The High Flyers Podcast with Vidit Agarwal

Episode #224 features Chris Wirasinha, co-founder of Linkby — the Performance PR platform used by 3,800+ brands and 600 publishers, backed by US$15m in funding and growing 100% YoY across the US & UK. Previously, Chris co-founded Pedestrian Group at 21, scaling it to 100 staff, a ~$100m valuation and an exit to Channel Nine.

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Episode #223 features Lisa Sthalekar — 4x World Cup Winner and Inductee into both the ICC and Australian Cricket Halls of Fame, recognised as one of the most influential figures in the history of women’s cricket (the first woman to have scored over 1000 runs and taken 100 wickets). 

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This episode is part of a special series in partnership with the Australian Government and their Centre for Australia–India Relations. These episodes highlight the growing ties between Australia and India across tech, business, media, culture, and sport. With around one million people of Indian heritage now in Australia—the faste...

Tim Thomas is the recent CEO of the Centre for Australia-India Relations, the federal body set up by the Australian Government to deepen ties between the two nations across business, technology, education, sport, and culture. With a career spanning senior roles at AXA, Prudential, and KPMG, and lived experience building businesses across India, Singapore, Malaysia and Australia, he brings a unique cross-sector and cross-cultural global perspective. 

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Kelly Vohs is the CEO of SafetyCulture, a globally renowned tech company headquartered in Australia. Valued at approximately $2.5 billion, its platform serves 85,000+ organisations across 180+ countries, including major global brands like Toyota, GE, Coles, Qantas, Schneider Electric, Marriott, John Deere, Sodexo, National Health Service (UK), British Airways, and Transport for London. SafetyCulture empowers frontline teams to raise standards, streamline operations, and cultivate a culture of continuous improvement.

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Trent Cotchin is Richmond’s three-time premiership captain, 2012 Brownlow Medallist and one of the AFL’s most respected leaders. Across 16 years and 306 games, Trent led the Tigers from decades of struggle into a golden era, lifting the premiership cup in 2017, 2019 and 2020. He shares lessons on resilience, leadership, and balancing elite sport with family—insights he now brings as an author, mentor and commentator. 

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To support this podcast, check out our some of our sponsors & get discounts:

→ $1,000 off Vanta: Your compliance superpower — vanta.com/high

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Episode #219 features Sanjeev Gandhi, Managing Director and CEO of Orica — a Melbourne-headquartered global leader in mining and infrastructure solutions. Sanjeev spent 26 years with BASF, where he held senior positions including Head of Asia Pacific and member of the Global Board of Directors, becoming the first Indian to serve in these roles. He also contributes his expertise through advisory and leadership positions, including as Chair of the Centre for Australia–India Relations (CAIR) CEO Network.

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This episode is part of a special series in partnership with the Australian Government and their Centre for Australia–India Relations. These...

Pip & Amy are the co-founders of Springboards -- an AI platform built for agencies, by agency veterans.

They are also Husband and wife, ex-agency misfits and self described - accidental founders. From media roles in Sydney to creative gigs in San Francisco, with stints at Twitter, Shopify, and deep dives into Web3. When COVID hit, redundancy and a newborn sent them packing for Noosa, QLD. There, they taught themselves to code and teamed up with co-founder Kieran Browne to build Springboards—an AI tool that helps agencies move faster without losing the craft. Today, it powers some of...

Elena Verna is a renowned growth advisor to tech startups, and currently heads Growth at Lovable, one of the fastest growing tech startups globally -- where she helped the AI-native company reach $80M ARR in under seven months with a lean team. Previously, she held senior roles at world leading technology companies such as SurveyMonkey, Miro, Amplitude, and Dropbox, and has advised companies like MongoDB, Superhuman, and Veed. 

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To support this podcast, check out our some of our sponsors & get discounts:

→ $1,000 off Vanta: Your compliance superpower — vanta.com/high

→ Get up to 6 mon...

Max Marchione is the co-founde of Superpower, a San Francisco-based digital clinic making preventative, longevity-focused medicine accessible to millions. At just 25, Max has raised a $30M (USD) Series A and is building a healthcare super-app powered by AI, biomarkers, and proactive care. He is also one of the most fascinating people, our host Vidit has met!

