The High Flyers Podcast with Vidit Agarwal

We're joined by Sam Sicilia in a very rare public interview appearance. Sam is the Chief Investment Officer for the multi-billion dollar superannuation Fund (Retirement savings) Hostplus, often referred to as a 'giant' in the industry with around 1.7 million members and over $100b funds under management.Hostplus were pioneers in laying the foundations of various VC funds including Blackbird, Square Peg, Airtree, One Ventures and more thanks to Sam's leadership. Please note: This a replay of the episode that was released in December 2023. Hosted by Vidit Agarwal, Founder of Curiosity Center and The High Flyers Podcast.It’s now time to explore your curiosity. If you're keen to discuss sponsorship and partnering with us, email us at vidit@thehighflyerspodcast.com today! ***CLICK HERE to read show notes from this conversation. Please enjoy!***Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or TwitterGet in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly hereContact us via our website to discuss sponsorship opportunities, recommend future guests or share feedback, we love hearing how to improve! Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show! ***The High Flyers Podcast re-imagines the traditional notion of a "high flyer" and is a premier product of the Curiosity Center. The podcast showcases the journeys of relatable role models from their sunrise (childhood) to today. Listeners love the unique and direct inside access to these relatable role models, companies and industries in every walk of life to help us all be 1% better everyday, together.175+ guests have joined Vidit Agarwal on the show from around the world including Heads of state, Olympians, Business and cultural leaders, Social Advocates, Investors, Entrepreneurs and more. Past guests include: Anil Sabharwal, Mark Suster, Ahmed Fahour, Holly Ransom, Daniel Petre, Paul Bassat, Simon Holmes a Court, Michael Traill, Osher Gunsberg, Ed Cowan, Carol Schwartz, Wyatt Roy, Jack Zhang, Martijn Wilder, Holly Kramer and more.The Curiosity Center is your on-demand intelligence hub for knowledge, connections and growth to achieve your potential, everyday. Join 200,000+ Investors, Founders, Decision Makers and Emerging Leaders. Learn with the world's best at www.curiositycenter.xyz***

Justin Lipman, a leading software investor and Partner at EVP, joins forces with Henry Innis, CEO of Mutinex, to share their insights in a captivating discussion. They explore how personal experiences shape careers in venture capital and stress the importance of authentic passion. The duo sheds light on effective team building and interview strategies, highlighting the need for adaptability and communication in startups. Their unique perspectives on founder-investor relationships and navigating board dynamics make for a compelling conversation on achieving success in the competitive landscape.

Will Davies was the co-founder and CEO of Australia’s biggest peer-to-peer car sharing platform, Car Next Door.  Founded in 2012, they grew to over one million trips taken through the platform.In January 2022 Car Next Door was acquired by Uber for an estimated $105M.Will was born in Regional NSW and now lives in Sydney, Australia.Hosted by Vidit Agarwal, Founder of Curiosity Center and The High Flyers Podcast.It’s now time to explore your curiosity. If you're keen to discuss sponsorship and partnering with us, email us at vidit@thehighflyerspodcast.com today! ***CLICK HERE to read show notes from this conversation. Please enjoy!***Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or TwitterGet in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly hereContact us via our website to discuss sponsorship opportunities, recommend future guests or share feedback, we love hearing how to improve! Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show! ***The High Flyers Podcast re-imagines the traditional notion of a "high flyer" and is a premier product of the Curiosity Center. The podcast showcases the journeys of relatable role models from their sunrise (childhood) to today. Listeners love the unique and direct inside access to these relatable role models, companies and industries in every walk of life to help us all be 1% better everyday, together.170+ guests have joined Vidit Agarwal on the show from around the world including Heads of state, Olympians, Business and cultural leaders, Social Advocates, Investors, Entrepreneurs and more. Past guests include: Anil Sabharwal, Mark Suster, Ahmed Fahour, Holly Ransom, Daniel Petre, Paul Bassat, Simon Holmes a Court, Michael Traill, Osher Gunsberg, Ed Cowan, Carol Schwartz, Wyatt Roy, Jack Zhang, Martijn Wilder, Holly Kramer and more.The Curiosity Center is your on-demand intelligence hub for knowledge, connections and growth to achieve your potential, everyday. Join 200,000+ Investors, Founders, Decision Makers and Emerging Leaders. Learn with the world's best at www.curiositycenter.xyz***

