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Calling Operator with Laura Nicol
Calling Operator with Laura Nicol episodes
- Ep 47. The Water Cooler Chat with Gaby Howard & Laura Nicol
Laura Nicol connects with today's co-host: the wonderful Gaby Howard, Head of Growth and Operations at Carted.
Gaby’s no stranger to the podcast—she first appeared on Ep 23. Gaby Howard on Navigating the Shift from Founder to Operator in Tech: Insights from Carted and Flaunter, where the wonderful Paloma interviewed her about her journey from founder to operator. (If you’re here for her backstory, head there first—we’re not retelling it today.)
This episode is something different: a pulse check. A water-cooler moment. The kind of chat Gaby and I usually have off-mic—only this time, we hit record.
If the noise of the internet lately feels like a never-ending hamster wheel, you’re not alone. In this chat, we cover:
A mid-year temperature check from two operators
Honest reflections on how we’re feeling in our operator roles
A pulse check on what’s happening out there: Insights surfaced from operators at our first-ever community meetup (Calling Operator x Notion coffee)
Questions like: Am I ahead? Behind? Keeping up?
Plus a few laughs as we find our rhythm as co-hosts (I left in the bossy host blooper 🙃)
Huge thanks to Gaby for jumping into the co-host seat. We hope this chat feels like the water-cooler moment you didn’t know you needed.
Want to connect with Gaby? Find her on LinkedIn.
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 46. Operators and Burnout with Laura Nicol—Solo Reflections
Today, I’m turning the mic inward for my first-ever solo episode of Calling Operator. I’m Laura Nicol, your host and Chief of Staff at Co Ventures—and in this conversation, we’re talking burnout. The kind that creeps up. The kind that hits hard. The kind that startup operators know all too well. It comes up on the pod all the time—for a reason.
I'm calling it my #buildinpublic reflection on this topic from the operator’s seat. I chat through:
The aha moment: Being a great operator starts with self-work
My journey from an epilepsy diagnosis to today
Physical health, mental health and wellbeing
Burnout
Giving yourself permission to step off the treadmill
Trying to prevent it
Building an environment that catches it more often
Shoutout to past guests whose wisdom shows up throughout (check out their full eps here):
Ep 42. Olivia Panzic at TikTok ANZ
Ep 45. Anitta Krishan at Hoogly AI
Ep 38. Alice Hehman at Glue Club
Ep 39. Harry Uffindell at Partly
Ep 32. Maxine Minter at Co Ventures
Ep 30. Emily Robinson at Kic
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 45. Scale and Soul: Anitta Krishan on Leading People and Culture Transformation at trivago, Grab, TikTok & Hoogly AI
Laura Nicol connects with Anitta Krishan, Chief Culture Officer at Hoogly AI. We begin with a breath—a literal nervous system–balancing pause—followed by people-first perspectives from a former Trivago, Grab, and TikTok executive now shaping the future of work through an AI-powered Culture OS.
Inside the episode:
Operating mindfully: breathing, sleeping, deep sighing, and listening to your body’s signals
The future of work, where humans serve as culture architects and AI steps in as orchestrator
Joining Trivago at 200 employees and scaling through IPO to 1,600
Leading people and culture transformation at Grab during a chapter of hypergrowth and reinvention
Scaling TikTok globally from 1,000 to 50,000 employees, navigating geopolitical tensions and cultural nuance at warp speed
The black ops moment: how the TikTok India ban shaped her legacy as a people-first operator
Why “your calendar reflects your values”—and the case for auditing it weekly
Building from the ground floor inside an AI-native company
Advice for rising operators: “Stop waiting for permission and titles. Just influence.”
Want to connect with Anitta? Find her on LinkedIn.
Check out Hoogly AI for your org.
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 13 min - Ep 44. Scaling Hnry with Karan Anand—Inside the Chief Strategy Officer Role, His Operating Philosophy, Abductive Logic
Today, I'm connecting with Karan Anand, Chief Strategy Officer & Managing Director, Australia at Hnry.
We trace his journey from 13 years in consulting to becoming Hnry’s first hire in Australia, exploring what it really means to lead without ego, think in systems, and be a force multiplier for founders.