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To support this podcast, check out our some of our sponsors & get discounts:

→ $1,000 off Vanta: Your compliance superpower — vanta.com/high

→ Get up to 6 months of Notion’s Business plan for free with Notion AI included...

Brendan Hargreaves is the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Officeworks, a $3B+ business with over 170 stores and 8,000+ team members. Previously, he held senior commercial and financial roles at Qantas ($17B+ revenue), Coles (800+ stores), Cleanaway (5,000+ employees), Village Roadshow, and The Warehouse Group (NZX: WHS, ~$3B market cap). Brendan is also a Director and mentor at the Financial Executives Institute (FEI), supporting the next generation of finance leaders through mentorship and professional development.

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To support this podcast, check out our some of our sponsors & get discounts:

→ $1,000 off Vanta: Your compliance superpower — vanta.com/high

→ G...

Simon Molnar is the founder and CEO of Flagship, the startup helping retailers use data to optimise their physical stores. Previously, he co-founded Ice Jewellery and led data and marketing at Afterpay, the $39 billion fintech company co-founded by his brother, Nick Molnar, which was acquired by Square (now Block) in 2021.

Raised in Sydney, he now lives in Los Angeles, expanding Flagship’s reach in the U.S. market.

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To support this podcast, check out our some of our sponsors & get discounts:

→ $1,000 off Vanta: Your compliance superpower — vanta.com/high

→ Get up to...

Dr Bec Sheean is the Director of Research and Programs at FightMND, leading strategy across all funded research and initiatives to accelerate progress against Motor Neurone Disease.

With a PhD in neuroscience and a Graduate Certificate in Clinical Research, she champions collaborative, translational science. Bec chairs the International Research Director Forum, co-chairs the MND Research Collective, and serves on the International Alliance’s Scientific Advisory Committee.

This is Bec's first ever in-depth interview.

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To support this podcast, check out our some of our sponsors & get discounts:

→ $1,000 off Vanta: Your compl...

Shannon Scott is the Senior Vice President, Global Head of Product at Airwallex, and Executive Director of Airwallex's Australia and New Zealand business entities. Shannon is responsible for Airwallex's product strategy and roadmap, spanning financial infrastructure, business software, and embedded finance solutions.

Prior to Airwallex, Shannon was an early employee of Palantir Technologies, where he founded Palantir's international operations and business development in ANZ and Europe.

This is his first ever in-depth interview.

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To support this podcast, check out our some of our sponsors & get discounts:

→ $1,000 off Vanta: Your com...

This episode is part of our recently released Startup Playbooks Report -- unpacking the playbooks of 9 of Australia’s fastest-growing startups and scale ups for the first time. Thanks to the report sponsors - Google Cloud, Vanta and Notion.

Read the Playbooks Report here: http://playbooksreport.com/

In this conversation, we go inside Go1's playbook on hiring, promoting from within, acquisitions and building a high performing culture.

You'll hear from CEO, Chris Eigeland, SVP of Marketing, Madi Shove & VP of Product Kristina Ryan, in conversation with our Founder/Host, Vidit Agarwal. 

I...

This episode is part of our recently released Startup Playbooks Report -- unpacking the playbooks of 9 of Australia’s fastest-growing startups and scale ups for the first time. Thanks to the report sponsors - Google Cloud, Vanta and Notion.

In this conversation, we go deep into Heidi's global expansion journey: how they’ve grown from Australia into the US and UK, what’s worked (and what hasn’t), and the key lessons featured in the report that so many of you have found actionable.

You''ll hear from CEO Tom Kelly, US lead Jesse Creighton, and UK lead...

Andrew is the General Manager (GM) for Australia/New Zealand, South East Asia and India at Notion. With over 20 years of sales and sales leadership experience — including helping launch LinkedIn in Asia Pacific — he’s played a key role in scaling some of the world’s fastest-growing tech companies. Outside of work, Andrew is a proud dad of three and a lifelong volunteer surf lifesaver.

This is his first ever in-depth interview.

