Afleveringen
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Kell is the newest Partner at the Venture Capital firm, Airtree.
Before joining Airtree, he spent most of his career in Silicon Valley at renowned firms such as Dragoneer, D1 Capital Partners and General Atlantic, investing in some of the most interesting consumer and enterprise companies in technology (Airbnb, Appfolio, Atlassian, Gitlab, Gusto, Samsara, Spotify, Uber).
Kell was born in Sydney, Australia and has recently returned back to Sydney after spending the last 14 years in the US.
It’s now time to explore your curiosity. Click the links below to listen and enjoy now.
If you're keen to discuss sponsorship and partnering with us, email us at [email protected] today!
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CLICK HERE to read show notes from this conversation between our host, Vidit Agarwal and Kell Reilly. Please enjoy!
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Get in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly here
Contact us via our website to discuss sponsorship opportunities, recommend future guests or share feedback, we love hearing how to improve!
Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show!
***
The High Flyers Podcast re-imagines the traditional notion of a "high flyer" and is a premier product of the Curiosity Center. The podcast showcases the journeys of relatable role models from their sunrise (childhood) to today. Listeners love the unique and direct inside access to these relatable role models, companies and industries in every walk of life to help us all be 1% better everyday, together.
160+ guests have joined Vidit Agarwal on the show from around the world including Heads of state, Olympians, Business and cultural leaders, Social Advocates, Investors, Entrepreneurs and more.
The Curiosity Center is widely recognised as a leading on-demand intelligence network for founders, investors, executives and students with an audience of over 200,000 across this podcast + Association Series Newsletter and 7-Star Events. Find out more at www.curiositycenter.xyz
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Matteo is the Co-Founder and CEO of Eight Sleep, the sleep fitness company. Eight Sleep developed a proprietary technology which is redesigning sleep by developing cutting-edge AI and machine learning models to track bio signals during the night and optimising body recovery and rest while asleep. The end goal of the Pod is to compress sleep and scan your body while asleep to monitor your health.
Eight Sleep is currently used by pro athletes and top performers across multiple industries and was recognised as one of TIME’s “Best Inventions” in 2018 and 2019, was named one of Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Companies” in 2018, and has raised over $150M in funding from leading investors, including Founders Fund, Softbank, Khosla Ventures, Y Combinator, Valor Equity Partners, General Catalyst, Naval Ravikant, and Patrick Collison.
Matteo was born in Ferrara in Italy and now lives in the US, splitting his time between New York and Miami.
It’s now time to explore your curiosity. Click the links below to listen and enjoy now.
If you're keen to discuss sponsorship and partnering with us, email us at [email protected] today!
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CLICK HERE to read show notes from this conversation between our host, Vidit Agarwal and Matteo Franceschetti
It’s now time to explore your curiosity. Please enjoy!
***
Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter
Get in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly here
Contact us via our website to discuss sponsorship opportunities, recommend future guests or share feedback, we love hearing how to improve!
Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show!
***
The High Flyers Podcast re-imagines the traditional notion of a "high flyer" and is a premier product of the Curiosity Center. The podcast showcases the journeys of relatable role models from their sunrise (childhood) to today. Listeners love the unique and direct inside access to these relatable role models, companies and industries in every walk of life to help us all be 1% better everyday, together.
150+ guests have joined Vidit Agarwal on the show from around the world including Heads of state, Olympians, Business and cultural leaders, Social Advocates, Investors, Entrepreneurs and more.
The Curiosity Center is widely recognised as a leading on-demand intelligence network for founders, investors, executives and students with an audience of over 200,000 across this podcast + Association Series Newsletter and 7-Star Events. Find out more at www.curiositycenter.xyz
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Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
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Judy is the Group CEO of Euphemia, the family office for Australian entrepreneur and technologist, Dom Pym. Together they manage ~$65m in investments globally, focussing on Fintech, ClimateTech, women-led startups and startup infrastructure. Prior to teaming up with Dom, Judy was the CEO of Startup Victoria, Australia’s largest network for entrepreneurs with over 60,000 people in the community. She is also Chair of the advisory board at LUNA and is a board observer at Birchal on behalf of Euphemia.
Judy was born in Penrith, in NSW, a bit outside Sydney and now lives in Melbourne, Australia.
*(This episode is brought to you in partnership with the Wade Institute of Entrepreneurship. Find out more about their renowned VC catalyst program). Reach out to Vidit if you're curious to learn more or want an intro to Midsy at Wade.
If you're keen to discuss sponsorship and partnering with us, email us at [email protected] today!
***
CLICK HERE to read show notes from this conversation between our host, Vidit Agarwal and this weeks guest, Judy Anderson-Firth.
It’s now time to explore your curiosity. Please enjoy!
***
Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter
Get in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly here
Contact us via our website to discuss sponsorship opportunities, recommend future guests or share feedback, we love hearing how to improve!
Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show!
***
The High Flyers Podcast re-imagines the traditional notion of a "high flyer" and is a premier product of the Curiosity Center. The podcast showcases the journeys of relatable role models from their sunrise (childhood) to today. Listeners love the unique and direct inside access to these relatable role models, companies and industries in every walk of life to help us all be 1% better everyday, together.
150+ guests have joined Vidit Agarwal on the show from around the world including Heads of state, Olympians, Business and cultural leaders, Social Advocates, Investors, Entrepreneurs and more.