Inside the episode:
His experience as a new dad
Building generational community projects, including the creation of the Young Seek Professionals Network
The co-pilot model of the Chief Strategy Officer—and how to support founders while staying anchored to long-term goals
What it meant to be the first hire in Australia for Hnry—and how to scale without a playbook
Why being in rooms you're “not ready for” is often where you learn the most—and how to hold your ground when you get there
The startup superpowers management consulting teaches: structured problem solving, corporate technique, and navigating directional tension
Breaking a company into 26 first-principles components to build a three-year strategy—and reaching a consensus on direction
Building Hnry’s "Sole Trader Pulse" data play—and turning underrepresented customer voices into strategic advantage
Moving between inductive and abductive logic when data is sparse but decisions can’t wait
The traits Karan looks for in strategy operators at early-stage startups
His operating philosophy: Helping people become their best in service of the business
Why systems thinking is a survival skill in fast-scaling companies
Connect with Karan Anand on LinkedIn.
Learn more about Hnry.
Other operators mentioned in the episode:
Brandon Palmer, Head of Marketing @ Hnry
Sandeep Chandra, Strategy @ Atlassian
Albert Patajo, Chief of Staff @ Nexl
Harry Hamilton, Product @ Tracksuit, Co-Founder @ Fuzzy
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 8 min - Ep 43. Sophie McKay on Launching Tech Brands Across Asia-Pacific—Qualtrics to Notion
**Join us at our first-ever podcast meetup in Sydney. Info below**
Today, I'm connecting with Sophie Mckay, Head of Marketing, Asia Pacific and Japan at Notion.
Sophie’s career has been all about scaling tech brands across the Asia-Pacific region (APAC). Before joining Notion six months ago, she spent almost a decade at Qualtrics—starting as the first marketing hire in APAC and growing the team to 17, launching across six regions. In her words: “Every country or region we went into felt like a startup within a startup.”
Now, she’s crafting Notion’s brand story and building her dream marketing team for APAC.
In this episode, we dial into:
Balancing a high-growth tech career with life as a mum to two young boys (3 and 5) and a pilot husband who’s often in the sky. Sophie shares how she makes it work.
Could Sydney become “Silicon Sands”? Sophie weighs in.
Why she loves launching companies across APAC—and the three-part strategy that sets her up for success every time.
Notion's Australian takeover: A front-row seat to Sophie's "launch moment" (and why community love is everything).
Her first 30 days at Notion: How she left onboarding in San Francisco with a fully approved marketing plan, ready to roll the moment she landed back in Sydney.
Leading cross-cultural teams and appreciating the nuances of a region's go-to-market motion.
Building things from scratch: The signals that tell you it’s time to scale or pivot
Hiring philosophy: Why you should always recruit someone who "scares you" (and why Sophie spent 18 months finding a first marketing hire).
Finding Nemo wisdom: "Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming" (and remember you're not saving lives).
Joy as a metric: "Startups are full on. Just make sure you’re always having a really good laugh every single day. If you're not, change up what you're doing."
Operator shoutout: Carrie Ball, Talent Acquisition Lead APAC at Rippling. "What really stands out is how she brings a human element to the recruitment process. Her posts are hilarious—and honestly, I think she’d be such a fun guest to have on the podcast to talk about building teams from scratch across APAC."
Thanks to Kelly Souders and Kirsty Poynter for helping shape this interview and for your time on the pre-interview chats.
Connect with Sophie:
LinkedIn
Resources mentioned in the ep:
Notion {Notion is the all-in-one workspace for teams to share knowledge, manage projects, take notes, and more}
Hello, Australia! By Andrew McCarthy
How OpenAI turns shared knowledge into faster workflows with Notion
**📆 JOIN US: Calling Operator x Notion coffee | Apr 29, 10am**
Some of the best conversations happen off-mic. That’s why I’ve teamed up with Notion to bring the Calling Operator community together in Sydney.
The deets:🌞 First-ever pod meetup in our most-listened city >> Sydney🌞 Tues, Apr 29 at 10am (Surry Hills location) 🌞 Past podcast guests are coming—swap stories, ask questions🌞 RSVP here
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
46 min - Ep 42. Culture Drivers with Olivia Panzic—Leading Marketing Communications and Building High-Performing Teams at TikTok ANZ
**Join us at our first-ever podcast meetup in Sydney. Info below**
Today, I'm connecting with Olivia (Liv) Panzic, Head of Marketing Communications at TikTok ANZ. A core part of Liv’s belief system? Look after people. And it shows. Her colleagues and mentors describe her leadership at TikTok as “people-centric,” “human-first,” and “transformative for those around her.” This conversation covers three big themes: creating thumb-stopping content, being brave, and leading from the heart.
