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The Genesis of Startups

The Genesis of Startups

By William Tjo

At the Genesis of Startups, we interview entrepreneurs from the Australian startup ecosystem to explore what it’s really like to start a business. We are committed to building a deeply supportive entrepreneurial network based on empowerment and respect. Hosted by social enterprise founder William Tjo.
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Building Resilience to Fear and Failure

The Genesis of StartupsAug 25, 2021

00:00
16:10
Identifying a Natural Connection to Your Customer

Identifying a Natural Connection to Your Customer

In this episode, we show you the power of understanding your customers. Identifying a natural connection to your customer segment is a combination of subject matter expertise and empathy to the problem you are trying to solve, enabling you to be better equipped to understand how your startup should operate to best address its customers' needs. We discuss this and more with our guest, Lauren Capelin.

Nov 04, 202122:03
Focus on Your Network

Focus on Your Network

Entrepreneurial success is as much about how you surround yourself with people as it is any startup mechanics. Focusing on your network allows you to discover potential customers, investors and talent. But what does effective networking look like? How do you build and maintain relationships? We explore these questions and more with our guest, Dean Tavener.

Oct 28, 202119:12
Strategies for Traction and Growth

Strategies for Traction and Growth

Focusing on your customer to build and maintain traction is vital for any startup and is arguably the most important. Without traction, startups won't be able to attract funding, attract talent and grow. What does it mean to be a customer-centric business and understand your customer? We explore this and more with our guest, Jacob Lescove.

Oct 21, 202120:38
Commercialising Your Startup: Why Geography Matters

Commercialising Your Startup: Why Geography Matters

The 2020 WIPO Global Innovation Index ranks Australia as the 23rd most innovative country overall but 40 when it comes to commercialisation. This episode explores the practicalities of creating a startup in Australia - what the funding structures look like, the ecosystem and overall support with our guest, Justin Wastnage.

Oct 14, 202122:18
Building Your Startup With Your Customer

Building Your Startup With Your Customer

In this episode, we explore deeper into the tried and true advice of understanding your customer. How do you know who your customers are to begin with? What if your customer doesn't know what they want? What if you are in a bleeding-edge industry? David Palacios shares his insights.

Oct 07, 202119:22
The Three Types of Founders

The Three Types of Founders

Why do you want to start a business? Is the fame and fortune? Is it the obsession to compete? Or is it passion? Having greater self-awareness for you inner motivations to be a startup founder equips you with the skills to persevere when things get tough. Our guest, Kevin Lu, explores.

Sep 16, 202122:57
Passion in Entrepreneurship

Passion in Entrepreneurship

What if you don't know what your passion is? The age-old saying is to follow your passion, but the hardest part of that is not the following, but the identification. In this episode we explore the practical strategies to identify your passion and build self-awareness with our guest, Nikki Shah.

Sep 09, 202123:40
The Reality of Building a Startup

The Reality of Building a Startup

It comes at no surprise that building a startup is hard. Very hard. And maybe it's not for everyone? Are there certain mindsets and personality traits that will be advantageous when building your business? Our guest, Joe Zhou, shares his insights.

Sep 02, 202115:18
Building Resilience to Fear and Failure

Building Resilience to Fear and Failure

Cultivating a curiosity or growth mindset is critical for our wellbeing and success as founders. Having the ability to take a step back and evaluate our emotions allows a better understanding of the drivers, giving us space to recharge. How do we keep expectations in check? How do we develop a multi-faceted view of success? How do we find support networks? Our guest, Danielle Owen-Whitford discusses.

Aug 25, 202116:10
Do Not Be Married to Your Idea

Do Not Be Married to Your Idea

Adaptability in industry is crucial, let alone in entrepreneurship. It's not uncommon for startups to be doing something completely different to what the founder had envisioned at the beginning. However, the emotional baggage that comes with changing your idea because of feedback is not always easy to digest. We discuss some strategies to overcome this and more with our guest, Nathalie Rafeh.

Aug 19, 202116:22
How to Identify Growth Opportunities

How to Identify Growth Opportunities

This episode explores the critical concept of change, and specifically, how to adapt your startup to large structural changes. Large structural changes almost invariably forces people to unlearn old habits and adopt new ones. Entrepreneurs must then develop processes to detect and assess these shifts. We explore this and more with our guest, Christopher Michaelides.
May 13, 202125:48
Strategies to Persevere

Strategies to Persevere

At the risk of flogging a dead horse, what is the optimal amount of entrepreneurial perseverance? How does a startup founder learn to persevere and why is it important to do so? We answer these questions and much more with our guest, Brock Hatton.
May 06, 202126:04
The Importance of Cash Flow Management

The Importance of Cash Flow Management

Startup founders will invariably wear multiple hats as the business priorities ebb and flow. With the multitude of tasks that need attention, how do entrepreneurs focus on what matters most? How do we strike a balance between 'working on the business' and 'working in the business'? We discuss this and more with our guest, Pascale Helyar-Moray.
Apr 29, 202121:52
Effective Entrepreneurial Leadership

