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Nnamdi Okike is the Co-founder and Managing Partner at 645 Ventures, known for his early, contrarian bets on overlooked verticals and non-obvious industries. In this episode, Nnamdi shares how he leveraged a data-driven sourcing model to identify breakout companies like Squire and Goldbelly, and why seemingly small or niche markets often produce the biggest wins. Maxine and Cheryl dive deep into Nnamdi’s journey from Insight Partners analyst sourcing deals via cold calls, to launching his own fund and achieving a remarkable hit rate, landing him on the Midas Brink List. They explore how he evaluates founder insights, measures market inflection points, and strategically navigates the power law dynamics in venture capital. Packed with strategic insights and candid reflections, this episode is essential listening for emerging investors, fund managers, and founders curious about building defensible businesses in non-obvious spaces.

04:34 – Nnamdi’s first investment during the dotcom boom

06:52 – Defining “non-obvious industries” and spotting hidden TAM

10:40 – Squire: From barbershop bookings to vertical SaaS OS

13:20 – Goldbelly, marketplaces, and the power of founder insight

17:58 – Algorithmic sourcing meets founder conviction

21:30 – What 645 Ventures learned from missing Facebook

26:46 – Building a fund around risk profiles, not just stages

30:34 – Why the power law should shape every VC decision

35:16 – Does 2024 echo 2002? A macro take on the downturn

42:41 – The rise of zombie funds and quiet closures

45:20 – Bootstrapped AI startups and the future of defensibility

52:54 – When vertical AI gets sticky—and when it doesn’t

57:20 – Nnamdi’s Big Cojones moment: from Insight to starting fresh

🙋‍♂️ Nnamdi Okike on LinkedIn – Follow Nnamdi’s updates and insights. https://www.linkedin.com/in/nnamdiokike

💰645 Ventures – A VC firm investing in early-stage, non-obvious software winners. https://645ventures.com/

To learn more, join our newsletter to be notified of new First Cheque episodes and upcoming shows.

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Oscar Wahltinez, AI engineer at Google Sydney and longtime advocate for responsible AI, joins In The Blink of AI to demystify the most hyped, and misunderstood, parts of the AI revolution. From model size myths and token prediction mechanics to the surprising truth behind model leaderboards, Oscar explains the inner workings of large language models (LLMs) in clear, human terms.

With nearly a decade at Google, including time at the legendary Mountain View campus, Oscar shares his technical insights, product gripes (sorry, Google Assistant), and reflections on what it actually means to build AI responsibly. You’ll hear about the core innovations behind modern LLMs, the rise of decoder-only models, and the power of RAG systems and embeddings. He also calls on AI startups to stop obsessing over the models, and start building for real users.

If you’re wondering how AI models actually work, what responsible AI looks like in practice, or whether AGI will be our greatest asset or deepest threat, this one’s for you.

02:14 – Oscar’s Role at Google & Why Responsible AI Matters

06:04 – Hack of the Week: Using Gemini (and Oscar’s Honest Review)

10:07 – How LLMs Really Work (and Why It’s Just Predicting the Next Word)

14:21 – From Transformers to Emergent Behaviours: What Surprised Engineers

21:29 – AI Leaderboards, Model Size & the Case for Smaller Systems

28:40 – Decoder vs Encoder Models: What You Actually Need to Know

33:15 – How RAG & Embeddings Power Real-World AI Products

36:41 – What Is Responsible AI? And Why You Can’t Bolt It On Later

39:17 – Building Responsibly on a Budget: Oscar’s Advice to Founders

43:46 – Product Confession: Why Google Assistant Let Him Down

45:05 – AGI: Net Positive or Existential Risk?

👨‍💻 Oscar Wahltinez on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/owahltinez/

📚 Google’s Responsible Generative AI Toolkit – https://ai.google.dev/responsible

🚀 Google AI First Accelerator – https://startup.google.com/programs/accelerator/ai-first/australia/

Weekly Substack: https://georgiehealy.substack.com/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georginahealy/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/georginahealytech/

In The Blink of AI is part of Day One, the podcast network dedicated to founders, operators & investors.

