Founder Journey
The personal side — mindset, resilience, failure and the long road.
Most of the founder story happens off the pitch deck — the doubt, the resilience, the failures and the long stretches where nothing works. It's the part founders rarely talk about publicly and most want to hear about.
These are the honest conversations: mindset, burnout, failure, pivots and what it actually takes, personally, to keep going from day one.
“Don't be a B-grade version of me, be an A-grade version of you.”
Answers are drawn live from the network's conversations by Ask the Network.
99 episodes on Founder Journey
▶ In The Blink Of AI with Georgie Healy · 19 June 2026
"AI Should Bring Us Closer Together, Not Make Us More Lonely" with Akshay Kothari Co-Founder of Notion
▶ Perspective X with Pauline Fetaui · 19 June 2026
She Lost the Company She Built — Not Herself: Yas Grigaliunas (Part 2)
▶ Oversubscribed with Brendan Hill · 18 June 2026
Inside HEO: Australia’s Secret Space Camera Company | Hiranya Jayakody, Steve Baxter, Jessy Wu
▶ Pick My Brain with Alan Jones · 10 June 2026
The App Built to Stop Image-Based Abuse | Chris Fresle from Just Us
▶ Perspective X with Pauline Fetaui · 8 June 2026
The Part No One Tells - WBGS Yas Grigaliunas (Part 1)
▶ Perspective X with Pauline Fetaui · 14 May 2026
From Police Officer to AI Pioneer to Psychedelics: Dr. Catriona Wallace’s Unfiltered Story (Part Two)
▶ In The Blink Of AI with Georgie Healy · 9 May 2026
How to Build a Side Project That Goes Global Before You Graduate with Anna and Viv from Toastie
▶ Perspective X with Pauline Fetaui · 30 April 2026
From Police Officer to AI Pioneer to Psychedelics: Dr. Catriona Wallace’s Unfiltered Story (Part One)
▶ Pick My Brain with Alan Jones · 29 April 2026
Why Investors Keep Saying No (And What to Do About It) | Justin Wastnage from Vloggi
▶ In The Blink Of AI with Georgie Healy · 24 April 2026
How Springboards Built an AI Model That Actually Thinks Differently
▶ In The Blink Of AI with Georgie Healy · 6 February 2026
What It Takes to Build a $100M AI Company at 17
▶ Pick My Brain with Alan Jones · 21 January 2026
How to Prove Impact in Mental Health Without Medical Data | Clement Baissat from Hope Stage
▶ Oversubscribed with Brendan Hill · 12 December 2025
Pain is a Moat: How Australia’s Top AI Founders Are Building Global Giants
▶ Oversubscribed with Brendan Hill · 20 November 2025
Inside the Minds Behind Australia’s Robotics Revolution
▶ In The Blink Of AI with Georgie Healy · 7 November 2025
How to Build Cool Stuff With AI (No Code Needed) | Maddie Reese
▶ Oversubscribed with Brendan Hill · 29 October 2025
Inside the Playbooks of Australia’s Million-Dollar Founders
▶ In The Blink Of AI with Georgie Healy · 24 October 2025
Measuring Human Emotion with AI: Harrison Kennedy on Building ReFresh
▶ The New Script with Frances Goh & Makenzie Thomas · 23 October 2025
Why Male Fertility Matters More Than You Think | Ashwin Ramachandran
▶ In The Blink Of AI with Georgie Healy · 17 October 2025
Velocity & Vibes: How Enhance Labs Raised Millions Before Building Anything
▶ The New Script with Frances Goh & Makenzie Thomas · 9 October 2025
How Hormony Is Helping Women Decode Perimenopause | Mayra Hurtado
▶ The New Script with Frances Goh & Makenzie Thomas · 2 October 2025
How Ovum is Closing the Gender Health Gap | Dr. Ariella Heffernan-Marks
▶ Mumbition with Carrie Kwan & Lucy Kippist · 24 September 2025
Episode 124: No More Boring Conferences: The Ripple Festival Revolution
