Day One®

CTFs are fun, but do they actually make developers write more secure code? In this episode of Secured, Cole Cornford is joined by Pedram Hayati (Founder of SecDim & SecTalks) to explore why most developer security training fails, and how SecDim’s “Fix the Flag” approach is changing the game.

From contrived WebGoat-style examples to frameworks that quietly eradicate entire bug classes, Cole and Pedram dive deep into the intersection of AppSec and software engineering. They unpack why developer experience is non-negotiable, why security needs to borrow design patterns from engineering, and how real-world incidents (like GitHub’s mass assignment bug or the Optus breach) make concepts stick far better than acronyms like “XSS” or “SSTI.”

This is a technical, opinionated episode for anyone who’s ever struggled to get developers engaged with security.

01:10 – Why Pedram built SecDim, the problem with pen test reports, and why CTFs don’t train developers

04:42 – From “Capture the Flag” to “Fix the Flag”: making training realistic and Git-first

06:30 – Training inside developer workflows and why contrived examples fail

10:28 – Using modern stacks, AI-tailored labs, and real-world incidents to make concepts stick

12:35 – Why security names suck (XSS vs. “content injection”) and the Optus hack as a teaching moment

17:37 – Secure design patterns vs. vague slogans, and why secure defaults beat secure by design

21:15 – Frameworks like React, Rails, and Angular that kill entire bug classes

23:23 – Engineering by-products: reproducibility, immutability, and orthogonality in secure coding

30:36 – PHP’s bad reputation, language quirks, and what’s actually most popular in security training today

33:41 – Why AppSec pros need to build and deploy apps (not just know vulnerability classes)

37:44 – Getting started with SecDim and hands-on secure coding

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What if the next big unlock in payments wasn’t just faster checkouts, but bots buying on our behalf? In this episode of In the Blink of AI, Georgie Healy sits down with Karl Durrance, Managing Director for Australia and New Zealand at Stripe, to explore how AI is reshaping money movement at a global scale.

Karl reveals how Stripe is tackling fraud versus scams (and why scams are now the bigger threat), why AI startups are hitting revenue milestones at unprecedented speed, and what agentic commerce could mean for the way we shop. From buy now pay later’s misunderstood role in credit to why stablecoins may be the real future of internet-native money, Karl shares candid insights on where payments are heading next.

You’ll also hear why global expansion no longer requires a move to San Francisco, how single-use virtual cards could make agentic commerce safe, and why bots might soon handle life’s least joyful purchases, freeing us up for the ones that matter.

02:18 – Karl’s role at Stripe and the $1.4T payments scale

05:51 – Startups hitting $5M ARR in under a year

06:57 – AI Hacks: family holiday planning & cutting through bureaucracy

12:34 – Do Australian founders really need to move to SF?

17:39 – Explaining agentic commerce (AI buying for you)

20:34 – Shopping bots, travel assistants, and Amazon’s “Buy for Me”

22:25 – How Stripe protects against rogue AI agents

25:14 – Ticket scalpers, bots, and the arms race of fraud prevention

27:01 – Fraud vs. scams: what’s really costing the economy

31:51 – Why slowing payments down can actually prevent scams

37:21 – Spicy takes: BNPL, crypto & stablecoins

40:43 – BNPL vs. credit card debt — Karl’s contrarian view

41:24 – Stablecoins: solving volatility and internet money movement

45:51 – When stablecoins meet agentic commerce (next 5 years?)

47:41 – Stripe’s Sydney Tour: launches, thought leaders & what’s next

🦘 Stripe Tour Sydney: https://tour.stripeevent.com/sydney?rshow=sydney

🙋🏻‍♂️ Karl Durrance: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karldurrance/

💳 Stripe: https://stripe.com/au

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

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In this episode of FintechFun, Chris Titley talks with Trent Daniel, Chief Customer Officer at Azupay, about the company’s landmark partnership with National Australia Bank. Trent explains how Azupay went from being first to market with Dynamic PayID and PayTo to now powering NAB’s enterprise customers with real-time payment solutions.

