Day One®

Episode Summary

Isaac Peiris, founder of the growth agency Pistachio, has helped scale media brands like Mamamia and The Daily Aus through organic content and audience-first strategies. In this episode, he breaks down why brand matters more than ever for AI startups, the importance of knowing your audience, and how emotional connection beats transactional marketing.

Georgie and Isaac unpack famous brand fails like Google Glass and the Metaverse, and dissect Duolingo’s recent AI messaging stumble. They also highlight success stories like Waymo’s patient trust-building and Magic Brief’s smart organic content flywheel.

Isaac shares practical advice for AI founders on prioritising spend, validating through social engagement, and building your “thousand true fans.” Plus, hear his insights on AI as a creative accelerator, when it helps, and when it hurts.

Time Stamps

06:20 – Who are Pistachio’s clients? Bridging knowing and doing social media

08:50 – The modern “business card”: personal brands, podcasts & newsletters

09:15 – Hack of the Week: context docs for better AI chats

12:45 – AI travel hack: Using Gemini & Google Maps in Rome

14:00 – Brand fails: Why Google Glass & Metaverse missed the mark

19:00 – Duolingo’s AI-first messaging misstep and audience insight

25:00 – Brand wins: Waymo’s slow, trust-first rollout of driverless cars

28:45 – Magic Brief’s Canva acquisition & organic content mastery

35:30 – AI brand strategy essentials for founders: audience + use case

40:00 – Where to invest early-stage funding: content & organic reach

45:20 – Isaac’s newsletter & the power of a thousand true fans

48:00 – Emotional storytelling beats transactional marketing: Wise example

50:30 – Aura Ring’s campaign flipping health marketing on its head

55:30 – Rapid fire: acquisitions, brand fails & AI’s creative impact

Resources

🙋 Isaac Peiris on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/isaacpeiris

📧 Free email course on organic content & brand building: https://brandchemistry.co/c/modern-media-masterclass

🎯 Pistachio: https://www.pistachio.so

📰 Magic Brief’s Internet Ads Club newsletter: https://internetadsclub.com/

✨ Connect with Georgie Healy

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

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

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

The Day One Network

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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Episode Summary

With a career that spans mainframes, integration platforms, and developer experience, M Brennan brings a unique lens to the world of application security. In this episode, M joins Cole Cornford to unpack why integration is often the riskiest layer in software systems, how context is everything when choosing security controls, and what it really takes to build security into developer workflows without adding friction.

They dive into stories from government and enterprise environments, the overlap between security and resilience, and how thinking in terms of energy and empathy, not just tools, can lead to better outcomes for everyone. Plus, a surprisingly effective stereo-selling strategy, some well-earned AI scepticism, and a jam-jar analogy you’ll never forget.

Timestamps

03:45 From COBOL to Developer Experience in Security

06:37 Choosing the Right Security Control for the Right Risk

10:00 Reducing Developer Friction with Secure Defaults

14:10 How Threat Modelling Creates Real Value

17:57 Fixing Access and Provisioning for Devs and Security

20:09 Virtual Dev Environments and Automating the Boring Stuff

24:04 Smarter Security Adoption and the Jam Jar Effect

28:48 AI, Developer Toil and the Problem with Overpromising

31:03 Using AI to Kickstart Threat Modelling and Resilience

33:56 Why Some Tech Trends Aren’t Worth the Hype

36:09 The Risk of Letting Chatbots Handle Security Promises

37:16 Final Takeaways on Empathy, Context and Collaboration

Mentioned in this episode:

Call for Feedback

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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

Yotam Rosenbaum never planned to be a startup founder, let alone one of Australia’s most active investors in Y Combinator companies. He started out as a musician, marketing his own band in Los Angeles, until the frustration of promoting music online became the spark for building Earbits, a platform once described as “Google AdWords for music.” What began on a traffic-jammed freeway turned into a five-year journey through Y Combinator, product-market chaos, and a successful exit.

