Startup 360

On episode 77 of Startup 360, we’re talking about storytelling, influence, AI, parenthood and the increasingly important business of staying human with Ranya Alkadamani, founder of Impact Group International. Ranya worked for Kevin Rudd when he was foreign minister, in a career that also spans media, international affairs, intelligence and communications. That’s given her a rare view of what happe...

In this special edition of Startup 360, we revisit four conversations about the decisions, doubts and relationships behind building a business -the parts founders often leave out of the story. Mark ‘Z’ Zmarzly, head of startups at Morfless, shares the loneliness of his journey, a cofounder breakup that almost ended the business, and how he won a paying customer before the product existed. He also...

We know data is powerful. But there are important questions around who owns it, who can access it, and who gets to make decisions with it? This week, on episode 75 of Startup 360, Julie and Simon sit down with Kristi Mansfield, philanthropist, community advocate, and founder and CEO of 10-year-old Seer Data & Analytics, to unpack how data, AI and better infrastructure can shift power closer to eve...

“Regret got me into running” is an unusual reason to become a triathlete, but then Jason Dunn, the author of Greatness Doesn’t Care, has taken an unusual career path since he dreamed of being a soccer player growing up in England. Jason, who now helps entrepreneurs build resilience, discipline and purpose on their path to success joined Simon and Julie on the couch for episode 74 of Startup 360 th...

On episode 73 of Startup 360, Simon and Julie sit down with Ian Gardiner, cofounder of Innovation Bay, investor, entrepreneur and champion of founder communities. Ian reflects on his journey from Glasgow to Australia, his life with his wife Andread, founder of Jelix Ventures, the dot-com boom, building Viacorp, and the lessons that came from growing a company without the kind of founder peer netwo...

This week on Startup 360, Majella Campbell returns to the host’s chair in Simon’s place, alongside Julie Trell, to unpack a huge week in Australian venture capital before sitting down with urban designer, serial founder and author Lucinda Hartley. Lucinda has spent her career exploring how the places we live shape the lives we lead. From cofounding CoDesign Studio and Neighbourlytics to her latest...

Matt Jones describes himself as a creative strategist, accidental entrepreneur and serial failure. As his career pinballed between military intelligence, political speechwriting, brand strategy and co-founding Four Pillars Gin, he developed a theory about how people make decisions and why story matters. Matt, now founder of Think Story Experience, host of the StoryWork podcast and Startup Daily co...

What happens when a teacher, criminologist, sociologist and self-described geek - yes, that’s all one person - turns her attention to one of the biggest threats we all face: scams? Episode 70 of Startup 360, sees Simon and Julie “TreLLM” sit down with Lively founder Stacey Edmonds, creator of gamified school and business scam education sites  Dodgy or Not, and Phishy or Not, to explore how so...

Merrick Watts is a comedy legend. But he also has a serious side as a startup founder as Ed Stening discovered when he became his cofounder in drink brand Posca. And it turns out resurrecting a 2000-year-old Roman sports drink is no joke. Ed is this week’s guest on episode 69 of Startup 360, talking about building a brand in a competitive category, and moving from corporate to founder life. Posca...

AI has a cowboy problem. When not bragging on LinkedIn about their work being done while asleep, they’re writing AI cheques they can’t cash - without pausing to ask whose data they’re feeding into the machine, what it’s being used for, or who was duffed along the way. Episode 68 of Startup 360 talks to Emma Earley, the founder of 1000 Women in AI, a free AI upskilling program and community for wom...

For episode 67 of Startup 360, Simon and Julie talk with Mark Zmarzly - founder, prolific angel investor and AWS credits-turned-coupons fairy. Or Z. Not Zed, because that sends things into Pulp Fiction territory. Among many hats, the Nebraska-born accidental Australian and former startup whisperer is also a late-in-life basketball tragic, as Startup Basketball fans know. This year, he swapped a 5-...

Most founders start a business believing they'll build freedom. Sometimes it can end up imprisoning you. Every important decision lands on the founder's desk. Every approval, problem, late-night phone call. As Nicholas Thomson, the founder of Iceberg explains it on episode 66 of Startup 360, it’s like carrying a backpack filled with bricks and every day, another brick is added. Nick left corporate...

