The High Flyers Podcast with Vidit Agarwal

Welcome to episode #65 with Prisca Ongonga-Daehn! Here are 5 key takeaways that I think you will learn from this episode today:How growing up in Kenya inspired her drive for fairness, accountability and helping othersExperiences living in Africa, Asia, and AustraliaHow Prisca first connected with sustainabilityFirst steps to building Baresop and participating in startup acceleratorsExploring crowdfunding to be people and community first***TIMESTAMPS02:30 - Quick facts about Prisca 03:10 - High Flyer in Prisca’s life 04:00 - Prisca’s sunrise in Kenya 06:30 - Influence of family 08:45 - Living in Africa, Asia, and Australia 10:10 - Seeking independent success in life 12:00 - Why journalism 15:00 - First trip overseas to feature Zimbabwe 16:40 - Most difficult cultural transition 18:30 - First connection with sustainability 23:00 - First steps to building Baresop 30:00 - How did they create products and launch? 33:05 - Benefits of participating in startup accelerators 35:10 - Raising capital through crowdfunding 37:10 - Final sprint***Subscribe to the Curiosity Center newsletter for articles directly in your inbox!Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on iTunes and Spotify, as it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show and grow the show with sponsors and partners. Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter for more!This show showcases relatable role models, re-imagining a high flyer to help you achieve your potential and be 1% better everyday!Contact Vidit at vidit@curiositycenter.xyz

Hear from John Carroll, co-founder at Vexev: Imaging, reimagined in the fight against vascular disease and welcome to episode 3 of this new segment taking you inside topics, companies and industries. Please enjoy exploring your curiosity as I did mine through this conversation!***KEY POINTS COVERED03:45 - What does Vexev do? 06:10 - What is vascular disease and how it can affect you? 07:45 - How did John & Eamon get validation their solution can become into a business? 11:45 - How do you the medical ecosystem work to build support, find patients, build data points? 14:25 - What is the patient journey by using vexev’ product? 16:40 - How does the distribution model work to get it in the hands of patients? 19:05 - How they raised investment being new to the business world 22:50 - Transition from Phd researcher to operating a business 24:55 - Roles they are hiring for and how you can have a career in MedTech! 27:00 - Utilising the circa $10M capital for next stage 28:30 - Does the vexev tech replace the job of a vascular sonographer? 30:00 - Risks for heart attacks and strokes in our population?***Find out more about Curiosity Center at www.curiositycenter.xyz Share your feedback or questions directly with Vidit at vidit@curiositycenter.xyz or via Linkedin / Instagram

Welcome to episode #63 with Hunter Johnson! Here are 5 key takeaways that I think you will learn from this episode today:How rebelling against family values and society growing up shaped his character to do good At age 21, having his dream to play professional sport crushed through injury: How he carved out a path to re-create a new lifeHow he's built has the Man Cave brand to become attractive to the likes of Prince Harry, the United Nations and more partnering What led to creating the personal care brand for men, STUFF when he saw there was no brand focused for menThree non negotiables in the school he wants to design today***TIMESTAMPS01:30 - Intro 03:10 - Hunter fun facts 05:25 - High flyer that deserves the recognition 07:00 - Sunrise and early influences 09:25 - Heroes growing up 10:30 - 27 detentions in high school 13:50 - Dealing with 6+ operations and giving up Rugby dream at 21 17:15 - Connecting with community he inherited with his awareness now 20:00 - how to design a school today 22:20 - most painful learning 26:10 - “We trade authenticity for attachment” 30:50 - How to build a trust first relationship with schools 32:50 - Investing in experiences and career paths at Man Cave 36:10 - Fail fast and learn to become better 38:00 - Advice he gives but finds hard to follow 38:30 - Biggest surprise about working with Prince Harry 41:35 - How has the Man Cave brand become attractive 45:30 - What led to creating the personal care brand for men, STUFF 51:00 - Balancing energy, not time as Man Cave and STUFF grow 54:30 - Increasing your surface area for luck to strike 56:00 - Final Sprint***Subscribe to the Curiosity Center newsletter for articles directly in your inbox!Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on iTunes and Spotify, as it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show and grow the show with sponsors and partners. Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter for more!This show showcases relatable role models, re-imagining a high flyer to help you achieve your potential and be 1% better everyday!Contact Vidit at vidit@curiositycenter.xyz

