The Startup Playbook Podcast

The Startup Playbook PodcastInsights and lessons from the world's best entrepreneurs and investors Twitter Facebook YouTube Instagram Ep150 – Rick Baker (Partner – Blackbird Ventures) on culture, innovation & the rule of no exits June 3, 2021 rohitbhargava Podcast My guest for Ep150 of The Startup Playbook Podcast was the Co-founder & Partner at Blackbird Ventures, Rick Baker. Blackbird is one of, if not the leading Venture Capital Fund in Australia. Since launching in 2012, Blackbird has raised 4 funds for a combined committed capital of $1.24B with an astonishing net internal rate of return of 46.7% for every dollar invested as of June 30, 2020. Their portfolio includes some of Australia’s most iconic companies  such as Culture Amp, Safety Culture and Canva where they own 14% ownership stake, which is by far the largest of any external investor. The overall success of their first fund led them to selling 40% of their fund 1 for $100M, providing a 3x return to all of their LPs. In this interview we discussed: The story behind Blackbird’s first fundWhy Blackbird has a unique rule in backing in only backing founders who are not looking for exitsHow Blackbird’s internal culture and curiosity led to investments in the future of food, space and autonomous vehiclesThe thinking behind Blackbird’s decision to sell 40% of their first fund for $100MWhen and how to reach out to Blackbird for investment& much more! Timestamps 3.03 – Intro to Rick Baker and his background  6.07 – How Rick got connected to his co-founder Niki and they started Blackbird 8.16 – Starting Blackbird during a time when VC was dying in Australia 11.10 – Early days of Blackbird and not paying themselves for the first 18 months 11.53 – What Blackbird looks for in founders and experience working with Baraja 16.00 – Blackbirds goal to be more than just a financial fund by offering connections and other support 17.58 – Blackbirds no exits rule and why they have it21.53 – Shift in founders ambition in Australia since the growth of the startup industry23.12 – Why Blackbird is selling off part of their Fund 126.53 – How Blackbird helps founders to stay motivated, engaged and involved in the business 29.27 – Supporting founders through difficult times 32.50 – The importance of giving constructive feedback35.14 – Building the Blackbird team and the importance of having a solid team for the growth and success of the company 39.24 – Choosing what to invest in and how those decisions have changed from the beginning of Blackbird 41.30 – Maintaining company culture as a team grows 43.50 – Defining the culture at Blackbird45.23 – Looking for opportunities and Blackbirds’ choice to invest in new industries and technologies 49.12 – When is the right time to pitch Blackbird and why it’s never too early 51.53 – The importance of social proof and the ability to bring people on your journey as a founder 53.49 – Getting investment from Blackbird or joining the Startmate Accelerator56.22 – What Blackbird are looking for in new and future investments 59.45 – Where Blackbird is going next 1.02.04 – How to get in contact with Rick and Blackbird Links Mentioned  Ricks Links  Ricks’ LinkedInRicks’ Twitter Blackbird Website Sunrise21 (Blackbird Event)Blackbird EventsBlackbird Contact Form People Mentioned  Niki ScevakFederico Collarte Cibby PulikkaserilCraig BarrattSam Wong Nick Crocker Companies Mentioned MLCAtlassianCampaign MonitorAconexRedbubbleHalf Brick StudiosAustralian Investment Council (AIC)ZooxBarajaCanva Safety CultureCulture AmpStartmate Past Episodes Mentioned  Episode 146 – Federico Collarte Episode 109 – Nick Crocker Special Thanks: Special thanks to Niki Scevak, Federico Collarte and Cibby Pulikkaseril for their help with research for this interview!  Feedback/connect/say hello: Rohit@startupplaybook.co@RohitBhargava7 (Twitter)/rohbhargava (LinkedIn)@rohit_bhargava (Instagram)My Youtube Channel Credits: Music: Joakim Karud – Dreams Other channels: Don’t have iTunes? The podcast is also available on Spotify, Soundcloud & Stitcher Audio Player. Find all links to the podcast here. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/startupplaybook/Ep150_-_Rick_Baker_Partner_-_Blackbird_VC_on_culture_innovation_and_the_rule_of_no_exits.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download | EmbedSubscribe: RSS admin January 1, 2014 Reply Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat admin January 1, 2014 Reply Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat admin January 1, 2014 Reply Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Copyright © 2015 - Live Composer The post Ep150 – Rick Baker (Partner – Blackbird Ventures) on culture, innovation & the rule of no exits appeared first on Startup Playbook.

