Happy democracy sausage weekend.

As Australians head to schools and halls on Saturday (although around 20% of the population has already voted) to cast their verdict on the last three years of the Albanese government, Startup 360 cohosts Simon Thomsen and Kayla Medica took a look at the policies and election promises for the tech sector from both Labor and the Coalition.

It was a short conversation.

There's a sense of disappointment and frustration across the industry that both major parties have shown so little interest in innovation and tech, and organisations such as FinTech Australia are saying it out loud too.

It's mostly bad news from both the government and opposition, with Labor's plan to tax unrealised gains on personal super funds worth more than $3 million at 15% a potential disaster for early-stage startup investing.

The Peter Dutton's Coalition wants to kill off Labor's $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund, but at least aspiring treasurer Angus Taylor is offering tax breaks to early-stage startup investors via Early‑Stage Venture Capital Limited Partnerships (ESVCLP) scheme.

The Liberals want to double the current threshold for startups involved to $100 million, and do a similar thing for thee Venture Capital Limited Partnership threshold, increasing it from $250m to $500m.

But there's not much else on the table on this front.

Simon, a Gen Xer, also wanted to talk about Mick McConnell's LinkedIn post about life as a Gen Xer at the end of the analogue era.

Luckily, we had two amazing guests this week, investor Danielle Haj-Moussa, from deep tech fund Main Sequence Ventures, talking AI, and Angentian-born, soon-to-be-Australian Ramiro Roman Loureyro, the cofounder of Yakka Labour, for 10x, our 10 rapid-fire questions.

Danielle talks about using AI as a copilot in her daily life, her love of DJing and how she thinks about investor in ideas to change the world.

Ramiro talks about the scourge of modern slavery, Yakka's global plans and answers one of life's most important questions: who's Argentina's greater player, Maradona or Messi?

Startup 360 is all about staying human. It’s a weekly show, talking startups and tech.

This episode of Startup 360 is supported by Vanta, helping startups unlock market opportunities through automated compliance.

It’s something ACS, the voice of Australia’s technology sector, is hoping to change.

ACS CEO Josh Griggs joined us on the couch for Startup 360 to talk about what matters: backing Australian R&D all the way to commercial success.

The 50,000 members-strong IT body has released an election position paper with 9 recommendations for the next government across 2 major pillars: skills and commercialisation.

Griggs talked about that and ACS’s role in uniting the sector and lobbying for effective policy.

But because the show is more about founder fun than founder mode, cohost Kayla Medica asked him about his passions, while Simon wanted to know what led him from a high-flying corporate career in companies like Optus to leading a national member organisation that backs startups with ACS Labs.

Simon and Kayla also talked about Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg’s evidence in the US FTC's monopoly trial against Meta. Turns out he tried to buy Snap for $6 billion and by 2018, was already worried about being forced to divest of Instagram and WhatsApp.

They also talk about idiolects, as Kayla reveals her love of linguistics and Simon, his love of Kath and Kim.

Their guest for 10x this week is another Kayla, who’s a first time founder.

Kayla Parry launched Job Matched - think Tinder with AI to find the people and workplaces with the best cultural fit - this week and the dual US-Australian citizen talks about life as a Kayla and what drives her as a startup founder and how her ADHD shapes her thinking.

Startup 360 is all about staying human. It’s a weekly show, talking startups and tech.

Startup 360 is supported by Vanta, helping startups unlock market opportunities through automated compliance.

To understand a little bit of what women founders deal with in the hunt for investment, consider the comments from a VC that got back to Camille Goldstone-Henry, cofounder of biodiversity startup Xylo Systems.

Xylo helps companies address environmental protection alongside development, and landed a major international client. The VC described it as “a fluke”.

Startup 360 cohost Simon Thomsen was gobsmacked, pointing out that the implication from the comment is that the client didn’t know what they were doing signing up with Xylo.

A warning: there’s a fair bit of weariness in this week’s show as Simon and Kayla talk to two amazing women founders, the other being Jenny Rudd from New Zealand AI-based legal tech startup Dispute Buddy, who’s grilled in 10x, our rapid-fire questions, explaining how she went from an overnight factory job chopping up lettuce to becoming a founder and mum making life easier for lawyers and their clients when it comes to gathering information for a case.

