turnbull: Prime Minister of Australia
➝ Jean-Michel Limieux: CTO, Shopify and Atlassian
➝ Jason Collins: Head of BlackRock (Asia Pacific)
➝ Brad Banducci: CEO, Woolworths
➝ Anil Sabharwal: Global VP Product, Google (Built Google Photos)
➝ Elena Verna: Head of Growth, Lovable
➝ Stevie Case: Chief Revenue Officer, Vanta
➝ John Haddock: Chief Business Officer, Harvey
➝ Michael Schneider: CEO, Bunnings
➝ Andrew Penn: CEO, Telstra
➝ Mark Suster: Partner, Upfront Ventures
➝ Bowen Pan: Creator, Facebook Marketplace
➝ Craig Tiley: CEO, Tennis Australia
➝ Peter Varghese: "One of Australia’s most influential architects of foreign policy"
➝ Ben Thompson: Co-Founder & CEO, Employment Hero
➝ Sweta Mehra: Executive GM, NAB; Ex CMO, ANZ Bank
➝ Niki Scevak, Partner, Blackbird
➝ Paul Bassat: Partner, Square Peg
➝ Trent Cotchin: 3x Premiership Winning Captain, Richmond FC
➝ Jack Zhang: Co-Founder & CEO, Airwallex
➝ Holly Kramer: Board Director, Woolworths & ANZ
➝ Sam Sicilia: Chief Investment Officer, Hostplus
➝ Ahmed Fahour: CEO, Citi, NAB & Australia Post
➝ Andrey Khusid: CEO & Co-Founder, Miro
➝ Bill Bartee: Co-Founder Blackbird + Main Sequence
➝ Rod Hamilton: Chief Product Officer, Culture Amp
➝ Brendan Hargreaves: CFO, Officeworks
➝ Simon Baume: COO, Eucalyptus
➝ Osher Gunsberg: Renowned TV personality
➝ Lisa Sthalekar: 4x Cricket World Cup Winner and ICC Hall of Fame Member
Contact us via:
Email: contact@curiositycentre.com
Website: https://highflyerspodcast.com
X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/vidags10
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/viditag/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thehighflyerspodcast/
Hosted by Vidit Agarwal, our 200+ episodes to date go beyond headlines and fluff to unpack the real journeys behind influential leaders and companies — from their earliest beginnings to the decisions, failures and inflection points that shaped how they think, lead and build.
Listeners often describe the show as “meticulously researched” and say “I learnt more about the guest from this episode, even after knowing them for 10+ years.”
We're proud that more than 60% of our 200+ guests have trusted us for their first-ever public interview — or to go in-depth on their personal story for the first time. These include:
➝ Malcolm Turnbull: Prime Minister of Australia
➝ Jean-Michel Limieux: CTO, Shopify and Atlassian
➝ Jason Collins: Head of BlackRock (Asia Pacific)
➝ Brad Banducci: CEO, Woolworths
➝ Anil Sabharwal: Global VP Product, Google (Built Google Photos)
➝ Elena Verna: Head of Growth, Lovable
➝ Stevie Case: Chief Revenue Officer, Vanta
➝ John Haddock: Chief Business Officer, Harvey
➝ Michael Schneider: CEO, Bunnings
➝ Andrew Penn: CEO, Telstra
➝ Mark Suster: Partner, Upfront Ventures
➝ Bowen Pan: Creator, Facebook Marketplace
➝ Craig Tiley: CEO, Tennis Australia
➝ Peter Varghese: "One of Australia’s most influential architects of foreign policy"
➝ Ben Thompson: Co-Founder & CEO, Employment Hero
➝ Sweta Mehra: Executive GM, NAB; Ex CMO, ANZ Bank
➝ Niki Scevak, Partner, Blackbird
➝ Paul Bassat: Partner, Square Peg
➝ Trent Cotchin: 3x Premiership Winning Captain, Richmond FC
➝ Jack Zhang: Co-Founder & CEO, Airwallex
➝ Holly Kramer: Board Director, Woolworths & ANZ
➝ Sam Sicilia: Chief Investment Officer, Hostplus
➝ Ahmed Fahour: CEO, Citi, NAB & Australia Post
➝ Andrey Khusid: CEO & Co-Founder, Miro
➝ Bill Bartee: Co-Founder Blackbird + Main Sequence
➝ Rod Hamilton: Chief Product Officer, Culture Amp
➝ Brendan Hargreaves: CFO, Officeworks
➝ Simon Baume: COO, Eucalyptus
➝ Osher Gunsberg: Renowned TV personality
➝ Lisa Sthalekar: 4x Cricket World Cup Winner and ICC Hall of Fame Member
Contact us via:
Email: contact@curiositycentre.com
Website: https://highflyerspodcast.com
X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/vidags10
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/viditag/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thehighflyerspodcast/
Episodes
Mentioned books
Jan 31, 2023 • 1h 9min
#118 Anil Sabharwal (Rare Public Interview): Indian, Canadian & Aussie connection + Building THREE of Google's nine Billion user products!