The Startup Playbook PodcastInsights and lessons from the world's best entrepreneurs and investors Twitter Facebook YouTube Instagram Ep149 – Phil Morle (Partner – Main Sequence Ventures) on leaps, equity and the art of flearning May 27, 2021 rohitbhargava Podcast My guest for Ep149 of The Startup Playbook Podcast was Phil Morle, Partner of Main Sequence Ventures Phil started his career as a Theatre Director, before taking those skills into tech initially as CTO of file-sharing company, Kazaa before going on to Co-found the first tech incubator in Asia-Pacific, Pollenizer. He is now a Partner at CSIRO’s venture capital fund, Main Sequence Ventures, which has $490M in funds under management to invest in emerging Australian deep-tech and science based startups to solve the world’s biggest problems. In this interview we discussed: Why 50-50 equity splits between co-founders are a bad signal to investorsTaking leaps and having a high velocity of learningThe art of FlearningThe important balance between “soft skills” and Venture science& much more! Timestamps  2.26 – How Phil got started in theatre and transitioned into building startups10.19 – Common mistakes and traits Phil has seen in business since working with startups 19.54 – The importance of taking leaps and the success of Spreets28.25 – Decision to close Pollenizer after two final chances and the importance of closing when it’s the right time38.00 – The importance of reputation and being willing to put your reputation on the line44.51 – The power of giving employees equity for motivation and commitment 49.14 – Bringing together the CSIRO and Hungry Jacks to create v2food56.48 – The important lessons for startups working with large companies 1.03.34 – Collaborative work with businesses and coming together to share experiences1.09.11 – Identifying opportunities and the balance between soft and hard skills in founders 1.13.55 – Main Sequence Ventures new fund and what projects they are working on1.18.24 – Where to find Phil and Main Sequence Ventures  Links Mentioned  Phil’s Links:  Phil’s LinkedInPhil’s TwitterMain Sequence Ventures Companies Mentioned Main Sequence VenturesPollenizerSpreetsHungry JacksCSIROY Combinator People Mentioned  Mick LiubinskasDean McEvoyDavid BurtJack CowinNick HazellPaul Graham Special Thanks: Special thanks to Nick Hazell and Mick Liubinskas for their help with research for this interview! ? Feedback/connect/say hello: Rohit@startupplaybook.co@RohitBhargava7 (Twitter)/rohbhargava (LinkedIn)@rohit_bhargava (Instagram)My Youtube Channel Credits: Music: Joakim Karud – Dreams Other channels: Don’t have iTunes? The podcast is also available on Spotify, Soundcloud & Stitcher Audio Player. Find all links to the podcast here. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/startupplaybook/Ep149_-_Phil_Morle_Partner_-_Main_Sequence_Ventures_on_leaps_equity_and_the_art_of_flearning.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download | EmbedSubscribe: RSS admin January 1, 2014 Reply Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat admin January 1, 2014 Reply Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat admin January 1, 2014 Reply Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Copyright © 2015 - Live Composer The post Ep149 – Phil Morle (Partner – Main Sequence Ventures) on leaps, equity and the art of flearning appeared first on Startup Playbook.

