Today we’re joined by one of Australia’s most recognisable tech founders, Matt Barrie!

From breaking the bell on listing day to scaling a platform now home to 85 million users, Matt shares the wild trajectory of building a global marketplace, the reality of disruption, and the brutal highs and lows of founder life. We get into AI agents, the early days of the internet, skiing stories, family, resilience and what it truly takes to build an ASX listed tech company from Australia.

Matt Barrie is the Founder, Chair and CEO of freelancer.com, a global marketplace once dubbed “eBay for jobs” and now one of the world’s largest platforms connecting businesses with skilled talent.

What you’ll learn:

1. The behind the scenes story of Freelancer’s iconic ASX listing
2. How Matt scaled from 500k users to 85 million globally
3. The future of work: AI agents, automation and the next frontier
4. Honest founder lessons: exhilaration, exhaustion and everything in between

Timestamps

3:10 - The marquee ASX listing

6:02 - Freelancer’s early growth and becoming one of the world’s biggest websites

9:48 - Building during the early internet: Grit, chaos and momentum

12:14 - Family, upbringing and the mindset that shaped his career

18:31 - Disruption in action: “old technology” vs the new wave

23:05 - Scaling to 85 million users: What actually worked

31:42 - AI agents, customer support and the future of productivity

38:27 - Founder highs, lows & crawling through broken glass

44:50 - Rapid fire questions

A high energy founder story packed with lessons on disruption, resilience and the future of work. Follow and rate the show so you never miss an episode and share this one with anyone building, scaling or thinking about the next big idea!