Effective Entrepreneurial Leadership

Do all leaders come in different shapes and sizes? Are some considered more 'effective' than others and if so, what does such a leader look like? In this episode, we examine what it takes to become an effective startup leader and the defining characteristics and values one must develop with our guest, Anna Fitzgerald.
Apr 22, 202123:28
Know Your Competitive Advantages

Know Your Competitive Advantages

In this episode, we deep dive into the founder's competitive advantages. How can a founder best position themselves to sustain leverage over competitors? Are there certain characteristics that are essential? We explore these and more with our guest, Dan Fleming.
Apr 15, 202126:11
The Art of Iterations

The Art of Iterations

The importance of iterations when it comes to building your startup cannot be understated. In the beginning it may be tempting to think that there is no need to iterate, especially if you have a brilliant idea. However, iterations are about discovering what the market wants and aligning your solution to the problem, not the other way around. We discuss this with our guest, Andy Jamieson.
Apr 08, 202116:06
Have a Deep Understanding of the Problem You Are Solving

Have a Deep Understanding of the Problem You Are Solving

What do venture capital firms look for when assessing a startup? What sort of traits and characteristics should the founders have? We explore this and more with our guest, Alexandra Clunies-Ross.
Apr 01, 202123:35
Do It Your Way

Do It Your Way

When it comes to entrepreneurship, it is important for founders to focus on building their startup, their way because nobody knows a startup more than its own founders. This means adhering to their values and what they believe is the right move. We discuss this and more with our guest, Weh Yeoh.
Mar 25, 202123:21
Commercialising MedTech Startups: Beginning with the End in Mind

Commercialising MedTech Startups: Beginning with the End in Mind

There are no black and white answers when it comes to entrepreneurship and innovation. It is important that founders envision the final result of their startup - doing so creates direction. In this episode, Dr Dharmica Mistry shares her insights into commercialising MedTech startups by beginning with the end in mind.
Mar 18, 202121:04
How to Make Vulnerability Your Entrepreneurial Superpower

How to Make Vulnerability Your Entrepreneurial Superpower

Being vulnerable facilitates and builds relationships and unlocks greater opportunities to learn. It requires an understanding that you don't have all the answers - and that's okay. In this episode, we discuss how an entrepreneur can turn their vulnerability into a superpower with Mark Macduffie.
Mar 11, 202123:30
How to Launch a Tech Startup without a Tech Background

How to Launch a Tech Startup without a Tech Background

Everyday someone has a brilliant idea and everyday that idea is abandoned because they have no clue how to start. Is it possible to launch a startup without the specific skillset? How does one validate the idea? How do we measure performance? We explore this and much more with our guest, Paul Towers.
Oct 29, 202022:48
The Simple Tools for Working on Yourself as a Founder

The Simple Tools for Working on Yourself as a Founder

Entrepreneurship can be lonely, especially if you are a sole founder and bootstrapping. You may not have a huge amount of people around you to help, so it is especially important to work on yourself. In this episode, we explore how to identify limiting beliefs, values and passions in order to be the best person you can in business with our guest, Victoria Edghill.
Oct 22, 202024:16
Filtering Information: How to Know Which Advice to Follow

Filtering Information: How to Know Which Advice to Follow

Information and advice on how to grow your startup is easy to find. When that information contradicts one another, entrepreneurs can easily get confused on which to follow. How do we know which to follow? Our guest, Eric Belarbre shares his insights.
Oct 15, 202018:45
How to Grow Your Social Enterprise

How to Grow Your Social Enterprise

Growing any startup is hard, let alone a social enterprise. Social entrepreneurs are held to higher standards and achieving a sustainable business model isn't enough - we need to make impact. We explore this and more with our guest, Angela Kwan.
Oct 08, 202027:09
How Entrepreneurs can Leverage Their Skills to Solve Global Problems

How Entrepreneurs can Leverage Their Skills to Solve Global Problems

Entrepreneurs are always at the forefront of solving the world's biggest problems. We are born problem-solvers - looking for new and better ways to do things. In an increasingly tumultuous world, how can entrepreneurs best utilise their efforts to solve wicked problems? We explore this and more with our guest, Naomi Nash.
Oct 01, 202036:25
Trust in Business

Trust in Business

In this episode we deep dive into what it takes to build a trust network in business. We often draw analogies of war when thinking about business - how can we extract the most value? Our guest, Sharon Melamed, presents an alternative view in which she built her multi-award winning startup with trust.
Sep 24, 202021:23
How to be Okay with Uncertainty

How to be Okay with Uncertainty

Dealing with uncertainty is an inevitable part of building any startup. Although the fear, paralysis and distress doesn't have to be. Our guest, Dr Hayley Watson, shares clinically proven strategies in becoming okay with uncertainty - to be more self-aware and lean into the feeling of discomfort, rather than burying it under the rug.
Sep 17, 202034:57
The Art of Patience

The Art of Patience

Jumping into hasty conclusions creates artificial timelines in your mind. When your startup fails to align to that timeline, the mind can run wild. The truth is, the world is a complex place, full of nuance. Sometimes we need to learn how to radically accept circumstances beyond our control and be patient for success. Our guest, James Crowther, shares his insights.
Sep 10, 202029:55
Confidence, Feedback & Mentorship

Confidence, Feedback & Mentorship

Do you get paralysed by overthinking? With so many opportunities to explore, directions to head and advice to listen to, how can we decide what to do next? In this episode, we deep dive into the work in progress adult and focus in on "just doing it!"
Sep 03, 202028:53
Raising Finance: Equity or Debt?

