Open the Pod Bay Doors is back for 2025!

To kick off the year, host Ian Gardiner sits down with Stuart Dullard, Partner at Ashurst, for a deep dive into the challenges and opportunities facing founders in today’s venture landscape.

Ashurst is a global corporate law firm with over 30 offices worldwide. Stuart leads the High Growth and Venture Capital team in Australia and is the global co-head of the Tech M&A practice. Described by Ian as one of Australia’s most experienced startup lawyers, Stuart has built a career helping early-stage, high-growth tech companies navigate complex legal and funding challenges. 

This episode is a must-listen for founders looking to effectively manage their funding journey and achieve sustainable growth.

Key takeaways:

🚀 Ashurst’s strategy for building long-term advisory relationships with high-growth startups
💰 Challenges and strategies for securing funding
🗺️ Navigating venture capital and private equity landscapes
💡 Understanding legal frameworks, investor relationships, and the funding process
📑 Structuring deals, negotiating terms, and setting up for successful fundraising rounds

Quick Fire Round:

📚 Book recommendation – Fiction: The Goldfinch (“Read the book, don’t watch the movie!”) | Non-fiction: Time to Breathe by Bill Mitchell
🎧 Podcast recommendation – The Teacher’s Pet (The Australian), The Sure Thing (AFR), Liar Liar (The Age)
👨‍💼 Favourite CEO – The founders of Canva for their business success and people-first approach
🗞️ News source – Radio National every morning
🛠️ Productivity tool – Time to Breathe + morning exercise
📱 Favourite app – The New York Times Games App
📺 TV or movie recommendation – The West Wing
🎤 TED Talk topic – The highs and lows of the founder journey

🎙️ Tune in now for an insightful conversation on funding, legal strategy, and the startup journey!

Open the Pod Bay Doors is back for 2025!
To kick off the year, host Ian Gardiner sits down with Stuart Dullard, Partner at Ashurst, for a deep dive into the challenges and opportunities facing founders in today&rsquo;s venture landscape.
Ashurst is a global corporate law firm with over 30 offices worldwide. Stuart leads the High Growth and Venture Capital team in Australia and is the global co-head of the Tech M&amp;A practice. Described by Ian as one of Australia&rsquo;s most experienced startup lawyers, Stuart has built a career helping early-stage, high-growth tech companies navigate complex legal and funding challenges.&nbsp;
This episode is a must-listen for founders looking to effectively manage their funding journey and achieve sustainable growth.
Key takeaways:
🚀 Ashurst&rsquo;s strategy for building long-term advisory relationships with high-growth startups 💰 Challenges and strategies for securing funding 🗺️ Navigating venture capital and private equity landscapes 💡 Understanding legal frameworks, investor relationships, and the funding process 📑 Structuring deals, negotiating terms, and setting up for successful fundraising rounds
Quick Fire Round:
📚 Book recommendation &ndash; Fiction: The Goldfinch (&ldquo;Read the book, don&rsquo;t watch the movie!&rdquo;) | Non-fiction: Time to Breathe by Bill Mitchell 🎧 Podcast recommendation &ndash; The Teacher&rsquo;s Pet (The Australian), The Sure Thing (AFR), Liar Liar (The Age) 👨&zwj;💼 Favourite CEO &ndash; The founders of Canva for their business success and people-first approach 🗞️ News source &ndash; Radio National every morning 🛠️ Productivity tool &ndash; Time to Breathe + morning exercise 📱 Favourite app &ndash; The New York Times Games App 📺 TV or movie recommendation &ndash; The West Wing 🎤 TED Talk topic &ndash; The highs and lows of the founder journey
🎙️ Tune in now for an insightful conversation on funding, legal strategy, and the startup journey!

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. 

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.

EP 186 Stuart Dullard, Partner, Ashurt

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/9c434ae7-dbdc-45ab-9d27-aed80050a466/clips/1f4fdaa1-a6bc-487d-878d-b23b00527813/transcript

In his fourth appearance on Open the Pod Bay Doors, ARENA CEO Darren Miller sits down with Ian Gardiner for a special retrospective episode. Looking back at their past chats from 2019, 2021, and 2022, they reflect on what predictions aged well, what took the sector by surprise, and how the climate tech conversation has transformed over the last seven years.

