Calling Operator with Laura Nicol

Calling Operator with Laura Nicol

By Laura NicolSociety & CultureBusinessEntrepreneurshipTechnologyPersonal Journals
Download on the App Store

Calling Operator with Laura Nicol episodes

  • Ep 57. Leading Across Different Stages & Contexts—Laura Warden

    After 19 conversations with some of the sharpest operators around, I’m closing the year** with someone who rewired how I think about building process: Laura Warden. 

    Your job as an operator is to make things work. So you do. You patch. You duct-tape. You make something 10% better, then 15%, then 20%. Over time, you get excellent at optimising a system that (maybe) shouldn’t exist in the first place. Laura brought me back to the idea of constructing or reconstructing from first principles: “If you could build this optimally from day one, would it look like this?”

    She’s operated across different scales and contexts—running recruitment and talent at Hays, managing ~500 people at Google, and now supporting dozens of companies as Head of Operations at Folklore Ventures.

    We touch on her journey and:

    • How dyslexia shaped her superpowers

    • Scaling hurdles: moving too fast without process, founder span-of-control failure, and insufficient communication

    • Why leadership teams need to feel visible (and Google’s multi-modal comms example)

    • The management triangle: Empathy + Business outcomes + Clear direction

    • Why your job isn’t to be the hero—it’s to build an environment where heroes can emerge

    • Your network as an external brain (and why it needs to be small and value-driven)

    • Rising above the weeds: asking, “What have I missed? What’s going to derail this or make it less impactful?”

    • Hiring observations: companies hiring a generalist operator first, then building specialist teams around them

    • Laura's motto: "Sh*t happens. Accept it. Then figure out how you pick yourself, your team, and the organisation up from that.

      • **P.S. Catch my solo episode, "What the Year Taught Me", on December 23, before we tuck into the cauli' cheese and Christmas cheer.

      Mentioned in this episode:

      • Teresa Lilly

      • Savannah Black

      • Dianne Ward

      • Nicole Hopkins

      • Alister Coleman

      • Rochelle Ritchie

      • Sundar Pichai

      • Romy Bundy

      • Naomi Browne

        • Guest ideas?

        Do you have an operator on speed dial who could be perfect for the show? Please share your suggestions with me via LinkedIn.

         

        A note from your host, Laura:

        My goal for Calling Operator is to open-source stories from startup operators across various functional areas and learn how they excel at building and scaling companies. As a Chief of Staff, I often find myself in (virtual) rooms with people facing similar challenges and reinventing the wheel. I want this podcast to open a line for operators across Australia and New Zealand to learn from fellow operators. Each episode shares personal stories, the execution behind big ideas, career-defining moments, successes, failures, and lessons.

         

        Never miss an episode:

        Subscribe on your favourite platform:

        • Spotify

        • Apple Podcasts

        • (Other) CallingOperator.com

          • 56 min
        • Ep 56. The Multi-Domain Operator with Kai Crow

          Every great founder has a small Avengers team turning vision into operational reality. This episode shines a light on someone running marketing, customer and revenue operations while acting as the CEO’s trusted right-hand.

          Inside:

          • 15+ years' CRM, ops, and scaling insights from a multi-functional perspective—from Sonar6 (acquired by Cornerstone), AskNicely, Plexure (formerly VMob) and Joyous

          • Leaving memorable marks that show character and care

          • Balancing startup freedom with enterprise rigour as Ask Nicely’s first employee

          • Why Joyous turned off the tap on traditional marketing—and what broke

          • Knowing when to keep systems simple vs. adding complexity

          • The CEO partnership model that makes Ruby (Joyous' CEO) say: “I wouldn’t be here without him”

          • When to leverage AI and when to stay firmly human

          • Spotting whether you’re building or maintaining, and when you’ve outgrown your role

            • Guest ideas?

            Do you have an operator on speed dial who could be perfect for the show? Please share your suggestions with me via LinkedIn.

