Building Tech Teams with James MacDonald Why Your First Hire Isn't an Engineer Anymore — Michael Batko, ex-Startmate CEO
Recorded as Former CEO of Startmate
About Michael Batko
Michael Batko is co-founder and chief executive of Hourglass AI, which helps Australian companies of 20 to 100 people put AI to work by building a shared AI foundation for each business and supporting it over time.
Before Hourglass he spent eight years at Startmate, joining as head of operations in 2018 when the team was two people and later becoming chief executive. Earlier he was the first employee at Mad Paws and helped grow Expert360's team from 7 to 60, after starting his career at American Express in London, PwC and KPMG.
He has appeared on several Day One shows, from Welcome to Day One in 2019 to the first episode of Building Tech Teams with James MacDonald in 2026.
- Talks about
- Startup Lessons, Fundraising, Venture Capital, AI, Hiring & Team
- Website
- batko.ai
In conversation.
5 episodes
Start hereWhy Your First Hire Isn't an Engineer Anymore — Michael Batko, ex-Startmate CEOHis most recent episode draws on his Startmate years to argue that AI has changed who a startup's first hire should be.
Building Tech Teams with James MacDonald 
First Cheque with Cheryl Mack & Maxine Minter Startmate CEO Michael Batko discusses community-building and portfolio construction in early-stage investing.
Recorded as CEO, Startmate
Documentary: The History Of The Australian Startup Ecosystem The History Of The Australian Startup Ecosystem - Part 3
With Wayne Gerard, Petr Adámek, Peter Devine, Rohit Bhargava, Terry Hilsberg, Peter Bradd, Zrinka Tokic, Rachael Neumann, Zoe Piper, Susan Oliver, Silvia Pfeiffer, Murray Hurps, Rachel Yang, Yolanda Redrup, Peta Ellis, Sarah Pearson, Niki Scevak, Colin Kinner, Mark Pesce, Colette Grgic, Ian Gardiner, Lauren Capelin, Matt Barrie, Melissa Widner, Cameron Adams, Georgie Turner, Baden U'Ren, Evan Thornley, Alan Noble, Kate Jones, Kate Cornick, James Alexander, Dharmica Mistry, Emily Rich, Lars Rasmussen
The History of the Australian Startup Ecosystem - Interview Series Michael Batko discusses the four prevalent business models of accelerators
Recorded as CEO, Startmate
Welcome to Day One with Adam Spencer Startmate – Featuring Michael Batko
Recorded as Head of Operations, Startmate
Go straight to the good bits.
Key moments from Why Your First Hire Isn't an Engineer Anymore — Michael Batko, ex-Startmate CEO.
- 0:46Why James launched the show, and why Batko is guest #1
- 2:00The first hire has flipped: go-to-market before engineers
- 3:49Where real software engineers still matter (and the "vibe-coding" ceiling)
- 9:01What "AI-native" actually means — building your personal, then company, "brain"
- 12:06Agent hierarchies: one agent / one job, and the AI chief of staff
- 14:50Getting AI into a traditional business: permission to play + an AI policy (and the IP-leak risk)
- 17:25Quick wins: process-mapping by voice, and the dictation tool that changes the game
- 20:54Your first 5–10 hires: attitude over skill, hungry over proven, junior over senior
- 25:58Team size, layoffs, "AI-washing", and the shrinking PM-to-engineer ratio
- 34:55The one skill AI can't replace: people management
In their own words.
“Founders have two problems. One is a product problem, and the other one is a distribution problem. And both those problems can be solved by customer conversations.”
“It's somebody who just won't stop doing what they're doing, even though a billion people are going to tell them it's a bad idea.”
The path so far.
- Now
Co-founder & CEO · Hourglass AI
- 2018–2025
CEO (joined as Head of Operations) · Startmate
- 2015–2017 · Scale-up
Early team member (talent marketplace) · Expert360
- From 2015 · Startup
First hire · Mad Paws
- Earlier
Consultant · PwC
- Earlier
Consultant · KPMG
- Earlier
Corporate role (London) · American Express
Sources: batko.ai
Hourglass AI on Day One
Hourglass AI builds AI automation for Australian businesses, helping companies move past the AI hype and put it to work across their operations.
1 person · 5 episodes
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Across the network.
In the room with
James MacDonaldHost, Building Tech Teams 
Cheryl MackHost, First Cheque 
Maxine MinterHost, First Cheque 
Adam SpencerHost, Documentary: The History Of The Australian Startup Ecosystem 
Wayne GerardFounder & CEO, Partner Ventures 
Petr AdámekCEO, Canberra Innovation Network (CBRIN) 
Peter DevineFormer CEO, Uniseed 
Rohit BhargavaFounder & Partner, Playbook Angel Network Spot something wrong? Suggest a correctionUpdated 29 October 2026
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