Episode Summary:
Pete Lead is former Head of Programs at tech startup accelerator BlueChilli, the author of the The Startup Guide, a toolkit designed for startup founders, and GM of Learning and Growth at social enterprise Young Change Agents. With a background in improv comedy, Pete joined BlueChilli in 2018 as a relative outsider to the startups. In his conversation with Adam, Pete discusses his motto, “You have permission to be awesome and complete freedom to fail”, as well as his belief that the skills a person can learn working in a startup are applicable in many professional contexts outside of a startup.
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction to Day One Podcast
00:31 Meet Pete Lead
01:20 Pete's Journey to BlueChilli
02:41 Transition from Law to Startup World
05:18 First Impressions of BlueChilli
06:19 Move from Sydney to New Zealand
07:14 Importance of Improv in Leadership
08:31 Key Lessons from BlueChilli
10:15 Steps for New Founders to Validate Ideas
12:15 Insights on the Startup Ecosystem
13:06 Community and Support in Startups
16:43 Notable Connections in the Startup Scene
20:24 Addressing Gaps in the Ecosystem
22:05 Defining What a Startup Is
23:42 Strengths of the Australian Startup Community
25:05 Looking Externally for Growth
25:51 Rise of No-Code Tools
27:02 Advice for New Founders
28:08 Skills Learned from Startups