Hear from Mainak Dhar, Best selling author and leader of India & South Asia at Kimberly Clark; and welcome to episode 2 of Curiosity Center.Please enjoy exploring your curiosity as I did mine through this conversation!***KEY POINTS COVERED04:05 - What does Mainak do? 05:40 - What led to writing his 26th book, “leadership in 100 words” 08:30 - How to get better at writing and Mainak’s learnings 11:40 - Should we write the way we talk? 13:55 - Systems and habits for great writing 16:50 - Editing and improving your story 19:15 - How has writing made Mainak a better leader at work 23:00 - What is leadership? 26:30 - How can you be a leader? 28:50 - How’s leadership evolved in India over the last 2 years? 32:10 - How can you build a great mentor relationship? 35:00 - How to buy ‘Leadership in 100 words’ bookIndia:https://www.amazon.in/Leadership-100-Words-Complex-Challenges/dp/9354355501/Kindle version outside India:https://www.amazon.com/Leadership-100-Words-Complex-Challenges-ebook/dp/B09PTBWB18/***Find out more about Curiosity Center at www.curiositycenter.xyz Contact, Vidit at vidit@curiositycenter.xyz or via Linkedin 

Welcome to episode #61 with Steve Solomon! Here are 5 key takeaways that I think you will learn from this episode today:Steve's advice to parents with kids showing athletic potential (context: Steve didn't consider Athletics seriously till ageCritical learning from not qualifying for the 2016 Olympics by 4/100th of a second that's now made him a better athleteWhy sport is the perfect vehicle to find yourself and developDealing with negative thoughts: Steve breaks down the psychology behind managing the lizard brain pre and during racesHow to Become your best self and why we should all have Olympic like goals. ***TIMESTAMPS03:42 - Steve’s quick facts 05:35 - High Flyer recognition 07:20 - Sunrise memories in Sydney 08:05 - Spark to follow Athletics 11:20 - Didn’t consider sport seriously 12:50 - Advice to kids with potential in sport 14:15 - posters on the wall growing up 15:50 - Wallabies v Springbooks in Rugby 16:20 - Success in professional sport 17:44 - Learning from missing out on Olympics by 4/100th of a second 21:40 - How to manage negative thoughts 29:15 - Systems and habits in the days before competition 33:00 - Periodising through the year: How he used the time between waking up and going to bed 35:25 - Difference in athletics between US and Australia 39:45 - Being the underdog in Australia 41:20 - stay amateur for as long as possible 46:40 - How the legendary survive the test of time 50:20 - The process, the first 5k and you get better at managing, not the task getting easier 54:20 - Sport being the vehicle for finding yourself 58:45 - final sprint***Subscribe to the Curiosity Center newsletter for articles directly in your inbox!Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on iTunes and Spotify, as it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show and grow the show with sponsors and partners. Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter for more!This show showcases relatable role models, re-imagining a high flyer to help you achieve your potential and be 1% better everyday!Contact Vidit at vidit@curiositycenter.xyz