The Curiosity Center is widely recognised as a leading on-demand intelligence network for founders, investors, executives and students with an audience of over 200,000 across this podcast + Association Series Newsletter and 7-Star Events. Find out more at www.curiositycenter.xyz
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Jack Zhang is the Co-founder and CEO of Airwallex, last valued at $5.6B. Airwallex is a leading global financial platform for modern businesses, offering trusted solutions to manage everything from payments, treasury, and spend management to embedded finance, serving over 100,000 companies around the world. Jack is responsible for devising and implementing the overall strategic vision of the company. Under his leadership, Airwallex has raised over US$800 million in funding, supported by top-tier investors including Lone Pine Capital, Greenoaks Capital, Salesforce Ventures, DST Global, Sequoia, Tencent and SquarePeg. Prior to starting Airwallex, Jack had over a decade of experience in foreign exchange trading and investment banking across London, Melbourne and Hong Kong, including start various entrepreneurial pursuits including import and export businesses, cafes and more. Jack was born in Shandong, China and then moved to Melbourne, Australia when he was 15. He now spends his time mostly between New York and London.
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CLICK HERE to read show notes and timestamps from this conversation between our host, Vidit Agarwal and this weeks guest, Jack Zhang.
It’s now time to explore your curiosity. Please enjoy!
***
Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter
Get in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly here
Contact us via our website to discuss sponsorship opportunities, recommend future guests or share feedback, we love hearing how to improve!
Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show!
***
The High Flyers Podcast re-imagines the traditional notion of a "high flyer" and is a premier product of the Curiosity Center. The podcast showcases the journeys of relatable role models from their sunrise (childhood) to today. Listeners love the unique and direct inside access to these relatable role models, companies and industries in every walk of life to help us all be 1% better everyday, together.
150+ guests have joined Vidit Agarwal on the show from around the world including Heads of state, Olympians, Business and cultural leaders, Social Advocates, Investors, Entrepreneurs and more.
The Curiosity Center is widely recognised as a leading on-demand intelligence network for founders, investors, executives and students with an audience of over 200,000 across this podcast + Association Series Newsletter and 7-Star Events. Find out more at www.curiositycenter.xyz
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This is the second and final part of a 2 part special conversation with Ahmed Fahour in a rare public interview appearance. Ahmed is a prominent business executive who has held leadership positions in various organizations around the world. He moved to Australia from Lebanon at a young age, and is currently CEO of The Gurner Group. Previously, he has held well known roles including as CEO of Australia Post, NAB, Citigroup and Latitude Financial Services alongside board roles with Invest Victoria and the $15B National Reconstruction Fund. Ahmed is an active member of Muslim community and was Australia’s Special Envoy to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and one of the founders of the Islamic Museum of Australia. Ahmed is married to Hannah and between them they have six children. He was born in Lebanon and now lives in Melbourne, Australia.
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CLICK HERE to read show notes and timestamps from this conversation between our host, Vidit Agarwal and this weeks guest, Ahmed Fahour.
It’s now time to explore your curiosity. Please enjoy!
***
Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter
Get in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly here
Contact us via our website to discuss sponsorship opportunities, recommend future guests or share feedback, we love hearing how to improve!
Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show!
***
The High Flyers Podcast re-imagines the traditional notion of a "high flyer" and is a premier product of the Curiosity Center. The podcast showcases the journeys of relatable role models from their sunrise (childhood) to today. Listeners love the unique and direct inside access to these relatable role models, companies and industries in every walk of life to help us all be 1% better everyday, together.
150+ guests have joined Vidit Agarwal on the show from around the world including Heads of state, Olympians, Business and cultural leaders, Social Advocates, Investors, Entrepreneurs and more.
The Curiosity Center is widely recognised as a leading on-demand intelligence network for founders, investors, executives and students with an audience of over 200,000 across this podcast + Association Series Newsletter and 7-Star Events. Find out more at www.curiositycenter.xyz
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This is part 1 of a 2 part special conversation with Ahmed Fahour in a rare public interview appearance.
Ahmed is a prominent business executive who has held leadership positions in various organizations around the world. He moved to Australia from Lebanon at a young age, and is currently CEO of The Gurner Group. Previously, he has held well known roles including as CEO of Australia Post, NAB, Citigroup and Latitude Financial Services alongside board roles with Invest Victoria and the $15B National Reconstruction Fund. Ahmed is an active member of Muslim community and was Australia’s Special Envoy to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and one of the founders of the Islamic Museum of Australia. Ahmed is married to Hannah and between them they have six children. He was born in Lebanon and now lives in Melbourne, Australia.
***
CLICK HERE to read show notes from this conversation between our host, Vidit Agarwal and this weeks guest, Ahmed Fahour.
It’s now time to explore your curiosity. Please enjoy!
***
Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter
Get in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly here
Contact us via our website to discuss sponsorship opportunities, recommend future guests or share feedback, we love hearing how to improve!
Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show!
***
The High Flyers Podcast re-imagines the traditional notion of a "high flyer" and is a premier product of the Curiosity Center. The podcast showcases the journeys of relatable role models from their sunrise (childhood) to today. Listeners love the unique and direct inside access to these relatable role models, companies and industries in every walk of life to help us all be 1% better everyday, together.