             

            A note from your host, Laura:

            My goal for Calling Operator is to open-source stories from startup operators across various functional areas and learn how they excel at building and scaling companies. As a Chief of Staff, I often find myself in (virtual) rooms with people facing similar challenges and reinventing the wheel. I want this podcast to open a line for operators across Australia and New Zealand to learn from fellow operators. Each episode shares personal stories, the execution behind big ideas, career-defining moments, successes, failures, and lessons.

             

            Never miss an episode:

            Subscribe on your favourite platform:

            • Spotify

            • Apple Podcasts

            • (Other) CallingOperator.com

              • 57 min
            • Ep 55. Anna Prell on Building Forage, Being Acquired and Building Again

              Laura Nicol dials into Anna Prell, VP Operations at Ivo.

              Anna reminds us why being an operator is a) so damn exciting and b) the ultimate leadership testing ground: 

              "In a startup, you can be your own version of a founder. You’re the founder of whatever it is you’re in charge of. You keep testing, learning, and scaling until it works." 

              Inside this conversation:

              • Moving to the US in 2020—and operating inside ANZ companies state-side

              • Shifting from Chief of Staff to leading a function (Ops > Customer Success)

              • Learning how to manage people

              • EAB acquiring Forage—Anna’s role in the story

              • Finding a home in EAB post-acquisition

              • The operator-founder partnership. Pure MAGIC

              • Building again at Ivo as VP Ops

              • How she found the “right fit”

              • Building the infrastructure that helps teams scale

                • Want to connect with Anna? Find her on LinkedIn.

                Also mentioned:

                • Olga Eippert

                • Min-Kyu Jung

                • Jacob Duligall

                • Amy Glancey

                • Clara Ma

                • Alicia Wells

                  • Pre-interview chats:

                  • Katie Noonan (Listen to Katie's Calling Operator episode)

                  • Tom Brunskill

                    • Guest ideas?

                    Do you have an operator on speed dial who could be perfect for the show? Please share your suggestions with me via LinkedIn.

                     

                    A note from your host, Laura:

                    My goal for Calling Operator is to open-source stories from startup operators across various functional areas and learn how they excel at building and scaling companies. As a Chief of Staff, I often find myself in (virtual) rooms with people facing similar challenges and reinventing the wheel. I want this podcast to open a line for operators across Australia and New Zealand to learn from fellow operators. Each episode shares personal stories, the execution behind big ideas, career-defining moments, successes, failures, and lessons.

                     

                    Never miss an episode:

                    Subscribe on your favourite platform:

                    • Spotify

                    • Apple Podcasts

                    • (Other) CallingOperator.com

                      • 52 min
                    • Ep 54. Betting On People with Mahesh Muralidhar

                      Laura Nicol dials into Mahesh Muralidhar.

                      From day one, Mahesh has been obsessed with making a difference. He was early in Sydney’s startup scene in the 2010s post-MBA—first chasing his own idea, then finding impact (and peace) in helping others build.

                      What followed? A career that reads like three lifetimes in one.

                      Inside:

                      • The romantic, messy-beautiful beginnings of Sydney’s startup scene.

                      • That nagging fear you’ve “missed the boat” in tech. Spoiler: the boat’s still boarding.

                      • The through-line of his career: founder > operator > investor > political candidate.

                      • Building customer intuition and products people love.

                      • Betting on people. Building trust. Understanding incentives. Getting obsessed with winning.

                      • Spotting great talent—and coaching them like a pro sports manager.

                      • Mahesh's founder story at Ureferjobs (a job referral marketplace)—why it didn’t land and the fateful “choosing Canva” moment.

                      • Operating inside early Canva, Airtasker, and Simply Wall St (from Head of People Ops to VP to COO).

                      • Phase One: why he’s convinced New Zealand founders can build world-changing companies with the right “been there, done that” support.

                      • The current chapter: “I want to make New Zealand a significantly happier place".

                        • Also mentioned:

                        • Read Mahesh's Substack

                        • David Hearnden

                        • Alexey Mitko

                        • Bec Jenkins

                        • Yani Hornilla Donato

                        • Mick Liubinskas (Pollenizer)

                        • Phil Morle (Pollenizer)

                        • Tim Fung

                        • Al Bentley

                        • Emer McCann

                        • Vincent Wei

                        • Mark Macleod-Smith

                        • Elise Peate

                        • Alexander Fala

                        • Melanie Perkins

                        • Cliff Obrecht

                          • Guest ideas?

