The High Flyers Podcast with Vidit Agarwal

Take flight into Minal's journey -- growing up in India,  learning ambition and owning yourself from her mother and the drive to be better from her father; and then going to Singapore to finish her last years of high school! Post high school, Minal secured a full scholar to Stanford University, which started her journey in the US and Minal’s foray into tech in the early 2000’s working at Expedia and Amazon in the early days, then doing an MBA at Harvard followed by exciting roles at the likes of LinkedIn and Youtube leading product including building YouTube for the next billion users.I also asked Minal about the creator economy, how to build a life post MBA, advice for new graduates, and hear about Take Two, the new venture Minal is building with two co-founders! TIMESTAMPS—————15:10 - Assimilate in a new culture at school: Attending a high school with 300 people per class, all Chinese with Minal being 1 of 7 scholars from India16:40 - Applying to Stanford from Singapore18:45 - Power of own voice, 2003 after dot com bust studying at Stanford24:20 - Opportunity to join Amazon in 200324:55 - Amazon first principles from Day 1 when they started in 2000’s27:15 - Learnings early on (work + India) to utilise in career28:35 - Why MBA and why Harvard30:30 - two benefits from Harvard 34:05 - building a life post Harvard38:05 - What should a graduate look for in first role post study?40:15 - optimising for Learning (whether its joining a startup or a reputable brand name)40:20 - what have you done, not where have you been42:15 - solving a problem that fits with who you are. Example of how Jeff Bezos couldn’t build Google and Larry couldn’t build Amazon44:30 - Learnings from working with Reid Hoffman and Jeff Weiner at Linkedin48:50 - the creator economy; getting best reach for your content52:40 - Thinking behind LinkedIn groups (Minal was head of product)55:20 - Minal starting TakeTwo and story behind going from corporate to entrepreneur1:01:30 - Finding co-founders, why, howEnjoy!--------I would really 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 episode & show is to inspire all us to be high flyers in any aspect of life & flip the notion of a high flyer, learning from value creators to help us all be 1% better everyday, together.

Holly's favourite quote is “Never doubt that a group of thoughtful and committed citizens can change the world, its the only thing that ever has” - Margaret MeedTake flight into Holly's journey - growing up in Perth, Australia and then around the world, her routines, learnings, perspectives and insights on a number of specifics and much much more. I must admit this is the first time in 44 episodes where I was quite nervous!Some of the insights I hope you are able to take away from this conversation include how to make the jump from a corporate job to starting own business and the importance of the first 3 months, how Holly prepares prior to interviewing the likes of Obama and Richard Branson, why nervous are selfish, hours of practise and refining her craft that’s helped Holly become an eloquent speaker and thought leader today, the beliefs of leadership and how they have evolved for Holly which culminated in Holly writing her new book, The Leading Edge - dream big, spark change and become the leader the world needs you to be.TIMESTAMPS--20:15 - starting a new business, first 3 months, 365 days of tackling fear21:00 - explore and learn, transition from corporate to own business22:20 - resetting goal post and lowering bar of success allowed Holly to succeed in new venture22:57 - Faster you can say I don’t know and ask for help - ego barrier24:29 - engagement with Branson, Obama - process25:57 - nerves are selfish, benefits of focusing on the guest and audience rather than yourself29:25 - Obama sense of self, Holly reflections from interviewing him34:29 - collating thoughts, eloquence, vocabulary38:55 - Holly creating a new role (opportunity) with Sam Walsh at Rio Tinto46:23 - leadership and how its evolved for Holly from army generals to everyone able to be one54:30 - habits and routines that’s helped Holly succeed Enjoy!--------I would really 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 episode & show is to inspire all us to be high flyers in any aspect of life & flip the notion of a high flyer, learning from value creators to help us all be 1% better everyday, together.