150+ guests have joined Vidit Agarwal on the show from around the world including Heads of state, Olympians, Business and cultural leaders, Social Advocates, Investors, Entrepreneurs and more.
The Curiosity Center is widely recognised as a leading on-demand intelligence network for founders, investors, executives and students with an audience of over 200,000 across this podcast + Association Series Newsletter and 7-Star Events. Find out more at www.curiositycenter.xyz
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Dr. Larry Marshall is a distinguished scientist, technology innovator, and business leader with over 25 years of experience. He holds a PhD in Physics and As the longest-serving chief executive of CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, he led a transformation that resulted in the first growth in 30 years and the first emissions reduction in 100 years, achieving 83% of Net Zero. He has led 2 companies to IPOs and served as CEO of 6 companies in various sectors, and has 100 publications and conference papers, holds 20 patents, and has served on 20 boards of high-tech companies operating in the US, Australia, and China. Larry was born and lives in Sydney, Australia. He spent 30 years living and working in the US.
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CLICK HERE to read show notes from this conversation between our host, Vidit Agarwal and Larry Marshall.
It’s now time to explore your curiosity. Please enjoy!
***
Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter
Get in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly here
Contact us via our website to discuss sponsorship opportunities, recommend future guests or share feedback, we love hearing how to improve!
Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show!
***
The High Flyers Podcast re-imagines the traditional notion of a "high flyer" and is a premier product of the Curiosity Center. The podcast showcases the journeys of relatable role models from their sunrise (childhood) to today. Listeners love the unique and direct inside access to these relatable role models, companies and industries in every walk of life to help us all be 1% better everyday, together.
150+ guests have joined Vidit Agarwal on the show from around the world including Heads of state, Olympians, Business and cultural leaders, Social Advocates, Investors, Entrepreneurs and more.
The Curiosity Center is widely recognised as a leading on-demand intelligence network for founders, investors, executives and students with an audience of over 200,000 across this podcast + Association Series Newsletter and 7-Star Events. Find out more at www.curiositycenter.xyz
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Mark Suster is a globally renowned Investor, being Partner at Upfront Ventures, based in LA, California. He previously was the founder & CEO of two successful enterprise software companies, the most recent of which was sold to Salesforce.com where Mark became VP, Product. Mark was born in Philadelphia, and now lives in Los Angeles, California in the USA.
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CLICK HERE to read show notes from this conversation between our host, Vidit Agarwal and Mark Suster.
It’s now time to explore your curiosity. Please enjoy!
***
Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter
Get in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly here
Contact us via our website to discuss sponsorship opportunities, recommend future guests or share feedback, we love hearing how to improve!
Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show!
***
The High Flyers Podcast re-imagines the traditional notion of a "high flyer" and is a premier product of the Curiosity Center. The podcast showcases the journeys of relatable role models from their sunrise (childhood) to today. Listeners love the unique and direct inside access to these relatable role models, companies and industries in every walk of life to help us all be 1% better everyday, together.
150+ guests have joined Vidit Agarwal on the show from around the world including Heads of state, Olympians, Business and cultural leaders, Social Advocates, Investors, Entrepreneurs and more.
The Curiosity Center is widely recognised as a leading on-demand intelligence network for founders, investors, executives and students with an audience of over 200,000 across this podcast + Association Series Newsletter and 7-Star Events. Find out more at www.curiositycenter.xyz
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We're joined by Holly Kramer in a very rare public interview appearance. Holly is an experienced non-executive Director and Chief Executive. She is on the boards of leading companies such as Woolworths, ANZ, Fonterra and more. Holly is the former CEO of Best & Less and has more than 25 years’ experience in general management, marketing and sales, including roles at the Ford Motor Company (in the US and Australia), Telstra Corporation and Pacific Brands. She was born in Billings, Montana in the US and currently lives in the southern highlands, just outside Sydney in Australia.
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Learn about Holly’s sunrise in Billings, Montana with a deep connection to nature, and the influences of her parents -- her dad a doctor and mum having scholarships to Ivy League schools but giving that up to be a stay at home mum to Holly and her brother.
In this candid conversation, we cover Holly’s relationship with money growing up, the fascinating story behind her move to Australia post university and the link with the Ford Motor Company, how she met her husband, Transition from the car industry at Ford to telecommunications at Telstra as marketing director (+ working for previous guest Daniel Petre in between those roles).
Particular areas that stand out include:
Learnings from a former prominent public company CEO and recollecting fascinating stories of dealing with conflictHow Holly learnt the importance of understanding people, building relationships, having open communication.Leaving Telstra to join Best & Less when it was struggling, and why she wanted to manage a P&L and a business end to end, rather than just a functionThe incredible role numerous mentors have played in opening doors for her career moves, often in sectors that she is new toReflecting back on 2012 and setting up foundations for a successful board career since which has included AMP, Australia Post, Woolworths, ANZ, and moreThe desire to build a familyRare inside view of how boards operate — aspects that a lot of you may not know aboutWhether she has built more courage as she has become more senior in her career.And why the most challenging experience she had was my time on the AMP board.And her current focus on helping companies with their climate and sustainability strategy and why that’s important.It’s now time to explore your curiosity. Please enjoy!
***
Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter
Get in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly here
Contact us via our website to discuss sponsorship opportunities, recommend future guests or share feedback, we love hearing how to improve!
Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show!
***
The High Flyers Podcast re-imagines the traditional notion of a "high flyer" and is a premier product of the Curiosity Center. The podcast showcases the journeys of relatable role models from their sunrise (childhood) to today. Listeners love the unique and direct inside access to these relatable role models, companies and industries in every walk of life to help us all be 1% better everyday, together.
150+ guests have joined Vidit Agarwal on the show from around the world including Heads of state, Olympians, Business and cultural leaders, Social Advocates, Investors, Entrepreneurs and more.
The Curiosity Center is widely recognised as a leading on-demand intelligence network for founders, investors, executives and students with an audience of over 200,000 across this podcast + Association Series Newsletter and 7-Star Events. Find out more at www.curiositycenter.xyz
***
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This is a replay of our very popular episode with Daniel Petre. He was one one of 5 global VP's under Bill Gates at Microsoft, Co-founded three Venture Capital firms including the globally successful Airtree, and is now building his non for profit in Start Giving.
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In this (replay) episode #113 w Daniel Petre, learn about:
sunrise in Sydney and immigrant parents from Romania being sent to Australia after World war 2reflections on childhood not being the happiest and looking for a sense of belongingsuccess at age 18: be a fighter pilot in the Air Force, don’t make it from last 35 applicantspsychology being a path Daniel would explore if he was 18 againJoining Microsoft when it wasn’t a household name and rising to one of 5 global VP's under Bill GatesDoes he feel successful after time at Microsoft?How birth of first daughter and death of sister re-prioritised life focusCreating a culture of truth seeking as a leader at Airtree VenturesLearnings from Bill Bartee (co-founder of Blackbird + Main Sequence)How to build a philanthropic nationIt’s now time to explore your curiosity. Please enjoy!
***
Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter
Get in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly here
Contact us via our website to discuss sponsorship opportunities, recommend future guests or share feedback, we love hearing how to improve!
Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show!
***
The High Flyers Podcast is a global TOP ten ranked show that re-imagines the traditional notion of a "high flyer". The podcast showcases the journeys of relatable role models from their sunrise (childhood) to today. Listeners love the unique and direct inside access to these relatable role models, companies and industries in every walk of life to help us all be 1% better everyday, together.
150+ guests have joined Vidit Agarwal on the show from around the world including Heads of state, Olympians, Business and cultural leaders, Social Advocates, Investors, Entrepreneurs and more.
The Curiosity Center is widely recognised as a leading on-demand intelligence network for founders, investors, executives and students with an audience of over 200,000 across this podcast + Association Series Newsletter and 7-Star Events. Find out more at www.curiositycenter.xyz
***
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This is a replay of our very popular episode with Anil Sabharwal (one of his only public interviews to date!). Anil is Vice President of Product Management at Google. The company has nine products that have achieved the coveted Billion active users goal, and Anil has built and led three of them in Google Photos, Google Chrome and Google Drive. He is currently heading up a new product in Fitbit.
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In this (replay) episode #118 w Anil Sabharwal learn about:
Sunrise in Canada with Indian rootsReflections on his early influences and leaving home at age 17Highlights / Learnings from 10-15 year career prior to joining GoogleMoving to Australia in 2006Achieving momentum in early days at GoogleUnlocking skills working across new markets, segments and industries in building billion user products and becoming globally recognised product leaderBuilding Google Photos into a billion user productLeadership responsibility across product, design and engineeringPromotion to managing Google Chrome, ChromeOS and CommunicationsProduct DNA differences between Photos and ChromeTransition from Chrome to a blank canvas and prioritising valuesWhy is the product function king (or queen) at Google?Key metrics to monitor in your product functionMake a few people very happy vs a lot of people semi happySuccess at 50It’s now time to explore your curiosity. Please enjoy!
***
Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter
Get in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly here
Contact us via our website to discuss sponsorship opportunities, recommend future guests or share feedback, we love hearing how to improve!
Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show!
***
The High Flyers Podcast is a global TOP ten ranked show that re-imagines the traditional notion of a "high flyer". The podcast showcases the journeys of relatable role models from their sunrise (childhood) to today. Listeners love the unique and direct inside access to these relatable role models, companies and industries in every walk of life to help us all be 1% better everyday, together.
150+ guests have joined Vidit Agarwal on the show from around the world including Heads of state, Olympians, Business and cultural leaders, Social Advocates, Investors, Entrepreneurs and more.
The Curiosity Center is widely recognised as a leading on-demand intelligence network for founders, investors, executives and students with an audience of over 200,000 across this podcast + Association Series Newsletter and 7-Star Events. Find out more at www.curiositycenter.xyz
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We're joined by Sam Sicilia in a very rare public interview appearance. Sam is the Chief Investment Officer for the multi-billion dollar superannuation Fund (Retirement savings) Hostplus, often referred to as a 'giant' in the industry with around 1.7 million members and over $100b funds under management.
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Learn about Sam’s sunrise in Melbourne, Australia and the influences of his parents, who migrated from Sicily to Melbourne in the 1950s. Learnings from his Father who worked in heavy metal forging for aircrafts, heavy trucks, shaping hot steel and Mother was a seamstress. Sam refers to his childhood as “Economically poor but culturally rich”
In this candid conversation, we cover his goals at age 18 to become an astronomer but then pursuing academia and a Phd in Theoretical physics. Sam shared his transition from academia to investment consulting thanks to a phone call from someone who saw him teach and supporting him to succeed. Our host Vidit asked him about his unique views on Balancing people/relationships with diligence/theory in the investment world.