                          Do you have an operator on speed dial who could be perfect for the show? Please share your suggestions with me via LinkedIn.

                           

                          A note from your host, Laura:

                          My goal for Calling Operator is to open-source stories from startup operators across various functional areas and learn how they excel at building and scaling companies. As a Chief of Staff, I often find myself in (virtual) rooms with people facing similar challenges and reinventing the wheel. I want this podcast to open a line for operators across Australia and New Zealand to learn from fellow operators. Each episode shares personal stories, the execution behind big ideas, career-defining moments, successes, failures, and lessons.

                           

                          Never miss an episode:

                          Subscribe on your favourite platform:

                          • Spotify

                          • Apple Podcasts

                          • (Other) CallingOperator.com

                            • 1 hr 12 min
                          • Ep 53. Savannah Black on Range, Hypergrowth & ADHD

                            Laura Nicol dials into Savannah Black.

                            For Savannah, being a startup operator is about making the company work in the real world. All the forward planning, mission, and vision stuff is important. That’s the on-paper part. But being an operator is about making it actually work. You can see it in action at Crypto Tax Calculator: four roles, three promotions, each adding new layers of context. Today, she’s Chief of Staff to CEO Shane Brunette at Crypto Tax Calculator.

                            We get into:

                            • Savannah's late ADHD diagnosis

                            • Working with energy management cycles, hyperfocus windows and stimulation requirements

                            • What broke (and what didn’t) during Crypto Tax Calculator's hypergrowth from 20 to 60 people

                            • The Maker vs Manager schedule that protects deep work (remote-first culture)

                            • Why chaos isn't something we need to fix: "It's where innovation comes from"

                            • "Narrate everything": Learning how to avoid communication breakdowns at scale

                            • Her prioritisation stack: "[Eisenhower Matrix] I will ignore what's urgent till the cows come home"

                              • Also mentioned:

                              • Michael Stocks

                              • Shane Brunette

                              • Beth Mackinnon

                              • Sophie Gerber

                              • Crypto Tax Calculator

                              • Range

                                • Guest ideas?

                                Do you have an operator on speed dial who could be perfect for the show? Please share your suggestions with me via LinkedIn.

                                 

                                A note from your host, Laura:

                                My goal for Calling Operator is to open-source stories from startup operators across various functional areas and learn how they excel at building and scaling companies. As a Chief of Staff, I often find myself in (virtual) rooms with people facing similar challenges and reinventing the wheel. I want this podcast to open a line for operators across Australia and New Zealand to learn from fellow operators. Each episode shares personal stories, the execution behind big ideas, career-defining moments, successes, failures, and lessons.

                                 

                                Never miss an episode:

                                Subscribe on your favourite platform:

                                • Spotify

                                • Apple Podcasts

                                • (Other) CallingOperator.com

                                  • 1 hr 3 min
                                • Ep 52. Operational Leadership with Alexey Mitko

                                  Laura Nicol dials into Alexey Mitko. Alexey’s career has been all about operational leadership. Finance, HR, legal — he’s held the keys to the gritty, foundational work that lets startups scale without falling apart.

                                  He puts it simply:“When the startup community has been so generous in teaching me how to see the world differently as a 20-something, it’s my obligation — as an almost 40-year-old (don’t forget to stretch, people) — to do the same. If I can pass it on, use my skills, and maybe get rewarded along the way? That sounds pretty good to me.”

                                  Inside:

                                  • I tapped into Alexey’s communities to crowdsource the questions we all wanted answered. How he operates, what he’s learned, and why he believes in being part of the “supporting cast” that helps others shine.

                                  • Helping founders survive the weird, wonderful, and maddening ride of going from nothing to something

                                  • Why one year in a startup can feel like three years of career growth

                                  • From Interactive Accounting in Sydney’s Tank Stream Labs → Canva (back when it was just 20 people in Surry Hills) → Koala (where he built his “early-stage scaffolding” system) → Eucalyptus (his first founder seat)

                                  • The three things that defined Eucalyptus’ early success: a battle-tested ops team, exceptional early hires, and a dash of luck

                                  • Finding (and owning) the stage you’re most useful in

                                  • How to think about ESOP as an employee. How founders think about ESOP as an employer.

