Day One®

Steve Heaton, founder of Xetla Consulting and co‑inventor at STAR Scientific, is demystifying the messy, exhilarating reality of R&D. In conversation with Melinda, Steve traces his winding path from Unix systems and project management to astronomy, particle physics, and muon‑catalyzed fusion, showing how curiosity compounds into career-defining opportunities.

He makes the case for incremental progress when parameter space is uncertain, and why diverse teams outperform look‑alike groups. In the episode, Steve shares practical tools for getting unstuck, designing smarter pilots, and knowing when you’ve squeezed the science enough to start engineering. Tune in to hear from Steve around how to prep for patents, avoid public disclosure traps, and make your expensive time with lawyers count. He also offers a grounded take on energy—plus what the future of energy means for the Hunter’s logistics, workforce transition, and supply chain opportunities.

Books mentioned in the episode:

The Soul of a New Machine by Tracy Kidder

The Particle Garden by Gordon Kane

How Big Things Get Done: The Surprising Factors Behind Every Successful Project, from Home Renovations to Space Exploration by Bent Flyvbjerg and Dan Gardner

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

Matt Browne is the Co-founder and Managing Partner of Black Nova Venture Partners, one of Australia’s most active early-stage funds. Before becoming an investor, Matt founded multiple companies, including enterprise software firm Dunsafe, which sold to global corporates like Suncorp and Brickworks, and learned firsthand what it takes to turn “boring” B2B SaaS into beautiful business.

In this episode, Cheryl and Maxine sit down with Matt to unpack what “boring but mission-critical” really means, why operators often make the best early-stage investors, and what it’s actually like to co-found a venture fund. Matt shares his frameworks for identifying resilient software businesses, the economics behind long-LTV enterprise customers, and how his founder experience shapes the way Black Nova supports startups today.

They also dig into the differences between SMB and enterprise sales, why going from enterprise → small business is nearly impossible, and what it takes to build a fund that’s more startup than finance firm. And, in true Matt style, he caps it off with his Big Cojones moment, jumping off Auckland’s Sky Tower to win a customer.

Deel: Global hiring and payroll can be a headache. Deel brings HR, IT and payroll together in one platform, helping companies including Shopify, Revolut and ElevenLabs scale internationally.

Ready to expand your business?

Build your global team with Deel at deel.com/dayone.

___

Pear Tree: Pear Tree helps Australian and New Zealand founders build high-performing offshore teams without the agency middleman.

As local hiring becomes more expensive and harder to fill, many operators are turning to offshore talent across engineering, development, marketing, accounting and operations at a fraction of local salary costs.

The offshore horror stories you hear usually aren’t a talent problem. They’re the result of outsourcing agencies that overcharge clients while underpaying staff. Pear Tree takes a different approach through a direct, transparent model where your team is paid fairly, fully compliant, and focused entirely on your business.

As part of the Day One community, you’ll receive a free team audit to identify where offshore talent could move the needle in your business, plus 20% off your first hire. Learn more at http://dayone.fm/peartree

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

Mentioned in this episode:

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Why the Best People Teams Think Like Product Teams - Part 1 with Shirley Baumer  Co-founder at Dream Team

Description:

Welcome back to the FNDN Series, where we continue our deep dive into startup people topics with industry leaders from across the startup world. In our conversation with Shirley Baumer, Co-founder at Dream Team and former Product Manager at Monday.com, we explore how people teams can adopt product-led thinking to drive real business impact. Shirley shares insights from her journey at Monday.com, where she was the first product manager and witnessed the company scale from 30 to over 2000 employees. We unpack the parallels between product teams and people teams, and why this mindset shift is critical for HR leaders who want to move beyond administrative work to become trusted strategic partners. Keep watching to discover practical frameworks for transforming your people operations from reactive to impact-driven.Shirley is Co-founder and CPO of DreamTeam, the AI-native people management platform now launching its first-ever AI agents for HR. Before DreamTeam, Shirley led product management at monday.com, joining as the first PM when the company had 30 employees and $6M ARR. She watched it scale to $1B ARR and 2,000 employees globally, experiencing firsthand how critical people management becomes during rapid growth. Shirley also co-founded STEPS&, a platform connecting healthcare providers with patients, and is a recognized speaker on product management and entrepreneurship

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to the FNDN Series

02:21 Guest Introduction: Shirley  and Dream Team

04:46 What is Product-Led Thinking for People Teams?

