Patrick Llewellyn is the CEO and President of 99designs, the global creative platform that makes it easy for designers and clients to work together. Patrick is Open the Pod Bay Door's second ever two-time guest. Since we've last chatted with Patrick, a lot has happened for 99designs. 99designs now employs over 100 people, has a community of over 25,000 active freelance designers, and in October, was acquired by global printing giant Vistaprint.
In this chat with Ian, Patrick speaks about his lockdown experience living in Melbourne, how a plan for a massive global restructuring was completely disrupted in March by COVID-19, and how a casual coffee meeting with the founder of Vistaprint ultimately led to an acquisition. Patrick dives deep into his mindset and decision making progress around the acquisition and how the company and his role will evolve as a result of the new partnership. Some other topics covered include how reverse brain drain may be impacting the talent market and the key macro insights from the new Design Without Borders: The Future of Freelancing report from 99designs.
Recommendations from Patrick
Book: by Verne HarnishScaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It... and Why the Rest Don't 
Podcast: Recode Decode, Pivot, Techmeme Ride Home
Productivity tool/app: Spotify (to listen to podcasts at 1.2x speed)
Favorite tech CEO: Mike & Scott from Atlassian, Melanie Perkins from Canva, Luke Annear from SafetyCulture
Ted Talk topic: "Globalization isn't a dirty word"

<div>Patrick Llewellyn is the CEO and President of 99designs, the global creative platform that makes it easy for designers and clients to work together. Patrick is Open the Pod Bay Door's second ever two-time guest. Since we've last chatted with Patrick, a lot has happened for 99designs. 99designs now employs over 100 people, has a community of over 25,000 active freelance designers, and in October, was acquired by global printing giant Vistaprint.</div><div><br></div><div>In this chat with Ian, Patrick speaks about his lockdown experience living in Melbourne, how a plan for a massive global restructuring was completely disrupted in March by COVID-19, and how a casual coffee meeting with the founder of Vistaprint ultimately led to an acquisition. Patrick dives deep into his mindset and decision making progress around the acquisition and how the company and his role will evolve as a result of the new partnership. Some other topics covered include how reverse brain drain may be impacting the talent market and the key macro insights from the new Design Without Borders: The Future of Freelancing report from 99designs.</div><div><br></div><div>Recommendations from Patrick</div><ul><li>Book: by Verne HarnishScaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It... and Why the Rest Don't </li><li>Podcast: Recode Decode, Pivot, Techmeme Ride Home</li><li>Productivity tool/app: Spotify (to listen to podcasts at 1.2x speed)</li><li>Favorite tech CEO: Mike &amp; Scott from Atlassian, Melanie Perkins from Canva, Luke Annear from SafetyCulture</li><li>Ted Talk topic: "Globalization isn't a dirty word"</li></ul>

There is a lot of activity in the Australian startup ecosystem. Ideas, talent, and money are all flowing into this sector at an unprecedented rate. 

This weekly podcast brings in-depth interviews with the best people making the biggest difference.

It's brought to you by Ian Gardiner and Phaedon Stough, technology entrepreneurs helping to grow the startup sector in Australia and New Zealand. Ian and Phaedon co-founded Innovation Bay with a clear mission to help technology entrepreneurs succeed.

A weekly deep dive into Australia's tech and startup ecosystem. Brought to you by Innovation Bay

Open the Pod Bay Doors

The Australian and New Zealand startup ecosystem is burgeoning, exciting and filled with some of the most fascinating minds on the planet, all driven by a passion to make a positive and lasting impact. Open The Pod Bay Doors invites some of the brightest minds in the industry for deep conversations and awe-inspiring insights from their captivating journeys. Lend us your ears to gain some fresh knowledge and broaden your insights. Brought to you weekly by Innovation Bay. 

<p>The Australian and New Zealand startup ecosystem is burgeoning, exciting and filled with some of the most fascinating minds on the planet, all driven by a passion to make a positive and lasting impact. Open The Pod Bay Doors invites some of the brightest minds in the industry for deep conversations and awe-inspiring insights from their captivating journeys. Lend us your ears to gain some fresh knowledge and broaden your insights. Brought to you weekly by Innovation Bay. </p>

Patrick Llewellyn is the CEO and President of 99designs, the global creative platform that makes it easy for designers and clients to...

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