James is a General Partner at Airtree Ventures and this is a very rare public interview with him, we understand his first since 2018. James has a particular interest in software, infrastructure and fintech and led Airtree's investments in A Cloud Guru, Constantinople, DroneDeploy, Zepto, Buildkite and Secure Code Warrior.Prior to joining Airtree, James spent 15 years working in the US, UK and Asia. He was Vice President at Accel Partners, the VC fund behind Slack, Dropbox, Facebook and Spotify.James was born in Canberra and now lives in Sydney, Australia.Hosted by Vidit Agarwal, Founder of Curiosity Center and The High Flyers Podcast.It’s now time to explore your curiosity. If you're keen to discuss sponsorship and partnering with us, email us at vidit@thehighflyerspodcast.com today! ***CLICK HERE to read show notes from this conversation. Please enjoy!***Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or TwitterGet in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly hereContact us via our website to discuss sponsorship opportunities, recommend future guests or share feedback, we love hearing how to improve! Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show! ***The High Flyers Podcast re-imagines the traditional notion of a "high flyer" and is a premier product of the Curiosity Center. The podcast showcases the journeys of relatable role models from their sunrise (childhood) to today. Listeners love the unique and direct inside access to these relatable role models, companies and industries in every walk of life to help us all be 1% better everyday, together.170+ guests have joined Vidit Agarwal on the show from around the world including Heads of state, Olympians, Business and cultural leaders, Social Advocates, Investors, Entrepreneurs and more. Past guests include: Anil Sabharwal, Mark Suster, Ahmed Fahour, Holly Ransom, Daniel Petre, Paul Bassat, Simon Holmes a Court, Michael Traill, Osher Gunsberg, Ed Cowan, Carol Schwartz, Wyatt Roy, Jack Zhang, Martijn Wilder, Holly Kramer and more.The Curiosity Center is your on-demand intelligence hub for knowledge, connections and growth to achieve your potential, everyday. Join 200,000+ Investors, Founders, Decision Makers and Emerging Leaders. Learn with the world's best at www.curiositycenter.xyz***

Sarah is the co-founder and Managing Partner of Tenacious Ventures - Australia's first AgTech venture firm. Their $35M first fund was backed by Grok Ventures, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) with investors including primary producers, and agribusiness executives. Tenacious Ventures has so far backed 14 startups building a more sustainable and resilient agri-food system.  To confirm her incredible talents, Sarah has engineering degrees from MIT and Tufts University. She was a three-sport varsity athlete (soccer, basketball, and track & field), recognized as an All-American (soccer).Sarah was born in San Diego, California in the US and now lives in Sydney, Australia.Hosted by Vidit Agarwal, Founder of Curiosity Center and The High Flyers Podcast.It’s now time to explore your curiosity. If you're keen to discuss sponsorship and partnering with us, email us at vidit@thehighflyerspodcast.com today! ***CLICK HERE to read show notes from this conversation. Please enjoy!***Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or TwitterGet in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly hereContact us via our website to discuss sponsorship opportunities, recommend future guests or share feedback, we love hearing how to improve! Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show! ***The High Flyers Podcast re-imagines the traditional notion of a "high flyer" and is a premier product of the Curiosity Center. The podcast showcases the journeys of relatable role models from their sunrise (childhood) to today. Listeners love the unique and direct inside access to these relatable role models, companies and industries in every walk of life to help us all be 1% better everyday, together.170+ guests have joined Vidit Agarwal on the show from around the world including Heads of state, Olympians, Business and cultural leaders, Social Advocates, Investors, Entrepreneurs and more. Past guests include: Anil Sabharwal, Mark Suster, Ahmed Fahour, Holly Ransom, Daniel Petre, Paul Bassat, Simon Holmes a Court, Michael Traill, Osher Gunsberg, Ed Cowan, Carol Schwartz, Wyatt Roy, Jack Zhang, Martijn Wilder, Holly Kramer and more.The Curiosity Center is your on-demand intelligence hub for knowledge, connections and growth to achieve your potential, everyday. Join 200,000+ Investors, Founders, Decision Makers and Emerging Leaders. Learn with the world's best at www.curiositycenter.xyz***