The conversations with Camille and Jenny span everything from looking after your health to be the best founder you can to what Bilbies taste like (but only if you get them from Haigh's, not the wild) to discovering your family’s indigenous heritage and growing up around the world with a dad who’s a fighter pilot and the best parts of life in Aotearoa - the land of the long white cloud - as Jenny explains how a Kiwi bach works.

She also explains how lawyers are incentivised for conflict, advising Kayla to take Simon for everything when they fall out, and how she came to be in Australia thanks to Techstars Sydney.

Kayla suggested she watch Fisk, the ABC comedy by Kitty Flanagan, set in a law firm, while Jenny, who loves swimming at Manly beach in Sydney when she’s in town, recommended Phosphorsence by Julia Baird, as an inspiring book to read.

This episode of Startup 360 is supported by Vanta, helping startups unlock market opportunities through automated compliance.

Teenage entrepreneur Liam Fuller thought it would be funny to take a photo of him taking a client call and working on his laptop sitting in a toilet cubicle at school.

The world did too, with more than 1.5 million viewed his posts on LinkedIn. The school principal was less impressed and the 17-year-old was suspended for two days.

Now he’s wagging school in Ireland and currently visiting Australia, the birthplace of his equally entrepreneurial dad, and meeting with Australian VCs to raise money for his second startup.

And they’re backing him. Liam already has around $400,000 in commitments.

Startup 360 hosts Simon Thomsen and Kayla Medica talked to Liam about his ambitions and adventures, including a wild summer in 2024 when they built a Shopify app and now his cofounder works at Shopify.

It’s a great chat with an inspiring young man who explains why pitch decks are not a must have when you’re looking for people to back an idea.

Simon and Kayla take listeners through the biggest news of the week - no, not Trumps tariffs, but the Federal Court fight between Sydney VC EVP, which invested $10.4 million in Melbourne startup StrongRoom AI, only to discover a few weeks later that a claimed profit was actually a loss of around $800,000 a month. The VC alleges the cofounder and CEO admitted fraud.

EVP wants their money back, and had StrongRoom’s assets frozen after the company went into administration. Startup 360 takes you through the story so far and the lessons for all.

Our guest for 10x is American-born Richard Savoie, cofounder of logistics software startup Adiona Tech, talking about what makes a good cofounder, being a dad, great bands, magic tricks and why he loves founder life.

Startup 360 is about founder fun more than founder mode. It’s all about staying human.It’s a weekly show, talking startups and tech, published every Friday.

This episode of Startup 360 is supported by Vanta, helping startups unlock market opportunities through automated compliance.

Julie Trell believes play makes you a better founder.

American-born Julie has been helping startup teams around the world build their imaginations and sense of adventure for decades as the founder of Playful Purpose.

One way she does it is with “Yes…. and…”

She gives Startup 360 host Simon Thomsen and Kayla Medica a simple and powerful explanation of its impact.

“Being heard is so close to being loved that for the average person, they're almost indistinguishable,” Julie said.

“So when I hear someone yes-and-ing me - and it doesn't even have to be the exact words “yes, and” but I'm hearing what they're saying.

“They hear what I have to say. They added to it. I feel heard and loved and I can continue.”

Julie brought her playfulness to 10x, Startup 360’s rapid fire questions, on episode 7, where she was joined by Climate Salad founder Mick Liubinskas, a pioneer of Australian tech described as “a startup godfather” when he headed to Silicon Valley way back in 2013.

The two have something in common - they both led Telstra’s pioneering incubator program, Muru-D.

Mick talks about his journey and how family brought his focus to climate tech and wanting to lead the planet in better shape for the next generation.

He also talks about the price of being a founder, and understanding the sacrifices that need to be made.

Simon and Kayla talk about the Budget - a short chat since there wasn’t much for startups, and that White House Signal conversation.

And Kayla is in party mode, asking everyone for tips on what makes a great party.

Startup 360 is about founder fun more than founder mode. It’s all about staying human.It’s a weekly show, talking startups and tech, published every Friday.

