Open the Pod Bay Doors

Innovation Bay
Open the Pod Bay Doors

There is a lot of activity in the Australian startup ecosystem. Ideas, talent, and money are all flowing into this sector at an unprecedented rate. This weekly podcast brings in-depth interviews with the best people making the biggest difference. It's brought to you by Ian Gardiner and Phaedon Stough, technology entrepreneurs helping to grow the startup sector in Australia and New Zealand. Ian and Phaedon co-founded Innovation Bay with a clear mission to help technology entrepreneurs succeed.

  1. 26 NOV

    EP 185 Bryan Williams, Founder, Hockey Stick Advisory

    After a brief hiatus, Open the Pid Bay Door is back with an exciting new episode! Host Ian Gardiner sits down with Bryan Williams, Founder of Hockey Stick Advisory, to dive into the world of strategic partnerships and growth acceleration. Hockey Stick Advisory provides market leading strategic partnerships advisory, operational and executional guidance with accountability for growth alongside prioritised partners. We empower ambitious companies to accelerate top line growth, whilst protecting scarce bottom line resources.   Highlights from their conversation include: 📊 Understanding Partnerships 🚀 The importance of Partnerships for Startups 🔍 Identifying Potential Partners 📈 Measuring Partnership Success 💡 Common Pitfalls in Partnerships 🌐 Building a Partnership Ecosystem 🛠️ Best Practices for Partnerships 📅 Community and Networking  Quick Fire Round: Book recommendation - "Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink. He's a former Navy seal, hardcore guy, but I think it's similar to the lines of Kim Scott's book Radical Candor.  Podcast recommendation - "Rich Roll - when it's relevant and something I like, Stephen Bartlett's Diary of a CEO and there's a bunch of really good partnership ones in the US where I can sort of follow along and absorb best practices. Favourite CEO - Yamini Rangan, CEO, Hubspot News source - Capital Brief Productivity tool - "I'm a big believer in power naps!" Favourite app - Strava TV show or movie recommendation "Well, the new Gladiator is coming out this weekend, so looking forward to that one"   If you were asked to do a TED talk, what topic would you speak about? Going viral and what not to do Don’t miss this insightful conversation packed with actionable advice for growth-focused businesses! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    47 min

  2. 20 AUG

    E184 - Taryn Pieterse, Partner, Rampersand VC

    In today’s episode, we’re thrilled to welcome Taryn Pieterse, Partner at Rampersand VC. Rampersand is a pioneering Australian venture capital firm, known for being one of the first funds in Australia and its early investment in founders with abnormal potential. With a focus on being a founder-first investor, they stay closely aligned with their portfolio companies. Currently, they are deploying their fourth fund of $50 million. Taryn and Ian discuss Rampersand's background, investment focus, fund economics, and the importance of alignment with founders. Highlights from their conversation include: Rampersand's origins and investment strategy Their fund economics Rampersand’s interest in AI-driven startups The future of AI in both business and daily life How Rampersand fosters community and provides concierge services to founders The current exit landscape and emerging opportunities The differences between venture capital firms and family offices   Quickfire round.  Book –  "The Psychology of Money" Podcast – "Defining Gravity" by Helen Sunitz News source – Overnight Success Newsletter App – Apple watch Productivity tool – Robo vacuum cleaner - I have a dog and this saves me spending hours vacuuming everyday  Tech CEO – Mark Benioff of Salesforce - a great example of start up to scale up and beyond TV show – "The Mole" on Netflix If you were asked to do a TED talk, what topic would you speak about? The art of power napping - I love power naps! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    55 min