From solar's relentless drop down the cost curve to wind’s unexpected price doubling, and the shift from green hydrogen hype to AI-driven data center demand, Darren offers a pragmatic state-of-the-nation on Australia's energy transition. Plus, they discuss ARENA’s newly launched $30M Launchpad initiative for early-stage climate tech startups and incubators, the push for green steel, and what to expect as Australia edges closer to 80% renewable grid penetration.

In his fourth appearance on&nbsp;Open the Pod Bay Doors, ARENA CEO Darren Miller sits down with Ian Gardiner for a special retrospective episode. Looking back at their past chats from 2019, 2021, and 2022, they reflect on what predictions aged well, what took the sector by surprise, and how the climate tech conversation has transformed over the last seven years.
From solar's relentless drop down the cost curve to wind&rsquo;s unexpected price doubling, and the shift from green hydrogen hype to AI-driven data center demand, Darren offers a pragmatic state-of-the-nation on Australia's energy transition. Plus, they discuss ARENA&rsquo;s newly launched $30M Launchpad initiative for early-stage climate tech startups and incubators, the push for green steel, and what to expect as Australia edges closer to 80% renewable grid penetration.

Darren Miller, CEO of ARENA

Recorded live at Venture Down Under on the Gold Coast, Ian Gardiner sits down with Jonathan Yip, Managing Director and Head of Innovation Banking, Asia at HSBC Innovation Banking.

Jonathan’s career with HSBC began as an intern in 2008 and has since taken him across the UK, Hong Kong, San Francisco, New York and Korea. Today, he leads HSBC’s Innovation Banking business across Asia, supporting venture capital firms and the high-growth companies they back.

In this episode, Jonathan explains what “HSBC Innovation Banking” is, how HSBC Innovation Banking built a global platform following its acquisition of Silicon Valley Bank UK, and why the next wave of innovation will require much more than traditional venture capital.

They cover:
What HSBC Innovation Banking banking offers founders, scale-ups and venture capital firms
Why Australia’s closely connected startup ecosystem stands out globally
The growing international interest in Australian founders in HSBC Innovation Banking and frontier technology
How Asia’s innovation markets differ across India, China, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia
Why venture funding is growing but becoming increasingly selective
The shift from financing software to financing “atoms”
The infrastructure behind AI, including energy, data centres and semiconductors
Where Australia can compete within the global AI stack
The opportunity across quantum, climate tech and advanced infrastructure
Why the current innovation cycle requires venture capital, sovereign capital, bank credit and venture debt working together

Recorded live at Venture Down Under on the Gold Coast, Ian Gardiner sits down with Jonathan Yip, Managing Director and Head of Innovation Banking, Asia at&nbsp;HSBC Innovation Banking.
Jonathan&rsquo;s career with&nbsp;HSBC&nbsp;began as an intern in 2008 and has since taken him across the UK, Hong Kong, San Francisco, New York and Korea. Today, he leads HSBC&rsquo;s Innovation Banking business across Asia, supporting venture capital firms and the high-growth companies they back.
In this episode, Jonathan explains what &ldquo;HSBC Innovation Banking&rdquo; is, how&nbsp;HSBC Innovation Banking&nbsp;built a global platform following its acquisition of Silicon Valley Bank UK, and why the next wave of innovation will require much more than traditional venture capital.
They cover:
<ul>
<li>What HSBC Innovation Banking banking offers founders, scale-ups and venture capital firms</li>
<li>Why Australia&rsquo;s closely connected startup ecosystem stands out globally</li>
<li>The growing international interest in Australian founders in HSBC Innovation Banking and frontier technology</li>
<li>How Asia&rsquo;s innovation markets differ across India, China, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia</li>
<li>Why venture funding is growing but becoming increasingly selective</li>
<li>The shift from financing software to financing &ldquo;atoms&rdquo;</li>
<li>The infrastructure behind AI, including energy, data centres and semiconductors</li>
<li>Where Australia can compete within the global AI stack</li>
<li>The opportunity across quantum, climate tech and advanced infrastructure</li>
<li>Why the current innovation cycle requires venture capital, sovereign capital, bank credit and venture debt working together</li>
</ul>

Jonathan Yip, HSBC Innovation Banking

In this episode of Open the Pod Bay Doors, Ian Gardiner sits down with Ella Greer, AI Customer Engineer at Google Cloud, for a deep dive into how AI is actually being built, deployed, and scaled inside real businesses today.