In this episode, we cover:
Why everything is better after a good night’s sleep (thanks, Mum).
Community as strategy—not just support, but a growth engine.
How a failed startup led her to TikTok—proof that the algorithm of life sometimes gets it right.
Her first three years at TikTok ANZ—moving to Sydney, stepping into leadership, and building a marcomms strategy that clicks.
A reminder that growth is layered: internal, external, and relational.
Want to break into startups? Ditch the “pick me” mindset—find your match (tips inside).
Leading inside a global company and bringing local context to celebrate culture drivers.
Creating space for your team to grow and go viral in their own way.
Why talking out loud to AI tools like ChatGPT changes the game for storytelling, advertising, and attention. Looking ahead to reaching people through voice.
Staying humble: “You’re never too big for a small job.”
Operator shoutout: How Elly Strang and the team at Tracksuit rewrote the playbook on early-stage B2B comms and content. Why their customers say: “Hey, I want this company to win as much as I love their product.”
Connect with Liv:
Connect With Liv on LinkedIn
Others Mentioned in the Episode:
Elly Strang at Tracksuit
Kendall Moses at Uber
Pip Marlow
Tony Reid
Huge thanks to Hayley Saddleton and Shani Kugenthiran for the pre-interview chats. You're so right. Liv. Is. Magic.
📆 JOIN US: Calling Operator x Notion coffee | Apr 29, 10am
Some of the best conversations happen off-mic. That’s why I’ve teamed up with Notion to bring the Calling Operator community together in Sydney.
The deets:🌞 First-ever pod meetup in our most-listened city >> Sydney🌞 Tues, Apr 29 at 10am (Surry Hills location) 🌞 Past podcast guests are coming—swap stories, ask questions🌞 RSVP here
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
48 min - Ep 41. Rach Matters on Turning OCD Anxiety into Her Superpower and Scaling to Senior Program Manager at Linktree
Today, I'm connecting with Rach Matters, Senior Program Manager at Linktree. Rach’s sweet spot is joining fast-growing organizations with a blank job description, and she’s had the privilege of learning company building through EA-exec partnerships with Linktree’s Alex Zaccaria and seasoned entrepreneur Janey Martino.
In this episode, we cover:
Why worrying is like a rocking chair—it keeps you busy but gets you nowhere
Scaling herself alongside one of Australia’s biggest tech success stories
Supporting leaders through hypergrowth and high-stakes moments
The EA-executive relationship and the magic of high-trust partnerships
Creating calm in chaos (while secretly thriving in it)
Why waiting back isn’t Rach’s style
Understanding the individual needs of your leadership team (it’s not one-size-fits-all)
Strategic restraint—bringing deep knowledge of the leadership team into operations and learning to 10x things without adding process friction
Taking pieces of wisdom from each leader you work with
Low-key Sundays and the power of rest
Connect with Rach on LinkedIn here.
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
45 min - Ep 40. Shipra Mahindra: From Software Engineer to Canva’s First PM and Product Leader at Octopus Deploy
Today, I'm connecting with Shipra Mahindra, Principal Product Manager at Octopus Deploy. Let’s just say—Shipra’s peers can’t stop raving about her. She made her mark as the first product manager at Canva, working closely with co-founder Mel Perkins and the early mobile team. Shipra takes us through the highs, lows, and many celebrations that came with launching and scaling Canva’s first mobile app. She shares how she found her rhythm as a product manager and the lessons she's learned, both as a human and a product leader, during rapid growth at Canva, Xero, Creatively Squared, and now at Octopus Deploy. And when she’s not leading product, she’s showing how New Zealand can be an incubator for world-leading, world-class companies as a Partner at Phase One Ventures.
Connect with Shipra Mahindra.
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
48 min - Ep 39. Harry Uffindell on Scaling Partly, The ONE Thing and Lessons from the Climb
Today, I'm connecting with Harry Uffindell, Chief People Officer at Partly. Harry’s worn just about every startup hat—founder, growth, bizops, revops, people, culture—you name it. But he ultimately found his calling in the people space. Now, he’s scaling Partly, hiring the world’s top 1% talent, and building a culture where people stay excited about their work a decade in.