The Startup Playbook PodcastInsights and lessons from the world's best entrepreneurs and investors Twitter Facebook YouTube Instagram Ep148 – Matt Elsley (Co-founder & CEO – Qsic) on teams, fundraising and enterprise sales May 13, 2021 rohitbhargava Podcast My guest for Ep148 of The Startup Playbook Podcast was the Co-founder & CEO of Qsic, Matt Elsley. Qsic leverages smart devices and other inputs such as music to drive changes in real-time consumer behaviour such as increasing their spend in retail stores. They have had a fascinating journey since launching in 2012, initially bootstrapping for the first few years before going on to raise an angel round from some of their early customers. They are now used in over 2,500 retail stores including 7-eleven and McDonalds in the US and this week announced their Series A funding round of $4M led by Carthona Capital.  In this interview we discussed: Their decision to shut down their first business to go all in on QsicThe journey from bootstrapped to VC funded companyHow to sell to large enterprises like McDonalds and 7-Eleven in the USHow COVID helped Matt and his team reassess and refocus the businessHow to get the most out of your advisors and investors& much more! Timestamps  2.20 – Introduction to Matt and the story behind finding Qsic 7.00 – Decision to shut down his previous business and focus on Qsic 9.16 – How the introduction of streaming platforms helped to inform the market and with finding customers11.30 – Importance of having support and investment from customers especially in the early days14.55 – Pre-investment bootstrapping, borrowing from friends and family, maxing out cards 16. 14 – Building a startup with young families to support 19.06 – Sharing the conviction for the idea and bringing the team on the journey22.34 – What they hired for in the early stages of the business and why their fist hire was a CTO23.42 –  Attracting the best people in the early stages 26.06 – The story behind the haunted office space they previously worked in 28.53 – The importance of co-founders and how Matt met his co-founder, Nick, in school29.58 – Getting  key customers such as 7/11 and McDonalds US early on in the journey32.40 – Acquiring enterprise customers and the importance of doing both talking and listening in pitch meetings34.58 – Finding the industries your product is ideal for a pitch to the largest players within the industry 38.13 – Listening to the customers to first understand their focus, their why and their needs 39.30 – How COVID-19 provided the team time to reassess and refocus the business43.50 – Attracting the right people as advisors and connecting with people47.34 – Making the most out of advisors/board members 49.00 – Raising $4M Series A during COVID-19 41.49 – Trusting your instincts when choosing between investors 54.12 – What’s next for Qsic 55.28 – Where to find Matt and Qsic  Links Mentioned Matt’s Links  Matts’ LinkedIn Qsic Website Qsic LinkedIn People Mentioned  Nick Larkins – Matts’ Co-founderMatt Allen – Qsic ChairmanDean Dorrell – Carthona Capital James Synge – Carthona Capital Andy Mullins – Sand Hill Road Group Companies Mentioned Carthona Capital Special Thanks: Special thanks to Matt Allen and Andy Mullins for their help with this interview! ? Feedback/connect/say hello: Rohit@startupplaybook.co@RohitBhargava7 (Twitter)/rohbhargava (LinkedIn)@rohit_bhargava (Instagram)My Youtube Channel Credits: Music: Joakim Karud – Dreams Other channels: Don’t have iTunes? The podcast is also available on Spotify, Soundcloud & Stitcher Audio Player. Find all links to the podcast here. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/startupplaybook/Ep148_-_Matt_Elsley_Co-founder__CEO_-_Qsic_on_teams_fundraising_and_enterprise_sales.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download | EmbedSubscribe: RSS admin January 1, 2014 Reply Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat admin January 1, 2014 Reply Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat admin January 1, 2014 Reply Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Copyright © 2015 - Live Composer The post Ep148 – Matt Elsley (Co-founder & CEO – Qsic) on teams, fundraising and enterprise sales appeared first on Startup Playbook.