“The whole program culminated with an award ceremony at Buckingham Palace, and thorough the whole program I guess we were at this big point of Little Dreamers where we had to decide whether to go all in or not. The belief in myself this Queen's Young Leader Program instilled in me and the mentors I met showed me I may as well try. What's the worst that could happen, you are 24 years old -- you jump in, if you fail -- at least you tried." Take flight into Maddy's journey - If you’re looking for a person that defines Perseverance and not giving up, Maddy would absolutely be high on that list. Growing up in Melbourne, Australia in a tight knit family but seeing many challenges with her young brothers health and later her mum fighting cancer, Maddy had to figure out life quickly and also be a carer for her family. This inspired Maddy to start Little Dreamers, Australia’s leading young carer organisation supporting young people who provide unpaid care for their loved ones. I asked Maddy about how she was able to start this social enterprise and business at a very early age post University, her journey from juggling 4 jobs to now employing 48 staff and a board of advisors. Also, hear about what Maddy has done that’s perhaps separated  her from peers at the age of 28 to build this venture despite all her challenges and keep going for 12+ years! Enjoy! -------- I would really 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 episode & show is to inspire all us to be high flyers in any aspect of life & flip the notion of a high flyer, learning from value creators to help us all be 1% better everyday, together.

“That experience in Dubai taught me how to really get things done, how to facilitate business -- fantastic stories of ingenuity in terms of closing deals in two languages, Arabic and English; getting documents signed by sheiks. I once bought a printer and drove it with a laptop and set up an office, to get a document done which was going to take 6 weeks. That kind of hustle, I learnt from being in that market." Take flight into Mike's journey - upbringing in Sydney, Australia with Indian parents, with cultural nuances and a heavy influence of family. Hear about the key moments that led to Mike studying engineering and law and then going on to have a career across Construction, Law, Media, starting TimeOut media, leaving and then returning to scale it, and more recently being appointed the commissioner of the 24 night time economy affectionately known as the night time mayor of Sydney. I asked Mike to tell us about his move from Sydney to Dubai, at a time when Dubai was not the buzzing city it is today, and we also go into the networking or rather value add relationships as both Mike and I agree rather than a transaction. Mike’s mantra in life - "keep moving" Enjoy! -------- I would really 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 episode & show is to inspire all us to be high flyers in any aspect of life & flip the notion of a high flyer, learning from value creators to help us all be 1% better everyday, together.

“I've been so privileged to have role modelled to me is that introversion and kindness and sensitivity as great strengths in the world, not weakness. I've had the benefit of growing up in a household, encouraged to be more of who we really are, as opposed to fit in to the mould." Take flight into Rosie's journey - We can all probably relate to experiences growing up, whether directly or indirectly of bullying and acts that are unfair. Rosie and her sister Lucy saw this and decided not to just walk past it but actually tackle it. Hear about Rosie’s upbringing in the suburbs of Melbourne, being influenced by her family and being close with her old sister. We talk about how Rosie choose to not go to uni after high school and instead start this social enterprise called Project Rockit, back in 2006 when a movement led by young people was not often seen. Rosie talks about the expression of this journey often feeling like building a plane while flying it at the same time. Rosie’s mantra in life (inspired by the Dalai Lama) - "It’s not enough to be compassionate, you must act." Enjoy! -------- I would really 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 episode & show is to inspire all us to be high flyers in any aspect of life & flip the notion of a high flyer, learning from value creators to help us all be 1% better everyday, together.

WOW! Thank you for being on this experience to date.  A journey with this show that was born out of adversity and now hitting 40 episodes. How do you celebrate? I asked 2 of my good friends to join me for a chat! And this is a special chat with Flo, based in Melbourne & Ed, based in California in the US. Growing up in the Netherlands and moving to Australia 6 years ago to be with his girlfriend, Flo talks about the influence of his tight knit family being raised away from the big city, a trip to Norway and how that ignited a deep passion for the community, the environment and sustainable practices in design. With similar family values, Ed who grew up on the other side of the world in Geelong, in Australia shares his forming experiences including moving to Melbourne for university that allowed him to reset and start to really understand more. We also talk about: - our marathon running experience, - what we learnt from that 1 year journey, - our shared love for travel and culture, - the meaning of success in life and work, - intrinsic vs extrinsic motivators,  - Ed and Flo share insights into their field of work in industrial design and circular economy for Flo and open source mapping, startups and global adventures for Ed. Enjoy! -------- I would really 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 episode & show is to inspire all us to be high flyers in any aspect of life & flip the notion of a high flyer, learning from value creators to help us all be 1% better everyday, together.