                                    • Also mentioned:

                                    • Read this before you accept an equity offer at a startup: Alexey’s guide to employee share schemes in Australia, drawing on lessons from designing Canva, Koala & Eucalyptus’ ESOPs.

                                    Guest ideas?

                                    Do you have an operator on speed dial who could be perfect for the show? Please share your suggestions with me via LinkedIn.

                                     

                                    A note from your host, Laura:

                                    My goal for Calling Operator is to open-source stories from startup operators across various functional areas and learn how they excel at building and scaling companies. As a Chief of Staff, I often find myself in (virtual) rooms with people facing similar challenges and reinventing the wheel. I want this podcast to open a line for operators across Australia and New Zealand to learn from fellow operators. Each episode shares personal stories, the execution behind big ideas, career-defining moments, successes, failures, and lessons.

                                     

                                    Never miss an episode:

                                    Subscribe on your favourite platform:

                                    • Spotify

                                    • Apple Podcasts

                                    • (Other) CallingOperator.com

                                      • 59 min
                                    • Ep 51. Falling in Love with Startups and Running—Phoebe Pincus

                                      Laura Nicol dials into Phoebe Pincus, COO at Startmate and Co-Founder at Cheeky Run Club.

                                      We cover a lot. Learning to lead when you've never had female leadership role models. Being the opposite of a perfectionist. Her career journey from psychology student to general manager to chief of staff to COO. We also get into starting Cheeky Run Club, balancing passion projects with big jobs, and finding your “bumper rails". If Cheeky Run Club brought you here, hello cheeky friends! 

                                      Inside:

                                      • The Good Weekend Quiz: A pandemic-born family ritual that still lives on today.

                                      • Becoming a leader others want to follow: Phoebe’s aha moment? A halftime pep talk at social touch rugby. “I’ve seen you give half-time pep talks at social touch… you just need to find a way to do it that feels authentic to you.”

                                      • Designing COO-CEO partnerships and her role managing internal operations and external fundraising

                                      • Transitioning from Chief of Staff to COO. Differences. Common ground. Practical to-dos.

                                      • “How do you set goals?” One of the most-asked questions in Chief of Staff circles.

                                      • Life rules and systems: “Always Swim,” prioritising what you know you should be doing, and the shadow theory of values.

                                      • Representing running the Cheeky way: joyful, social, best thing for your mental health. Plus why even non-runners turn up for the women's health content.

                                      • The Cheeky outlet: “this is my thing, it feels like an extension of us”

                                        • Want to connect with Phoebe? Find her on LinkedIn.

                                        Also mentioned:

                                        • Maisy Bennett

                                        • Michael Batko

                                        • Jason Fang

                                        • Cheeky Run Club: Spotify, Apple, Instagram, Cheeky’s Substack

                                        • Anna Coldham

                                        • How to fall in love with running with Phoebe & Anna from Cheeky Run Club (KICPOD)

                                        • How to fall in love with running (Cheeky Run Club)

                                          • Pre-interview chats:

                                          • Bronte McHenry (Listen to Bronte's Calling Operator episode)

                                          • Kelly Spoerk

                                            • Guest ideas?

                                            Do you have an operator on speed dial who could be perfect for the show? Please share your suggestions with me via LinkedIn.

                                             

                                            A note from your host, Laura:

                                            My goal for Calling Operator is to open-source stories from startup operators across various functional areas and learn how they excel at building and scaling companies. As a Chief of Staff, I often find myself in (virtual) rooms with people facing similar challenges and reinventing the wheel. I want this podcast to open a line for operators across Australia and New Zealand to learn from fellow operators. Each episode shares personal stories, the execution behind big ideas, career-defining moments, successes, failures, and lessons.

