The High Flyers Podcast with Vidit Agarwal
00:00:51 · Grace Brown, Vidit Agarwal
[00:00:51] S1: Oh, thank you. I always wanna have a separate call with you just talking about all the conversations you've had. [00:00:57] S0: I know this always comes up given the extensive research I do. What if we could reimagine the traditional notion of a high flyer? Hey, friends. Welcome back or welcome to The High Flyers Podcast where we do reimagine a high flyer, showcase the brightest and most relatable role models and companies and their journey from sunrise to today. As one of the premier products in our Curiosity Centre lineup providing on demand intelligence to help you be 1% better every single day. I'm your host, Vidit Agarwal, and let's have some fun. [00:01:37] S1: Our listeners have called this podcast the meticulously biography unveiling the extraordinary lives and decisions of the most remarkable individuals and companies from around the world. We hope you're enjoying our catalog of 200 plus episodes since we launched in 2020 with many of our guests appearing in rare public interviews. It's now time to explore your curiosity. Please enjoy. [00:02:01] S0: Let's set the scene with some fun facts to get us going. Where were you born and where do you live now? [00:02:06] S1: I was born in Brisbane and I now live in San Francisco. [00:02:10] S0: And work? What was your first job, and what do you do now? [00:02:13] S1: My first job, I was a waitress at a buffet, and now I'm the founder of Andromeda Robotics. Wait. Was that the second part? I actually missed it.
00:02:13 · Grace Brown, Vidit Agarwal
[00:02:13] S1: My first job, I was a waitress at a buffet, and now I'm the founder of Andromeda Robotics. Wait. Was that the second part? I actually missed it. [00:02:21] S0: No. You got them right. You got both of them right. I also started my career, my first job was a waiter at a restaurant and it was actually life changing. Was 14, what is it, fourteen years and nine months, whatever the age is. It was life changing. My mom took me to the manager because I actually used to be a really shy kid, which is surprising to a lot of people now. And she was like, my son needs a job. He doesn't really speak. Can you hire him? And that changed my life, like, changed my life. [00:02:48] S1: Wow. That's so sweet. I love that. I think everyone should try and get that work experience two: as early as they can. [00:02:55] S0: Yeah, particularly in hospitality, which as you know, is a tough space to work in. Customer service is really a lot of learnings. But... And as you know, purpose of this show is to reimagine the concept of a high flyer, to go beyond people's shop titles and cover their human story. Is there a high flyer you know who you feel hasn't got the recognition they deserve?
00:02:55 · Vidit Agarwal, Grace Brown
[00:02:55] S0: Yeah, particularly in hospitality, which as you know, is a tough space to work in. Customer service is really a lot of learnings. But... And as you know, purpose of this show is to reimagine the concept of a high flyer, to go beyond people's shop titles and cover their human story. Is there a high flyer you know who you feel hasn't got the recognition they deserve? [00:03:13] S1: Yeah. I wasn't sure if I could reference this person, but I definitely think it's my cofounder, Jan. He intentionally is a much more private individual. He never wanted to be in the videos, the photos. He much preferred just being in the back building the company, the product. But he deserves a lot of recognition for the work that he's done without... But I know that probably isn't what he'd actually want. But he's definitely a high... An unassuming high flyer. [00:03:41] S0: I agree. I was lucky enough to speak to him as part of the research. And yeah, he's a great speaker and actually was very easy to chat to. So I think it also tends to be people that are on the technical side, they don't want to be in the limelight, right? I think that's a quite a common pattern, even in companies that are much later stage is that technical cofounder tends to be behind the scenes.
00:03:41 · Vidit Agarwal, Grace Brown
[00:03:41] S0: I agree. I was lucky enough to speak to him as part of the research. And yeah, he's a great speaker and actually was very easy to chat to. So I think it also tends to be people that are on the technical side, they don't want to be in the limelight, right? I think that's a quite a common pattern, even in companies that are much later stage is that technical cofounder tends to be behind the scenes. [00:04:03] S1: Yeah. Yeah. He definitely just wants to build great products and build a great company, and he doesn't like all the hype that comes with it. He understands it's part of the journey. He understands you need people to know about you and what you're building. But, yeah, he very much prefers just to be able to build awesome things. So very lucky to have him on this journey with us. [00:04:23] S0: Because there's two of you. Right? The two of you are cofounders of the company. [00:04:26] S1: Yes. Yeah. That's correct.
00:04:26 · Grace Brown, Vidit Agarwal
[00:04:26] S1: Yes. Yeah. That's correct. [00:04:30] S0: Back to the episode in a moment. Something I've heard a lot from business owners and leaders is that speed only matters if you still feel confident in the output. And it's particularly an important point in this world of AI. Xero's answer to that is Accountable Intelligence. AI that shows you what it's doing and works from your own real data and is designed to keep you in control before anything happens. As Xero puts it, most AI asks you to trust it. Accountable intelligence shows you why you can. And that's how it works with JAX, Xero's in platform AI finance partner. So whether you're running the business, advising the client, or working with your board, JAX ensures that you get the upside of automation without giving up any of the control. If you want to see this practice, head over to xero.com/highflyers for 90% off your plan for the first six months. Terms apply and go to the website. That's xero xero dot com slash highflyers. Now back to the episode. Yeah, we will talk a lot about your company before we get to that I want to talk about you. And I think this is interesting because you've not really talked about yourself in maybe the format that I have. So if we run back to your sunrise as I call it, your childhood, so I think Brisbane, did you grow up in Brisbane in Australia, is that right? Tell me about your memories, like particularly the environment, what was the environment like growing up?
00:06:02 · Grace Brown, Vidit Agarwal
[00:06:02] S1: I think lots of people in Australia would know what Brisbane's like. It's very humid. It's... I had a very... I feel like very stereotypical childhood. I was very, like, very curious about mythical creatures and mermaids, and I love Disney princesses. So lots of fantasy, very creative. I love music. I love sports. I had lots of different interests. I was never too much of a weird kid in school. At least I don't think so. I was able to make friends, you know, had a pretty rich childhood with all the activities. But, yeah, it was definitely very formative for where I got to. So I don't know if that answers your question or if that's what you're asking about, but that's kind of a little bit of my younger period. [00:06:40] S0: And tell me about the the family unit. Or maybe tell me about the influences. I think we all have influences growing up. Who would you say were your key influences that shaped you early on?