In this epsiode #118 w Anil Sabharwal learn about:Sunrise in Canada with Indian rootsReflections on his early influences and leaving home at age 17Highlights / Learnings from 10-15 year career prior to joining GoogleMoving to Australia in 2006Achieving momentum in early days at GoogleUnlocking skills working across new markets, segments and industries in building billion user products and becoming globally recognised product leaderBuilding Google Photos into a billion user productLeadership responsibility across product, design and engineeringPromotion to managing Google Chrome, ChromeOS and CommunicationsProduct DNA differences between Photos and ChromeTransition from Chrome to a blank canvas and prioritising valuesWhy is the product function king (or queen) at Google? Key metrics to monitor in your product function Make a few people very happy vs a lot of people semi happy Success at 50 It’s now time to explore your curiosity. Please enjoy!***Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or TwitterContact us via our website or email Vidit directly at vidit@curiositycenter.xyz to discuss sponsorship opportunities, recommend future guests or share feedback, we love hearing how to improve! Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on iTunes and Spotify, it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show!
Jan 24, 2023 • 41min
Investment memo: How Startmate & Airtree are building the next gen of angel investors, explorers vs first believers + a special announcement!
We're joined by Ben Simai, the program led for Startmate’s first believers and Jess Walker, the program lead for Airtree’s explorers in their first joint appearance for this episode #117 and installment #22 of the special Curiosity series. Explore your curiosity about:Quick intro on Ben and Jess and how they made they way into startups and investingWhat is an Angel Investor?Surprises about the entry points of angel investors? Helping new angels overcome imposter syndrome? What differentiates Explorers vs first believers program? Pros and Cons of new vs experienced angels Syndicates for non sophisticated investors Why does startmate charge and Airtree is a free program? Secret to earning trust with founders Current economic climatePlease enjoy! ***Find out more about Curiosity Center, including events, angel investment and 110+ podcast episodes at www.curiositycenter.xyz Find out more about Startmate's first believers program at https://www.startmate.com/first-believersFind out more about Airtree's Explorers program at https://www.airtree.vc/explorer-programShare your feedback and discuss sponsorship opportunities with us by directly emailing vidit@curiositycenter.xyz or at https://www.curiositycenter.xyz/contact-usFollow the show on Linkedin / Instagram / Twitter
Jan 17, 2023 • 39min
Investment memo: ":Different", The power duo's quest from holiday idea to re-thinking property mgmt using learnings as early hire at Uber & more!