The Startup Playbook PodcastInsights and lessons from the world's best entrepreneurs and investors Twitter Facebook YouTube Instagram Ep147 – Wendell Keuneman (General Partner – Tidal Ventures) on building your product principles April 29, 2021 rohitbhargava Podcast My guest for Ep147 of The Startup Playbook Podcast was the General Partner of Tidal Ventures, Wendell Keuneman. Prior to Tidal, Wendell had over 20 years of deep operational experience including seeing 3 companies grow and scale from startups to successful exits. He was the Co-founder & CTO of Carbon Twelve (acquired by Broadsoft), CTO of Inference (acquired by Five9s) and as the Head of Product of Atlassian’s Confluence product, with the company IPOing in 2015 and with a current market cap of $59B. He is now the General Partner at Tidal Ventures, a $30M seed stage investor into product-led companies and founders. In this interview we discussed: Lessons from taking 3 companies from startups to successful exitsHow to develop product principles for your startupModels for effective product managementHow to find value adding investors& much more! Timestamps  2.04 – Introduction to Wendell and his background 3.17 – Basketball principles that Wendell has used to inform in his startup journey5.29 – How Wendell started coding as a hobby and the journey he took to pursuing it further  7.21 – How Wendell navigated starting a business with family pressure and support10.28 – Wendells’ journey starting Carbon12 12.34 – Starting a second company following first company success 15.51 – How Wendell started working for Atlassian after seeing a sign in their office window and interviewing on the spot 18.53 – Early days of Atlassian and their focus on product 20.11 – The similarities between successful products across all Wendells’ past ventures 21.59 – Importance of establishing product principles 24.17 – How early stage founders should begin defining their product principles 27.53 – Revisiting product principles as a company grows and changes29.46 – Getting buy in from team members on new or changing product principles 32.28 –  Frameworks founders can implement to support growth in their business35.50 – The three questions Wendell asked himself to make the move from Atlassian41.04 – Ensuring values are applied in an additive way rather than being weaponised 42.58 – What support should founders expect from their VC’s 46.02 – The theme’s Tidal prioritises when reviewing startup opportunities47.47 – How founders can determine the best VC to work with when presented with different options 52.13 – Wendell’s superpower to be able to sort through content to find the most important information for his portfolio partners55.16 –  Delivering information and advice in a way that is most appropriate to the founder 56.35 – Where you can find Wendell and get involved with Tidal Ventures Links Mentioned  Wendells’ Links: Wendells’ Twitter Wendells’ Linked In Wendells’ Blog Tidal Ventures Website Tidal Ventures Linked In Tidal Ventures TwitterTidal Ventures Contact Email People Mentioned: Mike Cannon-Brookes (Atlassian)Scott Farquhar (Atlassian)Craig Cowdrey (Sonder)Andrea Kowalski (Tidal Ventures)Matt Barnett (Bonjoro) Companies Mentioned: AtlassianInference SolutionsCiscoBroadsoft Carbon 12 (acquired)Jira (Atlassian Product)Confluence (Atlassian Product)Trello (Atlassian Product)Five9 Special Thanks: Special thanks to Matt Barnett and Craig Cowdrey for their help with research for this interview ? Feedback/connect/say hello: Rohit@startupplaybook.co@RohitBhargava7 (Twitter)/rohbhargava (LinkedIn)@rohit_bhargava (Instagram)My Youtube Channel Credits: Music: Joakim Karud – Dreams Other channels: Don’t have iTunes? The podcast is also available on Spotify, Soundcloud & Stitcher Audio Player. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/startupplaybook/Ep147_-_Wendell_Keuneman_General_Partner_-_Tidal_Ventures_on_building_your_product_principles_.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download | EmbedSubscribe: RSS admin January 1, 2014 Reply Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat admin January 1, 2014 Reply Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat admin January 1, 2014 Reply Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Copyright © 2015 - Live Composer The post Ep147 – Wendell Keuneman (General Partner – Tidal Ventures) on building your product principles appeared first on Startup Playbook.

