In this episode, Steve Grace sits down with Kevin Lu, founder of Atrium, to unpack the "reverse journey" of leaving a prestigious career in Venture Capital to enter the trenches as a founder.

Kevin reveals why he walked away from investing in some of Australia's most successful tech companies to solve a problem that haunted him for years, which was the absolute chaos of managing professional relationships.

Kevin breaks down the "Founder Hierarchy" used by top VCs to spot unicorns (and why having a "chip on your shoulder" is the ultimate competitive advantage), the 100-year-old secret from Rockefeller’s Rolodex that inspired his new AI startup, and why he believes constraints rather than massive funding rounds are the true drivers of innovation.

Timestamps:

0:00 – The “Reverse Journey”: Investor to Founder

1:47 – Escaping the “Lawyer Trap” into Tech

6:11 – Corporate VC (Reinventure) vs. Pure Play (AirTree)

10:07 – The 2021 Funding Craze: “It was nuts”

14:10 – The Founder Hierarchy: Why you need a chip on your shoulder

22:42 – REVEAL: What is Atrium?

25:18 – Rockefeller’s 120,000-card secret

30:17 – The joy of co-founding with a sibling

33:17 – Why constraints create value (Bootstrapping vs. VC)

37:47 – US vs. Australia: Risk appetite and hiring bias

40:47 – Where have all the young founders gone?

Links:

Connect with Kevin → https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-lu-514420112/

Connect with Steve → https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevegrace/

The Nudge Group → https://thenudgegroup.com/

Give It A Nudge Podcast → https://www.youtube.com/@giveitanudge/

The Trouble With People → https://thetroublewithpeople.substack.com/

In this episode, Steve Grace sits down with Arjun — founder of inaam — to unpack how a tragic loss of his father's life savings fueled a mission to disrupt the Australian financial system, and why he believes the local VC ecosystem is fundamentally broken due to a crippling lack of risk tolerance.

Arjun breaks down the dangerous myth that "impact investing" means sacrificing returns (proving it with a portfolio that outperformed the market), why he famously believes the tagline for Australian venture firms should be "F*ck off," and how he is gamifying financial literacy to help young Australians build wealth without compromising their values.

They also dive into:

• The "Oligopoly" problem: Why having only three major VCs is stifling Australian innovation
• The reality of building a fintech as a migrant founder and facing racism on the streets of Melbourne
• The irony of being an award-winning innovator who still doesn't qualify for a National Innovation Visa
• How inaam combines education with execution to bridge the wealth gap
• Why email is a terrible leadership tool and the power of the "Communication Triangle"
• The "Non-Linear" career path: From investment banking to losing it all, to building a unicorn contender

Timestamps:

• 0:00 From investment banking to startup founder
• 6:45 Arriving in Melbourne 3 weeks before lockdown
• 10:27 The "F*ck Off" critique of Australian VCs
• 11:04 Why Australia has capital but zero risk tolerance
• 15:22 The Origin Story: Losing his father's life savings
• 17:20 Debunking the myth: Impact Investing vs. High Returns
• 23:30 The reality of racism and the migrant founder experience
• 28:16 The struggle to get a National Innovation Visa
• 36:00 Why email kills culture: The Communication Triangle
• 43:10 How to start investing with just $10

Links:

• inaam → https://www.inaam.me/
• Connect with Arjun → https://www.linkedin.com/in/arjunagarwal1996/
• The Nudge Group → https://thenudgegroup.com/
• Give It A Nudge Podcast → https://www.youtube.com/@giveitanudge/
• Steve on LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevegrace/
• The Trouble With People → https://thetroublewithpeople.substack.com/

In this episode, Steve Grace sits down with Mick Liubinskas — founder of Climate Salad — to unpack how a simple newsletter turned into an industry body representing over 800 companies, and why Australia is world-class at inventing technology but historically terrible at commercialising it.

Mick breaks down the massive difference between scaling software and industrial hardware, why the real funding gap isn't at the start but in the messy middle, and why he predicts a massive economic tipping point for climate tech in 2027 driven by policy and profit, not just goodwill.

