Build and Scale with Devika

Devika
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  • Entrepreneurship

Build and Scale with Devika reveals the unexpected, rarely shared realities of growing a technology startup. Hosted by Ken Kencevski, founder of award-winning tech company Devika, each episode spotlights founders who turned bold ideas into multi-million dollar products with serious growth and exit potential. These aren’t your typical success stories... Through candid interviews, we explore how they built scalable tech, raised capital, and found product-market fit, often starting with just a pitch deck. New episodes every fortnight.

Episodes

  1. Rich Bell: Building and Scaling Businesses Across Industries

    6d ago

    Rich Bell: Building and Scaling Businesses Across Industries

    Rich Bell grew up in a fourth-generation family business and has built his career as a co-founder, investor, and CEO across childcare, technology, education, fitness, and wellness. In this episode, Rich shares the commercial and operational lessons he’s learned from scaling businesses through different stages of growth — from helping grow a childcare group from 5 to 50 centres and more than 1,500 staff, to building Z Staffing into an on-demand recruitment marketplace, and supporting the expansion of Joy in Movement across Australia and internationally. The conversation explores how Rich approaches leadership, culture, growth, partnerships, technology, franchising, and long-term value creation. He also explains why he believes many of the core fundamentals of business remain consistent across industries, while successful operators are the ones who can adapt quickly, build strong teams, and execute under pressure. You’ll learn: •⁠  ⁠How leadership and decision-making evolve as businesses scale •⁠  ⁠The different perspectives gained from operating as a co-founder, investor, and CEO •⁠  ⁠Why operational discipline matters before rapid growth •⁠  ⁠What founders should understand before investing heavily into technology •⁠  ⁠How AI, automation, and franchising are changing modern business models •⁠  ⁠Why strong partnerships and culture are critical to sustainable growth This episode is for founders, operators, investors, and business leaders looking to scale businesses, lead teams effectively, and create long-term enterprise value.

    37 min
  2. From over 50 Studios to a Scalable Tech Venture: Jordan McCreary

    10/20/2025

    From over 50 Studios to a Scalable Tech Venture: Jordan McCreary

    After a decade of scaling and operating over 50 fitness studios across four countries, Jordan McCreary founded CONDITN. to redefine performance training through data, evidence, and technology. In this episode, Jordan shares what he learned from building a physical fitness empire and how he’s now using technology to improve retention, personalise training, and lay the groundwork for global scale. You’ll hear how CONDITN. is blending evidence-based training with smart tech, why Jordan didn’t rush into building an app, and the exact moment he knew it was time to go digital. Whether you're a founder, operator, or fitness fanatic, this episode is packed with takeaways on customer-led innovation, scaling with purpose, and building the tech your users actually want. Listen now on Build and Scale with Devika: https://podfollow.com/build-and-scale-with-devika

    35 min
  3. From Hospitality Operator to $100M+ in Transactions: Paul Pisani

    10/06/2025

    From Hospitality Operator to $100M+ in Transactions: Paul Pisani

    What started with a bill for some buzzers in a chicken shop became ClevaQ: a mobile-first B2B platform now powering $100M+ in transactions across 200+ venues. In this episode, founder Paul Pisani shares how he went from running cafés and managing portfolios to launching a scalable tech product with minimal churn and deep industry adoption. From bootstrapping his MVP to raising capital through family, friends, and strategic partners, Paul reveals the mindset, decisions, and product-first approach that helped ClevaQ survive COVID, compete with VC-backed players, and carve out a niche in hospitality tech. You’ll hear: How a real-world pain point led to a winning startup ideaWhy he doubled down on tech when revenue hit zeroHis approach to funding without giving up controlThe power of long-term tech partnershipsWhy product over sales (especially in the early years)This is a must-listen for any founder starting with lived experience - not a tech background - and wondering how to turn insights into innovation. Listen here: https://podfollow.com/build-and-scale-with-devika  Thank you to Ingram Micro for sponsoring this episode. https://www.ingrammicro.com/