Please do consider supporting the show with a rating and review on your Apple Podcasts or Spotify app so we can continue to have brilliant guests join us.Article 2 of my curiosity centre newsletter is live! I wrote about the power of play, and who can solve more problems: MBA’s, engineers or kids? Read here: https://vidags10.substack.com/p/the-power-of-play***Welcome to episode #60 with Josh Ismin! Here are 5 key takeaways that I think you will learn from this episode today:1. Reflections on growing up in New York and now living in sydney, how the cultures compare and what the US was like in the early 2000’s2. How Josh figured out what to do in his early career, specifically I asked him reflections about his first 3 years3. His most painful learning when he started own company in online video: meteoric rise and then industry changed, pivoted from sales led to a tech company, business partner had mental health issues and more4. How and why Josh and his wife decided to create a new last name when they married?5. How Josh became an angel investor and recently started Psylo, a biotech company exploring future medication based on the blueprint traditional first gen psychedelic molecules6. And a bonus, hear Josh educate us about the types of psychedelics and why we as a society may have the wrong thinking on this topic***TIMESTAMPS—————03:15 - Quick facts 05:30 - High flyer 06:40 - Sunrise, growing up in New York 09:10 - Learnings from New York 10:45 - Biggest influences 12:25 - Big tennis fan 15:10 - Success meant computer programmer and founder 17:30 - benefits of being in the US in the 2000’s 20:50 - early career learnings in fast growth and new countries 26:15 - Very painful learning 30:10 - Importance of failure, honesty and reflection 32:50 - Creating a last name with his wife 38:00 - Becoming an angel investor 44:08 - common advice he disagrees with 46:15 - Aha moment to start Psylo 49:35 - False connotations about psychedelics 52:00 - product psylo is building and application 55:00 - final sprint***Subscribe to the Curiosity Center newsletter for articles directly in your inbox!Always appreciate if you can help by rating this podcast on iTunes, as it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show.Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter for more!This show showcases relatable role models, re-imagining a high flyer to help you achieve your potential and be 1% better everyday!Contact Vidit at vidit@curiositycenter.xyz

Hear from Tyson Day, co-founder of Arrive & Thrive and welcome to episode 1 of Curiosity Center.Arrive & Thrive is a career education social enterprise, helping students set and achieve career goals with school based workshops, coaching and facilitation. Tyson and his team have worked with 53 schools and supported 12,000 students with their 12 programs.Today, you’ll learn about how this business started, how they found schools as their key market, the economics of building an education first business, who are the other plays that inspire Tyson and how COVID has changed the landscape for learning providers like Arrive and Thrive. Please enjoy exploring your curiosity as I did mine through this conversation!***KEY POINTS COVERED1. How did Arrive & Thrive start2. First 3-6 months: How did the idea become reality3. Starting a business to solve a problem first, rather than generate revenue first4. Finding your target customer5. Discovery conversations to understand marketplace6. How to create a career or startup in education7. Developing your skills  to become an educational facilitator8. Mentor vs coach9. What is your Identity capital?10. Economics of building a facilitation and coaching business11. Should you initially offer a free or paid service?12. How do you distribute programs and build reach?13. Who are the other players in the space that inspire Tyson’s work?14. What’s surprised Tyson the most about building Arrive & Thrive?15. How has education changed in the last 2 years due to COVID?***Find out more about Curiosity Center at www.curiositycenter.xyz Contact, Vidit at vidit@curiositycenter.xyz or via Linkedin 

Inspiring and raw conversation with Michelle Hu, founder of founder of Etoile Collective, online beauty accessories store with operations in Melbourne and recently New York.Hear Michelle share her sunrise with immigrant parents moving to Australia from China, and instilling the importance of working and studying hard. You will hear Michelle talk about how seeing her parents not have much inspire her to make the most of her opportunities and recently she was able to buy her parents a house, which is very inspiring.This show just last week ranked #16 (!!!!) in Australia in the careers category. I am still lost for words but a massive thank you to you for listening to the episodes, supporting the show and please continue to share your feedback by messaging us on Instagram or contact me directly on LinkedIn. ***TIMESTAMPS—————03:05 - Quick facts 03:48 - Sunrise 05:14 - Learning photoshop and marketing from games 06:40 - significance of parents bravery 08:06 - Secret that helped Michelle start her business, Etoile 09:14 - heroes growing up 10:05 - Parents work 10:35 - Buying house for parents 11:15 - success at 16 12:30 - reflections working in finance over law 14:00 - career pathways outside the traditional industries 16:12 - how to receive a yes to a cold message 20:35 - painful learning about mental wellbeing 21:40 - How to build a side hustle whilst working full time 23:50 - Turning idea into reality to start Etoile with no direct experience 26:15 - Learning revenue and inventory management 28:50 - Bootstrapping the business 32:30 - Moving to New York 34:45 - Differences between New York and Melbourne 36:01 - Daily Mail article 38:15 - social media vs physical marketing 40:50 - Discoverability on TikTok 41:50 - Podcast marketing tips 43:44 - final sprint***Read about our recently launched Curiosity Center business and subscribe to the newsletter for articles directly in your inbox!Always appreciate if you can help by rating this podcast on iTunes, as it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show.Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter for more!This show showcases relatable role models, re-imagining a high flyer to help you achieve your potential and be 1% better everyday!