06:04 Moving from Operational to Strategic: The Brand Challenge

07:08 Why This Approach Matters Now More Than Ever

09:01 Signs Your Team Needs a Product-Led Shift

11:04 Having a Seat at the Table: What Success Looks Like

12:22 Case Study: Rethinking Performance Reviews

18:02 The Myth of Best Practice and the Power of Context

19:59 Overcoming the Speed vs Quality Debate

23:28 The Safety of Admin Work and Why We Must Move Beyond It

24:34 Essential Skills for Product-Led People Teams

27:53 Breaking the HR Brand Stereotype

29:01 Starting Small: No Grand Announcements Needed

30:48 Conclusion and Wrap-Up

Connect with Shirley:https://www.linkedin.com/in/shirleyjb/ 

Visit: dreamteam.ai 

Newsletter: https://agilehr.substack.com/ 

Resources and Companies Mentioned:

Monday.com - Work management platform where Shirley served as first Product Manager and led core product with $850M ARR

Dream Team - AI-native people operating system co-founded by Shirley, focused on zero admin work for HR teams

Books and Resources:

The Mom Test - Book on conducting effective user interviews (recommended by Luke Armani)

Jessica Zweig - Thought leader on product-led thinking for HR

Luke Armani - Thought leader on product-led thinking for HR

More FNDN Episodes:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4GeBIeZOKrFxG1oiiPxmiM 

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fndn-series/id1794263484 

When Mike Keating and Haziq Nordin founded Enhance Labs, they raised millions without a product, a pitch deck, or even a bank account. Backed by Blackbird and QIC, they became known for their unfiltered takes, chaotic energy, and refusal to ship something they didn’t believe in, even as the rest of the AI world raced to launch.

For months, they experimented in the shadows, building, pivoting, and learning why most AI startups were destined to fail. Then came the breakthrough: a way to let every user design their own personal internet, a “living interface” that could reshape how humans interact with software.

In this episode, Mike and Haziq share why they chose velocity and vibes over hype, how playfulness and curiosity became their competitive edge, and why founders must know when not to finish something. They break down what AI products will collapse by 2026, the open problems that still need a Nobel Prize, and why the next wave of innovation will come from the weird ones, the teams laughing the loudest while everyone else plays safe.

🙋‍♂️ Mike Keating: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikekeating/

🤖 Haziq Nordin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haziq-nordin-1a6623107/

🚀 Enhance Labs: https://enhancelabs.ai/

Global hiring and payroll can be a headache. Deel brings HR, IT and payroll together in one platform, helping companies including Shopify, Revolut and ElevenLabs scale internationally.

Ready to expand your business?

Build your global team with Deel at deel.com/dayone.

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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Deel x PX_Post Intro

Victoria Aspden, Executive General Manager - Digital & Transformation at Ampcontrol has had an unconventional career journey. Initially choosing technology for its earning potential, she managed to work her way through the field when recruiters valued her relationship-building skills over pure technical credentials. This pattern of people taking chances on her became a defining theme throughout her career.

In this episode of NTP’s Tech Exec podcast series, Victoria sits down with James MacDonald to discuss her diverse career and her core management frameworks, including ‘problem before solution’, ‘people, process, tech, data’ and their interconnectedness, and the ‘cone of uncertainty’. Victoria advocates for hiring people smarter than yourself and creating environments where vulnerability and honest communication are valued over technical expertise alone. Tune in to hear Victoria’s advice for leaning into your weird, and how challenging traditional gender roles in her family has allowed her career success. 

Welcome back to the FNDN Series, where we continue our deep dive into startup compensation with industry leaders from across the startup world. In our conversation with Andrew Bartlow, HR Executive and Consultant with 30 years of experience, we tackle the controversial question of whether engagement surveys are effective tools for measuring compensation satisfaction. Andrew shares his candid perspective on why asking compensation questions in engagement surveys creates more problems than solutions, and reveals better methods for assessing whether your comp practices are actually working. We explore strategic approaches to compensation measurement, the importance of grounding HR work in business objectives, and practical alternatives to traditional survey methods that deliver more actionable insights.