Since then, Yotam has backed over 400 YC startups, built one of the only Australian-led funds inside the program, and helped founders at home think far beyond local markets. He reflects on what actually matters at the earliest stages, why founder relationships trump early traction, and how to spot the quiet signals of a breakout team. There’s also a reality check for anyone raising capital: most investors won’t give you a clear no, and that’s the real cost.

From Craigslist drum lessons to portfolio unicorns, Yotam’s story is anything but typical. But it’s proof that trusting your sense of direction, without needing the whole map, can still get you somewhere remarkable.

Time Stamps

00:01:17 – Embracing Uncertainty: Yotam’s Philosophy on Direction Without a Map

00:06:41 – From Funk Band to Founder: The Origins of Earbits

00:11:05 – The Aha Moment: Building the Google AdWords for Music

00:14:58 – Joining Y Combinator: Early Traction & Getting In

00:20:04 – Life at YC: Feeling Out of Place, Finding Belonging

00:24:29 – Investing in 400+ YC Startups: How It Started Post-Exit

00:31:19 – Moving to Australia: The Hot DesQ Bet That Paid Off

00:36:35 – Comparing Ecosystems: SF vs Brisbane Startup Mindsets

00:41:09 – The Importance of Community: No Founder Builds Alone

00:45:39 – The 77 Partners Venture Challenge: Who It’s For

00:50:24 – What Investors Look For (It’s Not Just Revenue)

01:03:01 – How Founders Can (And Should) Think About AI

Resources Mentioned

🥇 First Peak Ventures - https://www.linkedin.com/company/first-peak-ventures/

🤝 77 Partners – http://www.77partners.vc/

🙋🏻‍♂️ Yotam Rosenbaum on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/yotamrosenbaum/

👂🏻 Earbits – https://www.earbits.com/

Sponsors:Perspective X is supported by our wonderful sponsors:

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.

Perspective X is part of Day One.Day One helps founders and startup operators make better business decisions more often.

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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Description: 

Join Matt McFarlane in this  FNDN Series as he delves into the second conversation with Naomi Trickey, Chief People Officer at Mews. In this informative episode, they discuss the challenges of sustaining effective compensation practices during rapid growth phases, the importance of creating robust compensation frameworks, indicators of when compensation structures need reevaluation, and the strategic relationship between compensation transparency and employee trust. This episode provides valuable insights into maintaining employee retention and engagement through dynamic compensation strategies tailored for fast-growing tech startups.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to Startup Compensation

01:11 Meet Naomi Trickey: Chief People Officer at Mews

01:48 Challenges in Fast-Growth Startups

03:30 Building Consistent Compensation Structures

09:30 The Importance of Transparency and Engagement

18:52 Strategies for Scaling Compensation

23:22 Conclusion and Future Insights

Connect with Naomi Trickey

Visit https://mews.com/ 

Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/naomitrickey 

More FNDN Episodes at Spotify | Apple Podcast

Episode Summary

This week’s episode of In The Blink of AI is a special one, recorded live at UNSW in front of a sold-out audience. Georgie sits down with Andrew McCarthy, General Manager at Notion for Australia, New Zealand, and Asia, to explore how one of the world’s most loved productivity tools is quietly reshaping the way teams work with AI.

Andrew shares how Notion’s modular “building block” approach is changing the game for startups and enterprise alike, why simplifying workflows beats chasing the next shiny tool, and how students, founders, and even origami fans are building powerful systems without writing code.

They cover the anti-SaaS philosophy behind Notion’s design, what startups can learn from OpenAI’s use of AI for internal ops, and how AI can bridge the gap between newcomers and tenured employees, giving everyone superpowers at work.

Plus: Notion skincare routines, sports dreams, and a very wholesome story about digital journaling and self-love.

