The High Flyers Podcast with Vidit Agarwal

Learn about the the Diplomacy & International Relations Industry, What it means to adjust to new cultures every few years, Providing value to stand out and dealing with unconscious bias Welcome to episode #71 w Michelle Wade! Here are 5 key takeaways you will learn from this episode:How being a "small fish in a large pond but aware of the ocean" provided perspective in her childhoodApplying 6 years of symphony orchestra learnings to diplomacyAdjusting to new cultures every 4 years in India, Spain, Malaysia, ItalyManaging the $45M covid relief fund for the Victorian GovernmentOpening the eyes of employers to the value of hiring foreign students***TIMESTAMPS02:08 - First women life guard 04:25 - Michelle’s sunrise: small fish in a large pond but aware of the ocean 06:02 -  Influences growing up in a small town 07:30 - Finding success at age 16 08:50 - Full circle now living in India 10:40 - Painful learning: Unconscious Bias 12:55 - Dealing with repercussions of speaking up 16:10 - Applying 6 years from music to diplomatic career 18:10 - Transition from symphony orchestra to Aus Govt posting in Milan 21:40 -  Building her diplomatic career in the first 5 years to stand out 27:10 - Adjusting to new cultures every 4 years in India, Spain, Malaysia, Italy 32:40 - The unknown human element of having a global transient career 35:55 - Opening the eyes of employers to the value of hiring foreign students 38:35 - Learnings and inspiration from the Israeli Consulate General in India 40:50 - Managing the $45M covid relief fund for the Victorian Government 44:20 - How can International students integrate into Australia and stand out 47:00 - Role of universities supporting students with practise alongside theory 51:05 - Final sprint***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 Tom Richardson, Head of Startups & SMB for APAC + Japan @ Stripe. We take you inisde: the exciting world of startups and specifically the 3 roles Tom plays, what they are, how they look in practise and his biggest learnings.Learn about how Tom joined Stripe and what his focuses are as head of startups for APAC & Japan, his biggest learning from scaling the team from 8 to 30 people in 12 months. I asked Tom how he’s gone about using his experiences at Stripe and previously in various markets to now mentor startup founders and what it looks like in practise. And the 3rd aspect of this flywheel you’ll learn about is how Angel Investing became another avenue for Tom to be of service to startups and some examples of founders he’s helped and how.Please enjoy exploring your curiosity as I did mine through this conversation!***KEY POINTS COVERED03:40 - How did Tom join Stripe? 05:25 - What does a head of startups role mean? 06:50 - Biggest learning in scaling Stripe from 8 people to 30 people 11:40 - Using his leadership and operator knowledge to mentor startup founders 14:50 - Which areas can Tom help startup founders with and how? 17:55 - What does mentoring founders look in practise? 21:00 - Mentoring is not a transaction 22:45 - How did Tom start Angel Investing? 27:30 - Balancing value add vs cheque size as an angel investor? 29:40 - How to contact Tom for mentoring / support***Find out more about Curiosity Center at www.curiositycenter.xyz Find out more about Tom Richardson at https://www.tomrichardson.info/Share your feedback or questions directly with us at vidit@curiositycenter.xyz or via Linkedin / Instagram

