Square Peg Founder Stories

On today’s episode, we hear from Ruslan Kogan, the founder of Kogan.com. While we hear a lot of founders talk about their inspirations in starting their companies, not many stories draw that inspiration from mini fridges, McDonalds, and rap music, to name a few – but Ruslan’s does. Listen in to hear how these inspirations came about, how Ruslan picked a public media fight with one of Australia’s biggest retailers in a real life David and Goliath situation, and Ruslan’s thoughts on where e-commerce is headed in the future.Learn more about Kogan at https://www.kogan.com/

On today’s episode, we hear from Elad Gil, the co-founder of Mixer Labs and Color Genomics, investor and advisor to a multitude of companies, and author of “High Growth Handbook”. Listen in to learn about Elad’s biggest takeaways from working at Google and Twitter, and his answers to some of the tougher questions around founding and investing, like what do you do when an employee isn’t scaling with a company? Or how do you diligence a company in a market so forward thinking it doesn’t exist yet?Find out more about Elad’s book here: https://growth.eladgil.com/

George Peppou and Tim Noakesmith discuss the future of food and their company, Vow, which produces sustainable cultured meat. They explore the potential of cultured meat and ethical meat production, the challenges of scaling deep tech companies, and the hiring process at Vow. They share their passion for cooking, the importance of meaningful brand experiences, and their long-term vision for the future of food.

On today’s episode, something a bit different! We have just closed our fourth generation of funds; an AU$600m pool of capital to back exceptional founders across our investment regions in Australia and New Zealand, Israel and Southeast Asia.On today's episode, hear from Paul Bassat in Australia, Tushar Roy in Singapore and Dan Krasnostein in Tel Aviv as they explain how each of these ecosystems function, how they're different, and what's exciting us as they evolve. Also hear from Leila Lee our Head of Distribution on what it's like to fundraise for a venture firm.Sign up for the newsletter here: https://linktr.ee/squarepegpodcast

Bruce Buchanan is one of Australia’s greatest business builders.As CEO, he scaled Jetstar to Asia’s largest low-cost carrier and then he co-founded ROKT, a global marketing technology business with over $100m in revenue that is powering the transaction moment.In this episode, Bruce shares his story from selling painted rocks on the side of the road, to Jetstar to Rokt.Find out more at https://rokt.com/

On today’s episode, we hear from Arrif Ziaudeen, the founder and CEO at Chope.Chances are if you’ve ever tried to book a table at a restaurant in a major city in Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, or China, you’re already familiar with the platform. Chope is a restaurant booking service, and as you’ll hear in this episode, so much more.Listen in to hear Arrif break down his upbringing, career, and incredible founder experience in a beautifully candid way, as well as how a restaurant booking platform has managed to survive global Coronavirus lockdowns.Learn more about Chope at https://www.chope.co/

On Today’s episode we hear from Lim Wai Mun, the founder and CEO at Doctor Anywhere. Doctor Anywhere is a Singapore-based telehealth company aiming to improve accessibility to healthcare services. The app lets you video call with a doctor anytime, anywhere, and have any prescribed medicine delivered directly to you. Doctor anywhere also has a range of wellbeing products and appointments, as well as in-person clinics.Hear Wai Mun share how important his childhood experiences have been to motivating his life goals, the leap he took to leave his secure full time job to build a start-up, and how there’s no such thing as a bad investment.Learn more about Doctor Anywhere at: https://doctoranywhere.com/

On today’s episode, we hear from Michele Ferrario, the co-founder and CEO atStashAway.StashAway is a digital wealth management platform operating in Singapore and Malaysia, that offers transparent investment products and cash management portfolios for both retail and accredited investors.Hear Michele share his global career mindset, how far he strayed from his childhood ambition to be a soccer player, and the lessons he’s learned in the array of positions he’s held at large companies all over the world. For Michele, it all comes back to the people he’s working with.Learn more about StashAway at https://www.stashaway.sg/

On today’s episode, we hear from Michael Biercuk, the founder and CEO at Q-CTRL.Q-CTRL is a quantum technology company providing solutions to some of quantum computing’s most pressing problems, and an array of software options ranging from those tailored to advanced researchers, to those simply curious about journeying into the field.Listen in for a crash course on quantum computing from Michael himself, the challenges and strategies to creating a company revolving around such an enigmatic field, and why Michael’s wristwatch is a constant reminder of his mission at Q-CTRL.Learn more about Q-CTRL at https://q-ctrl.com/.

On today’s episode, we hear from Chris Hexton, the founder and CEO at Vero.Hear Chris talk through some of the biggest lessons on his journey to founding Vero: Why Chris and his co-founder James decided to bootstrap their company - and then took venture funding, how Startmate helped Chris validate their solution with customers, how to build remote teams that function.Learn more about Vero at: https://www.getvero.com/