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To support this podcast, check out our some of our sponsors & get discounts:

→ $1,000 off Vanta: Your compliance superpower — vanta.com/high

Simon Baume is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Eucalyptus, a global healthtech company valued at over $500 million and backed by Investors including Blackbird and Bond. Eucalyptus builds digital preventative healthcare clinics and serves hundreds of thousands of patients across Australia, the UK, Japan and more. Simon leads their Australian business and oversees internal operations including legal, HR, risk, and systems — playing a key role in scaling the company’s complex, multi-brand platform.

This is Simon's first ever interview. It’s time to explore your curiosity. Please enjoy.

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Craig Tiley is the CEO of Tennis Australia and long-time Tournament Director of the Australian Open — the largest annual sporting event in the Southern Hemisphere and the most-watched global sporting event each January, with over 14,000 staff, 800 players, and 2.5 billion viewers worldwide.

This is one of Craig’s most personal and rare long-form interviews. It’s time to explore your curiosity. Please enjoy.

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To support this podcast, check out our some of our sponsors & get discounts:

→ $1,000 off Vanta: Your compliance superpower. Get it now at https://vanta.com/high

→ Get up to 6 mo...

Ben Thompson is the Co-Founder and CEO of Employment Hero — one of Australia’s most successful tech companies, valued at over A$2 billion and used by more than 300,000 businesses worldwide. Before that, he bootstrapped multiple companies, blending legal expertise with product thinking to build tools for employers.

In this candid long-form public interview, Ben shares the lessons, missteps, and mindset behind one of the most enduring and quietly influential founder journeys in Australian tech.

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Gill Findlay is the former COO of SafetyCulture and Immutable — two of most influential tech companies globally to originate from Australia. She scaled SafetyCulture from Find out more about Vanta's special offer exclusively for you at https://vanta.com/high and get a special offer of $1,000 off to access your very own compliance superpower for your business today.

-> Get 3 months free of Notion Plus with unlimited AI — exclusive to High Flyers Podcast listeners. That’s over $3K in value to help you move faster, automate notes, summarise research, and streamline ops. Claim it at https://ntn.so/hig...

Andrey Khusid is the founder and CEO of Miro, the world’s leading visual collaboration platform used by 90M+ users with $400M+ in ARR and a $17.5B valuation. 

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Sponsor offers just for you:

-> Find out more about Vanta's special offer exclusively for you at https://vanta.com/high and get a special offer of $1,000 off to access your very own compliance superpower for your business today.

-> Get 3 months free of Notion Plus with unlimited AI — exclusive to High Flyers Podcast listeners. That’s over $3K in value to help you mov...

Tim Fung is the founder and CEO of Airtasker, the leading local services marketplace with over $1.7 billion in job creation and a community of more than 2 million users. Since launching in 2012, Tim has scaled Airtasker from a Sydney startup to a publicly listed company on the ASX, expanding into the UK and US with a bold media-for-equity model and high-impact partnerships—including a recent deal with Formula 1’s Racing Bulls team. A former investment banker at Macquarie, Tim’s career spans modelling agencies, telcos, and marketplaces, underpinned by contrarian thinking and sharp execution.

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Brad Banducci is the Former CEO of Woolworths Group and the newly appointed CEO of TEG (The parent company of Ticketek and SXSW). His career spans consulting at BCG, early-stage leadership at Tyro Payments, and senior roles at Cellarmasters and Woolworths, bringing together deep experience across startups, retail, private equity and transformation.

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Sponsor offers just for you:

-> Find out more about Vanta's special offer exclusively for you at https://vanta.com/high and get a special offer of $1,000 off to access your very own compliance superpower for your business today.

...

Sponsor offers just for you:

-> Find out more about Vanta's special offer exclusively for you at https://vanta.com/high and get a special offer of $1,000 off to access your very own compliance superpower for your business today.

-> Get 3 months free of Notion Plus with unlimited AI — exclusive to High Flyers Podcast listeners. That’s over $3K in value to help you move faster, automate notes, summarise research, and streamline ops.

Claim it at https://ntn.so/highflyers — select Curiosity Centre / The High Flyers Podcast as your referral partner and use code h...