    34 min
  4. From Teenage Exit to Scaling with Amazon - Zeryab Cheema

    09/22/2025

    From Teenage Exit to Scaling with Amazon - Zeryab Cheema

    At just 19, Zeryab Cheema sold his first tech startup for 7 figures. But instead of stepping back, he went bigger - founding HOP, a transport and logistics platform now powering Amazon’s last-mile delivery in NSW and partnering with global governments to modernise mobility. In this episode, Zeryab shares the mindset behind his early success, how he pivoted HOP from rideshare to B2B infrastructure, and why not all exits mean selling. We talk burn rate, tech partnerships, investor dynamics, and building a company designed to last 15+ years. You’ll learn: How Zeryab launched and exited his first startup before 20 Why pricing isn’t just financial - it’s strategic The shift from founder-led hustle to system-led scale Why HOP started buying back shares instead of selling out What it really takes to build a tech company with global ambition Listen now on Build and Scale with Devika: https://podfollow.com/build-and-scale-with-devika  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    28 min
  5. How Glean Became a Global Fitness App with Evan Daly

    09/08/2025

    How Glean Became a Global Fitness App with Evan Daly

    After a career-ending injury as a jockey, Evan Daly rebuilt his life from the ground up. First as a personal trainer, then as the co-founder of Glean, a health and wellness app with thousands of subscribers. In this episode, Evan shares the full story: the unexpected pivot from personal training to technology entrepreneur, how he scaled a business with no technical background, and why community was the foundation from day one. You’ll hear how he and co-founder Sean Casey turned spreadsheets and Google Forms into a powerful platform, and how building with Devika unlocked the next level of scale. In this episode: How Evan went from racing horses to building digital products His first viral growth moment Launching Glean with 3K+ signups in minutes The marketing moves behind 100’s of lifetime members Why simplicity, transparency, and control are key to scaling software What non-technical founders should know before building an app Like what you hear? Follow the show and visit devika.com to learn how we help founders go from idea to impact. https://omny.fm/shows/build-and-scale-with-devika Youtube Link https://youtu.be/EleQoRCYMN8  Chapters: 00:00 – Intro 00:40 – Retired at 19: From Racing to Rock Bottom 03:00 – The Accidental PT Business 05:21 – The Social Media Explosion 07:31 – From 200 to 700 Members 08:47 – When Google Sheets Break: Time to Build 09:16 – The App Idea: Sitting on the Beach 10:28 – Picking Devika as a Tech Partner 11:39 – Go-to-Market and Launch Strategy 15:55 – Community as the Foundation 17:24 – Building the 4 Pillars of Glean 20:21 – Control, Integrations, and MVP Discipline 21:12 – Lessons in Product, Team, and Support 23:04 – Building Tech Without Being Technical   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    24 min
  6. Steve Shelley – Building a $1B Tech Unicorn & Shaping Australian Motorsport

    08/25/2025

    Steve Shelley – Building a $1B Tech Unicorn & Shaping Australian Motorsport

    Steve Shelley started his career cleaning planes and went on to build one of Australia’s largest aviation ground handling businesses, AeroCare, before co-founding Deputy; a workforce management platform valued at over $1 billion and used by businesses all around the world. Now, he’s applying that same winning playbook to his passion for motorsport. As the owner of New South Wales’ premier racing circuit, alongside  Sydney Motorsport Park, Steve is putting his stamp on the future of the sport in Australia. His latest venture, 1Racer, is a new platform designed to streamline race-day administration and revolutionise how events are run across Australia and beyond, developed in collaboration with Devika. In this episode, Steve unpacks the parallels between building traditional businesses and scaling software, what he learned from bootstrapping Deputy before raising over AUD $100 million in 2018 (the largest in history at the time), and why partnering with Devika was the right move to bring 1Racer to life. 🎧 Like what you hear? Follow the show and visit devika.com to learn how we help founders go from idea to impact. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    42 min
  • 6 Episodes

About

Build and Scale with Devika reveals the unexpected, rarely shared realities of growing a technology startup. Hosted by Ken Kencevski, founder of award-winning tech company Devika, each episode spotlights founders who turned bold ideas into multi-million dollar products with serious growth and exit potential. These aren’t your typical success stories... Through candid interviews, we explore how they built scalable tech, raised capital, and found product-market fit, often starting with just a pitch deck. New episodes every fortnight.

Information

  • Creator
    Devika
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    6
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Build and Scale with Devika
  • Show Website
    Build and Scale with Devika