The High Flyers Podcast with Vidit Agarwal

Welcome to this classic episode. Classics are our favourite episodes from the past 5 years, published every month or two. These are N of 1 conversations with N of 1 people. This is a replay of Episode 120, originally released in Feb 2023. Vidit Agarwal speaks with Alex Badran (Co-Founder & CEO of Spriggy) and Tim Doyle (Co-Founder & CEO of Eucalyptus) in a new sparring-style format, where Alex and...

Welcome to this classic episode. Classics are our favorite episodes from the past 5 years, published every month or two. These are N of 1 conversations with N of 1 people. This is a replay of Episode 145, originally released in October 2023— one of our most loved classics. Episode #238 features Beezer Clarkson, Partner at Sapphire Ventures — one of the most respected LPs in global venture capital....

Episode #237 features a rare public interview with Brendan Dowling, Deputy Secretary for Critical Infrastructure and Protective Security at Australia’s Department of Home Affairs — one of the government’s most senior national security roles. Brendan was previously Australia’s Ambassador for Cyber Affairs. In conversation with Vidit Agarwal, Brendan shares his journey from growing up in Melbourne w...

Welcome to this classic episode. Classics are my favorite episodes from the past 5 years, published every month or two. These are N of 1 conversations with N of 1 people. This is a replay of Episode 159, originally released in March 2024 — one of our most loved classics. Episode #236 features Matteo Franceschetti, Co-Founder & CEO of Eight Sleep — the category-defining sleep fitness company truste...

Episode #235 features Steve Hind — Co-Founder & CEO of Lorikeet, one of the fastest-growing AI companies backed by QED Investors, Square Peg, Blackbird and the founders of Canva. In this conversation, Steve traces his journey from growing up in regional Queensland to competitive debating, and then an unconventional path across BCG, Bridgewater, BuzzFeed, Stripe, Watershed and a Harvard MBA.Steve s...

Episode #234 features John Haddock — Chief Business Officer at Harvey, the fast-growing US$700M+ AI startup backed by Sequoia, OpenAI’s Startup Fund, Kleiner Perkins and Elad Gil. In this conversation with host Vidit Agarwal, John reflects on his childhood in Phoenix, lessons from a decade at Stripe: working closely with the Collison brothers, leading across sales, product and global risk, and hel...

Episode #233 features Peter Varghese — widely regarded as one of Australia’s most influential architects of foreign policy. He currently serves as Chancellor of the University of Queensland and previously held two of the Australian Government’s most senior diplomatic roles: Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Australia’s High Commissioner to India. Born in Kenya and arrivi...

Episode #232 of The High Flyers Podcast features Jason Collins — Head of Australasia at BlackRock, the world’s largest investment management firm, with over USD 13 trillion in assets under management (AUM). In this conversation, Jason reflects on his competitive upbringing on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, the resilience built through early career setbacks, and the formative years he spent living abro...

Episode #231 of The High Flyers Podcast features Sweta Mehra — Executive General Manager at National Australia Bank (NAB) and Former Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) at ANZ.  Born in Agra, India, Sweta’s journey spans Procter & Gamble, ANZ and NAB. At P&G, she rose to Brand Director, leading global consumer brands across Asia. At ANZ, she became Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), driving transformation,...

Episode #230 of The High Flyers Podcast features Bowen Pan, who led the creation of Facebook Marketplace and held product leadership roles at Trade Me, Meta, Stripe, and Common Room. He now advises startups and serves on boards including NZME and the Auckland University Business School. Born in China and raised in New Zealand, Bowen shares how learnt English at age nine, how he built Facebook Mark...

Welcome to this classic episode. Classics are my favorite episodes from the past 5 years, published every month or two. These are N of 1 conversations with N of 1 people. This is  a replay of Episode 157, originally released in February 2024 — one of our most loved classics. Episode #229 of The High Flyers Podcast features Jack Zhang, Co-Founder and CEO of Airwallex, one of the world’s fastest-gro...

Welcome to this classic episode. Classics are my favorite episodes from the past 5 years, published every month or two. These are N of 1 conversations with N of 1 people. This is  a replay of episode 129 that originally released in May 2023 — one of our most loved classics. Episode #228 of The High Flyers Podcast features Sam Wong, General Partner at Blackbird Ventures, one of the leading Venture...

Episode #227 of The High Flyers Podcast features Richard Joffe, three-time successful founder and now Executive Chair of Honey Insurance. Previously, he built and exited startups in parking tech and HR software across New York and San Francisco. In this conversation, Richard opens up on growing up in South Africa and Canada in an entrepreneurial family, why he walked away from McKinsey, Morgan Sta...

Episode #226 of The High Flyers Podcast features Bharat Sundaresan, award-winning cricket commentator, writer and storyteller. Based in Adelaide, he’s covered cricket worldwide for over 18 years and is a regular media voice on shows from ABC Breakfast to The Project. Known for his flamboyant style, Bharat was profiled on ABC’s Australian Story in 2025 and is now also pursuing his lifelong passion...

Episode #225 of The High Flyers Podcast features Andrew Penn, Recent CEO of Telstra (2015–2022) and Group CEO of AXA Asia Pacific. Today, he chairs Visit Victoria, sits on the Coles board, and advises Government on cybersecurity and national security. In this conversation, Andy reflects on dropping out of high school and working two jobs before studying nights and weekends to complete his MBA, mov...

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. +++ To support this podcast, check out our some of our sponsors & get dis...

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).  +++ This episode is part of a special series in partnership with the Australian Government and their Centre for Aust...

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...

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. SafetyCultu...

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, men...

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 an...

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, t...

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...

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! +++  To support this podcast, check out...

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 Exec...