Sign up to get your weekly insights into the up-and-coming AI startups: https://dayone.fm/newsletter

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Join us on the Engineering Success podcast as we sit down with David Leask, a project consultant at Novacom. David shares his fascinating journey from electronics apprentice to agricultural technology expert, offering insights into the world of Internet of Things (IoT) in agriculture.

Discover how David's passion for electronics, sparked by childhood curiosity and nurtured by mentors like Bob Cowan, led him to a diverse career spanning trade work, education, and innovative agricultural projects. Learn about Novacom's groundbreaking mesh network technology for water monitoring on farms and how it's revolutionising resource management.

David discusses the importance of passion, persistence, and adaptability in building a successful career in electronics. He shares valuable advice for aspiring professionals and emphasises the significance of hands-on experience and community engagement in regional projects.

From Sydney to Hobart yacht races to commercial beekeeping, David's varied interests showcase the multifaceted nature of engineering professionals. Don't miss this inspiring conversation about the future of electronics, the role of AI in engineering, and the importance of bridging the gap between industry, education, and regional communities.

Tune in for an enlightening discussion on innovation, career development, and the exciting possibilities in the world of electronics and agricultural technology.

Win $2,000 in credits with the Day One Network — take our 2-minute audience survey before 30 June: dayone.fm/survey

Bryony Cole is the founder of Future of Sex and Sex Tech School, and a global authority on the intersection of sexuality and technology. In this episode, she shares how she left a career in corporate tech to build the sex tech industry from the ground up.

She opens up about the personal rebellion that drove her early experiments, from living in a forest commune to launching a podcast that evolved into a movement. Bryony unpacks what it really took to pioneer a taboo space – from getting censored and locked out of banks, to renting out her apartment to fund live events.

The conversation also explores how AI, loneliness, and digital saturation are reshaping intimacy and identity. Bryony shares her view on what’s coming next – not just in sex tech, but in how people relate to themselves, each other, and the tools around them. She calls it the “Future of Self.”

For founders building against the grain, creators navigating cultural friction, or anyone questioning what connection looks like in a hyper-digital world, this is an episode full of clarity, conviction, and originality.

03:12 – Why Bryony left Microsoft to explore the edge of sex and tech

07:30 – From commune living to global stages: Breaking the “good girl” mold

12:50 – Creating an industry brick by brick (and Airbnb’ing her place to fund it)

18:40 – Show your work: What creative momentum really looks like

25:10 – Launching Sex Tech School and building a global founder community

32:40 – Startup hacks: Overcoming censorship, banking blocks, and stigma

39:00 – Sex tech vs. adult: Rebranding the category and gaining legitimacy

43:12 – Deepfakes, AI porn, and the loneliness epidemic

51:00 – Dating the algorithm: AI companions and emotional outsourcing

59:40 – Future of sex, future of self: The coming shift in intimacy and identity

01:08:12 – Burnout at 26: What it reveals about modern culture

01:14:00 – From scale-at-all-costs to self-integration: Rethinking founder culture

01:16:30 – Through-topia, not utopia: What’s next for humans and tech

01:20:15 – The next podcast? Bryony names it on the spot

👩‍💻 Bryony Cole’s LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryonycole/

🎙 Future of Sex - https://futureofsex.com/

🌐 Sex Tech School - https://www.sextechschool.com/

Deel:

Founders scale faster on Deel. Set up payroll for any country in minutes, hire anyone anywhere, and get visas handled fast, so you stay focused on scaling. Deel takes care of onboarding, HR, IT, EOR, benefits, and compliance, so your team can grow without borders.

It’s why more than 40,000 fast-growing companies trust Deel to move fast.

Visit https://www.deel.com/dayone

To learn more, join our newsletter to be notified of new Perspective X episodes and upcoming shows.

