Square Peg Founder Stories

Homeownership and wealth inequality remain one of the greatest threats to our society. OwnHome is an Aussie startup solving housing access by helping millions of Aussies get past the initial hurdle of saving for a home deposit. Earlier this year, alongside the Commonwealth Bank, Dan Krasnostein and Casey Flint from Square Peg led the $31m Series A investment in OwnHome, to get more Australians out of the rental trap, and into their own home.Today's Podcast episode tackles this enormous problem, explains the rent-to-own model and introduces you to one of OwnHome's co-founders, James Bowe.

Across the globe, unemployment is currently one of the worlds big issues. Statistically speaking, it's at the same level as it was back in WW2. No one understands this more than Isabelle Bichler-Eliasaf who founded Retrain.ai - technology that uses data to help organisations find the best talent and prepare their employees for the jobs of the future, today. We spoke to Isabelle about closing the skills gap, and humanities fear that robots could take over the world.

We are searching for a new Head of Talent here at Square Peg! The exceptional candidate will build the talent practice, and be instrumental in ensuring that the founders we invest in have the best talent, advice and support at their disposal. To celebrate this new role, we bring you this special episode where we talk to experts and entrepreneurs about the most consistent and critical challenge that founders face: how to build a successful talent engine. For more information on how to apply for the role, visit our website at https://www.squarepegcap.com/ ORTo apply for the role, please send CV and a brief cover letter to team@spc.vc and we'll be in touch.

Rob Philpot was a builder and Leigh Jasper an engineer when they founded Aconex back in the early 2000s. The business was an ASX listed public company that revolutionised the way the construction industry collaborated through technology, long before SaaS was a big deal. In this episode, we talk to these two Aussie larrikins about the time they almost went bust, the overlooked importance of naivety, and how being frugal can make you a millionaire.

This episode coincides with the announcement that Square Peg is proud to be funding Zeller again in 2021. Zeller is an innovative payment terminal now taking on the Big Four Banks. We talk to founder Ben Pfisterer about his family ties to finance, what it was like working with Jack Dorsey and the team at Square Payments, and the night that a few beers turned into $80million.

Using maggot robots to tackle the worlds big issues sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie, but it's a reality for Goterra founder Olympia Yarger. We talk to Olympia about how Goterra works, the struggles of being anunconventional entrepreneur, and how loss can be a primary motivator to take transformative action in combating the most substantial crisis of our time.

In this episode we talk to Vaughan Fergusson about the importance of culture, timing and breaking down ego to help build a successful venture. His company Vend is a breakthrough POS system which was sold for $350 million in March this year. We also talk to Ana Wight, newly appointed CEO about her background and how to not only run a business in a pandemic, but how to thrive.

In this episode we talk to Alice Williams, the founder of Ovira, the TED device used to conquer the symptoms of period pain that has changed the lives of thousands of women worldwide. Listen in to hear about how she overcame her own personal struggles with physical pain and self doubt to come out the other side victorious with one of the most innovative products in this field of medicine. Learn more at https://ovira.com/

On today’s episode, we hear from Daniel Danilatos, Karamvir Singh, and Jack Curtis, the founders of Square Peg’s newest portfolio company, Neara. Neara is being utilised by major infrastructure companies around the world to help manage utilities like power lines and phone towers - systems that you might not notice in your every day life, but would have catastrophic consequences if they failed. Listen in to hear how these three met, what experiences prepared them to run Neara, and what shared passions drive them as founders.Learn more about Neara at https://neara.com/

On today’s episode, we hear from Natali Tshuva, the Co-Founder and CEO at Sternum.With billions of IoT devices active today and the industry only looking to expand, one of the biggest concerns is how to keep these smart devices secure. Especially when it comes to devices used in hospitals and infrastructure that people’s lives depend on. Listen in to hear how Natali started her undergraduate degree at age 14, worked in a highly specialised army unit, and learned to think like a hacker, all leading to her building Sternum – a groundbreaking IoT security system.Learn more about Sternum at https://www.sternumiot.com/

On today’s episode, we hear from Ruslan Kogan, the founder of Kogan.com. While we hear a lot of founders talk about their inspirations in starting their companies, not many stories draw that inspiration from mini fridges, McDonalds, and rap music, to name a few – but Ruslan’s does. Listen in to hear how these inspirations came about, how Ruslan picked a public media fight with one of Australia’s biggest retailers in a real life David and Goliath situation, and Ruslan’s thoughts on where e-commerce is headed in the future.Learn more about Kogan at https://www.kogan.com/

On today’s episode, we hear from Elad Gil, the co-founder of Mixer Labs and Color Genomics, investor and advisor to a multitude of companies, and author of “High Growth Handbook”. Listen in to learn about Elad’s biggest takeaways from working at Google and Twitter, and his answers to some of the tougher questions around founding and investing, like what do you do when an employee isn’t scaling with a company? Or how do you diligence a company in a market so forward thinking it doesn’t exist yet?Find out more about Elad’s book here: https://growth.eladgil.com/

