Startup Grind

Chris Saad – Former Head of Product, Uber Development Platform.

Chris is an Australian living and working across Brisbane and San Francisco. Formerly the Head of Product at Uber Development Platform, this highly driven entrepreneur is also a strategic advisor, product developer, author and pod-caster.

The self-proclaimed serial entrepreneur received accolades from Anthill when he was featured in 30 Under 30. Chris was described as, ‘one of Australia’s most impressive young web entrepreneurs”. His idealization and dedication to web standards was touted as having a, “profound impact on the evolution of media in the digital age”. He was applauded for his contribution to the industry when he was named in the Advance 50 for the Future list which honours Australians that have generously given back in supporting growing companies.

His 14 years across the startup ecosystem saw him build several companies including Echo (Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer), Faraday Media (Co-Founder and Director), RedShift (Founder/CEO) and Radioactive (Founder). Adding to his list of achievements was when he co-founded the DataPortability  Project and his co-authoring of Backplane Protocol.

He is also the writer of an amazing book series " Leadership lens", which  he describes as The playbook for being an intentional and impactful leader. In his conversation he explains how The Leadership Lens helps you see the world the way leaders do. And that this book will provide concise, pragmatic insights into how leaders think and act - their lens - from the ground up; and give you actionable advice on how to implement their strategies in your own daily life.

Learn more about Oracle for Startups

(Interviewed by Chris Joannou @DREAMPUSHERS).

Sage Group plc. is the UK’s largest tech firm with 12,000 employees serving over three million customers across 23 countries worldwide.

Debbie Wall is the EVP of the Sage Foundation, one of the largest corporate foundations globally. It is the corporate philanthropic division of Sage . It is the corporate philanthropic division of Sage Group.

Debbie"s approach called ‘action philanthropy’ is a model based not only on corporate financial giving but focused on making a more meaningful impact through employee time and expertise. 
As part of this approach, Debbie introduced the UK’s largest corporate volunteering scheme, offering every Sage employee up to 5 days of paid time to volunteer in their local communities. In 2020 alone, they have given 14,000 volunteering days from colleagues around the world. Debbie would be happy to talk about some of the programmes introduced and executed by the Sage Foundation to help local communities worldwide. These are based on maximising the tech skills of their employees to help rollout solutions including A Place To Call Home - helping tackle the root causes of youth homelessness and rAInbow - an AI-powered tool supporting victims of domestic violence.

Learn more about Oracle for Startups

(Interviewed by Chris Joannou @DREAMPUSHERS).

Lucy established her industry credentials as an investment consultant at the China International Capital Corp (CICC), China's first joint venture investment bank. Her competitive edge and organisational skills won her the trust of the most prestigious investors and corporate clients in Asia.

She co-founded Airwallex in 2015 , which provides foreign-exchange transactions at a lower cost than traditional banks to help internet companies, as well as small and mid-size enterprises, to collect and settle payments when conducting business overseas.

Airwallex's recent valuation is $1.8 billion and the total capital raised is more than $360 million. The cross-border payment startup joined the unicorn club after crossing the $1 billion valuation mark a year ago.

Airwallex's headquarters are in Melbourne, Australia. It has opened new offices in Tokyo and Bangalore, while exploring the Middle East market. While Asia-Pacific continues to play a crucial role in the company's growth plans, it also will accelerate growth in Europe and the U.S.

Airwallex is also preparing to launch its first payment card for businesses in partnership with Visa in key markets, including Hong Kong and the U.K., later this year. It will allow Airwallex account holders to pay overseas suppliers in various currencies in almost real time.

 At Airwallex, Lucy is responsible for overseeing ongoing business operations and client relationships.

Lucy has won a series of awards for her outstanding entrepreneurial achievements including Ernst & Young “Top 22 Entrepreneurial Winning Women in APAC” (2019), Ernst & Young “Australian Entrepreneur of the Year” (2018) and Forbes “30 Young Entrepreneurs in Asia” (2017).

Learn more about Oracle for Startups

(Interviewed by Chris Joannou @DREAMPUSHERS).

Dr. Alexander (Alex) Osterwalder is one of the world’s most influential innovation experts, a leading author, entrepreneur and in-demand speaker whose work has changed the way established companies do business and how new ventures get started. 

Ranked No. 4​ of the top 50 management thinkers worldwide, Osterwalder is known for​       simplifying the strategy development process and turning complex concepts into digestible visual models. He invented the Business Model Canvas, Value Proposition Canvas, and Business Portfolio Map – practical tools that are trusted by millions of business practitioners from leading global companies. 