Mentioned in this episode:

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🎟 Live Show at UNSW – May 29

Catch Georgie and Andrew McCarthy (Head of APAC at Notion) live in Sydney 👉https://bit.ly/BAI-LiveEvent

Katherine Boiciuc, Chief Technology and Innovation Officer at EY Oceania, delivers a powerful wake-up call on why Australia is at risk of becoming a global AI laggard. With a unique perspective at the intersection of technology, innovation, and policy, Katherine breaks down how Australia, despite inventing WiFi, is sitting on the sidelines of the AI revolution, missing a $115 billion economic opportunity. She shares how EY has up-skilled over 85% of its 400,000-strong workforce in AI, built the world’s largest private AI platform, and implemented AI agents at scale, while most organisations are still debating their first AI hires.

This episode dives deep into what Australia needs to do now to avoid falling irreversibly behind, from setting a bold national AI strategy to investing in mass up-skilling programs and embracing AI across industries like healthcare, financial services, retail, and energy. Katherine also offers inspiring and practical advice for women looking to pivot into AI, shares her favourite tools and productivity hacks (including the AI prompt that gives her “permission to log off” for the day), and calls on every listener to claim their seat at the AI table, before it’s too late.

03:03 – What Is EY’s AI Story & Their Internal AI Training Playbook

06:28 – EY’s Private AI Platform: How EYQ Empowers 120,000+ Employees

13:48 – Australia’s Missed Economic Opportunity: $115B at Stake

16:51 – Why EY Built the AI Sentiment Index, And What It Revealed

23:32 – The Three Fixes Needed to Course-Correct Australia’s AI Future

30:40 – The Five Industries Australians Want AI To Transform

35:18 – KB’s Advice for Women Reentering the Workforce in the AI Age

39:39 – Rapid Fire: Why Voice-Activated AI Is the Next Big Frontier

🙋‍♀️ Katherine Boiciuc on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherineboiciuc/

📚 EY Skills Passport for Free AI Training - https://www.ey.com/en_gl/ai-skills-passport

Weekly Substack: https://georgiehealy.substack.com/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georginahealy/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/georginahealytech/

In The Blink of AI is part of Day One, the podcast network dedicated to founders, operators & investors.

Sign up to get your weekly insights into the up-and-coming AI startups: https://dayone.fm/newsletter

Mentioned in this episode:

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Win $2,000 in credits with the Day One Network — take our 2-minute audience survey before 30 June: dayone.fm/survey

Episode Summary

Imagine translating, dubbing, and captioning a full video course in multiple languages, automatically, in minutes, and at a fraction of the cost. That’s exactly what Ben Radcliffe and his team at Braiv are building.

In this episode of Pick My Brain, Ben shares the journey of launching Braiv’s AI-powered multi-language video platform, how they’re helping online educators reach global audiences, and why their pitch has evolved dramatically after just two months in beta.

Alan Jones breaks down Ben’s pitch with sharp advice on cutting the buzzwords, leading with traction, and telling a story that makes investors lean in. They also unpack the power of getting paid early, experimenting with Google Ads, and why startup decks should create curiosity, not explain everything.

1:37 – Ben’s pitch: The AI-powered platform breaking language barriers

3:25 – What makes Braiv’s multi-language video player a world-first

5:16 – Alan’s pitch feedback: Less jargon, more real-world examples

7:00 – Why investor decks should lead with traction, not theory

9:57 – $2K in beta revenue and a paying customer found through Google Ads

12:56 – The real value of paid growth experiments for early-stage startups

13:53 – Knowing your true customer persona (and how fast it changes)

🙋🏻‍♂️ Ben Radcliffe - https://www.linkedin.com/in/benrad/

🎥 Braiv - https://www.braiv.co/

To learn more, join our newsletter to be notified of new and upcoming shows. The only content we create is content that will help Australian founders.

Deel: Founders scale faster on Deel. Set up payroll for any country in minutes, hire anyone anywhere, and get visas handled fast, so you stay focused on scaling. Deel takes care of onboarding, HR, IT, EOR, benefits, and compliance, so your team can grow without borders.

It’s why more than 40,000 fast-growing companies trust Deel to move fast.