The conversation covers:

• Why NAB’s endorsement is a game-changer for credibility and adoption
• How Azupay is rewriting direct debit with PayTo
• The role of trust, user experience, and regulation in scaling payments
• What’s next for innovation, from portability to omni-channel payments

And for a lighter finish, Trent shares his unusual past as a competitive axe thrower and his current love of spearfishing.

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

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Tom Humphrey, Partner at Blackbird and former operator, joins Cheryl and Maxine to reframe the conversation around Australia’s AI ecosystem. While headlines paint a picture of Australia falling behind, Tom argues we’re quietly sitting on world-class talent, global-first AI companies, and a capital-efficient edge that’s being overlooked.

They unpack Tom’s recent AFR opinion piece on the AI talent landscape, why Australia’s university-to-startup pipeline is broken (and slowly improving), and how “boomerang” PhDs are returning from Anthropic, Meta, and DeepMind to build ambitious companies onshore. Plus, Tom breaks down how product-led growth is evolving in the AI era, why enterprise motions are happening sooner, and what the new GTM playbook looks like when AI agents are selling to AI agents.

02:21 – Tom’s first investment: BHP shares via his parents, now passing on the habit to his son

05:19 – Robinhood, meme stocks, and the shift to founder-led brands

07:06 – Why Tom wrote the AFR piece: Australia’s culture of doubt vs the US lens of opportunity

08:08 – Australia’s untapped AI talent advantage: 8% of APAC experts, top-tier unis, and PhD immigration

12:18 – Six model releases, global leaderboard wins… that no one in Australia talks about

14:03 – The dangerous cost of silence: how lack of domestic celebration dampens ambition and capital

17:33 – Why Australia is absurdly capital-efficient (and how we squeeze every dollar)

19:23 – Commercialisation bottlenecks at Aussie unis, and what’s slowly changing

25:39 – How this affects investors: AI engineering vs AI research, the boomerang effect, and talent arbitrage

30:56 – Time zones, USD revenue, and Australia’s secret weapon: the 43% R&D tax credit

33:17 – Role gaps and brand new roles: the rise of AI architects and forward deployed engineers

34:27 – What PLG really means, and why it’s not just a freemium sign-up form

39:31 – Spammy AI agents, SEO collapse, and why brand and community are back

45:15 – Why enterprise motions are showing up earlier (and how that changes GTM)

48:32 – Single-player AI value unlocks a different sales motion: fast, bottom-up adoption

51:15 – AI fits into your workflow, not the other way around

54:14 – Picking your motion: don’t force PLG if it’s not a natural fit

55:05 – Capital-starved ecosystems and why enterprise is still harder to fund in Aus

56:15 – Tom’s Big Cojones moment: three boys under six and a startup-founder partner

👤 Tom Humphrey LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomhumphrey1/

🚀 Blackbird Ventures – https://blackbird.vc/

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

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Aussie Angels - the preferred fund and syndicate admin platform for emerging managers in Australia

Show Notes: If you’re an investor or keen to write your first angel check, please check out some of the syndicate tickets on www.aussieangels.com

February 2025 - Aussie Angels

Most startups treat their compensation philosophy like a finished product once it’s written. But what happens after the doc is done?

In this episode of the FNDN Series, Matt McFarlane speaks with Vaso, Chief People Officer at Ravio, about the real work of operationalising comp philosophies — turning them into systems employees actually experience and understand.

Drawing from her time scaling Deliveroo and TrueLayer, Vaso shares frameworks for handling exceptions, building manager muscle, correcting legacy inequities, and turning pay practices into culture drivers. If you're a Head of People, founder, or comp leader at a scaling startup, this is the practical guidance you’ve been waiting for.