Scott served as the recent Head of Innovation for Customer Engineering at Google. He worked at the company from 2015 through 2024 in the Ads Data Platforms, Analytics and Google Cloud product areas in ANZ and APAC. Before Google, Scott worked with Adobe on digital strategy and transformation. Scott is a also recent graduate of the VC catalyst program delivered by The Wade Institute of Entrepreneurship. This episode is brought to you in partnership with The Wade Institute of Entrepreneurship. Check out their award winning VC Catalyst Program.Hosted by Vidit Agarwal, Founder of Curiosity Center and The High Flyers Podcast.It’s now time to explore your curiosity. If you're keen to discuss sponsorship and partnering with us, email us at vidit@thehighflyerspodcast.com today! ***CLICK HERE to read show notes from this conversation. Please enjoy!***Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or TwitterGet in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly hereContact us via our website to discuss sponsorship opportunities, recommend future guests or share feedback, we love hearing how to improve! Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show! ***The High Flyers Podcast re-imagines the traditional notion of a "high flyer" and is a premier product of the Curiosity Center. The podcast showcases the journeys of relatable role models from their sunrise (childhood) to today. Listeners love the unique and direct inside access to these relatable role models, companies and industries in every walk of life to help us all be 1% better everyday, together.170+ guests have joined Vidit Agarwal on the show from around the world including Heads of state, Olympians, Business and cultural leaders, Social Advocates, Investors, Entrepreneurs and more. Past guests include: Anil Sabharwal, Mark Suster, Ahmed Fahour, Holly Ransom, Daniel Petre, Paul Bassat, Simon Holmes a Court, Michael Traill, Osher Gunsberg, Ed Cowan, Carol Schwartz, Wyatt Roy, Jack Zhang, Martijn Wilder, Holly Kramer and more.The Curiosity Center is your on-demand intelligence hub for knowledge, connections and growth to achieve your potential, everyday. Join 200,000+ Investors, Founders, Decision Makers and Emerging Leaders. Learn with the world's best at www.curiositycenter.xyz***

In this special conversation, hear from three relatable role models: Adam Milgrom, Partner at Giant Leap; Jacqui Purcell, Operating Advisor at TDM Growth Partners (She's also ex CFO of two leading tech companies in Culture Amp + Deputy) and Ashleigh Camm, Board Course Director/VP of Labs at LUNA about how exactly Founders and Investors should build 'zero to great' relationships, a key ingredient inter linked with building your startup's board.This episode is brought to you in partnership with LUNA. It is hosted by Vidit Agarwal, Founder of Curiosity Center and The High Flyers Podcast.It’s now time to explore your curiosity. If you're keen to discuss sponsorship and partnering with us, email us at vidit@thehighflyerspodcast.com today! ***CLICK HERE to read show notes from this conversation. Please enjoy!***Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or TwitterGet in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly hereContact us via our website to discuss sponsorship opportunities, recommend future guests or share feedback, we love hearing how to improve! Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show! ***The High Flyers Podcast re-imagines the traditional notion of a "high flyer" and is a premier product of the Curiosity Center. The podcast showcases the journeys of relatable role models from their sunrise (childhood) to today. Listeners love the unique and direct inside access to these relatable role models, companies and industries in every walk of life to help us all be 1% better everyday, together.170+ guests have joined Vidit Agarwal on the show from around the world including Heads of state, Olympians, Business and cultural leaders, Social Advocates, Investors, Entrepreneurs and more. Past guests include: Anil Sabharwal, Mark Suster, Ahmed Fahour, Holly Ransom, Daniel Petre, Paul Bassat, Simon Holmes a Court, Michael Traill, Osher Gunsberg, Ed Cowan, Carol Schwartz, Wyatt Roy, Jack Zhang, Martijn Wilder, Holly Kramer and more.The Curiosity Center is widely recognised as a leading on-demand intelligence network for founders, investors, executives and students with an audience of over 200,000 across this podcast + Association Series, 7-Star Events and Wondery. Find out more at www.curiositycenter.xyz***

Steve Baxter is a Tech entrepreneur and Investor. He co-founded the Investing Platform, TEN13 and recently a VC Fund, Beaten Zone Venture Partners focused on DefenseTech. He has built and sold two startups: SE Net and PIPE Networks (for $373M). He was a 'Shark' on the hit TV series, Shark Tank for four seasons, showcasing his business expertise.This episode is hosted by Vidit Agarwal, Founder of Curiosity Center and The High Flyers Podcast.It’s now time to explore your curiosity. If you're keen to discuss sponsorship and partnering with us, email us at vidit@thehighflyerspodcast.com today! ***CLICK HERE to read show notes from this conversation. Please enjoy!***Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or TwitterGet in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly hereContact us via our website to discuss sponsorship opportunities, recommend future guests or share feedback, we love hearing how to improve! Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show! ***The High Flyers Podcast re-imagines the traditional notion of a "high flyer" and is a premier product of the Curiosity Center. The podcast showcases the journeys of relatable role models from their sunrise (childhood) to today. Listeners love the unique and direct inside access to these relatable role models, companies and industries in every walk of life to help us all be 1% better everyday, together.170+ guests have joined Vidit Agarwal on the show from around the world including Heads of state, Olympians, Business and cultural leaders, Social Advocates, Investors, Entrepreneurs and more. Past guests include: Anil Sabharwal, Mark Suster, Ahmed Fahour, Holly Ransom, Daniel Petre, Paul Bassat, Simon Holmes a Court, Michael Traill, Osher Gunsberg, Ed Cowan, Carol Schwartz, Wyatt Roy, Jack Zhang, Martijn Wilder, Holly Kramer and more.The Curiosity Center is widely recognised as a leading on-demand intelligence network for founders, investors, executives and students with an audience of over 200,000 across this podcast + Association Series, 7-Star Events and Wondery. Find out more at www.curiositycenter.xyz***