Strategyzer, Osterwalder’s company, provides online courses, applications, and technology-enabled services to help organizations effectively and systematically manage strategy, growth and transformation. 

His books include the international bestseller ​Business Model Generation​, ​Value Proposition Design: How to Create Products and Services Customers Want,​ ​Testing Business Ideas​ and The Invincible Company​, to publish in spring 2020. 

(Interviewed by StartupGrind's Chris Joannou).

Pete Newell is a nationally recognized innovation expert whose work is transforming how the government and other large organizations compete and drive growth. 

He is the CEO of BMNT, an innovation consultancy and early-stage technology incubator that helps solve some of the hardest real-world problems in national security, state and local governments, and beyond.  BMNT is headquartered in Palo Alto, CA, with offices in Los Angeles, San Diego, Washington DC, Boston and London. 

He holds holds a BS from Kansas State University, an MS from the US Army Command & General Staff College, an MS from the National Defense University and advanced certificates from the MIT Sloan School and the Stanford Graduate School of Business. 

He is  also a founder and co-author, with Lean Startup founder Steve Blank, of Hacking for Defense (H4D)®, an academic program taught at 22+ universities.

In addition, Pete is a Board Member for Solace Power, a wireless power technology company; and Hacking for Defense Incorporated, the 501c3 non-profit responsible for extending Hacking for Defense® academic programming to universities across the United States. 

Prior to joining BMNT, Pete served as the Director of the US Army’s Rapid Equipping Force (REF).  Reporting directly to the senior leadership of the Army, he was charged with rapidly finding, integrating, and employing solutions to emerging problems faced by Soldiers on the battlefield. 

From 2010 to 2013 Pete led the REF in the investment of over $1.4B in efforts designed to counter the effects of improvised explosive devices, reduce small units exposure to suicide bombers and rocket attacks and to reduce their reliance on long resupply chains.  He was responsible for the Army’s first deployment of mobile manufacturing labs as well as the use of smart phones merged with tactical radio networks. 

Pete retired from the US Army as a Colonel in 2013. .He is an Army Ranger who has received numerous awards to include the Silver Star and Presidential Unit Citation. 

(Interviewed by Chris Joannou @DREAMPUSHERS).

Jennifer received her BA from Harvard University cum laude and MBA from Harvard Business School and lives in Brooklyn with her husband and daughters Aurora and Selene.

She co-founded Rent the Runway in 2009 with Jennifer Fleiss, and has since raised over $525 million in capital, growing the business to over 11 million members and a valuation of $1 billion.

 In her role, she sets the strategic priorities of the business and leads the company in growing all areas of the business, including marketing, technology, product and analytics. 

Under Hyman’s leadership, Rent the Runway’s offerings have expanded to over 600 labels, including Proenza Schouler , Marni and Victoria Beckham . Brands work with Rent the Runway via wholesale relationships, revenue share arrangements on the Rent the Runway platform, as well as co-manufacturing of designer collections exclusive to the Rent the Runway ecosystem.

Hyman has been honoured with recognitions like the “TIME 100” most influential people in the world, Forbes “12 Most Disruptive Names in Business”, Fortune’s “Most Powerful Female Entrepreneurs”, “Trailblazers”, “40 under 40”, Fast Company’s “Most Creative People in Business” and the Tribeca Film Festival’s “Disruptive Innovation” award. Under her leadership, Rent the Runway has been named to CNBC’s “Disruptor 50” and Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies list multiple times. Serving as Rent the Runway’s spokesperson, Jennifer is a frequent guest on television and a regular lecturer at universities and business schools nationwide.

Hyman serves on the Board of Directors of The Estée Lauder Companies, on the Women.nyc Advisory Board and is a Founding Member of the NYSE Board Advisory Council which champions increased board diversity.

(Interviewed by Aileen Lee).

Since 2004, Mike has served as Business Manager for the multi-platinum hip-hop artist Nelly. Through restructuring Nelly’s apparel line Apple Bottoms from from a production firm to a licensing entity, Mike was able to grow the business from $2M in revenue in 2004 to over $100M in 2008.

 In early 2015, Michael Chaffin and Mark Cuban co-launched the THREE COMMAS apparel line, a concept derived by Mark Cuban based on the fact that there are 3 commas in a billion dollars.  The line is the first developed for the aspiring entrepreneur.