Particular areas that stand out are:
Reflecting on 2008 GFC and Sam starting in CIO role at Hostplus (when they lost a Billion dollars in assets, going from 7.6B to 6.4B!)Why he believes in Venture Capital and the ability to tolerate illiquidity in private equityIf he had to redesign the VC model structure today on a white sheet of paper, how would he do it?Portfolio construction within private equity: buyout vs VC?Fee structures with VC funds when interacting with super fund moneySpecialised vs focused fundsAnd be sure to listen in on the non work related moments in Sam’s story including his life changing learning from doing a 42 days walk in Spain with his wife in 2019, his biggest area of learning over the next 6 months and the person who inspires him the most today.
It’s now time to explore your curiosity. Please enjoy!
***
Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter
Get in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly here
Contact us via our website to discuss sponsorship opportunities, recommend future guests or share feedback, we love hearing how to improve!
Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show!
***
The High Flyers Podcast re-imagines the traditional notion of a "high flyer" and is a premier product of the Curiosity Center. The podcast showcases the journeys of relatable role models from their sunrise (childhood) to today. Listeners love the unique and direct inside access to these relatable role models, companies and industries in every walk of life to help us all be 1% better everyday, together.
150+ guests have joined Vidit Agarwal on the show from around the world including Heads of state, Olympians, Business and cultural leaders, Social Advocates, Investors, Entrepreneurs and more.
The Curiosity Center is widely recognised as a leading on-demand intelligence network for founders, investors, executives and students with an audience of over 200,000 across this podcast + Association Series Newsletter and 7-Star Events. Find out more at www.curiositycenter.xyz
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To celebrate this milestone episode 150, we're joined by Simon Holmes à Court in a very rare public interview appearance, and we believe his first about his own story!
Simon has stood at the intersection of community, climate action and politics since May 2007 when he began chairing the community cooperative that set out to build Australia’s first community-owned wind farm. Fifteen years later to the month, at the May 2022 national federal election, one of this former Silicon Valley dot com engineer’s startups, Climate 200, harnessed community, climate awareness and politics to play a major role in shaking up Australia’s tired old political order. He is an energy analyst, clean-tech investor, climate philanthropist, director of the Smart Energy Council, The Superpower Institute and more.
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Episode guiding points:
This conversation is truly wide ranging and covers a lot of ground. We discuss his upbringing in Perth, Australia with 3 siblings and his parents being on the road a lot, and his father’s South African heritage. Simon reflects on his boarding school experience in Geelong, near Melbourne and how that was physically and emotionally character building.
Hear about his aspirations at age 18: set up a computer parts company with a friend to upgrade memory in people’s computers, Studying law but then loved the student organisation AIESEC and going down a different path. Our host, Vidit also was involved with AIESEC during my university studies and couldn’t speak more highly of the training it gave me.
Particular aspects of this conversation that stood out to us include:
Simon and his wife left the US on sept 10th 2001 with their first child and moving back to Australia, and living in Melbourne (cautious after his boarding school scars)Simon’s discovery of renewable energy during his 14 years scaling a company called Observant: Building remote monitoring technical solutions, and precision water management for farmers and their family cattle stations in the Northern Territory How leadership of the Hepburn Community Farm Project gave Simon exposure to everything from The capital raising, the media, the politics, the engineering side, the commercials of building environmental, on ground engagementThe fascinating story of The kids off naru project, the Sydney opera house and a horse race and Simon learning the power of Twitter through thisLearning clarity of communication and present information in a way that makes people engaged and willing to listen and not switch off?Two concepts that we haven’t stopped thinking about since this conversation is one: First The trim Tab from Buckminster Fuller (listen in to hear this context, small things like a trim tab can drive large scale changes), and second the Henry David Thoreau quote “There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root.”
So be a trim tab and a root striker.
Thank you for your support of the 150 episodes to date, this has been the most impactful and enjoyable work our host Vidit Agarwal has done in his life, and is excited for what’s ahead. As always, his details are in the show notes and he loves hearing from you.
It’s now time to explore your curiosity. Please enjoy
***
Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter
Get in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly here
Contact us via our website to discuss sponsorship opportunities, recommend future guests or share feedback, we love hearing how to improve!
Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show!
***
The High Flyers Podcast re-imagines the traditional notion of a "high flyer" and is a premier product of the Curiosity Center. The podcast showcases the journeys of relatable role models from their sunrise (childhood) to today. Listeners love the unique and direct inside access to these relatable role models, companies and industries in every walk of life to help us all be 1% better everyday, together.
150+ guests have joined Vidit Agarwal on the show from around the world including Heads of state, Olympians, Business and cultural leaders, Social Advocates, Investors, Entrepreneurs and more.
The Curiosity Center is widely recognised as a leading on-demand intelligence network for founders, investors, executives and students with an audience of over 200,000 across this podcast + Association Series Newsletter and 7-Star Events. Find out more at www.curiositycenter.xyz
***
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We're joined by Barnaby Marshall, Partner at Icehouse Ventures and Vignesh Kumar, Co-Managing Partner at GD1 in this special "round table musings" demystifying the fast growing New Zealand tech ecosystem.