Raising Finance: Equity or Debt?

In this episode we explore the differences between venture equity and venture debt with our guest, Tony Sinclair. We go over the options and requirements a startup should consider before raising finance.
Aug 27, 202022:07
Defining a Clear Purpose and Values

Defining a Clear Purpose and Values

Without a clear organisational purpose, a vision for the future and a set of values to guide you, it is impossible to make decisions on what to do or how to do it. These are the bedrock of any successful organisation - a sense of knowing why you exist and what sort of organisation you aspire to be. Sadly, too often, they end up being overlooked in the annual and monthly cycles of business execution or have been ignored for so long that they are no longer relevant (despite being neatly laminated and stuck on the boardroom wall).
May 14, 202023:45
I have An Idea but Don't Know Where to Start

I have An Idea but Don't Know Where to Start

This episode explores three critical questions in the entrepreneur's journey: how to find problems worth solving, turn those problems into an opportunity and how to execute those ideas. Our guest and 6-time founder, Jonathan Chak analyses his experience from working with over 500 different startups as a Senior Advisor for Jobs for New South Wales.
May 07, 202026:21
The Art of Negotiation

The Art of Negotiation

In this episode, we explore all things negotiating. It's part of everyday life, especially in business, but somehow we still get cold sweat at the thought of having to do it each time. How do we learn to keep a level head, to prepare better and most importantly, to be more effective? We discuss this and more with our guest, Will Chambers.
Apr 30, 202025:48
How to Look After Yourself Whilst Building a Startup

How to Look After Yourself Whilst Building a Startup

It's incredibly stressful to build a startup and no one can deny that the process, often involving working another job and perhaps studying, can get lonely. How do we learn to look after ourselves when chasing dreams and not forget our mental health? We discuss these and more with our guest, Emily Bobis - co-founder of Compass IoT.
Apr 23, 202018:53
To Raise Finance, Or Not To Raise Finance, That is the Question

To Raise Finance, Or Not To Raise Finance, That is the Question

Raising Venture Capital funding has become a buzzword in the halls of the startup community. Each time a startup successfully raises funding, they are showered with media praise - perhaps even more so than attaining profitability. Why is that? In this episode we discuss the fetish that is, raising capital, explore indicators of when a company should raise capital and lastly, look at what could possibly go wrong with prematurely using somebody's capital.
Apr 02, 202015:42
How a Startup can Sell to Giants: The Science of B2B Sales

How a Startup can Sell to Giants: The Science of B2B Sales

It's no secret, selling is hard - especially as a startup. The modern day sales process is all about building relationships and giving value. And with almost zero reputation and bargaining power, initially, what can a startup do to capture the attention of giants? In this episode, we explore the science of business to business sales with Nicole Buskiewicz, founder of the multi-award winning (bootstrapped) startup, Advoc8.
Mar 26, 202019:46
Using Social Media to Get Your First Customers

Using Social Media to Get Your First Customers

Social Media isn't just a place to share nice-looking pictures and stories. Used correctly, it can be a powerful tool to jumpstart your business and raise awareness at the beginning; attaining much needed early adopters. But of course, it doesn't just stop there, year after year social media continues to become more relevant in our everyday lives. Marybeth Dela Cruz, co-founder and brand strategist of Paper Pens Co., explores how to leverage social media to grow your startup.
Mar 19, 202008:35
How to Build and Motivate Your Dream Team

How to Build and Motivate Your Dream Team

In this episode we show you the power of putting people and culture first. With disengagement or attrition costing business almost 250% of an employee's salary, business simply can't afford to have people as an afterthought. We explore how to build and motivate your dream team with our guest, Will Blott.
Mar 12, 202015:33
How to Grow Your Business with the Help of Your Network

How to Grow Your Business with the Help of Your Network

In this episode we discuss all things networking. It takes a country to raise a startup, but often startup founders can get stuck thinking that they need to do everything themselves and fail to realise the amazing support around them. How do we learn to see the value of our network? How do we learn ask for help? How do we learn to grow our network? We answer these questions and much more with our guest, 6-time startup founder, Alex Carpenter.
Mar 05, 202026:00
The Art of Branding

The Art of Branding

In this episode, we deep dive into all things branding. With so much information available to consumers in the 21st century and companies and startups vying for that limited attention, branding will be the most important asset of the next decade. Our guest and expert brand strategist, Keeva Stratton, explores where to start.
Feb 27, 202023:41