nonlinear

Saurav Risbud

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An interview show about the messy, winding path to doing meaningful work

Jul 7

From VC investor to debut novelist | Jessy Wu

Jessy Wu spent seven years as a management consultant and VC investor before walking away to do two things: start a business and write a novel. A year and a half later, she's done both — running her comms agency, Encour, and publishing her debut novel, Good Intentions. In this episode, Jessy and Saurav talk about why she left a stable career in finance to chase writing, how she turned her real experience in VC, consulting, and journalism into fiction, why she's willing to be a "trailblazer and a firebrand" on LinkedIn even when it invites backlash and how she's trying to make a full-time career as a writer. Timestamps: 00:00 - Cold open and Intro 03:42 - Early reactions to Good Intentions 05:10 - The pivot from VC/consulting into the arts 08:24 - The intersection of art and commerce 11:39 - How Jessy's experiences shaped Good Intentions 13:00 - The purpose of good writing17:29 - The early drafts of Good Intentions 20:26 - The writing and publishing process 28:08 - Personal branding and being outspoken online 31:59 - Making a career as a writer 39:38 - What's next 40:59 - Advice for anyone with a creative itch and a corporate job 43:52 - nonlinear's 3 closing questions
Jun 15

From redundancy to 600K+ podcast listeners | Vidit Agarwal

Vidit Agarwal is the Founder & CEO of Curiosity Centre, an Insights, Marketing & Consulting Firm trusted across the USA, Australia, India and New Zealand. He also hosts The High Flyers podcast, releasing over 250 episodes with senior leaders in tech, government, sports and beyond. But the path here was anything but linear. A below-average ATAR, a pathway diploma at RMIT, three years at Coles, a quick jump into startup land, a stint at P&G and then a move to Sydney just weeks before COVID hit — losing two jobs in eight weeks in a city where he barely knew anyone. That was the fuel to start The High Flyers Podcast, the lockdown project that soon became a calling. Timestamps: 00:00 — Introduction 03:00 — Vidit's formative years 05:15 — Vidit's influences growing up 08:15 — A low ATAR and finding the "third door" 13:30 — The Coles internship 16:24 — What a mentor saw in Vidit in his early career20:20 — Heading to startup land 22:30 — The P&G experience at Gillette 24:30 — Moving to Sydney; COVID and two lost jobs 26:00 — Why he started the High Flyers Podcast 30:35 — The craft of interviewing: curiosity-first 37:30 — How Vidit's concept of a "high-flyer" has evolved 39:40 — Building The Curiosity Centre 49:10 — Balancing the different verticals of The Curiosity Centre 51:00 — The value of having a financial safety net 56:00 — Luck and the surface area of opportunity 57:30 — nonlinear's 3 ending questions
Jun 1

Build Australia, startup marketing and sabbaticals | Franko Ali

Franko Ali has spent over a decade in marketing and storytelling, from growing YouTube channels at Discovery Media in San Francisco to brand-building for one of Australia's leading venture capital firms. This year, he's taking a sabbatical to reset while still staying in motion. He's helping to launch Build Australia: a grassroots movement turning collective anxiety about the future into something optimistic. Timestamps: 00:00 - Opening highlight and introduction 01:39 - The link between marketing and optimism 03:50 - Growing up in California, Steiner schools and accidental stoicism 10:13 - How the early internet influenced Franko 17:30 - Going viral on Facebook while in college 19:00 - Franko's early career in media at Discovery 25:24 - The move to Australia 29:44 - Finding community as an outsider 32:15 - Working in tech and VC in Australia 45:00 - Franko's sabbatical experience 49:08 - Build Australia: turning anxiety into a national optimism movement 59:27 - AI content overload and the fear of losing our humanity 1:04:12 - nonlinear's 3 ending questions --- 🎙 ABOUT NONLINEAR nonlinear is the podcast about the messy, winding path to doing meaningful work. Each episode, host Saurav Risbud sits down with someone who took an unconventional route, whether that's starting a company, taking a sabbatical, or finding meaning beyond a job title.Subscribe and share with someone who's figuring out their next move.

3 Episodes

An interview show about the messy, winding path to doing meaningful work

Creator

Saurav Risbud
Years Active

2026
Episodes

3
Rating

Explicit
Copyright

© Saurav Risbud
Show Website

nonlinear