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Episode guiding points:
Think of this conversation as a balcony view of the state of play in the tech ecosystem in NZ and a round table of musings. We deep dive into various aspects including Barnaby and Vignesh’s varied and interesting entry points into Venture Capital and how their prior experiences in different domains helped; Unpacking the historical and current state of play of the NZ Venture ecosystem (Generation 3 as Barnaby refers to it) and examples of the success stories to date such as TradeMe, PushPay, Xero, LanzaTech, Rocketlab etc. We dive into the thesis and fund construction of GD1 and Icehouse, their Investment Committee decision making process (this one is particularly relevant for founders looking to raise capital from VC’s like Icehouse and GD1).
We review the cultural change starting to happen in NZ and What would Barnaby and Vignesh change if they had a magic wand.
And you may find their areas of learning for the next 6 months intriguing, our host Vidit for one have exactly those points on his list.
It’s now time to explore your curiosity. Please enjoy!
***
Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter
Get in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly here
Contact us via our website to discuss sponsorship opportunities, recommend future guests or share feedback, we love hearing how to improve!
Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show!
***
The High Flyers Podcast re-imagines the traditional notion of a "high flyer" and is a premier product of the Curiosity Center. The podcast showcases the journeys of relatable role models from their sunrise (childhood) to today. Listeners love the unique and direct inside access to these relatable role models, companies and industries in every walk of life to help us all be 1% better everyday, together.
145+ guests have joined Vidit Agarwal on the show from around the world including Heads of state, Olympians, Business and cultural leaders, social Advocates, Investors, Entrepreneurs and more.
The Curiosity Center is widely recognised as a leading on-demand intelligence network for founders, investors, executives and students with an audience of over 200,000 across this podcast + Association Series Newsletter and 7-Star Events. Find out more at www.curiositycenter.xyz
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Martijn Wilder is the Founder & CEO of Pollination, a global climate change advisory and investment firm. He is also the chair of the $15B National Reconstruction Fund set up by the Australian Government and was previously Head of Baker & McKenzie’s global climate law and finance practice for twenty years working with governments and bodies to accelerate the global net zero transition.
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Episode guiding points:
Learn about Martijn’s sunrise in Sydney, Australia being of British and dutch heritage with his parents having immigrated to Aus in their early 20’s and a strong family history of working in the book publishing industry, and influences of his 2 younger sisters. You may be surprised to learn that Martijn wanted to be a vet at age 18, and fell into law and business.
Questions our host, Vidit exploring with Martijn include: His Honours thesis at university in economics focused on antarctic legal issues, What made him join and then work at the law firm, Baker Mackenzie for 20 years, How he rose up to partner and his learnings on backing people, climate solutions projects he worked on around the world including buying and selling UN sanctioned carbon credits in 2004, Helping FIJI host the COP, attended by heads of countries, meeting indigenous leaders for regenerative agriculture projects and more. Our host, Vidit was particularly fascinated by how some of these projects actually originate and the realities behind the scenes. We cover Martijn’s journey to being on and chairing various non for profit and government boards including the clean energy finance corporation, the australian renewable agency and most recently being appointed to chair $15B National Reconstruction Fund set up by the Australian Government.
Important aspects of his story that are intriguing include the role his wife Jane has played in his life, and of course how and why he decided to set up Pollination nearly 4 years ago now, their thesis, the first 12 months of setting it up with COVID hitting, Raising capital and learn about Martijn’s systems and habits to manage his time and his most recommended newsletter he religiously reads.
It’s now time to explore your curiosity. Please enjoy!
***
Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter
Get in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly here
Contact us via our website to discuss sponsorship opportunities, recommend future guests or share feedback, we love hearing how to improve!
Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show!
***
The High Flyers Podcast re-imagines the traditional notion of a "high flyer" and is a premier product of the Curiosity Center. The podcast showcases the journeys of relatable role models from their sunrise (childhood) to today. Listeners love the unique and direct inside access to these relatable role models, companies and industries in every walk of life to help us all be 1% better everyday, together.
145+ guests have joined Vidit Agarwal on the show from around the world including Heads of state, Olympians, Business and cultural leaders, social Advocates, Investors, Entrepreneurs and more.
The Curiosity Center is widely recognised as a leading on-demand intelligence network for founders, investors, executives and students with an audience of over 200,000 across this podcast + Association Series Newsletter and 7-Star Events. Find out more at www.curiositycenter.xyz
***
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Sarah Hamilton is the co-founder of Bellabox, Asia Pacific’s market leading beauty box that she co-founded with her twin sister, and raised investment from leading investors including SquarePeg. Sarah is now an investor, and advisor to many of the leading companies and CEOs in the consumer and beauty industry, and a graduate of the Wade Institute VC catalyst program!
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Episode guiding points:
Learn about Sarah’s sunrise in Geelong, just outside Melbourne, Australia being one of 4 kids and the influences of her dad, who ran a carpet and furniture store and mum who worked in the business and loved the commerce and numbers.
Questions our host, Vidit enjoyed exploring with Sarah include: The role of growing up in an entrepreneurial household and how that led to her start in a career in finance roles in the magazine and advertising industry in Australia, and then London and New York, the business model of that industry and key differences between the UK and US markets, how and why she decided to come back to Melbourne and start Bella Box with her twin sister, how they outlived 11 competitors in the beauty subscription category, early days of social media and low customer acquisition cost and learnings from raising venture capital investment.