Visit https://www.deel.com/dayone

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Galah Cyber offers Application Security Assessment Get a clear, ten-minute snapshot of your AppSec maturity across the five core principles. Fast, practical insights you can act on straight away at https://www.galahcyber.com.au/assess

Mentioned in this episode:

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🎟 Live Show at UNSW – May 29

Catch Georgie and Andrew McCarthy (Head of APAC at Notion) live in Sydney 👉https://bit.ly/BAI-LiveEvent

Jacky Koh, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Relevance AI, has been building AI agents long before they became the hottest trend of 2025. Fresh off their Series B raise, Relevance AI is on a mission to democratise access to AI agents, making them easy to build for everyone, not just engineers.

In this conversation, Jacky unpacks why most “AI agents” today are just glorified workflows, how real multi-agent systems will power the future of business automation, and why Australia needs to think bigger if it wants to compete globally. Plus, he shares the origin story of Relevance AI’s iconic pixel-art agents, how he leads calmly under pressure, and his spicy predictions for AI’s next black swan event.

00:00 – Introduction: Who is Jacky Koh & What is Relevance AI?

03:26 – Why AI Agents Aren’t Just for Developers Anymore

05:42 – Should You Still Study Software Engineering in the Age of AI?

12:24 – The Origin Story of Relevance AI and Their Pivot to Agents

14:16 – What People Get Wrong About AI Agents (Single vs. Multi-Agent Systems)

17:43 – Are Most AI Agents Just Glorified Workflows?

19:25 – Why Relevance AI Uses Pixel Characters (Hint: Pokémon Fans Will Love This)

23:41 – How Jacky Manages Stress and Crisis Moments as a Founder

28:37 – Building a Global Business: The Difference Between Aussie & U.S. Investors

34:47 – How Founders Should Pick AI Models and Avoid Lock-In

40:51 – Jacky’s Hot Take: The One Black Swan AI Event We Might See This Year

47:02 – How to Keep AI Agents Ethical

50:51 – Rapid Fire: Silicon Valley Myths, Scary AI Headlines & Favourite Pokémon

👨🏻‍💻 Jacky Koh’s LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackykoh/

🤖 Relevance AI – https://relevanceai.com/

Weekly Substack: https://georgiehealy.substack.com/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georginahealy/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/georginahealytech/

In The Blink of AI is part of Day One, the podcast network dedicated to founders, operators & investors.

Sign up to get your weekly insights into the up-and-coming AI startups: https://dayone.fm/newsletter

Mentioned in this episode:

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Win $2,000 in credits with the Day One Network — take our 2-minute audience survey before 30 June: dayone.fm/survey

Eden Shirley, founder and CEO of AutoGuru, shares how he turned a near-collapse during COVID-19 into a high-growth B2B success story with FleetGuru. Eden breaks down how AutoGuru evolved from a consumer marketplace for car servicing into a powerful SaaS platform processing over 35,000 fleet transactions a month across Australia and New Zealand. He explains how strategic product pivots, a relentless focus on financial discipline, and embracing embedded payments technology unlocked new revenue streams and transformed the business model.

He reveals hard-won lessons on surviving financial crises, why raising startup capital before you need it is critical, and how founders can successfully scale by empowering their teams. This episode covers everything from navigating startup funding challenges and investor management to building a scalable B2B SaaS platform and leading through market uncertainty. If you’re exploring business model transformation, growth strategies for SaaS startups, or the leap from founder-led operations to sustainable leadership, this conversation is packed with actionable insights for long-term business resilience.

02:04 – The adolescent startup mindset: Why AutoGuru still feels like day one

09:55 – COVID hits: Facing near collapse and the “Great Pivot”

17:07 – The real story behind raising capital during a crisis

23:35 – Bootstrapping vs. raising, why timing is everything

27:10 – Building a culture of warriors: How Eden kept his team together

35:00 – The B2B pivot: Launching FleetGuru and unlocking hypergrowth

42:33 – Processing $1M a day: Scaling B2B transactions and embedded payments

46:00 – Letting go of control: Transitioning from founder-led to scalable leadership

53:00 – Managing investor pressure and recapitalizing the business

59:10 – Health, burnout, and the personal cost of startup life

01:03:00 – Building a global-ready SaaS platform: The leap to New Zealand

01:10:00 – Growing from 50 to 100 employees: How Eden is planning for scale

01:18:11 – Why optimism is critical at the scale-up stage

01:22:41 – The key metrics every founder should track (and why revenue per employee matters)