Time Stamps

02:19 – Meet Andrew McCarthy, GM of Notion for ANZ & Asia

06:55 – Why Notion Chose Sydney as Its APAC HQ

09:42 – Notion’s Anti-SaaS Philosophy & Why It Matters

12:58 – The Real Notion Origin Story: From Near-Death to Kyoto

15:13 – The Power of UI/UX & the Race to the Application Layer

18:46 – What Notion AI Can Do, And What Users Are Loving

20:07 – Work as a Flow: The Case for Native AI Integration

20:20 – Why Templates Are a Hidden Superpower

21:38 – A Nepalese Student’s Side Hustle That Blew Andrew’s Mind

22:10 – From Hype to Value: How to Cut Through the AI Noise

24:36 – Most Unexpected Notion Use Case? Origami Knowledge Base

27:25 – Scaling Notion: Focus on What’s Already Working

28:48 – Enterprise AI Adoption (Hi, Toyota 👋)

30:44 – Should You Learn Python or Logic? Frameworks vs Tools

31:23 – Non-Tech Companies and AI: The Two-by-Two Matrix

34:01 – Rapid Fire: Sports Dreams, Dinner Guests & Parenting in the AI Era

38:02 – A Notion Page That Brought a Tear to His Eye

Resources

Andrew McCarthy on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/awmccarthy/

Notion’s Startup Program (6 Months Free) - https://www.notion.com/startups

✨ Connect with Georgie Healy

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

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

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

The Day One Network

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:

Deel x PX_Post Intro

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

Grab your copy of the Dealroom and SideStage Ventures report we talked about on the show with Cheryl Mack and Maxine Minter here - https://www.sidestage.vc/outliers-report-2025

Episode Summary

Ben Grabiner is the Co-founder and General Partner at Side Stage Ventures, and the author of a landmark new report in collaboration with Dealroom and AWS. In this episode, Cheryl and Maxine sit down with Ben to unpack the data behind Australia’s rapid rise as one of the most efficient and exciting venture ecosystems in the world.

They explore how Australia produces more unicorns per dollar invested than any other country, what makes the ecosystem so resilient and capital-efficient, and why the next decade might belong to Aussie tech. From funding gaps to founder grit, from global capital flows to angel investor opportunities, this is essential listening for allocators, founders, and emerging fund managers alike.

You’ll also hear Ben’s story, from buying Tottenham Hotspur shares as a teenager, to moving across the world mid-COVID, to becoming a key builder in Australia’s startup ecosystem.

Time Stamps

04:49 – Ben’s first investment: £250 in Tottenham Hotspur

06:34 – What makes Australian unicorns so capital-efficient?

09:14 – Unicorn efficiency vs gross unicorn creation: what matters more

13:15 – How Australia quietly matches Israel and India on decacorn creation

14:35 – Why foreign investors see the opportunity more clearly than locals

18:41 – The power of local exits like Afterpay, and how they inspire allocation

21:19 – Can Aussie startups scale globally from home? Or must they go abroad?

23:40 – Why this next wave of operators will be our ecosystem’s secret weapon

25:54 – What global LPs need to understand about Australian venture

30:17 – Why pre-seed funds and angel investors matter more than ever

Resources

🙋🏻‍♂️ Ben’s LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bengrabiner/

💳 Side Stage Ventures - https://www.sidestage.vc/

🦘 Aussie Angels makes it easy for accredited investors to back early-stage startups alongside experienced syndicate leads. With no platform fees and minimum cheques from $2,500, you can build a diversified portfolio of high-growth companies with confidence.

https://www.aussieangels.com/

First Cheque is part of Day One.Day One helps founders and startup operators make better business decisions more often.

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

Mentioned in this episode:

Deel x PX_Script 1

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp
Spotify Ad Analytics - https://www.spotify.com/us/legal/ad-analytics-privacy-policy/

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

Episode Summary

Can a 27-second video replace a cover letter?

In this episode, Alan sits down with Luke Marshall, Head of Growth at UseVerb, a startup reinventing the way frontline teams hire with short-form video job applications. Luke shares his journey from big-budget media agencies to lean startup teams, the lessons learned from building and rebuilding UseVerb, and why Gen Z is redefining how we think about recruitment, content, and connection.