Welcome to episode #69 w Jaddan Comerford! Here are 5 key takeaways that I think you will learn from this episode today:How his parents inspired him to have a go which led to starting his music record label at age 17?What helped Jaddan succeed starting his own business right out of high school? Unified Music Group today has 70 employees and $20M in revenue without any external capital raised. A-Z of Unified Music Group and the support it provides artistsThe challenging economics in music and why artists earn less than 20c a stream on Spotify?How did Jaddan get started investing 4 years ago?BONUS: Jaddan mentions, “not all that glitters is gold” and ask yourself, is it an opportunity or a distraction?***TIMESTAMPS03:00 - Jaddan quick facts 03:45 - High Flyer in Jaddan’s life 04:50 - Jaddan’s sunrise: influence of family + environment 07:30 - Inspiration from his entrepreneurial parents 08:50 - Not fitting into private school 11:05 - Average marks graduating high school 11:50 - First 3 months of starting Boom Town records at age 17 14:35 - Learning how to run a startup early on 16:20 - What helped him succeed starting out at 17? 20:30 - Balance between inner belief and over confidence 24:00 - Dynamics of people in music industry: trust in relationships 27:15 - Basic introduction into Unified Music Group and operations? 30:20 - How does an artist get discovered? 32:20 - Monetisation model in Music: Do Artists earn less than 20c a stream on spotify? 36:40 - Independence vs going direct to audience and discovery 38:50 - Touring provides biggest return for artists and how it’s returning after COVID downturn 40:35 - Involvement in MODA DAO and Web3 for Music 42:45 - How did Jaddan get started investing 4 years ago? 48:00 - How has Rachael made him a better person? 49:40 - Final sprint***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 Lauren Humphrey, co-founder of The Mintable about how they are building the empowerment platform where the best people managers come to succeed; learning, community, and tools built for managers by managers and welcome to episode 5 of this curiosity series taking you inside topics, companies and industries. Please enjoy exploring your curiosity as I did mine through this conversation!***KEY POINTS COVERED02:45 - What is The Mintable? 03:15 - Problem they’re solving and co-founders based in USA & Australia 05:55 - How they turned an idea into reality to create the startup? 08:30 - How did they go about customer discovery? 11:00 - How to ensure Learning & Development is continuous and engaging, not a set and forget exercise? 13:30 - Focusing on current managers or aspiring to help them become managers? 15:15 - How to commercialise and Go-To-Market? 19:00 - Marketplace and How does The Mintable provides differentiation? 20:45 - Difference between Australia and US for Managers? 22:50 - Career paths available at The Mintable? 25:15 - Expectations of having great managers in-house 26:30 - Risks to mitigate 28:55 - COVID impact on management style***Find out more about Curiosity Center at www.curiositycenter.xyz Find out more about The Mintable at https://getmintable.com/Share your feedback or questions directly with us at vidit@curiositycenter.xyz or via Linkedin / Instagram

Welcome to episode #67 w Niki Scevak! Here are 5 key takeaways that I think you will learn from this episode today:How accessing his first internet modem in his childhood changed Niki's worldWhat is the source of his courage and ambition and seeking it in othersHow does Niki structure his week to balance thinking, meeting founders and growing Blackbird?Applying the Orchids and Dandelions concept to parenting and businessWhat prevents investors from making the first move?BONUS: Starting Blackbird Ventures in 2012: out of 500 meetings, 97 people said yes to raise $29M fund***TIMESTAMPS03:05 — Niki quick facts 04:30 - High Flyer in Niki’s life 06:45 - Niki’s family unit and growing up in Newcastle 08:25 - How the internet very early on influenced Niki 10:00 - Source of being courageous and highly ambitious 12:15 - Learnings about successful characteristics in people 14:05 - Living in New York in the early 2000’s 18:10 - How leading thinkers like Peter Thiel have shaped Niki’s mindset 22:30 - How does Niki structure his week to balance thinking, meeting founders and growing Blackbird? 26:00 - Being out of his comfort zone in last 12 months? 28:35 - Niki’s insights on his framework to taking a meeting and pitch decks 32:40 - A career is not a 10 move chess match 34:10 - Applying Orchids and Dandelions concept to parenting and Blackbird 38:30 - Managing the dynamics with Blackbird going from the new kid to now one of the big players 40:15 - The key mechanisms that scaled Blackbird 45:10 - Media first investor landscape in the USA and Australia 47:35 - Providing value add as a board member 52:15 - What prevents investors from making the first move? 56:44 - Starting blackbird in 2012: out of 500 meetings, 97 people said yes to raise $29M fund 57:20 - Final sprint***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 Peter Vranes & Hitesh Mehta, co-founders of Nutromics about how they are building the future of health monitoring to prevent chronic disease (and deaths) and welcome to episode 4 of this curiosity sseries taking you inside topics, companies and industries. Please enjoy exploring your curiosity as I did mine through this conversation!***KEY POINTS COVERED03:50 - What is Nutromics and the problem they’re solving? 05:20 - How did they turn their idea into reality? 07:00 - Creating an impact with medical devices 11:00 - How does the operation in the ecosystem work? 13:20 - Example of therapeutic drug monitoring with vancomycin 14:45 - Does Nutromics save the system money by managing outpatients vs inpatients? 17:03 - How is the dosing of Vancomycin cost effective through technology? 20:35 - Potential size of the opportunity and market 26:30 - Biggest threat to their technology 28:30 - Biggest surprise to date 30:50 - Smart watches and wearable devices***Find out more about Curiosity Center at www.curiositycenter.xyz Find out more about Nutromics at https://www.nutromics.com.au/Share your feedback or questions directly with us at vidit@curiositycenter.xyz or via Linkedin / Instagram

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