Chapters:

00:00 Welcome & Introduction to the FNDN Series

01:30 Guest Introduction: Andrew McIlvaine's 30-Year HR Journey

03:17 The Problem with Compensation Questions in Engagement Surveys

06:08 Why Engagement Surveys Create a Pandora's Box for Comp

06:42 Better Ways to Measure Compensation Effectiveness

09:37 Creating Strategic People Plans and Setting Clear Goals

10:21 Exit Interviews vs Exit Surveys: Best Practices for Comp Data

12:13 When to Use Live Conversations vs Surveys for Departing Employees

13:18 Grounding Compensation Work in Business Objectives

15:02 Final Words of Wisdom for People Leaders

Connect with Andrew

Visit: https://linkedin.com/in/bartlow/ The People Leader Accelerator helps HR professionals and their organizations to grow. They exist to support the success of Human Resources leaders.

Resources Mentioned

Survey Platforms:

Concepts Discussed:

Key Takeaways:

More FNDN Episodes:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4GeBIeZOKrFxG1oiiPxmiM

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fndn-series/id1794263484

Laura McClure, Member of Parliament for the ACT Party in New Zealand, joins In the Blink of AI to unpack her viral deepfake experience, her groundbreaking member’s bill, and why tech regulation must protect victims without stifling innovation.

In a powerful conversation, Laura reveals how she created a deepfake of herself in minutes—and why it’s a wake-up call for policymakers worldwide. She shares insights on balancing tech freedoms with responsible safeguards, why regulation is about behaviour not banning tools, and how New Zealand’s slow policy-making could leave them lagging behind.

Laura also discusses how ACT’s libertarian values shape her pro-innovation, pro-startup stance and why deepfakes are a threat not just to teenagers, but to democracy itself. From the electricity grid challenges that could stall New Zealand’s AI adoption to the opportunities in agriculture and defence, this is a must-listen for founders, policymakers, and anyone passionate about the future of technology.

02:20 – Meet Laura McClure (ACT Party MP): From accidental politician to tech advocate

07:25 – Why Laura Entered Politics: Tackling New Zealand’s alarming government debt

09:13 – AI Hacks of the Week: Game-changing educational tech and viral LinkedIn strategies

13:24 – Going Viral with a Nude Deepfake: The shocking truth behind Laura’s Parliament demonstration

23:47 – Why Target Individuals, Not Tech: How Laura’s bill tackles deepfake abuse effectively

27:16 – Pro-Tech, Not Pro-Regulation: Laura’s vision to accelerate AI adoption in NZ and Australia

35:01 – The Infrastructure Challenge: What NZ must fix to power an AI-driven future

39:57 – Skills for the AI Era: Why critical thinking trumps rote learning

44:50 – Laura’s AI-Powered NZ: Her 5–10 year vision of an AI-enabled economy

Global hiring and payroll can be a headache. Deel brings HR, IT and payroll together in one platform, helping companies including Shopify, Revolut and ElevenLabs scale internationally.

Ready to expand your business?

Build your global team with Deel at deel.com/dayone.

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:

Vanta Ad_BAI Jul25

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Deel x PX_Post Intro

On the first episode of NTP’s Tech Exec podcast series, James MacDonald sits down with Andrew Cresp to talk about his journey through financial services technology leadership, from early days in the insurance industry, moving through major roles in banking, before landing as CIO at NGM Group. Having grown up in country South Australia, Andrew reveals his passion for making regional businesses world-class.

The conversation explores Andrew’s philosophy that technology strategy cannot exist independently, only business strategy enabled by technology, and the current implementations he’s seeing of AI in contact centres where systems provide real-time prompts to agents while automatically summarising calls. You don’t want to miss hearing Andrew’s approach to tackling the hardest projects others avoid, building resilience through marathon-like persistence, and finding mentors across all organisational levels. Tune in to gain practical advice on building a career in tech and hear about the importance of aligned teams for business success.

After two decades leading global marketing at Adidas and in biotech, Mayra Hurtado hit a wall, fatigue, sleeplessness, migraines. It wasn’t burnout; it was her hormones. That realisation set her on a new mission to close one of medicine’s most overlooked gaps: women’s hormonal health.

In this episode of The New Script, Makenzie Thomas and Frances Goh sit down with Mayra, co-founder and CEO of Prelude Health, the Singapore-based startup behind Hormony, the world’s first rapid, at-home saliva hormone test for women navigating perimenopause.

Mayra shares how Hormony blends science, technology, and behavioural insights to help women get “back in tune” with their bodies, why perimenopause is still misunderstood, and how education and early testing can transform preventive care. She also opens up about building a global team across Singapore, Mexico, and New Zealand, raising capital in a sector that still receives less than 3% of venture funding, and reframing failure as redirection.