You’ll hear why UseVerb is doubling down on portrait video, how they’re targeting multi-location retailers and hospitality groups, and what their experiments in landing pages, email outreach, and TikTok-style branding have revealed so far.

If you’ve ever tried hiring at scale or building a startup in a noisy market, Luke’s insights on growth, product-market fit, and trust-based hiring will hit home.

Time Stamps

02:02 – Childhood dreams, Jurassic Park, and marine dinosaurs

03:12 – From media agency life to the startup world

04:34 – The origin story of UseVerb and what went wrong the first time

07:41 – Rebooting the startup: What’s different now

08:40 – The power of a 27-second video job application

10:57 – Why Gen Z gets video — and how that’s a hiring advantage

12:07 – Who UseVerb is built for (and how to reach them)

14:37 – Why TikTok changed everything for startup marketing

16:46 – UseVerb’s omnichannel growth strategy

18:18 – Creating content for portrait video vs landscape: Lessons from Gen Z

22:43 – Personalised landing pages: Too creepy or just right?

24:39 – How UseVerb uses AI to write emails that don’t sound like AI

29:25 – Why diversity in case studies matters for conversion

31:34 – The heartbreak of bounce rates and browser tab 76

33:26 – Final thoughts + a callout for user research participants

Resources Mentioned

🙋🏻‍♂️ Luke’s Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/marshwah/

🗣️ UseVerb – https://www.useverb.com/

🧊 SmartLead – https://smartlead.ai/ – tool for cold outbound

🕸️ Make.com – https://www.make.com/ – no-code automation for landing page generation

📋 Microsoft Clarity – https://clarity.microsoft.com/ – session replay for landing page behaviour

Sponsors:Pick My Brain is supported by our wonderful sponsors:

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

The Day One NetworkPick My Brain is part of Day One, the podcast network dedicated to founders, operators & investors.

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.

Mentioned in this episode:

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Episode Summary

Aonghus Stevens, founder of Asseti, built his first drone business as a teenager and now leads one of Australia’s most fascinating AI infrastructure startups. In this episode, he shares why the real money in AI isn’t in the apps, but in the unsexy, invisible backend of enterprise and asset management.

Georgie and Aonghus unpack the surprising power of drones and defect detection, why asset degradation is a billion-dollar problem, and how Asseti is using AI to transform the way buildings, warehouses, and industrial sites are monitored and managed. They also dive into what makes a great VC partner, how to talk AI without sounding like a buzzword machine, and why drone delivery startups might be more hype than hope.

Plus, Aonghus names the one boring AI workflow that’s actually revolutionising how massive global clients manage their assets, and why most legacy systems are still stuck in 1995.

Time Stamps

02:19 – Aonghus’ Origin Story: From Teen Drone Dealer to Founder

05:03 – Drones 101: Fixed Wing, Multirotor, and Enterprise Use Cases

08:13 – AI Hack of the Week: SQL Without Writing a Line of Code

11:29 – Why Drones Are Just the Beginning at Asseti

14:16 – Turning PDF Reports Into Live Asset Intelligence

16:20 – How AI, Imagery & Photogrammetry Power Asseti

18:41 – Startup Trade-Offs: When to Spend vs. Let It Burn

22:56 – The Broken Workflows in Asset Management

25:31 – Ideal Clients for Asseti & The Scale Problem in Inspections

30:14 – Lame or Lucrative: Drone Coffees, Google Wing, Flying Cars

36:17 – What Makes a Great VC (and Why Timing Is Everything)

40:15 – Form vs. Function, Flying Cars & Startups with Grit

42:45 – Where to Find Asseti and Why It’s a Quiet Game-Changer

Resources

🙋🏻‍♂️ Aonghus Stevens Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/ajbstevens/

👶 Aonghus Stevens on Forbes 30 Under 30 https://www.forbes.com/profile/aonghus-stevens/?ctpv=searchpage

🛩️ Asseti https://www.asseti.co/

✨ Connect with Georgie Healy

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

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

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

The Day One Network

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:

Deel x PX_Post Intro

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

Episode Summary

Ricky Sevta isn’t afraid of hard truths, or hard problems. As the former Chief Revenue Officer at simPRO, Ricky helped scale the company from $10M to $100M ARR, led a $550M capital raise, and expanded the business into global markets. Now, as CEO of Deep Space and a partner at Venture On, he’s back at the beginning, building again.