This week's episode of Startup 360 is supported by Vanta, helping startups unlock market opportunities through automated compliance.

Is the title “founder” this decade’s version of wanting to be a Masterchef or influencer?

Startup 360 cohost Kayla Medica has a theory.

“So many people now have glamourised being a founder, being an entrepreneur, that there's a whole host of people who just start businesses with that in mind, and they're not actually starting a business because they've encountered a serious problem that they're driven to solve,” she tells cohost Simon Thomsen on episode 6.

A lack of innovation is a key theme on this week’s show, featuring Zeina Khodr, founder of Paper & Spark; and fintech advisor and fitness freak Ben Ford.

Zeina, a mentor for women in tech, talks about leadership and team building and how AI is transforming marketing. She’s also an expert in residence for Innovation NSW, helping entrepreneurs find their feet and get their messaging right.

While Ben Ford gets into what makes good startup swag, he also talks about burnout and depression and the importance of looking after each other, having lost his sister-in-law, Vanessa, a high-powered UK lawyer, and recounts how two good friends in startups insisted on catching up with him to talk when all he felt like doing was curling up in a ball.

And did you know that 20 minutes of resistance training is better for your health than 20 minutes of running? We talk about health and well-being, joy and the guilty pleasure of English crime dramas on Startup 360.

This episode of Startup 360 is supported by Vanta, helping startups unlock market opportunities through automated compliance.

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When do you know you’re CEO material?

It’s the question Startup 360 host Simon Thomsen put to Majella Campbell, the newly appointed CEO of Fishburners, Australia’s pioneering startup coworking space.

Majella talked about her mentor, Myles Baron-Hay, the former Sydney Swans CEO, saying “why not?” when she had her doubts.

"When I was unsure about taking on this role, he simply asked, ‘Why not?’,” she said.

“That moment shifted my perspective. A great mentor pushes you beyond your limits and helps you see opportunities where you only see obstacles."

She also revealed that she’s working on transforming Fishburners, which turns 15 next year, as the NSW government prepares to relocate the Sydney Startup Hub to Tech Central.

We also spoke to Zable Health cofounder Matt Gregory about his journey from real estate startup founder with Hey Agent, to healthcare Zable Health, which he cofounded in 2020 with his best mate, physiotherapist Scott Gentle.

Zable makes private healthcare simpler, faster and more accessible, giving patients the information they need and connecting them with the specialists that can help

While the duo are really competitive at the ping pong table and playing cricket, they complement each other in the business.

Startup 360 cohost Kayla Medica wanted to know about the biggest problem Zable faces getting an analogue health system onto a digital platform.

Matt talks about how to be pragmatic and take a bottom-up approach to that transformation to succeed.

He also gave some great advice on hiring - treat your potential employees like investors.

“The investor's putting in their cash, but the person working inside the business is providing their time,” Matt said.

This episode of Startup 360 is supported by Vanta, helping startups unlock market opportunities through automated compliance.

Welcome to the Startup 360 with Kayla Medica and guest cohost Cat Long from climate tech startup Trace.

Tomorrow, March 8, is International Women’s Day, and this year's theme is “For ALL women and girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment. This week’s episode explores the challenges women face as founders, from funding to parenting and the self-doubt you can feel as a female founder (and even if you want to be referred to as a female founder).

Joining us this week are two amazing women: from Melbourne, Kaylene Langford, author of How to Start a Side Hustle and the founder of StartUp Creative; and in the studio, Jessica Baird Walsh, founder of Capital X, which is committed to supporting women founders.

Kaya and Cat discuss the challenges and experiences of being a female founder or minority entrepreneurs, including raising funds, as well as work-life balance and having a family.

As a parent, Cat’s open about the support she needs from family others to build a business while also raising children, and the challenge of maternity leave in a startup (since it doesn't really exist) and the tradeoffs involved in being a founder and working mum too.

Trace raised $1.5 million in 2022 from 21 investors and emerged from the Antler program.

Kayla asks both Cat and Kaylene about their advice for aspiring entrepreneurs, especially women. Kaylene says the way to overcome procrastination and self-doubt is to take small steps consistently, and the progress will compound over time. The trick is to take action rather than wait for everything to be perfect.