                                             

                                            Never miss an episode:

                                            Subscribe on your favourite platform:

                                            • Spotify

                                            • Apple Podcasts

                                            • (Other) CallingOperator.com

                                              • 55 min
                                            • Ep 50. Emer McCann on Building People Functions & Scaling Orgs

                                              Laura Nicol dials into Emer McCann, Head of People & Chief of Staff at Simply Wall St.

                                              Emer scaled Deputy’s people and culture through hypergrowth (70 to 350 employees) before joining Simply Wall St as employee #15 to build from zero. She’s the quiet force behind the chaos. The puppeteer, the glue, the phrasebook for hard conversations.

                                              Inside this conversation:

                                              • Irishness, “Notions” and confidence. How cultural conditioning shapes self-advocacy.

                                              • When to hire your first people lead (or fractional exec)—and what happens if you wait too long.

                                              • The capacity reality of becoming a new mum while building companies: “I can’t do what I used to do. What’s next is understanding my capacity—and not overpromising.”

                                              • From solo people operator to team of eight: When Deputy hired its first Chief People Officer, Emer’s one-person people function turned into an eight-person team. “I didn’t know any different—I just thought, oh, this is normal, this is what a startup is. But no, that’s not what a startup is.”

                                              • Rebuilding from zero at Simply Wall St: Taking lessons from a wild scale journey—and starting again.

                                              • Gap-filling as a career philosophy: Spot the strategic holes no one else sees—and fill those boots.

                                              • Why Emer spends time in “small little huddles,” mapping what matters to each person before the big meeting.

                                              • Signs of people pleasing yourself into burnout: “You do everything—but don’t do anything really well.”

                                              • Her winning formula: First-principles thinking. Solving for what matters. Tying it all back to the business metrics.

                                                • Want to connect with Emer? Find her on LinkedIn.

                                                Also mentioned:

                                                • Xavi Ferró

                                                • Al Bentley

                                                • Naveen N

                                                • Alex Lunnon

                                                • Sparketype

                                                • Jefferson Fisher

                                                • Nadine Blackie

                                                  • Guest ideas?

                                                  Do you have an operator on speed dial who could be perfect for the show? Please share your suggestions with me via LinkedIn.

                                                   

                                                  A note from your host, Laura:

                                                  My goal for Calling Operator is to open-source stories from startup operators across various functional areas and learn how they excel at building and scaling companies. As a Chief of Staff, I often find myself in (virtual) rooms with people facing similar challenges and reinventing the wheel. I want this podcast to open a line for operators across Australia and New Zealand to learn from fellow operators. Each episode shares personal stories, the execution behind big ideas, career-defining moments, successes, failures, and lessons.

                                                   

                                                  Never miss an episode:

                                                  Subscribe on your favourite platform:

                                                  • Spotify

                                                  • Apple Podcasts

                                                  • (Other) CallingOperator.com

                                                    • 56 min
                                                  • Ep 49. Liani Strauss on Keeping Tracksuit on Track

                                                    Laura Nicol connects with Liani Strauss, Chief of Staff at Tracksuit.

                                                    Liani’s background in industrial engineering gave her structure. Startups gave her speed. Today, she works at the intersection of strategy, systems, and people—helping shape how Tracksuit scales from the inside out.

                                                    Inside the conversation:

                                                    • Early days of BizOps at Tracksuit: “We were the bridge—setting up scaffolding for new functions, then stepping back so specialists could help them fly.”

                                                    • Evolving from "make it work" to "make it scale". How a Zapier x Google Sheets x DocuSign piece of art turned into a multi-jurisdictional global ESOP system.

                                                    • Why Chief of Staff effectiveness hinges on intentional relationship design. Liani's experience building deep trust with CEO and co-founder Connor Archbold

                                                    • Movement unplugged. Her go-to for staying grounded

                                                    • A lesson in acceptance... a Blue Crush story

                                                    • Why continuing to invest in relationships is her theme of her year

                                                    • Getting creative under pressure (especially when the fridge is empty)

                                                    • Her quiet superpower: regulating emotional temperature in high-stakes moments—something others spotted in her long before she named it in herself.

                                                      • Want to connect with Liani? Find her on LinkedIn.