▶ The New Script with Frances Goh & Makenzie Thomas · 18 September 2025
Exposing the Gaps in Women’s Healthcare | Sally Hasler
▶ Mumbition with Carrie Kwan & Lucy Kippist · 17 September 2025
Episode 123: Marketing Inclusion: Authentically Representing Disability with Simone Eyles
▶ Mumbition with Carrie Kwan & Lucy Kippist · 12 September 2025
Episode 122: Balancing the Load: Equality at Home and Work with Emma Walsh
▶ Mumbition with Carrie Kwan & Lucy Kippist · 8 September 2025
Episode 121: Startup Realness: Branding Balance & Bold Moves
▶ Perspective X with Pauline Fetaui · 4 August 2025
Dr. Prash on Building a $100M+ Crypto Brokerage and Pioneering Psychedelic Therapy
▶ In The Blink Of AI with Georgie Healy · 1 August 2025
Beyond a $180M Exit: Frank Greeff on Purpose and Building Kinso AI
▶ Fintechfun with Chris Titley · 31 July 2025
Mastering Money Management: Jason Leong on Bootstrapping PocketSmith and Empowering the Home CFO
▶ Mumbition with Carrie Kwan & Lucy Kippist · 11 July 2025
Episode 119: Systems, Sanity & School Pickups: Mumbition with Korryn Haines
▶ Perspective X with Pauline Fetaui · 7 July 2025
The Hidden Criteria Behind a YC Yes: Yotam on Founder Signals, and the Real Work Behind a Yes
▶ Mumbition with Carrie Kwan & Lucy Kippist · 30 June 2025
Episode 118: No More Playing Small: Owning Your Business with Katharine Crane
▶ Mumbition with Carrie Kwan & Lucy Kippist · 23 June 2025
Episode 117: Turning Fear into Agency: How Sarah Cummings Helps Kids Understand Healthcare
▶ Perspective X with Pauline Fetaui · 23 June 2025
What It Really Takes to Scale to $100M: Ricky Sevta on Burnout, Breakthroughs, and Building Again
▶ Mumbition with Carrie Kwan & Lucy Kippist · 21 June 2025
Ep 116 Connecting Carers: Tatum Steers on Building Hirey Balancing Business & Motherhood
▶ Mumbition with Carrie Kwan & Lucy Kippist · 19 June 2025
Ep 115: Solving the Mental Load Crisis: Claire Waring’s Bold Vision for Working Parents
▶ Perspective X with Pauline Fetaui · 9 June 2025
How Paul Stovell Built Octopus Deploy to $100M by Ignoring Silicon Valley’s Rules
▶ In The Blink Of AI with Georgie Healy · 6 June 2025
Kunal Gupta on AI Literacy, Burnout, and the Digital Aristocracy
▶ Mumbition with Carrie Kwan & Lucy Kippist · 28 May 2025
Forensic Finance to Empowering Women with Julie Garis
▶ Perspective X with Pauline Fetaui · 26 May 2025
Bryony Cole on Sex Tech, Self-Discovery, and the Future of Intimacy
▶ Perspective X with Pauline Fetaui · 12 May 2025
Eden Shirley on Disrupting Yourself, Surviving Crisis, and Building a Culture of Warriors
▶ Perspective X with Pauline Fetaui · 5 May 2025
Introducing Perspective X | Hosted by Pauline Fetaui
▶ Pick My Brain with Alan Jones · 23 April 2025
Late Payments, Big Problems: Stephen Neli on Fixing Small Biz Cash Flow with Zellus
▶ Mumbition with Carrie Kwan & Lucy Kippist · 22 April 2025
From Coffee Van to Tech Innovator Emily Zaborski's Entrepreneurial Journey
▶ Diaspora NZ with David Booth · 4 April 2025
S3 | E5 - From Law School to Leading the Future of Creator Platforms: How Georgia Rippin (Kold Open) Is Building the Next Wave of Mid-Form Video, and Sneaking Into Hollywood
▶ Diaspora NZ with David Booth · 21 March 2025
S3 | E3 - Joel Little (Grammy-winning producer) on making Royals with Lorde, creative collaboration, and why startups are like hit songs
▶ Diaspora NZ with David Booth · 14 March 2025
S3 | E2 - Kathryn Zealand (Skip) on robotic exoskeletons, mobility for life, and spinning out of Google X