If you've ever looked at a successful founder and wondered how they always seem to know exactly what they're doing, this week's Startup 360 might come as a relief. Our guest is engineer, entrepreneur and Tech Ready Women program director Renate Crollini, who admits she once assumed all the smart people in the corner office had the answers. It wasn't until she became a founder herself that she real...

Before Sian Priest was helping deep tech founders tell better stories at Cicada Innovations, one of the games she created as a 2000s gaming founder ended up being played by President Obama at the White House science fair. This week on episode 64 of Startup 360, Majella’s away, so Simon sits down with Sian to talk about startups, deep tech, Silicon Valley self-belief, and why Australia needs to get...

Startup 360 hit the road for episode 63, recording in front of a studio audience for the first time from Growth Summit Sydney. Simon and Majella’s guest was Ben Grabiner from Side Stage Ventures, taking them through the findings of the Australia Venture & Startup Report 2026 , which looked at the past decade of the local VC-backed ecosystem. It’s now grown 13.7 times faster than any other major gl...

Vision gets a lot of attention in startups. It's the thing founders pitch to investors, talk about with customers and use to inspire teams. But as Dane Hudson argues, vision alone isn't enough. After more than 25 years leading businesses across five industries and mentoring more than 150 founders and CEOs, Dane learnt that scaling a company requires something less glamorous but ultimately more imp...

R&D investment and commercialisation can't be treated as separate issues, says Liza Noonan, CEO of Sydney deep-tech hub Cicada Innovations, on episode 61 of Startup 360. Liza unpacks deep tech — think quantum computing, medical devices and advanced manufacturing — and the unique challenges the sector faces with Simon and Majella on this week's show. Unlike software startups, where founders identif...

Fishburners has a new owner. And episode 60’s guest is Carolyn Breeze, CEO of the buyer, ASX-listed Scalare Partners. Scalare bought Fishburners from the voluntary administrators this week and the startup community and its members will leave the Tech Central Innovation Hub to become part of Tank Stream Labs. The move also brings change for cohost Majella Campbell, who’ll wrap up as Fishburners CEO...

After 3 non-event federal budgets for the startup sector, all hell broke loose on May 12 when treasurer Jim Chalmers announced capital gain tax changes that will reduce the size of the cheque startup shareholders receive in a liquidity event. The backlash has been enormous and the sector is hoping Treasury will hear their pleas and create carveouts for startups and their investors, as well as smal...

Startup founders are told to hustle harder, push through and never let the cracks show. But what happens when the pressure becomes too much? This week on Startup 360, host Simon Thomsen sits down with workplace mental health advocate Graeme Cowan for a candid conversation about burnout, psychological safety and the hidden emotional cost of building a business. Graeme, a founding board director of...

OpenAI’s APAC startups lead Thomas Jeng has a warning for founders worried AI is about to replace them: calm down. The tools are getting smarter at breakneck speed, but the people building the future are still very much in the driver’s seat. Speaking with Startup 360 co-hosts Simon Thomsen and Majella Campbell, Thomas - a former founder, VC operator and now OpenAI’s first startup hire across Asia...

A decade ago, Joshua Ross and his good mate Adam McCurdie went looking for an idea that would have maximum impact in doing the most good. So they decided to take on the global ticketing industry and launch Humanitix. Their second crazy big idea was to give away all the company’s profit. They’ve succeeded on both fronts. Since Humanitix was founded in Sydney in 2016, it’s given away $21 million to...

The global business travel market is worth more than $2 trillion annually, but when most employees seek to get from A to B, how it works is not something many think about. Altitude AI founder Aimee Armstrong has, transforming the industry to help smaller businesses save time and money thanks to AI. She's Simon and Majella's guest on episode 55 of Startup 360 this week. Her story is as fascinating...

The term Sandwich Generation was coined in the early 80s to describe people, aged in their 30s to 60s, who found themselves not only raising a family, but also caring for their parents - "carenting" - at the same time. In the middle of all those competing demands, they're also trying to build their careers and the pressures can make it all feel overwhelming. The numbers are stark - caregiving is a...

School and Malachy Doyle were never the best of mates. Our guest for episode 53 is now 17 and left school for entrepreneurship, founding his first startup Venty. Never mind the education, even being told when to have lunch got on his goat. And Malachy likes to have control of his destiny."I like building cool things," he explained to Majella and Simon, having launched his first business - making a...