On today’s episode, we hear from George Peppou and Tim Noakesmith, the co-founders, and CEO & CCO at Vow. In 2019 Vow became the world’s first company to make a food product from the cells of an undomesticated animal, in the form of a Kangaroo Dumpling. Yes just the cells, meaning no animals were harmed to create that new form of sustainable food – cultured meat. Listen in to hear George and Tim share their views on food, how they met, the journey they took to start Vow, and the exciting future their company promises.Learn more about Vow at https://www.vowfood.com/

On today’s episode, something a bit different! We have just closed our fourth generation of funds; an AU$600m pool of capital to back exceptional founders across our investment regions in Australia and New Zealand, Israel and Southeast Asia.On today's episode, hear from Paul Bassat in Australia, Tushar Roy in Singapore and Dan Krasnostein in Tel Aviv as they explain how each of these ecosystems function, how they're different, and what's exciting us as they evolve. Also hear from Leila Lee our Head of Distribution on what it's like to fundraise for a venture firm.Sign up for the newsletter here: https://linktr.ee/squarepegpodcast

Bruce Buchanan is one of Australia’s greatest business builders. As CEO, he scaled Jetstar to Asia’s largest low-cost carrier and then he co-founded ROKT, a global marketing technology business with over $100m in revenue that is powering the transaction moment.In this episode, Bruce shares his story from selling painted rocks on the side of the road, to Jetstar to Rokt. Find out more at https://rokt.com/

On today’s episode, we hear from Arrif Ziaudeen, the founder and CEO at Chope.Chances are if you’ve ever tried to book a table at a restaurant in a major city in Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, or China, you’re already familiar with the platform. Chope is a restaurant booking service, and as you’ll hear in this episode, so much more. Listen in to hear Arrif break down his upbringing, career, and incredible founder experience in a beautifully candid way, as well as how a restaurant booking platform has managed to survive global Coronavirus lockdowns.Learn more about Chope at https://www.chope.co/

On Today’s episode we hear from Lim Wai Mun, the founder and CEO at Doctor Anywhere. Doctor Anywhere is a Singapore-based telehealth company aiming to improve accessibility to healthcare services. The app lets you video call with a doctor anytime, anywhere, and have any prescribed medicine delivered directly to you. Doctor anywhere also has a range of wellbeing products and appointments, as well as in-person clinics.Hear Wai Mun share how important his childhood experiences have been to motivating his life goals, the leap he took to leave his secure full time job to build a start-up, and how there’s no such thing as a bad investment. Learn more about Doctor Anywhere at: https://doctoranywhere.com/

On today’s episode, we hear from Michele Ferrario, the co-founder and CEO atStashAway.StashAway is a digital wealth management platform operating in Singapore and Malaysia, that offers transparent investment products and cash management portfolios for both retail and accredited investors.Hear Michele share his global career mindset, how far he strayed from his childhood ambition to be a soccer player, and the lessons he’s learned in the array of positions he’s held at large companies all over the world. For Michele, it all comes back to the people he’s working with.Learn more about StashAway at https://www.stashaway.sg/

On today’s episode, we hear from Michael Biercuk, the founder and CEO at Q-CTRL.Q-CTRL is a quantum technology company providing solutions to some of quantum computing’s most pressing problems, and an array of software options ranging from those tailored to advanced researchers, to those simply curious about journeying into the field.Listen in for a crash course on quantum computing from Michael himself, the challenges and strategies to creating a company revolving around such an enigmatic field, and why Michael’s wristwatch is a constant reminder of his mission at Q-CTRL.Learn more about Q-CTRL at https://q-ctrl.com/.

On today’s episode, we hear from Chris Hexton, the founder and CEO at Vero.Hear some of Chris talk through some of the biggest lessons on his journey to founding Vero: Why Chris and his co-founder James decided to bootstrap their company - and then took venture funding, how Startmate helped Chris validate their solution with customers, how to build remote teams that function.Learn more about Vero at: https://www.getvero.com/

On today’s episode, we hear from Akshay Garg, the founder and CEO at FinAccel/Kredivo. Kredivo has over 1 million customers, and provides a vital component of financial services in Indonesia: credit.Hear Akshay share some of his greatest lessons: why opening a kebab shop taught him the foundational skills of being an entrepreneur, how to weaponise curiosity to build partnerships, how Komli Media taught him the important of balancing fundraising with growth and the advice he’d give to new founders.Learn more about Kredivo at: https://www.kredivo.com/

On today's episode, we hear from Ashik Ahmed, the founder and CEO at Deputy. Deputy is used by 200k workplaces worldwide, and was founded to solve a problem affecting over two thirds of the world’s working population who are hourly workers or shift workers: workforce management.Ashik shares some of his greatest lessons: why the "immigrant mindset" means saying yes, how product-led growth forces a productive customer-centric approach to building high-growth companies, how Ashik chooses his venture capital partners, advice he'd give to new and early founders.Learn more about deputy: https://www.deputy.com/

On today's episode, Emma Weston, the founder and CEO at AgriDigital take us through their greatest life lessons:Empathy as the foundation of customer success; Where your avocado on toast comes from; How you digitise the least digitised industry in the world, agriculture; The impact of COVID on startup planning and growth; How to adapt to farm life.Find out more about AgriDigital and Emma at https://www.agridigital.io/