The Startup Playbook PodcastInsights and lessons from the world's best entrepreneurs and investors Twitter Facebook YouTube Instagram Ep146 – Federico Collarte (Co-founder & CEO – Baraja) on building the future of autonomous vehicles April 22, 2021 rohitbhargava Podcast My guest for Ep146 of The Startup Playbook Podcast was the Co-founder & CEO of Barja, Federico Collarte. Baraja are the creators of the Spectrum Scan LiDAR technology, which simply put,  enables autonomous vehicles to “see” the road via lasers. Their pioneering technology completely rethinks environment scanning for autonomous vehicles, by exploiting the wavelength properties of light to steer lasers through a prism in order to better detect objects at range. To date, Baraja has raised $63.9M led by funds such as Blackbird and Main Sequence Ventures. In this episode we covered a range of topics including: The importance of being contrarian (and right!)Balancing long term vision with short term executionThe challenges and opportunities that come from building a market from scratchHow Baraja got investment for a deep tech business at a very early prototype stage& much more! Time Stamps  2.34 – The focus of Federicos’ company Baraja – LiDAR technology3.24 – Federico’s background, why and how he started Baraja 14.34 – Building an idea and business with conviction18.45 – How Federico got from Blackbird and the importance of a personal connection and experiencing the product when partnering with a VC22.28 – The challenges of hiring staff in a new industry 27.09 – The pros and cons of building a startup in Australia31.09 – What Federico and Baraja look for when hiring talent34.22 – Building and maintaining culture in a growing organisation37.30 – The power of bringing well known and respected people into the company40.19 –  The importance of understanding your customers needs early in the development journey43.47 – The long term systems worth investing in especially in the early stages of launching the business45.53 – The importance of long-term contact and interaction with both the customers and the product 48.32 – What’s next for the Baraja following a $40M funding round50.30 – How you can get in contact with Federico and find out more information about Baraja  Links Mentioned:  Federico’s Link: Federico Collarte Linked In Baraja Baraja Careers People Mentioned: Cibby Pulikkaseril  (Co-Founder + CTO)Rick Baker (Blackbird)Sam Wong (Blackbird) Niki Scevak (Blackbird) Bill Bartee (Formerly Blackbird)Duncan Ross (Baraja Early Hire)Craig Barratt – (Board Member) Companies Mentioned: Blackbird  Main Sequence VenturesZoox Cochlear Special Thanks: Special thanks to Cibby Pulikkaseril, Duncan Ross and Rick Baker for their help with research for this interview ? . Feedback/connect/say hello: Rohit@startupplaybook.co@RohitBhargava7 (Twitter)/rohbhargava (LinkedIn)@rohit_bhargava (Instagram)My Youtube Channel Credits: Music: Joakim Karud – Dreams Other channels: Don’t have iTunes? The podcast is also available on Spotify, Soundcloud & Stitcher Audio Player. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/startupplaybook/Ep146_-_Federico_Collarte_Co-founder__CEO_-_Baraja_on_building_the_future_of_autonomous_vehicles.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download | EmbedSubscribe: RSS admin January 1, 2014 Reply Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat admin January 1, 2014 Reply Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat admin January 1, 2014 Reply Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Copyright © 2015 - Live Composer The post Ep146 – Federico Collarte (Co-founder & CEO – Baraja) on building the future of autonomous vehicles appeared first on Startup Playbook.

Guest Ashik Ahmed, Co-founder & CEO of Deputy, discusses the challenges and opportunities during COVID-19, the process of unlearning and approaching things in a new way, and the importance of balancing vision and execution. They also touch on fundraising success and building investor relationships.

The Startup Playbook PodcastInsights and lessons from the world's best entrepreneurs and investors Twitter Facebook YouTube Instagram Ep144 – David Lemphers (Co-founder & CEO – Code Pilot) on exits, thinking big and creating gold standards March 25, 2021 rohitbhargava Podcast My guest for Ep144 of The Startup Playbook Podcast is the Co-founder & CEO of Code Pilot, David Lemphers. Dave has recently returned to Australia after spending 12 years in the US. He initially moved there to be an early member of the Windows Azure engineering team, before jumping out and launching his own startups. To date Dave has co-founded and successfully exited 4 AI startups including; ZenDeals which was acquired by RetailMeNot for $22M just 2 years after launching and his last startup, Code Pilot, which was acquired by AngelList. If that wasn’t enough, David has also authored 3 US patents on AI and ML and serves as the CTO in residence at Techstars. In this interview we covered a wide range of topics including: Dave’s Lessons from founding, growing and exiting 4 companiesParticularly how to setup and negotiate an acquisition dealLifting the lid on what happens after the acquisition goes throughHow to attract great talentHow to create an environment of flow state for your teamHow to create and set gold standards& much more! Timestamps  1.59 – Davids’ journey from growing up in Melbourne to making an impact in the startup industry and working with some of biggest companies in the world 4.32 – The impact of and learnings from living and working in the U.S.9.58 – The difference between Australia and the U.S. start up culture13.14 – How and why David had the desire to begin his first startup venture17.03 – Why founders should go to the U.S. to experience the local startup culture and the value of in-person interaction21.01 – Recreating the startup culture in Australia 25.55 – Davids’ introduction to machine learning and getting buy in for upcoming technologies 32.57 – Hiring for potential over existing skills and building a great team 38.28 – Understanding no two businesses are the same and finding the right cultural fit for your team39.32 – The process of being acquired and the challenges of due diligence – reference to acquisition of Zen Deals by RetailMeNot 51.34 – Advice for founders to prepare for a successful acquisition56.12 – Building a successful company and incorporating practises in preparation for acquisition 57.43 – The importance of diversity in skill, knowledge and expertise especially in the early stages of a startup 1.04.29 – Sharing company vision to attract great talent and important things to consider when looking for work at a startup1.10.52 – Creating challenging work to encourage a flow state within a team 1.16.25 – How to get in contact with David  Links Mentioned Davids’ Links  Davids’ LinkedIn   People  Eric Schmidt Yousef KhalidiGary FlakeDave Cutler Rachael NeumannBill Gates Cotter Cunningham Steven PhoGeorge ChondrosShreyas KarnikBrian Tuttle Companies  Code PilotZenDeals Super! RetailMeNotAngelListMicrosoft PWC BroomlyYahoo SlackASSA ABLOYOverture Past Episodes  Ep57 – Rachael NeumannEp130 – Rachael Neumann Special Thanks: Special thanks to Shreyas Karnik and George Chondros for their help with research for this interview ? . Feedback/connect/say hello: Rohit@startupplaybook.co@RohitBhargava7 (Twitter)/rohbhargava (LinkedIn)@rohit_bhargava (Instagram)My Youtube Channel Credits: Music: Joakim Karud – Dreams Other channels: Don’t have iTunes? The podcast is also available on Spotify, Soundcloud & Stitcher Audio Player. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/startupplaybook/Ep144_-_David_Lemphers_Co-founder__CEO_-_Code_Pilot_on_exits_thinking_big_and_creating_gold_standards.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download | EmbedSubscribe: RSS admin January 1, 2014 Reply Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat admin January 1, 2014 Reply Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat admin January 1, 2014 Reply Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Copyright © 2015 - Live Composer The post Ep144 – David Lemphers (Co-founder & CEO – Code Pilot) on exits, thinking big and creating gold standards appeared first on Startup Playbook.

The Startup Playbook PodcastInsights and lessons from the world's best entrepreneurs and investors Twitter Facebook YouTube Instagram Ep143 – Justin Webb (Co-founder & Chairman – AgriWebb) on building the future of AgTech March 18, 2021 rohitbhargava Podcast My guest for Episode 143 of The Startup Playbook Podcast was the Co-founder & Executive Chairman of AgriWebb, Justin Webb. Describing Justin as a successful serial entrepreneur, would not be doing justice to his background. He studied economics and applied mathematics at Harvard and did a post-graduate MBA at Oxford. He would then take his work on the application of Machine Learning and AI in asset management to found and grow 2 hedge funds before selling them to Macquarie Bank and Westpac. He then went on to found and build PacWealth Capital into a $4Bn Advisory firm in the South Pacific. He is now the Co-founder & Executive Chairman of AgriWebb which is on the mission to digitise on-farm production data. Since launching 6 years ago, the company manages over 15m head of livestock across 90m acres around the globe and recently raised a $30M Series B round, valuing the company north of $100M. In this interview we covered a range of topics including: AgriWebb’s journey to $100M valuationHow to attract and retain great talentHow to find your believers and early adoptersThe future of Agtech& much more! Timestamps   2.53 – Justin’s background before and leading up to starting AgriWebb 6.51 – The parallels between sport and business following Justin’s past as a Rower  10.37 – How Justin started two hedge funds that were eventually sold to Westpac and Macquarie13.37 – Moving back to Australia and getting involved in family business16.22 – Where the idea for AgriWebb stemmed from and advice for finding a business idea for early stage founders21.33 – Building a great team 29.01 – Finding the early adopter customer in traditionally slow to market industries34.36 – Choosing when and how to respond to customer feedback when creating features42.01 – Managing a growing team and how the founders role changes as the team grows47.42 – Building family first culture within a team and building culture remotely 1.00.37 – Where to find AgriWebb and Justin  Links Mentioned  Justin Webbs’ Links  AgriWebb Justin Webb – Linked In  People  Rachael