They also stress the importance of seeking advice and support from others who have been there before.

Kaylene also talks about the power of women’s intuition in business, and the need for persistence and self-care.

Jessica Baird Walsh started Capital X after facing her challenges in raising capital, particularly due to lack of access to networks. She talks about the power imbalance and gender biases in funding, as well as breaking negative stereotypes around women founders.

Jess is also a mother of three, and talked about sharing the load in raising a family, as well as her personal passion project - running every day. It started in 2022 as a 30 day challenge to run 5km. She’s now done it for 800 days straight and in late 2024, set a new goal - fundraising for the Indigenous Marathon Foundation.

She also discusses her mixed feelings about International Women's Day and gender disparities, advocating for more tactical and systemic changes.

There’s plenty to think about ahead of IWD in this edition of Startup 360. We hope you get something from it and go on to celebrate women and female founders for the other 364 days of the year too.

This episode of Startup 360 is supported by Vanta, helping startups unlock market opportunities through automated compliance

Welcome to the Startup 360 with Kayla Medica and Simon Thomsen.

It’s all about founder fun, finding out what makes people tick and staying human.

This week, Kayla and Simon celebrate Mardi Gras in Sydney this weekend talking about their favourite works by musicians and writers. Kayla recommends a Japanese all-women band, f5ve, loved by the queer community around the world.

Simon sounds a bit in love with Canadian singer Rufus Wainwright.

On the couch this week is politician Jacqui Munro, the youngest Liberal woman to be elected to the NSW Legislative Council, and the NSW Liberal Party's first LGBTQI+ woman Parliamentarian.

She’s also shadow assistant minister for the arts, innovation, digital government and the 24-hour economy, so we talk about the art of politics and compromise, acceptance, and startups.

Joining them for 10x, our rapid-fire questions, is Veronica Mason, a high-performance coach, with a passion for resilience and adaptive thinking and member of the LGBTIQ+ Advisory Council established last year by NSW Premier Chis Minns.

She’s also involved with The Pinnacle Foundation, which provides educational scholarships, mentoring and opportunities for young LGBTIQ+ Australians to realise their full potential.

After being outed in high school, Veronica broke her back in several places aged 23, learnt to talk again, and now focuses on helping others.

Kayla asks for the best piece of advice Veronica can give - watch your thoughts, she said, and explains why it’s important. She also shares what to look for in a mentor.

Simon asked the hard questions, like her favourite part of Mardi Gras.

This episode of Startup 360 is supported by Vanta, helping startups unlock market opportunities through automated compliance.

Welcome to the Startup 360 with Kayla Medica and Simon Thomsen.

It’s all about founder fun, finding out what makes people tick and staying human.

For our second show, Kayla and Simon discuss exit strategies in the wake of KKR buying a $95 million slice of Employment Hero in a secondary market sale by OG investor Seek. With IPOs on the go slow, how do employees cash in on the success they helped build?

They also talked about how women are treated on social media after LinkedIn delayed taking down a post where a man compared marketing to breast sizes and talked about “A cup ideas and using verbal push up bras to attract eyeballs”.

Kayla revealed that what you see in public is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what women have to deal with.

Our guests this week are Tom Bruining cofounder of profitable, bootstrapped startup HowdyGo.

His cofounders are in Perth and the UK/Italy, catching up daily for 60 minutes.

Tom talks about changing expectations from taking on investors - an experience he had in a previous startup - life working from home, and how to include your partner in what you’re doing. (He just got married)

Joining us for 10x, our rapid-fire 10 questions, is Brian Swift, cofounder of Twine, which coincidentally, announced a $2.3 million raise backed by Airtree, just before he stepped into the studio.Brian’s CV includes time at Twitter, Atlassian, SafetyCulture, and Dovetail so we asked him about what he learnt, and what’s different when you become a founder, the favourite founder he worked for, and the startups he sees with unicorn potential.

He also revealed that they had between 50 and 100 names on a whiteboard before choosing Twine and explains how they chose it, as well as his favourite TV show.

This episode of Startup 360 is supported by Vanta, helping startups unlock market opportunities through automated compliance.