Malcolm Turnbull, is a former Australian Prime Minister and one of the most fascinating public figures of our time. He built a global career spanning law, media, business, and tech. He and his wife, Lucy won the Spycatcher case against the British government that rose him to prominence, He was Kerry Packer's Lawyer for many years, and then an investment banker at Goldman Sachs. Malcolm co-founded OzEmail, led key reforms like legalising same sex marriage in Australia, and now invests in technology and renewable energy.

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Malcolm Turnbull, is a former Australian Prime Minister and one of the most fascinating public figures of our time. He built a global career spanning law, media, business, and tech. He and his wife, Lucy won the Spycatcher case against the British government that rose him to prominence, He was Kerry Packer's Lawyer for many years, and then an investment banker at Goldman Sachs. Malcolm co-founded OzEmail, led key reforms like legalising same sex marriage in Australia, and now invests in technology and renewable energy.

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Sponsor offers just for you:

-> Find out...

Malcolm Turnbull, is a former Australian Prime Minister and and one of the most fascinating public figures of our time. He built a global career spanning law, media, business, and tech. He and his wife, Lucy won the Spycatcher case against the British government that rose him to prominence, He was Kerry Packer's Lawyer for many years, and then an investment banker at Goldman Sachs. Malcolm co-founded OzEmail, led key reforms like legalising same sex marriage in Australia, and now invests in technology and renewable energy.

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-> Find...

Farnaz is the CTO at Linktree, a platform with 70M+ users helping creators and businesses unify and monetise their online presence.

She started at Google in the 2000s during their OG era, working on ad tech and ML, then joined Snap (375M+ daily users today), leading AR monetization and later platform engineering.

This is a rare public interview with Farnaz Azmoodeh. 

Hosted by Vidit Agarwal, Founder of Curiosity Center and The High Flyers Podcast.

It’s now time to explore your curiosity.    

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Max Bausher and Brian are the Co-Founders of Twine, bridging product and go-to-market teams by integrating insights across calls, CRM, and roadmaps.

Max, Twine’s COO, brings expertise from leadership roles at CrowdStrike and New Relic, specialising in technical-business alignment.

Brian, Twine’s CEO, has led product and GTM teams at SafetyCulture, Atlassian, Dovetail, and Twitter.

Together, they are redefining how teams collaborate to deliver exceptional customer experiences.

This is their first ever in-depth public interview.

Hosted by Vidit Agarwal, Founder of Curiosity Center and The High Flyers Podcast.

Rory San Miguel is the co-founder and CEO of Propeller, a global tech company transforming worksites with drone data. Since 2014, he’s scaled Propeller to 300+ employees across Australia and the U.S., secured well known enterprise customers, and raised over $35M from investors like Blackbird and Costanoa Ventures to fuel international growth.

This is Rory's first ever in-depth public interview. 

Hosted by Vidit Agarwal, Founder of Curiosity Center and The High Flyers Podcast.

It’s now time to explore your curiosity.    

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Sponsor offers just for you:

-> Find ou...

To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts:

-> Get $1,000 off to access your very own compliance superpower for your business today with Vanta's special offer exclusively for you at https://vanta.com/high
 

-> Get 10% off at https://remote.com/ by using our exclusive promo code EVREMOTE10 for Employer of Record services on all full-time hires, Contractor Management Plus services and Global Payroll services during your first year with Remote.

-> Apply now to participate in the Wade Institute of Entrepreneurship's leading VC Catalyst program at https://wadeinstitute.org.a...

To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts:

-> Get $1,000 off to access your very own compliance superpower for your business today with Vanta's special offer exclusively for you at https://vanta.com/high
 

-> Get 10% off at https://remote.com/ by using our exclusive promo code EVREMOTE10 for Employer of Record services on all full-time hires, Contractor Management Plus services and Global Payroll services during your first year with Remote.

-> Apply now to participate in the Wade Institute of Entrepreneurship's leading VC Catalyst program at https://wadeinstitute.org.a...