NeumannAl BentleyKevin Baum (Justins’ Co-founder) John Fargher (Justins’ Co-founder) Chris CoePhilip Chan (AgriWebb Chief Product Officer)Kenny Sabir (AgriWebb Head of Engineering)Eric Martinez de Morentin (AgriWebb Development Manager) Paul Parton (AgriWebb Software Engineer)Laurence Hey (AgriWebb Lead Software Engineer)Kogulan Baskaran (AgriWebb Senior Software Engineer) Past Episodes  Ep142 – Al BentleyEp57 – Rachael NeumannEp130 – Rachael Neumann Special Thanks: Special thanks to Kevin Baum and Chris Coe for their help with research for this interview ? . Feedback/connect/say hello: Rohit@startupplaybook.co@RohitBhargava7 (Twitter)/rohbhargava (LinkedIn)@rohit_bhargava (Instagram)My Youtube Channel Credits: Music: Joakim Karud – Dreams Other channels: Don’t have iTunes? The podcast is also available on Spotify, Soundcloud & Stitcher Audio Player. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/startupplaybook/Ep143_-_Justin_Webb_Co-founder__Chairman_-_AgriWebb_on_building_the_future_AgTech.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download | EmbedSubscribe: RSS admin January 1, 2014 Reply Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat admin January 1, 2014 Reply Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat admin January 1, 2014 Reply Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Copyright © 2015 - Live Composer The post Ep143 – Justin Webb (Co-founder & Chairman – AgriWebb) on building the future of AgTech appeared first on Startup Playbook.

The Startup Playbook PodcastInsights and lessons from the world's best entrepreneurs and investors Twitter Facebook YouTube Instagram Ep142 – Al Bentley (Founder & CEO – Simply Wall St) on building your growth engine March 11, 2021 rohitbhargava Podcast My guest for Ep142 of The Startup Playbook Podcast was the Founder & CEO of Simply Wall St., Al Bentley. Al started Simply Wall St (then known as Ninjavest) as a weekend project from a startup weekend competition back in 2013. Fast forward 8 years later and the company now has more than 3M users and has raised $3.4M including it’s last round of $2.4M in funding that it raised from its own member base. In this interview we covered a range of topics including: How Al built an organic growth engine that allowed Simply Wall St to acquire 3M usersHow to prioritise feedback on product requests from customersHow Al created scarcity when fundraising & much more! Timestamps  1.51 – Als’ story of starting Simply Wall St. 3.01 – His background as a Naval Architect 4.22 – Launching Simply Wall St. as Ninja Vest at a startup competition weekend 7.10 – The importance of validation and Als’ takeaways from the startup weekend9.35 – How Simply Wall St. was developed following the weekend15.29 – Finding a co-founder and why you need one 23.22 – Advice for founders about listening to customer feedback and making decisions on what is worth pursuing 27.27 – The importance of product market fit 32.48 – Focusing on building a quality team and bringing Mahesh onboard37.34 – Managing a growing team41.28 – How to identify the needs of the organisation when hiring42.57 – How and why Simply Wall St. co-founder Nick stepped back from the company 44.47 – Als’ approach to growth52.39 – Prioritising resource allocation and choosing focus areas 56.46 – Als’ recommended resources for founders 1.02.14 – The challenges of fundraising 1.09.52 – Questions you should be asking investors to ensure alignment 1.13.37 – Where you can find Simply Wall St.  Links Mentioned  Al Bently’s Links Simply Wall StAl Bentley TwitterAl Bentley About Me People: Sam Birmingham Marcus TanBill TaiRick BakerBen HeapToby Heap Nick van den BergMarty Cagan (product expert) Zac BrookesMelanie PerkinsMahesh MuralidharSean EllisAndrew ChenAlex Schultz Events West Tech Fest Startup Weekend Resources Angel ListCanvaThe Mom Test BookMarty Cagan Product BooksJobs to be done  Past Episodes Ep139 – Mahesh Muralidhar Ep141 – Alex Zaccaria Special Thanks: Special thanks to Nick van den Berg and Zac Brookes for their help with research for this interview ? . Feedback/connect/say hello: Rohit@startupplaybook.co@RohitBhargava7 (Twitter)/rohbhargava (LinkedIn)@rohit_bhargava (Instagram)My Youtube Channel Credits: Music: Joakim Karud – Dreams Other channels: Don’t have iTunes? The podcast is also available on Spotify, Soundcloud & Stitcher Audio Player. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/startupplaybook/Ep142_-_Al_Bentley_Founder__CEO_-_Simply_Wall_St_on_building_your_growth_engine.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download | EmbedSubscribe: RSS admin January 1, 2014 Reply Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat admin January 1, 2014 Reply Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat admin January 1, 2014 Reply Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Copyright © 2015 - Live Composer The post Ep142 – Al Bentley (Founder & CEO – Simply Wall St) on building your growth engine appeared first on Startup Playbook.