01:29:00 – What’s next for Eden: The exit vision and building a global business

🚗 AutoGuru – Australia’s leading car servicing marketplace - https://www.autoguru.com.au/

👥 Connect with Eden Shirley on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/edenshirley

Deel:

Founders scale faster on Deel. Set up payroll for any country in minutes, hire anyone anywhere, and get visas handled fast, so you stay focused on scaling. Deel takes care of onboarding, HR, IT, EOR, benefits, and compliance, so your team can grow without borders.

It’s why more than 40,000 fast-growing companies trust Deel to move fast.

Visit https://www.deel.com/dayone

To learn more, join our newsletter to be notified of new Perspective X episodes and upcoming shows.

Mentioned in this episode:

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🎟 Live Show at UNSW – May 29

Catch Georgie and Andrew McCarthy (Head of APAC at Notion) live in Sydney 👉https://bit.ly/BAI-LiveEvent

Millie Marconi is the founder and CEO of Yesterday, and the creator of Test Feed, a breakout AI tool that lets users preview how their content will land with a synthetic audience before posting it online. In this episode, Millie shares the story behind building Test Feed after a viral LinkedIn post backfired and sparked a personal reckoning around reputational risk.

We explore how synthetic audiences are making elite-level brand testing accessible to everyday founders, why building in public is both terrifying and empowering, and what non-technical founders can bring to the AI table. Millie also opens up about her nomadic lifestyle, her favorite AI tools (Claude and Gemini, anyone?), and the unexpected upside of being “canceled.”

02:25 – What Millie’s Building: Yesterday & Test Feed

04:52 – Why Synthetic Audiences Are a Game-Changer

06:14 – The Demo That Went Viral: Over 800 Signups

07:58 – How a Personal Misstep Sparked the Idea for Test Feed

10:43 – Who Test Feed Is For: Founders, Content Creators, and Social Media Managers

13:11 – Building in Public vs. Stealth Mode

16:48 – Female Founders, Visibility & Vulnerability

19:52 – What Non-Technical Founders Bring to the AI Era

22:45 – Integrating AI into Test Feed as a Non-Technical Founder

26:20 – AI Tools Millie Loves: Claude, Cursor, Gemini, and More

33:43 – Just Play: How to Get Started with AI Without the Overwhelm

36:06 – Digital Nomad Life: Lessons From 2.5 Years on the Move

42:17 – Rapid Fire: Guess That Cringe Tweet (Trump vs Elon Edition)

🙋‍♀️ Follow Millie on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/millie-marconi/

💼 Yesterday Testfeed - https://yesterday.work/

🧵 Millie’s LinkedIn Post on “Masculine Energy” - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/millie-marconi_after-interviewing-100-hr-leaders-about-activity-7284745207923781632-QU-X?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAACb9cQIBMRvkSzVlzjznYUqzAEsWp-Q5zBo

Weekly Substack: https://georgiehealy.substack.com/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georginahealy/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/georginahealytech/

In The Blink of AI is part of Day One, the podcast network dedicated to founders, operators & investors.

Sign up to get your weekly insights into the up-and-coming AI startups: https://dayone.fm/newsletter

Mentioned in this episode:

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In this episode of Engineering Success, we sit down with Jess Hodge, co-founder and managing director of Resourceful Living, a revolutionary company transforming plastic waste into beautiful, durable products. Jess shares her inspiring journey from marketing to sustainability, sparked by a eye-opening honeymoon experience. Learn how Resourceful Living is tackling plastic pollution in the Hunter region, their innovative manufacturing process, and the challenges they've overcome, including a devastating fire. Discover the power of community support, the importance of resilience in entrepreneurship, and how education plays a crucial role in changing our relationship with plastic. Jess offers valuable insights for startups and discusses the future of recycled materials in manufacturing. This conversation is a must-watch for anyone interested in sustainability, circular economy, and the potential of up-cycled plastic.

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