We cover her journey to becoming an angel investor and the role the VC catalyst program from Wade Institute played in providing practical learnings, and the ins and outs of investing + Vidit was fascinated by Sarah’s reflections on what she thinks differentiates venture capital and private equity, her transition from founder to an advisory and measuring times per month rather than times per week. Listen in for the full context on this one!
It’s now time to explore your curiosity. Please enjoy!
***
Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter
Contact us via our website to discuss sponsorship opportunities, recommend future guests or share feedback, we love hearing how to improve!
Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show!
***
The High Flyers Podcast re-imagines the traditional notion of a "high flyer" and is a premier product of the Curiosity Center. The podcast showcases the journeys of relatable role models from their sunrise (childhood) to today. Listeners love the unique and direct inside access to these relatable role models, companies and industries in every walk of life to help us all be 1% better everyday, together.
145+ guests have joined Vidit Agarwal on the show from around the world including Heads of state, Olympians, Business and cultural leaders, social Advocates, Investors, Entrepreneurs and more.
The Curiosity Center is widely recognised as a leading on-demand intelligence network for founders, investors, executives and students with an audience of over 200,000 across this podcast + Association Series Newsletter and 7-Star Events. Find out more at www.curiositycenter.xyz
The Wade Institute is a leading centre for entrepreneurial training based at Ormond College, the University of Melbourne and they deliver education programs to accelerate learning, creation and connection, with facilitators being many of previous guests on this very podcast!
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Toby Hall is an experienced not-for-profit and healthcare executive, having most recently served for 8 years as CEO of St Vincent’s Health Australia, Australia’s second largest healthcare provider, until February 2022. Prior to St Vincent’s, Toby was the CEO of Mission Australia for nearly a decade, and during his time at Mission, Toby oversaw the group’s contribution to the formation of Goodstart Early Learning. Toby maintained involvement with Goodstart through a seat on the Board until 2014.
Prior to Mission Australia, Toby was COO of World Vision Australia and before that, CEO of South Taranaki District Council. Toby is a director of UNICEF Australia, chaired ASX listed Sterihealth prior to delisting and was a director of Working Links the largest welfare to work provider to the U.K government. He is a qualified accountant with an MBA.
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Episode guiding points:
Learn about Toby’s sunrise in Oxford, England with his father being head of physics at Essex university and mother a music teacher. I was fascinated to hear Toby share his influences including the different role English grammar played in high school and moving to South Africa at age 8, to then working in the music industry and being fascinated by the fashion industry but falling into finance.
Questions our host, Vidit enjoyed exploring with Toby include: What were the key things he took away and had to delete from his time working at the then prominent investment bank, Solomon Brothers, How to create an environment of allowing team members to be vulnerable, the importance of realising that people aren’t just brining themselves to work, they’re bringing their whole life.
Vidit asked Toby about the interview process to get his CEO roles at well known organisations like Mission Australia and St Vincents Health and listen in for his candid views on the transition from operational roles to board and chair roles, and what is the key difference, you might be surprised by the answer.
It’s now time to explore your curiosity. Please enjoy!
***
Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter
Contact us via our website to discuss sponsorship opportunities, recommend future guests or share feedback, we love hearing how to improve!
Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show!
***
The High Flyers Podcast re-imagines the traditional notion of a "high flyer" and is a premier product of the Curiosity Center. The podcast showcases the journeys of relatable role models from their sunrise (childhood) to today. Listeners love the unique and direct inside access to these relatable role models, companies and industries in every walk of life to help us all be 1% better everyday, together.
140+ guests have joined Vidit Agarwal on the show from around the world including Heads of state, Olympians, Business and cultural leaders, social Advocates, Investors, Entrepreneurs and more.
The Curiosity Center is widely recognised as a leading on-demand intelligence network for founders, investors, executives and students with an audience of over 200,000 across this podcast + Association Series Newsletter and 7-Star Events. Find out more at www.curiositycenter.xyz
***
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Beezer Clarkson leads Sapphire Partners‘ investments in venture capital funds in the USA and internationally -- and is widely recognised as one of the most prominent LP's (Limited Partners) thanks to her decade plus time in the industry and initiatives such as #OpenLP. Beezer was born in London, UK and now lives in Austin, USA.
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Episode guiding points:
Learn about Beezer’s sunrise in London and then Boston with her British father, who was a professor and American mother, who was the first in her family to attend college.
Questions our host Vidit asked Beezer for her transparent views on include: Her relationship with money growing up, what made her decide not to pursue an initial career interest in Politics, how Sapphire created their LP arm from the ground up and how to build a brand as a newbie — and we dive into various aspects of the VC ecosystem today including What should be the right size of VC funds, geographical and thematic diversification, investing in emerging managers and key criteria to factor in, value of pre-marketing and relationship building, how many fund ones graduate to fund three and beyond and why that matters.
And as always we cover areas you may not have heard before including 5 hall of fame LP’s Beezer would love to be in a room with to learn from, her personal biggest learning to date and the announcement of Sapphire’s new emerging manager program with CALstrs, the California State teachers retirement fund, one of the biggest pools of retirement savings in the world.