You’ll hear why hormonal health is the next frontier in women’s wellbeing, how healthy women drive healthy economies, and why mental and physical health can’t be separated, for founders or for anyone.

02:05 – Mayra Hurtado’s journey from global marketing to femtech founder

05:57 – Why hormones have been ignored in medical research for decades

07:55 – Perimenopause vs menopause — what really happens to your body

11:38 – The meaning behind “Hormony” and the science of hormonal balance

12:06 – How Hormony works: personalised saliva testing and daily habit design

16:37 – From corporate leadership to startup life — lessons in transition

18:22 – Building a global team across Singapore, Mexico & New Zealand

20:54 – Raising capital in women’s health and closing the gender funding gap

26:17 – Failures, feedback, and learning to treat setbacks as redirections

28:35 – Mayra’s non-negotiables: sleep, gratitude, and mental health connection

32:28 – The case for holistic health and why women’s wellbeing powers economies

36:28 – If Mayra could rewrite the script: teaching hormonal health from childhood

🧬 Hormony by Prelude Health – https://www.findhormony.com/

👩‍💼 Mayra Hurtado (LinkedIn) – https://www.linkedin.com/in/mayrahurtado/

Acknowledgment of Country

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which we record and pay our respects to their Elders, past and present. We recognise their continuing connection to land, waters, and culture.

Disclaimer

The New Script is a podcast created for educational and awareness-raising purposes only. The conversations you’ll hear are not intended to be medical advice.

Please consult a qualified healthcare professional for any personal medical concerns or decisions.

Frances LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/frances-goh/

Makenzie's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/makenziethomas/

The New Script is part of Day One, the podcast network dedicated to founders, operators & investors. https://dayone.fm/newsletter

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

What happens when hundreds of the world’s biggest capital allocators get together behind closed doors to talk about venture, private equity, and where the next $30B is going? Maxine found out firsthand at Super Returns Asia, where she chaired the LP–GP relations stage.

In this episode, Cheryl turns the tables and grills Maxine on everything she learned, from why India and Japan are suddenly hot, to why Southeast Asia is struggling, and why Australia didn’t even make the winners or losers list.

They break down how institutional investors really think about funds, what “look-through ownership” means for angels and VCs alike, and why co-investing has LPs hot under the collar. Maxine also shares how family offices are thriving in the current market, what mega-funds like a16z’s $30B raise mean for everyone else, and why building long-term LP relationships is the only real way to get “super returns.”

01:00 – What Super Returns is, and why it matters for VCs and angels

06:43 – The LP landscape explained: super funds, sovereign wealth funds, and family offices

10:40 – Winners and losers in APAC: India, China, Japan… but not Australia

18:00 – Why Australia needs a better “brand story” to attract capital

19:54 – Hot topic: co-investing and why LPs love it

23:39 – Look-through ownership: why everyone’s just trying to own the outliers

26:43 – Why emerging managers are struggling in today’s fundraising market

33:49 – Family offices having “the time of their lives” in this cycle

34:23 – Mega-funds, evergreen funds, and the $30B a16z raise

39:30 – Will Sequoia and a16z ever lose their dominance?

42:19 – Why APAC liquidity markets matter more than ever

45:30 – The question nobody asked at Super Returns

49:22 – How to actually build LP relationships that work

53:55 – Maxine’s big takeaway: putting Australia on the winners list

Deel: Global hiring and payroll can be a headache. Deel brings HR, IT and payroll together in one platform, helping companies including Shopify, Revolut and ElevenLabs scale internationally.

Ready to expand your business?

Build your global team with Deel at deel.com/dayone.

___

Pear Tree: Pear Tree helps Australian and New Zealand founders build high-performing offshore teams without the agency middleman.

As local hiring becomes more expensive and harder to fill, many operators are turning to offshore talent across engineering, development, marketing, accounting and operations at a fraction of local salary costs.

The offshore horror stories you hear usually aren’t a talent problem. They’re the result of outsourcing agencies that overcharge clients while underpaying staff. Pear Tree takes a different approach through a direct, transparent model where your team is paid fairly, fully compliant, and focused entirely on your business.

As part of the Day One community, you’ll receive a free team audit to identify where offshore talent could move the needle in your business, plus 20% off your first hire. Learn more at http://dayone.fm/peartree

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

Mentioned in this episode:

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