  3. 1 AUG

    E183 - Nick Gainsley, Partner, OneVentures

    Join our host Ian Gardiner as he chats to Nick Gainsley, Partner at One Ventures and Aurora Community Member, on episode 183 of Open the Pod Bay Doors. Nick is Partner at OneVentures and leads the debt fund strategy, which was launched 5 years ago to address gaps in the Australian market. The fund offers non-dilutive alternative funding options through 3-4 year loans with interest and small equity options for growth stage companies post-Series A. Nick explains the differences between debt and equity funding, market trends, and the fund's structure as GPLP. The conversation also delves into the use of debt funding to avoid down rounds or complement equity funding, as well as discussions on AI, productivity tools, and current events. Highlights from Ian and Nick's conversation include what a debt fund looks like and how it compares to a traditional GPLP Venture Fund What do the mechanics of a debt fund deal look like Why Nick prefers the term growth credit over venture debt Nick's view on liquidity and exits in the next couple of years The future of AI and how OneVenture apodt this in their day to day operations potential downsides to a debt fund Is poker simple gambling or is it a skill?   Quickfire round.  Book – Just finished Outlive by Peter Atia Podcast – All in with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg News source – Australian Financial Review App – Spotify (shout out to Spotify Audibooks) Productivity tool – A bit boring but I use OneNote Tech CEO – You've got to be impressed with Satya Nadella from Microsoft TV show – Colin from Accounts If you were asked to do a TED talk, what topic would you speak about? I know random small snippets from lots of different things..   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    50 min

  4. 25 JULY

    E182 – Inspire 24 (Part 2) FT Craig Blair, Elaine Stead, Chris Capon

    Earlier this year, Innovation Bay brought more than 250 of Australia’s leading tech founders and investors together at Inspire, held at Sydney’s Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) on May 22-23, 2024.  Set under the overarching theme ‘The Future is…’, Inspire was a platform for the exchange of revolutionary thoughts and ideas about what the future holds for the startup ecosystem across the next 5-10 years. Our co-founder and podcast host Ian Gardiner, set out with his roving mic to chat to get his geek on with some of the event’s incredible speakers as they made their way off the main stage. He continued the conversation with them on the podcast.  During Part 2, you’ll hear from: Craig Blair, Airtree – on the future of venture capital in Australia and what needs to happen over the next ten years to make VC a success.  Elaine Stead, Main Sequence Ventures – on how she taps into her background in biochemistry to help in her investing, and the critical role the media plays in advancing the leading-edge legislation and policies that are vital to the future success of the startup sector.  Chris Capon, Nominal Systems – on why he’s working to change the mindset around how people think about space, the incredible things that are going to be done in space in the not-too-distant future, and why Australia needs to be a part of it. Listen now to get a front row seat into what Australia’s tech leading minds are passionate about and be INSPIRED.  Missed Part 1? Listen now to hear from The Hon. Ed Husic MP, Minister for Science & Industry, Greg Miller Partner at Arena Mars (exited founder of Faethm), and Melanie Silva, Managing Director and VP, Google Australia & New Zealand. Inspire was proudly supported by Innovation Bay’s official media partner Forbes Australia and event partners IAG Firemark Ventures, Google Cloud, the Field Jobs, and the Dylan Alcott Foundation.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    40 min

  5. 23 JULY

    E181 – Inspire 24 (Part 1) FT The Hon. Ed Husic MP, Greg Miller, Melanie Silva

    Earlier this year, Innovation Bay brought more than 250 of Australia’s leading tech founders and investors together at Inspire, held at Sydney’s Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) on May 22-23, 2024.  Set under the overarching theme ‘The Future is…’, Inspire was a platform for the exchange of revolutionary thoughts and ideas about what the future holds for the startup ecosystem across the next 5-10 years. As he does, our co-founder and podcast host Ian Gardiner, set out with his roving mic to chat to (some would say ambush!) some of the event’s incredible speakers and get a sense of what’s top of mind for them as they consider the evolution of the Aussie startup landscape.  During Part 1, you’ll hear from: The Hon. Ed Husic MP, Minister for Science & Industry – on quantum computing and its long-term importance to the Australian economy.  Greg Miller, Arena Mars (exited founder of Faethm) – opines on rapidly building, scaling and exiting his AI business that tackled the future of work, and how he’s now paying it forward. Melanie Silva, Google Australia and New Zealand – talks through how Google is showing Australians the power of great digital tech through the Digital Future Initiative, and bringing the greatest Googlers from around the world together to work with Australian partners to solve local problems using Google AI. Listen now to get a front row seat into what Australia’s tech leading minds are passionate about and be INSPIRED.  Inspire was proudly supported by Innovation Bay’s official media partner Forbes Australia and event partners IAG Firemark Ventures, Google Cloud, the Field Jobs, and the Dylan Alcott Foundation.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    34 min