We're joined by Co-Founders and Co-Ceo’s of Different, Mina Radhakrishnan and Ruwin Perera in their first joint appearance on a podcast for this episode #116 and installment #21 of the special Curiosity series. Explore your curiosity about:Mina and Ruwin growing up 200km's away from each other in Zambia without knowing itHow they met in San Fransisco many years laterLearnings from Uber, Google, Softbank, MBA and moreHow Mina & Ruwin settled on different as their startup idea when they were travelling in 2016“Property Management as a service for real estate agencies” - what was the problem different could solve in 2017? When did they know that Different could be a big businessBusiness model working with property agenciesBiggest misconception about DifferentHaving a team across Sri Lanka and Australia Managing disagreements as founders (and life partners)Please enjoy! ***Find out more about Curiosity Center, including events, angel investment and 110+ podcast episodes at www.curiositycenter.xyz Find out more about Different at https://different.com.au/Share your feedback and discuss sponsorship opportunities with us by directly emailing vidit@curiositycenter.xyzFollow the show on Linkedin / Instagram / Twitter
Jan 8, 2023 • 42min
#115 The hungry not the proven, LIVE at the Sunrise festival ft. Niki Scevak, Blackbird VC & Vince Allen, SunDrive
In this special (live) episode #115 w Niki Scevak and Vince Allen, learn about:Source of Niki’s ambitionVince’s first meeting with NikiDynamic of a university student as Vince was (Phd I might add) and Niki being more experienced in his careerHow they’ve helped each other in unexpected ways given the founder/investor relationship is built on a commercial agreement but is very personalNiki and Vince’s global cultural influences Vince unpacks exactly how Australia can be the global leader in solar energyTwitter memes The two shits (Yes, you read hat right)It’s now time to explore your curiosity. Please enjoy!***Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or TwitterEnjoy all episodes via our website and find out all about the Curiosity Center hereEmail the host Vidit Agarwal directly at vidit@curiositycenter.xyz to discuss sponsorship opportunities, recommend future guests or share feedback. He reads every email. Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on iTunes and Spotify, it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show!
Dec 13, 2022 • 1h 3min
#114 Marcus Thompson: Rising up to Major General in the Australian Army, Suprises about deployment in Afghanistan & Iraq + setting up the Information Warfare division
Last week, we learnt this show ranked in the top 10% most shared podcasts by Spotify globally for 2022, all thanks to you!In this final episode of the year, #114 w Marcus Thompson, learn about:sunrise in Timboom, Country VICMum’s influence to have self confidence and belief - “you must be proud of yourself”How army interest began? Wanted to be an engineerAt its very core, the army is a training organisation17 moves in 34 years in the armyBehind the scenes of being deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq etc: how did he get picked, training and moreReality vs perception of missions to AfghanistanWeek in the life on deploymentBecoming inaugural head of Information Warfare @ ADFRating Australia’s cyber defence capabilitiesProtecting ourselves using Multi factor authenticationIt’s now time to explore your curiosity. Please enjoy!***Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or TwitterContact us via our website or email Vidit directly at vidit@curiositycenter.xyz to discuss sponsorship opportunities, recommend future guests or share feedback, we love hearing how to improve! Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on iTunes and Spotify, it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show!
Dec 8, 2022 • 1h 5min
#113 Daniel Petre: Insecurities, reporting to Bill Gates, founding Airtree VC, realities of philantrophy
In this episode #113 w Daniel Petre, learn about:sunrise in Sydney and immigrant parents from Romania being sent to Australia after World war 2reflections on childhood not being the happiest and looking for a sense of belongingsuccess at age 18: be a fighter pilot in the Air Force, don’t make it from last 35 applicantspsychology being a path Daniel would explore if he was 18 againJoining Microsoft when it wasn’t a household name and rising to one of 5 global VP's under Bill GatesDoes he feel successful after time at Microsoft?How birth of first daughter and death of sister re-prioritised life focusCreating a culture of truth seeking as a leader at Airtree VenturesLearnings from Bill Bartee (co-founder of Blackbird + Main Sequence)How Australia can be a philanthropic nationIt’s now time to explore your curiosity. Please enjoy!***Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or TwitterContact us via our website or email Vidit directly at vidit@curiositycenter.xyz to discuss sponsorship opportunities, recommend future guests or share feedback, we love hearing how to improve! Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on iTunes and Spotify, it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show!