They also dive into:

- Why Australian corporations refuse to be the "first customer" for local tech

- The "Valley of Death" for funding physical infrastructure

- Real examples of deep tech: Jet engines running on sewage and infinite thermal batteries

- The generational shift from "doing less bad" to "nature first"

- How Wright’s Law is driving down the cost of batteries and solar

- Why capitalist business models are the fastest way to solve climate problems

Timestamps:

0:00 From newsletter to industry body

1:20 The accidental founding of Climate Salad

5:33 Australia’s commercialization crisis

6:37 Why hardware is harder than software

12:14 Capitalism vs. Climate Change

15:53 The investment "Valley of Death"

17:54 Jet engines running on sewage

19:33 The Generational Divide: Nature First

26:19 The 2027 Tipping Point Prediction

35:43 Antarctica and the fragility of nature

Links:

Climate Salad → https://www.climatesalad.com/

Connect with Mick → https://www.linkedin.com/in/mliubinskas/

The Nudge Group → https://thenudgegroup.com/

Give It A Nudge Podcast → https://www.youtube.com/@giveitanudge/

Steve on LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevegrace/

The Trouble With People → https://thetroublewithpeople.substack.com/

In this episode, Steve Grace sits down with Tiana Manticos — founder of TX Method — to unpack how her career across airports, QSR franchises, luxury yachts, and global retail brands turned into a repeatable scaling framework now used by founders looking to grow with intention, not chaos.

Tiana breaks down the four-part TX Method framework (Truth, Translation, Transmission, Tempo), why founders should stop obsessing over content execution and start with clarity, and how personal brand can create competitive advantage — without trying to be an influencer.

They also dive into:

• What she learned managing 250+ franchise operators
• Why some brands scale and some burn out
• The difference between perception economy and manufactured hype
• The rise of events and in-person connection post-content fatigue
• How authenticity creates trust faster than perfection
• Why founders need to build brand before they need it

Timestamps:

0:21 What TX Method is

1:55 The system behind scaling brands

4:35 Lessons from franchising and customer behaviour

7:48 Trend-chasing vs long-term growth

10:55 Moving into the luxury sector and Ahoy Club

15:20 Branding founders without turning them into influencers

19:02 The Perception Economy explained

24:57 Personal brand vs vanity metrics

29:21 The TX Method framework

33:12 Content, attention, and the role of events

38:50 Starting vs perfecting

43:40 The reality of becoming a founder

47:53 Final advice: Start with truth, not tactics

Links:

TX Method → https://www.txmethod.com/

Connect with Tiana → https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiana-manticos/

The Nudge Group → https://thenudgegroup.com/

Give It A Nudge Podcast → https://www.youtube.com/@giveitanudge/

Steve on LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevegrace/

The Trouble With People → https://thetroublewithpeople.substack.com/

In this episode, Steve Grace sits down with Paz Pisarski, co-founder of Community Collective, to unpack how a small 17-person meetup in Melbourne grew into a global community spanning 18 countries — without paid marketing, without hype, and without trying to be everything to everyone.

Paz breaks down the Niche Cubed framework (profession + location + domain), how Who Not How changed how she makes decisions, and the simple community flywheel that turned early gatherings into an international movement.

They also go deep into:

Building with members, not for them

Focus vs FOMO, and knowing what not to do

Scholarships and access pathways for community builders

Why Nigeria unexpectedly became one of their strongest hubs

How music, ritual, and state-shifting practices shape her work and creativity

Timestamps:

0:00 Opening

1:25 What Community Collective is

3:08 The first meetup and early traction

8:40 The 8-week cohort and 992-person waitlist

10:55 Quitting full-time work to build community

13:40 Who Community Collective trains and supports

15:57 Paz’s background in music & sound

19:44 Rituals, brainwaves, and performance

29:02 Niche Cubed explained

32:10 Focus, prioritisation, and saying “not yet”

36:20 Growing to 18 countries

40:48 Scholarships and global access

43:50 Local leaders, city chapters, and sustainability

46:42 Final advice: Start small. Do it with others.

Links:

Community Collective → https://www.communitycollective.com.au/

Connect with Paz → https://www.linkedin.com/in/paz-pisarski/

The Nudge Group → https://thenudgegroup.com/

The Trouble With People → https://thetroublewithpeople.substack.com/

Give It A Nudge Podcast → https://www.youtube.com/@giveitanudge/

Steve on LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevegrace/

Host: Steve Grace

Guest: Christie Jenkins — 3-sport pro athlete (ex-AUS #1), Managing Director at Techstars Sydney, investor (Athletic Ventures; ex-Blackbird), keynote speaker & performance coach.

Christie unpacks how an elite-athlete mindset translates to venture and leadership: covering her leap to the U.S., buying European football clubs, and returning to run Techstars Sydney.

What we cover:

Packing up life in a week and landing in the U.S. with one intro

Networking that compounds (and why Aussies under-index on intros)

Building FC32: raising ~US$8M and buying 3 football clubs (Ireland, Austria, Italy)

How soccer’s unique player-trading economics work

What Christie learned meeting ~200 U.S. VC funds

Why consistency beats “chasing gold medals”

Carry 101: how VC incentives really work

Why founders need coaches (belief + trust) as much as athletes

Inside Techstars Sydney: 565 applications → 12 startups, retreat, mentors, and lifelong support

Links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christiejenkins/

Newsletter: https://christiejenkins.substack.com/

Website: https://www.christiejenkins.com.au/