Katie's career is extraordinary. She was the founding CMO at SEEK, founded the national publishing powerhouse Kidspot, before turning around a failed product in Shipping Easy. She's now a globally respected Board Director with startup experiences you just can't buy.You'll hear: What she learned leading marketing, product and inside Sales from idea to IPO at SEEK; Her transition from operator to founder (and selling 50% of her company); What it was like to invest in a company before realising the product was broken; Her best advice for new founders.Learn more: https://www.kidspot.com.au/ and https://shippingeasy.com/ and https://rokt.com/

If you're a hospital that uses AIDOC's software, less people will die. That's the impact that medical-grade AI imaging software can have when built by the likes of Elad and his co-founders, Michael and Guy.About AIDOC: AI software that helps radiologists prioritise sick patients by flagging acute injuries. Scanned over 3.5m images in the world's best hospitals such as Cedar Sinai in LA. Square Peg led their US $26m Series B in 2019.On today's episode, you'll here: About Talpiot. The best founder training program you've never heard of; What it was like to be the Head of AI + Algorithms for the Israeli Airforce; How a big misunderstanding helped sell them sell into hospitals; About product-market-regulation fit.Learn more about AIDOC: https://www.aidoc.com/

On today's episode, Nathan and Michael takes us through some of their greatest life lessons:Their early experiences founding iSelect and NABTrade; Why they hired their entire executive team before building a single product; Why startups should be happy to dance with the hippos; Why Australia is a phenomenal place to build a FinTech startup.Find out more about Athena, Michael and Nathan at https://www.athena.com.au/

On this week's episode, Lucy Liu, Founder and President at Airwallex, shares her extraordinary journey building Airwallex, Australia's fastest anointed unicorn that helps businesses manage their international payments.You'll hear: Why Melbourne's coffee scene is partly-responsible for Airwallex's existence; how Lucy has grown as a founder over the last five years; why Airwallex focus on recruitment, hiring and culture.Learn more: https://www.airwallex.com/

On this week's episode, Micha Kaufman, Founder and CEO at Fiverr, shares his extraordinary journey building Fiverr, a NYSE-listed US$2.5B platform that helps freelancers and companies do business.You'll hear: Micha's best advice for building marketplaces that succeed; The role his family played in shaping him as an entrepreneur; The benefits of focusing on culture and more.Learn more about Fiverr: https://www.fiverr.com/Get in touch with Imogen: imogen@spc.vc

On this week's episode, Micha Kaufman, Founder and CEO at Fiverr, shares his extraordinary journey building Fiverr, a NYSE-listed US$2.5B platform that helps freelancers and companies do business.You'll hear: Micha's best advice for building marketplaces that succeed; The role his family played in shaping him as an entrepreneur; The benefits of focusing on culture and more.Learn more about Fiverr: https://www.fiverr.com/Get in touch with Imogen: imogen@spc.vc

On today's episode, Manuri shares her experience building HealthMatch, a platform which matches patients to clinical trials, accelerating the time it takes for new treatments and medicines to reach the market. You'll hear: How an autobiography changed 10-year-old Manuri's life; What it's like to perform neurosurgery; How to raise money if you don't know what a startup is; Why clinical trials are so important to the medical system (and how broken they are). Find out more about Manuri and HealthMatch: https://healthmatch.io/

On today's episode, Shimon Elkabetz shares his experience building ClimaCell, a weather technology startup powering Uber, Delta, and the US Airforce. You'll hear: What makes the Israeli Defence Force the perfect training ground for entrepreneurs; How Shimon's professional obsession with the weather forced him to start a company; Why recruiting a team is hard, even for experienced people managers; What controlling the weather allows companies to achieve (hint: it's amazing).Find out more about Shimon and ClimaCell at: https://www.climacell.co/

On today's episode, Chris Thomson and Dan Adams share their journey to building Amber, a renewable energy startup based in Melbourne, Australia. You'll hear: Why Dan is credited with lifting Australia's aid budget by billions of dollars; Why Chris found himself interested in an Iranian Fatwa against 3G internet; How they designed the model for a renewable energy company; What they loved (and didn't love) about the fundraising process. Find out more about Chris, Dan and Amber Electric at: https://www.amberelectric.com.au/

On today's episode, Paul Bassat takes us through some of the greatest lessons in his life:The art of people management, a lesson from Arnold Bloch Leibler; What it was like to attempt an IPO just days before the .com bubble burst; The self-perpetuating nature of culture; How to hire brilliant people; Why we use "growth potential" as a leading indicator of success in founders.Find out more about Paul at https://squarepegcap.com

Square Peg Founder Stories is a weekly show about what it's really like to build a technology startup. You'll hear from founders you definitely know and those you probably don't, telling stories you wish you'd have known when you started your company.The series will feature one or two founders per episode. Today's teaser features Paul Bassat, co-founder and co-CEO at SEEK, Lucy Liu, Co-founder and President at Airwallex, and Chris Thompson, Co-founder at Amber Electric.