In this special episode, we wind back the clock and share some 'magic moments' from the episodes to date, in the countdown to episode 40! There are so many to pick from so keeping in line with the theme of the show of sharing diverse global experiences in life, and not just work - tune in to hear from: 1. Gen Hawkins from episode 7: personal board of mentors for the best possible you! - The spark mentor: go to for inspiration and energy when feeling down - The strength mentor: go to for getting back on the bike, reminding you what you are good at - The serious mentor: go to when you are on cloud 9, reminds you of pitfalls - The stair master mentor: go to to be held to account, like your personal training - The seear mentor: go to who’s been there and done that - The silly mentor: laughter, connect with someone when all else fails 2. Ridley Plummer from episode 3: Behind the scenes of the Super Bowl - enhancing the consumer experience in the stadium and at home - Activations with Budweiser in Toronto and New York - ice hockey and NFL 3. Ben Kende from episode 9: Life changing injury playing rugby that changed in life in a matter of seconds, how he came out the other side, his perspective now and the journey to get here 4. Ben Jesse from episode 4: Global sporting experiences Ben’s worked all around the world, in Australia, Europe and Asia in various commercial ventures in the sporting landscape. He’s also worked in 4 of Australia’s biggest sporting codes which is rare - Here he shares his experiences in each, starting with AFL, then cricket, then tennis and working with brands from China and India 5. Rob Hango Zada from episode 19: Leap of faith to co-found Shippit, one of Australia's biggest success stories - transitioning from corporate career to entrepreneurial venture - dealing with personal matters such as family and finances - building a logistics solution for e-commerce Enjoy! -------- I would really 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 episode & show is to inspire all us to be high flyers in any aspect of life & flip the notion of a high flyer, learning from value creators to help us all be 1% better everyday, together.

  “A thousand people in the room, the music is on....I walk off the stage after introducing his name and he doesn't come out. This gave me the opportunity to go out and fill and test myself for 45 mins to train a thousand people...to hold a room. This was a pivotal moment to give me confidence, to belong in that world and get over the imposter syndrome." Take flight into Ryan's journey - humble upbringing in the UK with his mum being a cleaner and dad a factory worker. Starting off with his desire to be a footballer and then how seeing his dad have cancer made Ryan want to do more with his life. We talk about his introvertness, the 60 second legacy - what do people think of you 60 seconds after you meet then, how seeing a fortune teller led Ryan to pack up and move to Australia, failures, and how a job he hated turned into the best learning and led to him founding SWISH which eventually secured funding on the infamous show, Shark Tank and Ryan’s mantra in life - go to bed more educated than you woke up! Enjoy! -------- I would really 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 episode & show is to inspire all us to be high flyers in any aspect of life & flip the notion of a high flyer, learning from value creators to help us all be 1% better everyday, together.  

“When we got to 4 shelters, was probably when people stopped saying that your model is never going to work...when we opened it, the wonderful manager rang me and said we've just taken in our first resident, it's a 17 year old women with a 6 month baby leaving terrible domestic violence. That was a full circle moment because this person could not have got in anywhere else." Take flight into Annabelle's journey - curious nature growing up despite her parents splitting very early with a roster of ideas and interests she explored. Hear about how the passion for social justice and equality originated through some trial and error, her expansive family being close with her grandparents and now children. We go in depth as Annabelle talks about leaving her secure job to join what was then a NGO start up that she now leads as CEO helping women and kids feel safe, find shelter and build a life and hear about the the role we can all play as a community to support the efforts. Enjoy! -------- I would really 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 episode & show is to inspire all us to be high flyers in any aspect of life & flip the notion of a high flyer, learning from value creators to help us all be 1% better everyday, together.

“I learnt so much from talking to young aboriginal people about their vision for Australia and their own communities. That flies in the face of the negative discourse we are fed…all these negatives about young aboriginal people and that is absolutely not the case.” Take flight into Holly's journey - Growing up in Sydney, Australia with socially conscious parents driven to do good with a big influence of music, scholars and authors in her living room! Holly is widely regarded as having a deep and broad understanding of integral progress (and challenges) in spaces including Child rights, Aboriginal freedom and Human rights to play and work. Holly shares her learnings and experiences in Australia and overseas, including her experiences working with UNICEF in Fiji, spending time in Japan as a cabaret lead singer and her first hand insights about the potential for young Aboriginals, the positivity they show and the book Holly is currently writing for release soon.  Enjoy! -------- I would really 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 episode & show is to inspire all us to be high flyers in any aspect of life & flip the notion of a high flyer, learning from value creators to help us all be 1% better everyday, together.