It’s now time to explore your curiosity. Please enjoy!
***
Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter
Contact us via our website to discuss sponsorship opportunities, recommend future guests or share feedback, we love hearing how to improve!
Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show!
***
The High Flyers Podcast re-imagines the traditional notion of a "high flyer" and is a premier product of the Curiosity Center. The podcast showcases the journeys of relatable role models from their sunrise (childhood) to today. Listeners love the unique and direct inside access to these relatable role models, companies and industries in every walk of life to help us all be 1% better everyday, together.
140+ guests have joined Vidit Agarwal on the show from around the world including Heads of state, Olympians, Business and cultural leaders, social Advocates, Investors, Entrepreneurs and more.
The Curiosity Center is widely recognised as a leading on-demand intelligence network for founders, investors, executives and students with an audience of over 200,000 across this podcast + Association Series Newsletter and 7-Star Events. Find out more at www.curiositycenter.xyz
***
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Piruze Sabuncu is a Partner at the Venture Capital firm Squarepeg. She was born in Turkey and currently lives in Singapore. Piruze built and scaled the startup that's now a global juggernaut, Stripe -- in Southeast Asia as employee #1 in the region, following a stint as a founder and working at companies including Dell and Mckinsey.
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Episode guiding points:
Learn about Piruze’s sunrise in Turkey, the influences of her big family and the beauty of Turkish culture including reflections on stories from her childhood walking her own path and questioning the status quo in a traditional culture. You might be surprised to hear her primary school teacher thought Piruze would become a diplomat!
We cover her move to the US and 10 years living there and how it kickstarted a wild journey of a lifetime both personally and professionally; how and why she started her career in tech in the 2000’s in Austin, Texas of all places! The real benefits of studying an MBA and what gave her the self belief to go found a startup post MBA rather than following her classmates into a global firm.
Questions our host Vidit loved hearing Piruze’s beautiful views and reflections include: The decision to shut down her startup and join Mckinsey, and the role her visa expiry played, first visiting Singapore and South East Asia just as their startup ecosystem was starting to boom in the 2010’s, loosing her dad and of course we dive into her Stripe experience being their first hire in South East Asia and playing a critical role in building out the business there, including the importance of knowing your customer, the importance of hiring, favourite question to spot talent and make sure to listen through for Piruze’s next re-invention to enter the world of Venture Capital and the serendipity with which she joined Square Peg + the one difference and one similarity between south east Asia, Israel and Australia.
It’s now time to explore your curiosity. Please enjoy!
***
Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter
Contact us via our website to discuss sponsorship opportunities, recommend future guests or share feedback, we love hearing how to improve!
Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show!
***
The High Flyers Podcast re-imagines the traditional notion of a "high flyer" and is a premier product of the Curiosity Center. The podcast showcases the journeys of relatable role models from their sunrise (childhood) to today. Listeners love the unique and direct inside access to these relatable role models, companies and industries in every walk of life to help us all be 1% better everyday, together.
140+ guests have joined Vidit Agarwal on the show from around the world including Heads of state, Olympians, Business and cultural leaders, social Advocates, Investors, Entrepreneurs and more.
The Curiosity Center is widely recognised as a leading on-demand intelligence network for founders, investors, executives and students with an audience of over 200,000 across this podcast + Association Series Newsletter and 7-Star Events. Find out more at www.curiositycenter.xyz
***
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Aneetha De Silva is the managing director, government for Aurecon’s Australia and New Zealand business is a leading public infrastructure expert. She is also President of Roads Australia and sits on the boards of Aurecon Group, LaunchVic, the Melbourne Arts Precinct Corporation and the North East Link State Tolling Corporation.
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Episode guiding points:
Learn about Aneetha’s sunrise in Singapore, at a time when wasn’t the city it is today and Aneetha calls it a fight for survival, and the influences of her parents with her dad being a professional cricketer and building the family business.
This conversation is candid and applicable to life and work, whether you’re early in your journey to more established — we cover Aneetha’s adjustment period coming to Australia halfway through her law degree, to then unpacking the behind the scenes of a successful career in infrastructure, roads and government projects and what that work entails including $2B dollar projects (critical to our society), private and public partnerships and more.
Questions I loved hearing Aneetha’s organic reflections include: How to go into a new environment and build relationships whilst learning the area, Connecting with people 1:1 vs in a group setting to build relationships, Spotting and nurturing talent, Balancing working on the bigger picture and getting in the details, Influencing local governments in different cultures and how does one get accepted onto boards, and we cover the importance of family, switching off and more.
It’s now time to explore your curiosity. Please enjoy!
***
Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter
Contact us via our website to discuss sponsorship opportunities, recommend future guests or share feedback, we love hearing how to improve!
Thank you for rating / reviewing this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, it helps others find us and convince guests to come on the show!
***
The High Flyers Podcast re-imagines the traditional notion of a "high flyer" and is a premier product of the Curiosity Center. The podcast showcases the journeys of relatable role models from their sunrise (childhood) to today. Listeners love the unique and direct inside access to these relatable role models, companies and industries in every walk of life to help us all be 1% better everyday, together.
140+ guests have joined Vidit Agarwal on the show from around the world including Heads of state, Olympians, Business and cultural leaders, social Advocates, Investors, Entrepreneurs and more.
***
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