The Startup Playbook PodcastInsights and lessons from the world's best entrepreneurs and investors Twitter Facebook YouTube Instagram Ep141 – Alex Zaccaria (Co-founder & CEO – Linktree) on viral growth, customer focus and intuition March 4, 2021 rohitbhargava Podcast My guest for Ep141 of The Startup Playbook Podcast was the Co-founder & CEO of Linktree, Alex Zaccaria. Alex started his career in the music industry. With his brother Anthony, he co-founded Bolster, an agency that specialises in running digital and creative campaigns for music festivals and events. Through the agency, they identified a problem they kept facing on behalf of their clients, how to effectively share multiple links on social media. They built a tool to help solve that problem for their clients. That tool is called Linktree and is now used by over 10M users globally including celebrities such as Selena Gomez and Jamie Oliver and brands like Redbull and HBO At the end of last year, Linktree announced they had raised their first round of external funding, raising $10.7M in a round led by AirTree and Insight Partners. In this interview we covered a range of topics including: The importance of understanding why users are using your productsHow they achieved viral growth to 10M usersHow Alex developed a partnership with Facebook during the early days of BolsterManaging engineering teams as a non-technical founderTheir journey to raising $10M and deciding which investors to raise from& much more! Show notes: 1.57 – Where Alex’s desire to become an entrepreneur came from 3.48 – The influence Alex’s family and upbringing had on his career journey and what he learned from them5.38 – Launching Bolster with some of the largest festivals in Australia as clients9.45 – How they secured a partnership with Facebook through working around the existing system11.53 – Alex’s approach to learning quickly and continuously13.15 – Why meeting a customers needs is the most important step when building a platform16.36 – How Linktree has changed from the first version and how the idea began19.14 – Welcoming and utilising big name, early customers of Linktree 21.10 – How linktree was started as a side hustle and what it would be today if it was started differently24.45 – The importance of listening to consumers and having conversations to determine their needs26.32 – Building vitality for a ready to market product30.35 – Why Linktree prioritises simplicity in product design 33.38 – Utilising product managers as a non-technical founder to prioritise features36.39 – Intuitive decision making and having the right people around you39.40 – Working with a technical lead and development team effectively 43.01 – The challenges of scale 46.04 – The process to raising $10M 49.09 – How to pick the right VC partner when raising 52.29 – What Alex would do differently when raising capital again54.51 – The importance of developing a product naturally and authentically57.51 – Staying ahead of the competition as a market leader 58.49 – Maintaining culture whilst growing team size Links mentioned: Alex’s businesses: LinktreeBolster  People mentioned: Nick HumphreysMike Bywaters John HendersonMel and Cliff from Canva Previous episodes mentioned: Creating a winning culture with Mahesh Muralidhar (Ep139) VC partners: InsightAirtree Special Thanks: Special thanks to Nick Humphreys, Mike Bywaters and John Henderson for their help with research for this interview ? . Feedback/connect/say hello: Rohit@startupplaybook.co@RohitBhargava7 (Twitter)/rohbhargava (LinkedIn)@rohit_bhargava (Instagram)My Youtube Channel Credits: Music: Joakim Karud – Dreams Other channels: Don’t have iTunes? The podcast is also available on Spotify, Soundcloud & Stitcher Audio Player. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/startupplaybook/Ep141_-_Alex_Zaccaria_Co-founder__CEO_-_Linktree_on_viral_growth_customer_focus_and_intuition.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download | EmbedSubscribe: RSS admin January 1, 2014 Reply Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat admin January 1, 2014 Reply Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat admin January 1, 2014 Reply Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Copyright © 2015 - Live Composer The post Ep141 – Alex Zaccaria (Co-founder & CEO – Linktree) on viral growth, customer focus and intuition appeared first on Startup Playbook.