In this episode, Ricky shares the behind-the-scenes realities of scaling a company beyond product-market fit, why founders underestimate the cost of growth, and the personal sacrifices that come with chasing unicorn status. He also reveals how Deep Space is tackling fragmented workflows in construction with modern, AI-powered software, and why pricing, timing, and hiring are all about ruthless clarity.

From celebrating too little, to learning how to protect time with family, Ricky unpacks the emotional toll of leadership, how to spot premature market entry, and why customer obsession isn’t optional, it’s survival.

Time Stamps

02:00 – Ricky’s transition from engineer to CRO and global scale-up leader

05:30 – The messy middle: scaling simPRO from $10M to $100M ARR

08:20 – Building structure into chaos: onboarding, playbooks, and the “Lego” method

11:00 – Why product-market fit is never static—especially across geographies

13:30 – Market trumps team: Ricky’s framework for evaluating expansion risks

16:50 – Don’t skip the customer: 40% of Ricky’s time was spent on the ground

19:00 – What “Chief Revenue Officer” really meant at simPRO

22:00 – The traits Ricky looks for when hiring early-stage startup leaders

24:40 – The emotional cost of startup life: family, friendships, and isolation

28:00 – Why founders often create businesses to fix something in themselves

33:00 – Leaving simPRO: starting again with Deep Space and Venture On

37:00 – Building in public and launching an AI-powered construction OS

43:10 – Why the construction industry isn’t “behind”—it’s been underserved

50:00 – Deep Space’s AI agent “Kai” and the platform’s competitive edge

56:00 – How modern architecture unlocks personalization and speed

01:02:00 – Ricky’s take on AI disruption, job loss, and market overreactions

01:10:00 – Pricing strategy: why Deep Space chose fixed pricing over revenue-based models

01:16:00 – Signs it’s time to enter a new market (hint: it’s not when you are ready)

01:22:00 – Product feedback loops and building a customer-driven roadmap

01:27:00 – Celebrating small wins and creating a culture of recognition

01:30:00 – Ricky on joy, drive, and why he’d do it all again—burnout and all

Resources Mentioned

🔧 Deep Space – AI construction management platform https://www.deepspacegroup.ai/

👤 Ricky Sevta on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/rickysevta/

Sponsors:Perspective X is supported by our wonderful sponsors:

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.

Perspective X is part of Day One.Day One helps founders and startup operators make better business decisions more often.

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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Vanta_PX_May 2025

Mighty Partners_PX_May 2025

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 Naomi Trickey, Chief People Officer at Mews, we explore how ERG (Employee Resource Group) work drives long-term business value, especially as ESGDI initiatives face increasing scrutiny. We examine how compensation structures must align with business objectives and the critical importance of building a solid business case for culture-building investments. 

Chapters: 

00:59 Guest Introduction: Naomi Trickey

03:42 The Catalyst for Remunerating ERGs

08:45 Structuring ERG Compensation

13:40 Challenges and Considerations1

8:46 Tips for Implementing ERG Compensation

21:41 Conclusion and Wrap-Up

Connect with Naomi Trickey

Visit https://mews.com/ 

Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/naomitrickey 

People Mentioned:

Ella McCann Tomlin - VP of ESG at Mews

Matt Weller - CEO at Mews

Tobias Lütke  - CEO of Shopify (referenced from LED's podcast)

More FNDN Episodes at Spotify | Apple Podcast