Knowledge packed episode with the one and only Michael Batko! Batko was born in Vienna, Austria to polish parents and had quite a humble sunrise. His explorer love took him to Australia, where he’s been for the past 7 years in Sydney or Melbourne. A number of people I spoke to in the lead up to his recording spoke to Batko’s drive for excellence, his habits and routines and being a very reliable friend and colleague, hear about the secrets that have helped him become this person (worth noting, we can all do it, if we want to).I learn something every time we speak so please do enjoy and let me know your thoughts! ***TIMESTAMPS—————02:45 - Quick facts about Michael 03:40 - Re-imagining a high flyer 04:35 - Michael’s sunrise 06:00 - key influences 07:15 - Europe vs Australia attitude to life 08:44 - Heroes growing up 09:30 - Success in life at age 16 10:05 - Creating an impact on the world 10:50 - drive for excellence 11:36 - Brain use to process data, not store it 13:07 - Doing something new every week 14:01 - being lost in 2018 19:15 - painful learning 21:00 - 1%ers in last 2 years 23:25 - energy maintenance 24:50 - working with opposite personality 26:40 - great community building 30:20 - How does a startup accelerator make money? + Who does start mate help: 1) Work in a startup, 2) Found a startup, (3) Investors36:05  - Productive relationships w 1000’s of people 39:15 - Turning idea into reality 41:00 - Setting goals for new year 44:05 - Founder to know 45:15 - Final sprint***Read about our recently launched Curiosity Center business and subscribe to the newsletter for articles directly in your inbox!Always appreciate if you can help by rating this podcast on iTunes, as it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show.Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter for more!This show showcases relatable role models, re-imagining a high flyer to help you achieve your potential and be 1% better everyday! 

You only need to google Ed Cowan to find out about his accomplishments on the sporting field, transitioning to becoming an investor at TDM Growth Partners which meant working with his older brother, Tom + founding Tripod Coffee and hosting his own podcast! This is a candid, self reflective and inside the mind of the former Australian Cricket player — his journey to that goal, only playing cricket from age 13, that too with his brothers and dad, waking up at 5am to train and juggle study and work. We cover much more: see timestamps below for specifics. Without a doubt, one of the top 5 episodes of the show so far so please do enjoy!***TIMESTAMPS—————03:30 - Quick facts about Ed 07:50 - High Flyer 09:47 - Ed’s sunrise growing up in Sydney 13:35 - Focus on education and learning business in additional to sport from day 1 15:28 - Learning cricket in the backyard with family at only age 13 17:40 - heroes growing up 18:50 - Success in life at age 18 20:15 - dedication to cricket at young age 21:36 - Working to be the best cricketer he could be + studying and working 24:00 - Combination of hard work and talent 24:51 - painful learning 26:15 - Dealing with being dropped from Australian cricket team 28:40 - first 3 months of dealing with public failure 32:30 - favourite 6 or 12 month period 34:10 - seeing superstar athletes and learning their 1% habits 37:00 - the cake recipe 38:30 - Athletes that inspire Ed today 40:00 - Athlete transition out of sport 43:40 - Publishing ‘In the firing line’ Ed’s cricket journal - available on amazon! 46:00 - Founding Tripod coffee 49:00 - satisfaction with a physical product vs a software 50:10 - conviction in the All Birds business 53:35 - final sprint!***Read about our recently launched Curiosity Center business and subscribe to the newsletter for articles directly in your inbox!Always appreciate if you can help by rating this podcast on iTunes, as it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show.Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter for more!This show showcases relatable role models, re-imagining a high flyer to help you achieve your potential and be 1% better everyday!