  6. 4 JULY

    E180 – Scott Thomson, Former Head of Innovation, Customer Engineering at Google Cloud

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    53 min

  7. 11 JUNE

    E178 - Blackbird’s Sunrise 24 (part 2) Ft. Karl Durrance, Dr. Kate Mason, John McDuling, Maxine Minter, Kevin Jochelson

    Join us for part 2 of our “studio on the road” at Sunrise, Blackbird’s annual festival of the startup ecosystem.   Armed with his roving podcast mic, Innovation Bay’s Co-Founder and podcast host, Ian Gardiner, was lucky enough to tap the mind’s of some of Sunrise’s stellar speakers.    During this ep, you’ll hear from:   🌅 Karl Durrance, Stripe - discusses Stripe’s mission to increase the GDP of the internet, it’s broad customer base from startups to large enterprises, and the challenges and strategies in the financial infrustructure space.   🌅 Kate Mason, PhD - shares her career journey from Google to founding her own firm, insights on effective communication and power dynamics, and details of her Sunrise talk about how confidence is actually unhelpful and authenticity is powerful!   🌅 John McDuling, Capital Brief - chats through the challenges and successes of launching a new media outlet, Capital Brief’s focus on the new Australian economy and providing valuable intelligence, and the subscription model and importance of quality journalism.   🌅 Maxine Minter, Co Ventures - discusses her solo GP fund, their focus on pre-seed investments and accelerating companies internationally, and some quality insights on what makes a successful founder and investor.   🌅 Kevin Jochelson, Upsize & Tech Rooport - shares his approach to helping startups scale and the importance of distribution, the impact of AI on startups, and winning the debate at Sunrise on whether investment success us nice skill than luck.   Tune in for many many more nuggets from the mind’s of this all star line up.    This podcast episode is brought to you by Vanta. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    1h 21m

  8. 31 MAY

    E177 - Blackbird’s Sunrise 24 (part 1) Ft. Adam Gilmour, Kristen Durham, Tova Angsuwat, Bronwen Clune

    A few weeks back Blackbird held their annual conference Sunrise - a festival and celebration of the the startup ecosystem in Australia; or as Ian describes it “real life LinkedIn”.   Our fearless Co-Founder, host of Open The Pod Bay Doors, and arguably one of the most connected humans in the ecosystem, Ian Gardiner, took the studio on the road.   Ian chatted to 9 incredible speakers who featured on Sunrise’s epic line up, to pick their brains on their area of expertise and the industry at large.   During part 1, you’ll hear from:   Adam Gilmour, Gilmour Space Technologies - discussing the challenges in the space industry, Gilmore Space’s upcoming first orbit launch and future plans including reusable rockets and lunar missions (SO COOL!)   Kristen Durham, Zendesk - about her recent promotion, the integration and future AI in Zendesk's customer support strategy.   Tova Angsuwat, Series Build (ex-Google) - about her transition from Google to founding Series Build, insights on effective recruitment strategies for startups, and the importance of diversity in startup teams.   Bronwen Clune, Capital Brief - on her background and shift to Capital Brief (one of the newest and fastest growing tech and innovation focused media outlets), about Capital Brief’s mission to cover the new economy, and the challenges and highlights in startup journalism.   It’s a mixed bag of brilliant minds, set against the backdrop of the electrifying hum of Sunrise 2024. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    1h 3m
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4.8
out of 5
51 Ratings

About

There is a lot of activity in the Australian startup ecosystem. Ideas, talent, and money are all flowing into this sector at an unprecedented rate. This weekly podcast brings in-depth interviews with the best people making the biggest difference. It's brought to you by Ian Gardiner and Phaedon Stough, technology entrepreneurs helping to grow the startup sector in Australia and New Zealand. Ian and Phaedon co-founded Innovation Bay with a clear mission to help technology entrepreneurs succeed.

Information

  • Creator
    Innovation Bay
  • Years Active
    2017 - 2024
  • Episodes
    223
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2024 Innovation Bay
  • Show Website
    Open the Pod Bay Doors

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