Show Notes
After a brief hiatus, Open the Pid Bay Door is back with an exciting new episode! Host Ian Gardiner sits down with Bryan Williams, Founder of Hockey Stick Advisory, to dive into the world of strategic partnerships and growth acceleration. Hockey Stick Advisory provides market leading strategic partnerships advisory, operational and executional guidance with accountability for growth alongside prioritised partners. We empower ambitious companies to accelerate top line growth, whilst protecting scarce bottom line resources.
Highlights from their conversation include: 📊 Understanding Partnerships 🚀 The importance of Partnerships for Startups 🔍 Identifying Potential Partners 📈 Measuring Partnership Success 💡 Common Pitfalls in Partnerships 🌐 Building a Partnership Ecosystem 🛠️ Best Practices for Partnerships 📅 Community and Networking
Quick Fire Round: Book recommendation - "Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink. He's a former Navy seal, hardcore guy, but I think it's similar to the lines of Kim Scott's book Radical Candor. Podcast recommendation - "Rich Roll - when it's relevant and something I like, Stephen Bartlett's Diary of a CEO and there's a bunch of really good partnership ones in the US where I can sort of follow along and absorb best practices. Favourite CEO - Yamini Rangan, CEO, Hubspot News source - Capital Brief Productivity tool - "I'm a big believer in power naps!" Favourite app - Strava TV show or movie recommendation "Well, the new Gladiator is coming out this weekend, so looking forward to that one" If you were asked to do a TED talk, what topic would you speak about? Going viral and what not to do Don’t miss this insightful conversation packed with actionable advice for growth-focused businesses! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
More from Open the Pod Bay Doors
In his fourth appearance on Open the Pod Bay Doors, ARENA CEO Darren Miller sits down with Ian Gardiner for a special retrospective episode. Looking back at their past chats from 2019, 2021, and 2022, they reflect on what predictions aged well, what took the sector by surprise, and how the climate tech conversation has transformed over the last seven years. From solar's relentless drop down the cost curve to wind’s unexpected price doubling, and the shift from green hydrogen hype to AI-driven data center demand, Darren offers a pragmatic state-of-the-nation on Australia's energy transition. Plus, they discuss ARENA’s newly launched $30M Launchpad initiative for early-stage climate tech startups and incubators, the push for green steel, and what to expect as Australia edges closer to 80% renewable grid penetration. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Recorded live at Venture Down Under on the Gold Coast, Ian Gardiner sits down with Jonathan Yip, Managing Director and Head of Innovation Banking, Asia at HSBC Innovation Banking. Jonathan’s career with HSBC began as an intern in 2008 and has since taken him across the UK, Hong Kong, San Francisco, New York and Korea. Today, he leads HSBC’s Innovation Banking business across Asia, supporting venture capital firms and the high-growth companies they back. In this episode, Jonathan explains what “HSBC Innovation Banking” is, how HSBC Innovation Banking built a global platform following its acquisition of Silicon Valley Bank UK, and why the next wave of innovation will require much more than traditional venture capital. They cover: What HSBC Innovation Banking banking offers founders, scale-ups and venture capital firms Why Australia’s closely connected startup ecosystem stands out globally The growing international interest in Australian founders in HSBC Innovation Banking and frontier technology How Asia’s innovation markets differ across India, China, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia Why venture funding is growing but becoming increasingly selective The shift from financing software to financing “atoms” The infrastructure behind AI, including energy, data centres and semiconductors Where Australia can compete within the global AI stack The opportunity across quantum, climate tech and advanced infrastructure Why the current innovation cycle requires venture capital, sovereign capital, bank credit and venture debt working together See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In this episode of Open the Pod Bay Doors, Ian Gardiner sits down with Ella Greer, AI Customer Engineer at Google Cloud, for a deep dive into how AI is actually being built, deployed, and scaled inside real businesses today. Ella works hands-on with some of Australia’s leading companies — from startups to enterprise — helping them design and implement AI roadmaps. This conversation cuts through the hype and focuses on what’s really happening on the ground: from early experimentation to production-scale AI systems. They cover: The shift from AI experimentation to real-world deployment and scale What an “AI Customer Engineer” actually does inside Google Why startups are still the most exciting (and fastest-moving) AI adopters What “agents” and “agentic systems” really mean — explained simply How companies are moving from proof-of-concept to real business outcomes Why the SaaS model is under pressure — and what replaces it Where the new “moats” are in an AI-first world (data, verticalisation, expertise) The rise of usage-based pricing and token-driven business models How AI is reshaping product development, engineering, and startup costs Why great engineers still matter — and what skills actually endure How founders should think about AI today (and why it’s no longer optional) They also explore: The future of AI pricing — why intelligence gets cheaper, but better models cost more Whether AGI is close (and why definitions matter) The role of DeepMind as Google’s research engine Why AI adoption is still uneven — and why most people aren’t using it deeply (yet) How founders and investors should evaluate AI companies in a noisy market Ella brings a practical, engineering-first perspective with clear takeaways for founders, operators, and investors navigating the AI shift. Quick Fire Round 📚 Book recommendation – Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro 🎧 Podcast recommendation – Latent Space (AI engineering deep dives) 🗞️ News source – Alpha Signal (AI research + repo summaries) 👩💼 Favourite leader – Lila Ibrahim (COO, DeepMind / Chief AI Readiness Officer) 🛠️ Productivity tool – Gemini CLI (with strong context engineering) 📺 TV / entertainment – Married at First Sight (pure brain-off viewing) A sharp, grounded conversation on where AI is actually delivering value — and what to do about it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In this episode of Open the Pod Bay Doors, Ian Gardiner sits down with long-time friend and tech leader Matt Loop, now Head of Asia Pacific at Rippling. Matt has been at the heart of SaaS for two decades. From opening Salesforce’s first Australian office out of his Bondi apartment, to helping LinkedIn scale across Asia and the US, guiding Slack through the chaos of COVID, and now leading Rippling’s rapid expansion across APAC — Matt has lived through (and helped build) some of the most iconic software companies of our time. They cover: Opening Salesforce AU with nothing but a laptop and a dream
In this episode, Ian sits down with Evan Walden, CEO of Getro—a startup rethinking how VCs support their portfolio companies through meaningful connections and talent networks. From his early days at General Assembly to leading a platform used by top-tier VC firms, Evan shares candid insights on leadership, founder relationships, startup career pathways, and why authentic networking matters more than ever. Whether you're a founder, investor, or ecosystem builder, this conversation is packed with practical ideas and fresh perspectives on value creation in venture capital. 🔑 Key Conversation Highlights: From Philosophy to Tech: Evan’s unconventional path from studying philosophy to building tech platforms that empower communities and ecosystems.