▶ In The Blink Of AI with Georgie Healy · 7 February 2025
Saving Lives with AI: The Story Behind Harrison AI
▶ Fintechfun with Chris Titley · 29 January 2025
Diminishing Wealth Inequality: Michael Ragavan on Transforming Home Ownership with Our Leg Up
▶ The Mix with Mick Liubinskas · 27 January 2025
Powering the Future of EVs: How Alchemy Charge is Making EV Charging Smarter
▶ In The Blink Of AI with Georgie Healy · 24 January 2025
Democratising Generative AI: Jeevika Makani on Building TopRoad
▶ In The Blink Of AI with Georgie Healy · 24 January 2025
Sam Garven on Building Safer Workplaces with AI: Say Hello Canopy
▶ The Mix with Mick Liubinskas · 12 January 2025
Building Big Batteries and a Climate-Positive Future: Thomas Nann on Allegro’s Energy Solutions
▶ The Mix with Mick Liubinskas · 29 December 2024
Innovating Sustainable Textile Dyes: A Conversation with Newera Bio's Co-Founder Lucie Semenec
▶ In The Blink Of AI with Georgie Healy · 6 December 2024
Innovating for Better Brains: Christina Maher's Journey with BrainLand
▶ In The Blink Of AI with Georgie Healy · 29 November 2024
Simplifying Taxes with AI: Inside Angela Shi’s Journey with Luna at Empathetic AI
▶ In The Blink Of AI with Georgie Healy · 22 November 2024
Navigating Founder Mode: Building Redactive AI with Alex Valente
▶ In The Blink Of AI with Georgie Healy · 15 November 2024
Mapping Human Emotions: Nicole Gibson on inTruth's Biometric Breakthrough
▶ Fintechfun with Chris Titley · 12 November 2024
From Coffee Shop to Global Fintech: The Airwallex Journey with Matthew Sek
▶ Fintechfun with Chris Titley · 29 October 2024
From Idea to Market Leader: The Easy Crypto Journey with Janine Grainger
▶ First Cheque with Cheryl Mack & Maxine Minter · 7 October 2024
From Zero to One: Why Founders Make Exceptional Early Stage Investors with Matthew Browne
▶ Unfunded with Joan Westenberg · 29 August 2024
Cole Cornford Discusses Bootstrapping and Balancing Business with Family Life
▶ Unfunded with Joan Westenberg · 15 August 2024
Resilience & Reinvention: Jess Ruhfus on Bootstrapping, Fundraising, and Navigating Modern Marketing
▶ Unfunded with Joan Westenberg · 18 July 2024
Optimising Crop Quality: Steve Scheding on Green Atlas, Automation, and Bootstrapping Success
▶ Fintechfun with Chris Titley · 16 July 2024
Fintech founder discusses launching Instantia and managing FX market risks
▶ Unfunded with Joan Westenberg · 4 July 2024
Bootstrapped founder overcomes challenges to grow successful retail SaaS company with Aaron Cowper
▶ Fintechfun with Chris Titley · 2 July 2024
Anson Parker discusses the innovative journey of Upbank's products
▶ Unfunded with Joan Westenberg · 20 June 2024
Sheree Rubinstein on Bootstrapping, Pivoting, and Building One Roof
▶ Unfunded with Joan Westenberg · 20 June 2024
Unlocking Startup Success: Lucy Lloyd founder of Mentorloop on Bootstrapping & VC Funding Challenges
▶ Fintechfun with Chris Titley · 18 June 2024
Hutly: Solving Real Estate Challenges with Smart Contracts with Jeremy Hastings
▶ Fintechfun with Chris Titley · 4 June 2024
Co-Operty Co-Founder Linda Cocker Discusses Co-Ownership and Housing Affordability
▶ Fintechfun with Chris Titley · 21 May 2024
Daniel Kniaz, Founder of Weel, Discusses the Journey and Future of the Fintech Startup
▶ Fintechfun with Chris Titley · 7 May 2024
Volt: Connecting Real-Time Payments Around the World in One Integration with Jordan Lawrence
▶ First Cheque with Cheryl Mack & Maxine Minter · 17 March 2024