                                                      Also mentioned:

                                                      • Daniel Lombard

                                                      • Alexandra Gnoss

                                                      • Matthew Herbert

                                                      • Christine van Hoffen

                                                      • Julian Rapattoni

                                                      • Harry Flett

                                                      • Dan Danilov

                                                      • Dave from Legal

                                                      • Jason Wilby

                                                        • Guest ideas?

                                                        Do you have an operator on speed dial who could be perfect for the show? Please share your suggestions with me via LinkedIn.

                                                         

                                                        A note from your host, Laura:

                                                        My goal for Calling Operator is to open-source stories from startup operators across various functional areas and learn how they excel at building and scaling companies. As a Chief of Staff, I often find myself in (virtual) rooms with people facing similar challenges and reinventing the wheel. I want this podcast to open a line for operators across Australia and New Zealand to learn from fellow operators. Each episode shares personal stories, the execution behind big ideas, career-defining moments, successes, failures, and lessons.

                                                         

                                                        Never miss an episode:

                                                        Subscribe on your favourite platform:

                                                        • Spotify

                                                        • Apple Podcasts

                                                        • (Other) CallingOperator.com

                                                          • 1 hr 3 min
                                                        • Ep 48. Paul Redfern on Growth, Scale and Staying Human

                                                          Laura Nicol connects with Paul Redfern, Chief Operating Officer at Big Picture Medical. He’s someone who’s spent most of his career toggling between product and operations, and getting pretty good at living in the grey. And becoming “reasonably okay-ish” in a whole bunch of different worlds.

                                                          This episode is all about a tension every operator knows too well: the never-ending juggle between growth and scale. Serving today’s customers while building for tomorrow. Every decision has a cost. The real skill is knowing which ones are actually worth it.

                                                          Inside this conversation:

                                                          • The journey from Bank of Queensland, Tyro, Brighte and now Big Picture Medical

                                                          • What scaling a global healthtech startup looks like behind the scenes

                                                          • The Red Line Framework for sustainable leadership and life moments

                                                          • How to grow up as a company (we’re talking communication maturity for scaling orgs)

                                                          • Context switching and energy management as a new parent-leader

                                                          • Why the chaos never really ends. It just shapeshifts

                                                          • Treating operations like a product and how that changes what you optimise for

                                                          • [Relationships] The power of weekly Notion check-ins. A quick gut-check on what’s happening, where you need flex, and how you’re showing up for each other

                                                          • What it feels like to have an imaginary infinite battery

                                                          • A tiny mental trick: asking “Will this move me closer to my goals this week?” And sometimes “Will this move me closer to my goals, full stop?”

                                                          • For every operator out there, pausing to rethink your own operating system and patterns is a real level-up moment

                                                            • Want to connect with Paul? Find him on LinkedIn.

                                                            Also mentioned:

                                                            • The psychological reason journaling makes you better.

                                                            • Kate Glazebrook

                                                            • Jackie Rabec

                                                            • Priya Vase

                                                            • Dr Tom McKinnon

                                                            • Ben Colley

                                                              • Guest ideas?

                                                              Do you have an operator on speed dial who could be perfect for the show? Please share your suggestions with me via LinkedIn.

                                                               

                                                              A note from your host, Laura:

                                                              My goal for Calling Operator is to open-source stories from startup operators across various functional areas and learn how they excel at building and scaling companies. As a Chief of Staff, I often find myself in (virtual) rooms with people facing similar challenges and reinventing the wheel. I want this podcast to open a line for operators across Australia and New Zealand to learn from fellow operators. Each episode shares personal stories, the execution behind big ideas, career-defining moments, successes, failures, and lessons.

                                                               

                                                              Never miss an episode:

                                                              Subscribe on your favourite platform:

                                                              • Spotify

                                                              • Apple Podcasts

                                                              • (Other) CallingOperator.com

                                                                • 54 min

                                                              About Calling Operator with Laura Nicol

                                                              From the publisher's feed

                                                              Join Laura Nicol (your host) as she dials into the stories of startup operators in the trenches of building and scaling companies. Together, we master the art of ‘building the plane while flying it',…