Links & Resources:

→ Connect with Vaso: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vaso-parisinou-4368b515/

→ Explore Ravio: https://ravio.com/

→ Subscribe to FNDN Series for more: https://fndnseries.fndn.com.au/

→ Grab Ravio’s latest report on how 140 global companies handle pay reviews: https://ravio.com/reports/pay-review-survey

Description:

Welcome back to the FNDN Series, where we continue our deep dive into startup compensation with industry leaders from across the startup world. In third conversation with Aubrey Blanche-Serellano, Founder of The MathPath and former VP at Culture Amp, we tackle the uncomfortable truth that most companies either lack a compensation philosophy or have one that's completely ineffective. Aubrey breaks down why most comp philosophies fail, how to design one that actually attracts and retains your ideal candidates, and the critical role transparency plays in creating procedural fairness. We explore the balance between employee input and executive accountability, discuss when to implement your first philosophy, and Aubrey shares her provocative question that will help any exec team get serious about their compensation approach. Keep watching to discover how to build a compensation philosophy that doesn't suck and actually serves your business goals.

Chapters:

00:48 The Problem: Most Comp Philosophies Are Useless

01:16 Guest Introduction: Aubrey Blanche-Serellano

02:12 Why Compensation Philosophies Fail

02:31 Know Your ICP: Attracting the Right Talent

03:46 Building Your Talent Strategy Foundation

04:40 The Power of Transparency in Compensation

06:47 The Human Side of Pay Decisions

08:05 Co-Design: Getting Employee Input Right

10:07 When Not to Build by Committee

10:25 Should You Always Have a Comp Philosophy?

11:35 Getting Started: The Executive Question

12:31 What Would Embarrass You About Your Comp?

13:08 Reflection and Implementation

13:26 Final Thoughts and Wrap-Up

Connect with Aubrey:https://linkedin.com/in/aubreyblanche Visit: https://themathpath.com/ 

Resources Mentioned:

Frameworks:

More FNDN Episodes at ⁠Spotify⁠ | ⁠Apple Podcast

What if we could simulate extreme weather before it strikes, and use AI to prevent billions of dollars in damage?

In this episode of In the Blink of AI, Georgie Healy sits down with Jack Curtis, Chief Commercial & Operations Officer at Neara, the startup building digital twins of critical infrastructure like electricity grids. Together, they unpack how AI is reshaping energy, data centers, and even Australia’s role in the global technology race.

From the true drivers of rising energy bills to why “climate tech is far from dead,” Jack shares a candid inside look at the intersection of AI, infrastructure, and policy. You’ll hear why digital twins are more than just a buzzword, what governments are getting right (and wrong) on AI, and how Australia can seize its moment to lead.

02:11 – Meet Jack Curtis and his role at Neara

03:00 – Digital twins: what they are and why they matter

04:45 – Using AI to model cyclone bombs and prevent grid damage

06:00 – AI Hack of the Week: Gong & NotebookLM for extracting insights

11:20 – Replacing manual, error-prone inspections with scalable modeling

14:50 – Why digital twins are critical in high-stakes infrastructure

17:45 – Adoption friction: humans vs. AI in enterprise contexts

18:40 – Breaking down the real drivers of spiralling electricity bills

22:20 – Can smart data centers help lower consumer energy costs?

25:10 – Data center siting: desert or grid-adjacent?

28:35 – Cooling and water trade-offs in data center economics

30:21 – Is Australian government AI adoption too slow?

35:30 – Can Australia win the global AI–data center “space race”?

37:20 – Why “waiting five years to see how AI plays out” is too risky

39:00 – Climate risk in the next decade: why infrastructure is already under stress

41:50 – Is climate tech still relevant or “not sexy”?

43:30 – Jack’s take on Scott Farquhar’s 5-point AI plan for Australia

49:55 – Rapid fire: digital apprenticeships, APIs, and easing AI into government workflows

50:30 – Jack’s sign-off: Neara is hiring ML engineers!

⛅️ Neara – https://neara.com/

🙋🏻‍♂️ Jack Curtis (LinkedIn) – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-curtis-399b182a/

💻 Gong – https://www.gong.io/

🎥 Andrej Karpathy: Neural Networks – Zero to Hero – https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAqhIrjkxbuWI23v9cThsA9GvCAUhRvKZ

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

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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

For most founders, cybersecurity feels like something to worry about “later.” But what if ignoring it now could kill your business before it even gets off the ground?