Elicia McDonald discusses resilience and founder empathy in venture investing
▶ The Mix with Mick Liubinskas · 2 July 2023
Growing Solutions: Empowering Farmers and Scaling Climate Tech with Anastasia, Founder of Regrow
▶ The History of the Australian Startup Ecosystem - Interview Series · 1 May 2022
Phil Hayes-St Clair: “Take care of yourself”
▶ The History of the Australian Startup Ecosystem - Interview Series · 19 April 2022
Anna Wright: why “fail fast” is the greatest advice
▶ The History of the Australian Startup Ecosystem - Interview Series · 10 April 2022
Lucinda Hartley discusses the barriers she overcame when starting out
▶ The History of the Australian Startup Ecosystem - Interview Series · 5 April 2022
Daniel Flynn explains why leaders are learners
▶ The History of the Australian Startup Ecosystem - Interview Series · 27 March 2022
Jodie Fox highlights the contrasts between the Australian and US Ecosystems
▶ The History of the Australian Startup Ecosystem - Interview Series · 22 March 2022
Susan Oliver discusses what investors look for in a founder
▶ The History of the Australian Startup Ecosystem - Interview Series · 17 March 2022
Silvia Pfeiffer discusses her first startup and the lessons it taught her
▶ The History of the Australian Startup Ecosystem - Interview Series · 6 March 2022
Dean McEvoy on egos and startups
▶ The History of the Australian Startup Ecosystem - Interview Series · 1 March 2022
Colin Kinner discusses the key missteps first time founders often make
▶ The History of the Australian Startup Ecosystem - Interview Series · 24 February 2022
Paul Bassat examines the evolution of the ecosystem
▶ The History of the Australian Startup Ecosystem - Interview Series · 17 February 2022
Peta Ellis on the importance of innovation
▶ The History of the Australian Startup Ecosystem - Interview Series · 1 February 2022
Cameron Adams on the importance of community and connection
▶ The History of the Australian Startup Ecosystem - Interview Series · 23 January 2022
Kate Cornick on ways to support Australians to begin their startup journey
▶ Welcome to Day One with Adam Spencer · 16 May 2021
Antony Martin from Hone
▶ Welcome to Day One with Adam Spencer · 2 May 2021
Mike McKiernan from Deckee
▶ Welcome to Day One with Adam Spencer · 25 April 2021
Colin Goudie from Social Pinpoint
▶ The History of the Australian Startup Ecosystem - Interview Series
Eloise Hall and Isobel Marshall discuss how social enterprises fit within the startup community
▶ The History of the Australian Startup Ecosystem - Interview Series
Evan Thornley discusses the evolution of the startup ecosystem
▶ The History of the Australian Startup Ecosystem - Interview Series
Kylie Frazer discusses some common causes co-founders separate
▶ The History of the Australian Startup Ecosystem - Interview Series
Lana Weal highlights the mental health challenges faced by founders
▶ The History of the Australian Startup Ecosystem - Interview Series
Lars Rasmussen discusses the key ingredients for successful founders
▶ The History of the Australian Startup Ecosystem - Interview Series
Leslie Delaforce highlights the unique challenges facing Indigenous founders
▶ The History of the Australian Startup Ecosystem - Interview Series
Pauline Fetaui discusses the difference between the corporate and startup worlds
▶ The History of the Australian Startup Ecosystem - Interview Series
Pete Lead: “You have permission to be awesome and complete freedom to fail”
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