To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts:

-> Get $1,000 off to access your very own compliance superpower for your business today with Vanta's special offer exclusively for you at https://vanta.com/high
 

-> Get 10% off at https://remote.com/ by using our exclusive promo code EVREMOTE10 for Employer of Record services on all full-time hires, Contractor Management Plus services and Global Payroll services during your first year with Remote.

-> Apply now to participate in the Wade Institute of Entrepreneurship's leading VC Catalyst program at https://wadeinstitute.org.a...

To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts:

-> Get $1,000 off to access your very own compliance superpower for your business today with Vanta's special offer exclusively for you at https://vanta.com/high
 

-> Get 10% off at https://remote.com/ by using our exclusive promo code EVREMOTE10 for Employer of Record services on all full-time hires, Contractor Management Plus services and Global Payroll services during your first year with Remote.

-> Apply now to participate in the Wade Institute of Entrepreneurship's leading VC Catalyst program at https://wa...

Peter Freedman AM is the Founder and Chairman of RØDE and The Freedman Group. He received Australia’s highest national honor, the Order of Australia (denoted by AM) in 2016 for his efforts to Australian and global society.

Established in 1991 as a brand under Freedman Electronics – the sound installation company started by his parents in 1967 – Peter has grown RØDE into the world’s leading creator technology brand. RØDE’s microphones and audio products are the number one in a range of categories, including content creation, podcasting, studio recording and broadcast.

Today, RØDE is a global co...

Marisa Warren is the Founder and Managing Partner of ALIAVIA Ventures, investing in female-founded tech startups across the U.S. and Australia.  Established in 2021, ALIAVIA has delivered it's first exit, Loupe Art to Stingray (TSX: RAY.A; RAY.B), and invested in 12 early stage companies.  With 26 years of experience at companies like SAP, Microsoft, and Workday, Marisa brings a wealth of knowledge and a relentless drive to create opportunities for women in tech. She’s also the founder of ELEVACAO, a not-for-profit that helped 175 women raise over $120 million in funding, leading to five exits.

Hosted by Vidit Agar...

This is a rare and in-depth public interview with Rod Hamilton, Co-founder and Board Director at Culture Amp, where he spent over 12 years as Chief Product Officer leading the creation of its Employee Experience platform, now used by 6,500+ companies to improve millions of working lives.

He’s also a Venture Partner at Rampersand, helping Australia’s most ambitious tech companies tackle product and people challenges.

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Hosted by Vidit Agarwal, Founder of Curiosity Center and The High Flyers Podcast.

It’s now time to explore your curiosity. 

If you're keen to disc...

Matt Kean is the Chair of the Climate Change Authority in the Australian Government, appointed in 2024 after a distinguished 13-year career in NSW politics. Matt held senior roles including Treasurer and Energy Minister, he led groundbreaking initiatives like the Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap, which boosted renewable energy investment while reducing power bills. Matt was also Deputy Leader of the NSW Liberal Party and Shadow Minister for Health, and was known for his leadership on climate action and economic reform. He now drives innovation and sustainability as Director of Regulatory Affairs at Wollemi Capital, and is a a qualified Chartered Accountant.<...

Dr. Kate Cornick is the CEO of LaunchVic, leading efforts to build Victoria’s startup ecosystem and she has been in the role since 2016, and her impact has been incredible in funding and supporting numerous Venture Capital firms, angel networks, accelerators and more. With a Ph.D. in telecommunications engineering, she has held key roles at NBN Co and the University of Melbourne. Recently appointed to the Australian Government’s R&D Advisory Committee demonstrating her impact and contribution; and Kate continues to be strong advocate for innovation, diversity, and entrepreneurship, driving programs that empower founders and attract investment to t...

Paul Bassat is a visionary leader in venture capital, technology, and community impact.

As Co-founder and Partner at Square Peg, a top venture capital firm spanning Australia, Israel, and Southeast Asia -- Paul champions founders building transformative global startups. His portfolio includes investments in icons like Canva, Airwallex, and Rokt.

In 1997, Paul co-founded SEEK, pioneering one of Australia’s first globally successful tech companies in employment and education.

In 2023, he launched AMPLIFY, a non-partisan platform empowering Australians to shape national conversations. Paul also serves as an AFL Commissioner, former Wesfarmers board member, and ad...