In this episode of Pick My Brain, Cole Cornford, founder of Galah Cyber, joins Alan Jones to unpack the real security risks early-stage startups face, and why they’re not always the ones you expect. Forget hoodie-wearing hackers: the bigger risks might be your Instagram account, your payments funnel, or the invoices sitting in your inbox.

Alan and Cole explore how to think about attack surfaces without jargon, when frameworks like ISO and SOC 2 actually matter, and why introducing just the right amount of friction can save you from catastrophic mistakes. They also talk branding, talent, and how Galah’s bright pink approachability helps win the right kind of customers.

If you’re building a B2B SaaS startup or scaling towards enterprise clients, this episode will help you avoid costly security missteps and focus on the protections that really matter.

01:40 – Cole’s childhood dream: video games, Team Fortress, and eSports sponsorship

05:22 – Why Galah Cyber’s mascot is a pink galah (and not a scary hawk or snake)

07:36 – The three buyer journeys in cybersecurity: proactive, reactive, and compliance-driven

09:29 – What “attack surface” actually means, minus the jargon

10:08 – Who counts as a “threat actor”? From clumsy insiders to international hackers

12:07 – The overlooked risks: protecting marketing funnels and payment channels

14:20 – Why adding friction to payments can stop scams

16:09 – The opportunity cost of over-investing in security too early

17:28 – What ISO and SOC 2 certifications mean (and when founders should care)

19:25 – When enterprise customers will demand compliance

19:42 – Where founders should go for security advice that actually makes sense

21:08 – MFA (multi-factor authentication): better than nothing, even if it’s just SMS

21:25 – Why approachable branding makes Galah stand out in a serious industry

🙋🏻‍♂️ Cole Cornford: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colecornford/

🛡️ Galah Cyber: https://www.galahcyber.com.au/

🔒 Secured Podcast: https://www.galahcyber.com.au/podcasts/

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.

___

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

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.

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John Klinkenberg, Principal Industrial Designer at The Melt, fell into industrial design after his mum applied for him to study it at the University of Newcastle. John shares his career path working across various companies and industries, eventually leading him to his current role at the Melt, where he collaborates with startups to solve hardware challenges. John discusses the unique embedded model of the Melt, which allows for closer collaboration with businesses during the design process, resulting in quicker decision-making and better outcomes. 

In this episode, you’ll hear John discuss the value of design awards, such as Good Design Australia, and the significance of understanding customer needs and maintaining clarity in problem-solving for successful product development. He shares insights on the challenges startups face, particularly regarding funding and staffing, and emphasises the importance of building a solid team with complementary skills. Tune in to hear why John thinks sketching and effective communication skills are essential for young designers.

Will AI Fix Compensation — or Just Make It Worse, Faster? with Aubrey Blanche-Serellano, Founder at The MathPath

Description:

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 Aubrey Blanche-Serellano, Founder of The MathPath and former VP at Culture Amp, we explore the transformative potential of AI in compensation—and its risks. We dive into how AI could revolutionize pay equity analysis, the dangers of embedding human bias into machine decisions, and what the future holds for compensation professionals. From automated pay audits to personalized benefit packages, discover how AI might reshape everything we know about fair pay. Keep watching to learn how to harness AI's power while avoiding its pitfalls in your compensation strategy.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to AI in Compensation

01:16 Guest Introduction: Aubrey Blanche-Serellano

02:37 AI's Role in Compensation: Pattern Matching and Analytics

03:52 The Dark Side: AI as a Supercharged Terrible Recruiter 04:49 Human Bias Becomes Machine Bias

07:11 The Amazon Resume Parser Cautionary Tale

08:54 AI Hallucinations and Critical Thinking

09:35 How AI Changes the Role of People Leaders

11:39 AI Literacy vs. Calculator Panic

12:07 AI-Powered Candidate Experience

14:59 Personalized Compensation Packages

17:26 Ethical Questions in Customizable Pay

18:27 What Will AI Kill in Compensation?

20:10 The Future: Automation vs. Human Expertise

Connect with Aubrey

Visit: https://themathpath.com/

https://linkedin.com/in/aubreyblanche 

Resources Mentioned

Companies/Tools Mentioned:

Concepts Discussed:

More FNDN Episodes:

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

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