Phoebe is a Partner in Blackbird’s NZ team with investments in Tracksuit, VeVe and Carepatron. Prior to joining Blackbird, she was a Director in the Growth Equity fund at Generation (Al Gore's Growth Equity Fund).David is an Entrepreneur in Residence at Blackbird NZ and previously an early employee at Angel List, Carta, and 500 Startups. He then built and led the global education startup + founder community “On Deck” as CEO, raising over $100M from some of the world's top investorsThey both hail from New Zealand and have lived/worked in London, San Fransisco, New York and Melbourne.This episode is brought to you by KPMG High Growth Ventures and Curiosity Center, and hosted by Vidit Agarwal.It’s now time to explore your curiosity. If you're keen to discuss sponsorship and partnering with us, email us at vidit@thehighflyerspodcast.com today! Contact Sophie Ritchie from KPMG High Growth Ventures here: https://au.linkedin.com/in/sophie-ritchie-872b1b67***CLICK HERE to read show notes from this conversation. Please enjoy!***Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or TwitterGet in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly hereContact us via our website to discuss sponsorship opportunities, recommend future guests or share feedback, we love hearing how to improve! Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show! ***The High Flyers Podcast re-imagines the traditional notion of a "high flyer" and is a premier product of the Curiosity Center. The podcast showcases the journeys of relatable role models from their sunrise (childhood) to today. Listeners love the unique and direct inside access to these relatable role models, companies and industries in every walk of life to help us all be 1% better everyday, together.165+ guests have joined Vidit Agarwal on the show from around the world including Heads of state, Olympians, Business and cultural leaders, Social Advocates, Investors, Entrepreneurs and more. Past guests include: Anil Sabharwal, Mark Suster, Ahmed Fahour, Holly Ransom, Daniel Petre, Paul Bassat, Simon Holmes a Court, Michael Traill, Osher Gunsberg, Ed Cowan, Carol Schwartz, Wyatt Roy, Jack Zhang, Martijn Wilder, Holly Kramer and more.The Curiosity Center is widely recognised as a leading on-demand intelligence network for founders, investors, executives and students with an audience of over 200,000 across this podcast + Association Series Newsletter and 7-Star Events. Find out more at www.curiositycenter.xyz***

Craig Blair is the Co-Founder and Partner at Airtree, a globally recognised Venture Capital firm with $1B+ funds under management.Before AirTree, he was a partner at Netus, a venture fund with a global top decile track record. He has also been a founder of three software businesses -- two of which were successful and one of which was a painful learning experience.Craig was born in Ontario, Canada and now lives in Sydney, Australia.This episode is brought to you by KPMG High Growth Ventures and Curiosity Center.It’s now time to explore your curiosity. If you're keen to discuss sponsorship and partnering with us, email us at vidit@thehighflyerspodcast.com today! ***CLICK HERE to read show notes from this conversation. Please enjoy!***Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or TwitterGet in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly hereContact us via our website to discuss sponsorship opportunities, recommend future guests or share feedback, we love hearing how to improve! Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show! ***The High Flyers Podcast re-imagines the traditional notion of a "high flyer" and is a premier product of the Curiosity Center. The podcast showcases the journeys of relatable role models from their sunrise (childhood) to today. Listeners love the unique and direct inside access to these relatable role models, companies and industries in every walk of life to help us all be 1% better everyday, together.165+ guests have joined Vidit Agarwal on the show from around the world including Heads of state, Olympians, Business and cultural leaders, Social Advocates, Investors, Entrepreneurs and more. Past guests include: Anil Sabharwal, Mark Suster, Ahmed Fahour, Holly Ransom, Daniel Petre, Paul Bassat, Simon Holmes a Court, Michael Traill, Osher Gunsberg, Ed Cowan, Carol Schwartz, Wyatt Roy, Jack Zhang, Martijn Wilder, Holly Kramer and more.The Curiosity Center is widely recognised as a leading on-demand intelligence network for founders, investors, executives and students with an audience of over 200,000 across this podcast + Association Series Newsletter and 7-Star Events. Find out more at www.curiositycenter.xyz***