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Pete Lead

Coach at Scalable Leaders

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Pete Lead

About Pete Lead

Pete Lead is a coach at Scalable Leaders, which runs leadership development for tech leaders, and works directly with founders.

He was head of programs at the startup accelerator BlueChilli, which he joined in 2018, and by 2022 was GM of learning and growth at the social enterprise Young Change Agents. Earlier roles include startups lead and incubator coach at Startup Dunedin and customer experience specialist at The Care Co. He wrote The Startup Guide, a toolkit for startup founders, has taught startup classes at the University of Sydney, and holds an MBA from the University of Sydney Business School and a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws from Macquarie University.

On Day One's History of the Australian Startup Ecosystem interview series, he talked about giving founders permission to be awesome and freedom to fail.

In conversation.

2 episodes

Start herePete Lead: “You have permission to be awesome and complete freedom to fail”His own interview, covering his move from improv into startups and his time running programs at BlueChilli.

Documentary: The History Of The Australian Startup Ecosystem

The History Of The Australian Startup Ecosystem - Part 1

Recorded as Author of The Startup Guide, University of Sydney

With Mark Pesce, Hayden Williams, Evan Thornley, Tim Fung, Trevor Folsom, Peter Davison, Terry Hilsberg, Matt Bullock, Allan O'Connor, Rachael Neumann, Maxine Sherrin, Malcolm Turnbull, James Alexander, Alan Jones, Paul Bassat, Hamish Hawthorn, Alfred Lo, Phil Hayes-St Clair, Cameron Adams, Bruce Tulloch, Matt Barrie, Kate Cornick

Go straight to the good bits.

Key moments from Pete Lead: “You have permission to be awesome and complete freedom to fail”.

  1. 0:31Meet Pete Lead
  2. 1:20Pete's Journey to BlueChilli
  3. 2:41Transition from Law to Startup World
  4. 5:18First Impressions of BlueChilli
  5. 6:19Move from Sydney to New Zealand
  6. 7:14Importance of Improv in Leadership
  7. 8:31Key Lessons from BlueChilli
  8. 10:15Steps for New Founders to Validate Ideas
  9. 12:15Insights on the Startup Ecosystem
  10. 13:06Community and Support in Startups

In their own words.

“My motto in life is you have permission to be awesome and complete freedom to fail.”
Pete Lead — Pete Lead: “You have permission to be awesome and complete freedom to fail”The History of the Australian Startup Ecosystem - Interview Series · 24 May 2022

The path so far.

  1. Now

    Coach · Scalable Leaders

  2. 2019–2022

    Head of Programs · BlueChilli

  3. 2018–2019

    Accelerator Manager · BlueChilli

Sources: petelead.medium.com

Scalable Leaders on Day One

Scalable Leaders is a leadership development service for people leading teams in technology companies, including engineering, product and design leaders and founders.

1 person · 2 episodes
Scalable Leaders

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Spot something wrong? Suggest a correctionUpdated 29 October 2026

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