In today’s episode, we discuss:
Scaling Partly from its first non-technical hire to ~100 employees—and the lessons behind making it the best startup to work for.
Building a company culture that lasts—where 10 years in, you’re still buzzing to show up.
Co-founding and selling MeatMail (a food subscription startup) with David Booth—the zero-to-one story.
“This is a pretty good V1”. What Tim Ryan (Atomic8) taught Harry about quality work and scaling startups globally.
Tilt to Airbnb: From first APAC hire to Country Manager, scaling Tilt, and what it takes to land a global “boots on the ground” role.
A bad-reception phone call that changed everything. How Airbnb’s acquisition of Tilt set Harry on a path to making ANZ Airbnb’s most penetrated market worldwide before the IPO.
Focus as a superpower. Mastering the art of focus is the most impactful skill an operator can develop.
Learning from the best. How Patti McCord, Reed Hastings (Netflix), and the Collison Brothers (Stripe) are shaping Harry’s playbook as a world-class Chief People Officer.
Angel investing 101. His advice for operators making their first bets.
Find Harry Uffindell:
LinkedIn
Harry’s Newsletter
Harry Uffindell’s Northstars and Frameworks:
Books:
Delivering Happiness (people and culture)
No Rules Rules (Netflix culture)
The Hard Thing About Hard Things (gritty leadership)
Amp It Up (high-performance culture)
Powerful by Patty McCord (freedom + responsibility)
Radical Candor (feedback and relationships)
Great by Choice (10x leadership)
How to Win Friends and Influence People
Podcasts:
Acquired, a16z, Founders, The Tim Ferriss Show, Crucible Moments, 20VC.
Frameworks:
The Quarterly Rhythm That Fuels Growth and High-Performing Teams (includes duplicatable resources/Notion pages)
The One Thing (goal-setting)
Eisenhower Matrix (urgent/important prioritization)
Radical Candor (caring personally + challenging directly).
Operators—Future leader/vision:
Patti McCord and Reed Hastings from Netflix (culture)
Patrick Collison and The Collison Brothers (execution)
Ones to Watch:
Pene Barton (CEO at Crimson Global Academy)
Kirsti Grant (Chief People Experience Officer at Auror)
Jamie Beaton (CEO and co-founder Crimson Education)
Other Folks Mentioned in the Episode:
Dave Booth (Founder in Residence at Blackbird)
Mike Duboe (General Partner, Greylock Partners)
Levi Fawcett (CEO at Partly)
Tim Ryan (Co-Founder & CEO at Atomic8)
Andrew Huynh (GTM Strategy Lead, New Products at Culture Amp)
Dan Brockwell (Co-founder and head of program at Earlywork)
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
49 min - Ep 38. Alice Hehman on Being a Glue Person—From Facebook to Quip to Glue Club
Connecting with Alice Hehman, a "SWAT team" startup leader who’s built recruiting and operations playbooks for some of Silicon Valley’s biggest names. An under-the-radar operator, you need to know. Alice knows what it takes to scale operations across borders, from leading domestic recruitment for Facebook to moving to Sydney to build regional teams across Asia–Pacific. Following great people led her to Bret Taylor's startup Quip (a competitor to Google Docs), where she ran business operations, including the USD $750M Salesforce deal and post-merger integration into the Salesforce ecosystem. We get real on keeping your head on straight through hypergrowth and focussing on what we can control through these big business transitions. These days, she's teamed up with Molly Graham (if you haven't read Lessons on Substack, you should) at Glue Club, helping startup leaders be better—and feel better—at work. We discuss what makes a great operational leader, why "glue people" are the backbone of scaling companies and US lessons to shortcut operators in Australia and New Zealand.
Find Alice Hehman:
LinkedIn
Alice Hehman’s Northstars and Frameworks:
Learners vs Guides: Building Your Leadership Team
Lessons by Molly Graham
The Glue Club (Leadership Development Program)
The Four Tendencies Framework by Gretchen Rubin
Sparketype Assessment
StrengthsFinder, now CliftonStrengths
Operators—Ones to Watch:
Molly Graham
Elliot Greenwald
Other Folks Mentioned in the Episode:
Andy Barton
Bret Taylor
Ashley Prince Murphy
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
53 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',…
drawing on insights from leaders and rising stars at companies like Tracksuit, Canva, Culture Amp, Atlassian, me&u, Airwallex, Eucalyptus, and more.