Nov 22, 2022 • 32min
Investment memo: "Smileyscope", VR & AR therapeutics focused on managing pain and anxiety for kids and adults
Today, we're joined by with Dr Evelyn Chan, the co-founder and CEO of Smileyscope, a leading technology company bringing virtual and augmented reality therapeutics focused on managing pain and anxiety for kids and adults, in Australia, the US and beyond.Explore your curiosity about:Evelyn’s story from working in her dad’s pharmacy growing upHer time within paediatrics at leading hospitalsHow being exposed to a VR company working on a side project whilst at the consulting firm, BCG eventually led to the creation of Smileyscope.How she met her co-founder Paul, early years of founding the business, debunking perceptions about hardware and VR and scaling the customer relationship with hospitalsThe total addressable market being kids AND adultsHow Smileyscope could lead the non drug based pain relief movementExciting new open jobs as part of their expansion into the US!Vidit Agarwal is a proud investor in Smileyscope through his syndicate FB10x AdVentures. Please enjoy! ***Find out more about Curiosity Center, including events, angel investment and 110+ podcast episodes at www.curiositycenter.xyz Find out more about Smileyscope at https://www.smileyscope.com.au/Share your feedback and discuss sponsorship opportunities with us by directly emailing vidit@curiositycenter.xyzFollow the show on Linkedin / Instagram / Twitter
Nov 15, 2022 • 60min
Laura Henshaw: Parents seperation early, importance of financial independence, building the multi-faceted KIC business, social media following & more!
In this episode #111 w Laura Henshaw, learn about:sunrise in Melbourne, Australia w 2 younger sisters and the effects of seeing her parents seperate when she was 11the guiding light her mum has been from the early days importance of female financial independence especially post birthChips on shoulder and comparison being the thief of joycreating the Keep it cleaner business affectionately called KIC with her friend Steph Claire Smithhow it’s become multi faceted with a health & wellness app, grocery products and a movement amongst females with a large social media following.Building a technology app with no tech experience priorCo-founder dynamics and growing as a CEObeing an entrepreneur rather than an influencerhow she manages her social media activity and being there for her first believers. It’s now time to explore your curiosity. Please enjoy!***Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or TwitterContact us via our website or email Vidit directly at vidit@curiositycenter.xyz to discuss sponsorship opportunities, recommend future guests or share feedback, we love hearing how to improve! Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on iTunes and Spotify, it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show!
Nov 2, 2022 • 1h 2min
Will Richardson: Mixed race family, making career & life changes, real founding story of Giant Leap & abundance mindset!
In this episode #110 w Will Richardson, learn about:sunrise in Melbourne, Australia with an asian mum and white Australian dadwhat it means to be of mixed racewhat is private equity given his 7 year stint + what made him step away in 2013importance of asking yourself “what makes you come alive” to make life and career decisionstransition to venture capital and impact investingreal founding story of Giant Leap in 2016 whilst also having his first childThe reality of capital raising and building relationships with no prior connectionsBlue sky thinking vs in the weedsLife changing moments through a believer or attending an eventIt’s now time to explore your curiosity. Please enjoy!***Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or TwitterContact us via our website or email Vidit directly at vidit@curiositycenter.xyz to discuss sponsorship opportunities, recommend future guests or share feedback, we love hearing how to improve! Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on iTunes and Spotify, it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show!
Oct 24, 2022 • 60min
Terence Jeyaretnam: Sri Lanka civil war & refugee status, building one of the first B corps in Australia & acquisition by EY; solving climate change, diversity & inclusion
In this episode #109 w Terence Jeyaretnam, learn about:sunrise in Sri Lanka with dad, a veterinary doctor and mum a teachermemories of seeing Sri Lanka goes through a brutal civil war which resulted in his family moving to Perth, Australia on refugee statusstudying in the first cohort of an environmental engineering degree at Universityinside the founding story of Net Balance in 2005growing Net Balance to Australia's largest standalone sustainability and climate change practice, rated one of the fastest 100 growth companies in Australia and one of the first B Corps in Australia.personal sacrifices as founder / CEO concept of social dollars and building a purpose led organisationhow Net Balance was acquired by the big 4 firm, Ernst & Youngcontinuing to making sustainability a mainstream corporate agenda how we can continue to collective solve climate change, Diversity and inclusionIt’s now time to explore your curiosity. Please enjoy!***Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or TwitterContact us via our website or email Vidit directly at vidit@curiositycenter.xyz to discuss sponsorship opportunities, recommend future guests or share feedback, we love hearing how to improve! Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on iTunes and Spotify, it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show!