While Three Commas came from the fact that there are three commas in a billion, the money is not what it is about. It is about the entrepreneur - from the place where the dream began, to where the dream becomes a reality. Three Commas is about the journey and seeks to encourage people to achieve their goals, pursuing the American Dream. There is no other place that gives everyone this great opportunity to succeed. It's not about having a billion dollars, but the daily reward of hard work, passion, and dedication that brings the true meaning of success. Three Commas is the brand for the driven entrepreneur. 

Mike is active in the startup community serving as a judge and mentor for Stadia Ventures sports accelerator.  

He has served on the Governing Board of Make-A-Wish Missouri which he is now an alumni of and has also formerly served on the Board of Directors for Covenant House, an international charity that focuses on homeless teenagers.

(Interviewed by StartupGrind's Chris Joannou)

Kate founded One Young World 10 years ago whilst Global President and UK Group Chairman of Havas Worldwide, in response to what she saw as a growing leadership vacuum in business, politics and civil society. Its goal is to identify, promote and connect the world’s most impactful activists to create a better world, with more responsible and effective leadership.

During her time at Havas,Kate was the world’s most senior woman in advertising. Taking inspiration from her mother, the first woman in South Africa to become a Board member, she has always fought for young voices to be heard – and her policy of inviting under 30-year-old’s to join the Havas Board was a first of its kind.

From its work in peacebuilding with the European Commission, to creating the world’s largest ever investment in youth-led SDGs initiatives, One Young World has become the definitive voice on young leaders – with a community of over 10,000 under-35-year-old activists from over 190 countries.  

As a result, it has garnered the support of some of the world’s greatest activists – from Bob Geldof, to the late Kofi Annan, Emma Watson, Meghan Markle and Paul Polman, amongst many other global figures.

Last October, One Young World returned to its London home to celebrate its tenth anniversary – in what was the city’s most international event since the 2012 Olympics. The annual Summit gathered 2,000 leading young activists from over 190 countries – with notable guests including HRH the Duchess of Sussex and JK Rowling.

Kate’s experience led her to co-author a recent book on how to successfully make a difference in today’s society. ‘How to Make a Difference’ is a guidebook that captures the experience of those she has worked closely with, including the young people at the forefront of movements from the Hong Kong protests to Black Lives Matter.

(Interviewed by Chris Joannou @DREAMPUSHERS).

Jennifer Tejada, who is rare in the world of enterprise startups because of her gender, but whose marketing background makes her even more of an anomaly — and an asset.

 She is a veteran software industry executive and business leader with over 25 years of experience, spanning mass consumer products to disruptive cloud and software solutions. She has a successful track record in product innovation, optimizing operations and scaling public and private enterprise technology companies. She led PagerDuty through a strong IPO in April 2019.

In a world that’s going digital fast, Tejada knows PagerDuty can appeal to a far wider array of customers by selling them a product they can understand.

PagerDuty is  helping its clients become proactive. The idea, she says, is that “if you see traffic spiking on a website, you can orchestrate a team of content marketers or growth hackers and get them in that traffic stream right then, instead of reading about it in a demand-gen report a week later, where you’re, like, ‘Great, we totally missed that opportunity.’”

PagerDuty provides real-time operations platform, ensures less downtime and fewer outages, meaning happier customers and more productive teams.

Leymah Gbowee (pronounced LAY–mah, BEAU-wee)

2011 Nobel Peace Laureate Leymah Gbowee is a Liberian peace activist, trained social worker and women’s rights advocate.

Ms. Gbowee’s leadership of the Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace – which brought together Christian and Muslim women in a nonviolent movement that played a pivotal role in ending Liberia’s civil war – is chronicled in her memoir, Mighty Be Our Powers, and in the award-winning documentary, Pray the Devil Back to Hell.

After winning the Nobel Peace Prize, Ms. Gbowee established the Gbowee Peace Foundation Africa. Ms. Gbowee also serves as the Executive Director of the Women, Peace and Security Program at the Earth Institute at Columbia University. 

Ms. Gbowee advises numerous organizations working for peace, women’s rights, youth, and sustainable development, and she travels internationally to advocate for human rights and peace and security.She has been named as one of the Top 100 Most Influential People in Gender Policy by Apolitical and one of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders by Fortune Magazine. 

Ms. Gbowee is the proud mother of eight children. She lives between Monrovia and New York – and the many airports in between!