Ella works hands-on with some of Australia’s leading companies — from startups to enterprise — helping them design and implement AI roadmaps. This conversation cuts through the hype and focuses on what’s really happening on the ground: from early experimentation to production-scale AI systems.

They cover:
The shift from AI experimentation to real-world deployment and scale
What an “AI Customer Engineer” actually does inside Google
Why startups are still the most exciting (and fastest-moving) AI adopters
What “agents” and “agentic systems” really mean — explained simply
 How companies are moving from proof-of-concept to real business outcomes
Why the SaaS model is under pressure — and what replaces it
Where the new “moats” are in an AI-first world (data, verticalisation, expertise)
The rise of usage-based pricing and token-driven business models
How AI is reshaping product development, engineering, and startup costs
Why great engineers still matter — and what skills actually endure
How founders should think about AI today (and why it’s no longer optional)

They also explore:
The future of AI pricing — why intelligence gets cheaper, but better models cost more
Whether AGI is close (and why definitions matter)
The role of DeepMind as Google’s research engine
Why AI adoption is still uneven — and why most people aren’t using it deeply (yet)
How founders and investors should evaluate AI companies in a noisy market

Ella brings a practical, engineering-first perspective with clear takeaways for founders, operators, and investors navigating the AI shift.

Quick Fire Round
📚 Book recommendation – Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
🎧 Podcast recommendation – Latent Space (AI engineering deep dives)
🗞️ News source – Alpha Signal (AI research + repo summaries)
👩‍💼 Favourite leader – Lila Ibrahim (COO, DeepMind / Chief AI Readiness Officer)
🛠️ Productivity tool – Gemini CLI (with strong context engineering)
📺 TV / entertainment – Married at First Sight (pure brain-off viewing)

A sharp, grounded conversation on where AI is actually delivering value — and what to do about it.

In this episode of Open the Pod Bay Doors, Ian Gardiner sits down with Ella Greer, AI Customer Engineer at Google Cloud, for a deep dive into how AI is actually being built, deployed, and scaled inside real businesses today.
Ella works hands-on with some of Australia&rsquo;s leading companies &mdash; from startups to enterprise &mdash; helping them design and implement AI roadmaps. This conversation cuts through the hype and focuses on what&rsquo;s really happening on the ground: from early experimentation to production-scale AI systems.
They cover:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">The shift from AI experimentation to real-world deployment and scale</li>
<li aria-level="1">What an &ldquo;AI Customer Engineer&rdquo; actually does inside Google</li>
<li aria-level="1">Why startups are still the most exciting (and fastest-moving) AI adopters</li>
<li aria-level="1">What &ldquo;agents&rdquo; and &ldquo;agentic systems&rdquo; really mean &mdash; explained simply</li>
<li aria-level="1">&nbsp;How companies are moving from proof-of-concept to real business outcomes</li>
<li aria-level="1">Why the SaaS model is under pressure &mdash; and what replaces it</li>
<li aria-level="1">Where the new &ldquo;moats&rdquo; are in an AI-first world (data, verticalisation, expertise)</li>
<li aria-level="1">The rise of usage-based pricing and token-driven business models</li>
<li aria-level="1">How AI is reshaping product development, engineering, and startup costs</li>
<li aria-level="1">Why great engineers still matter &mdash; and what skills actually endure</li>
<li aria-level="1">How founders should think about AI today (and why it&rsquo;s no longer optional)</li>
</ul>
They also explore:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">The future of AI pricing &mdash; why intelligence gets cheaper, but better models cost more</li>
<li aria-level="1">Whether AGI is close (and why definitions matter)</li>
<li aria-level="1">The role of DeepMind as Google&rsquo;s research engine</li>
<li aria-level="1">Why AI adoption is still uneven &mdash; and why most people aren&rsquo;t using it deeply (yet)</li>
<li aria-level="1">How founders and investors should evaluate AI companies in a noisy market</li>
</ul>
Ella brings a practical, engineering-first perspective with clear takeaways for founders, operators, and investors navigating the AI shift.
Quick Fire Round 📚 Book recommendation &ndash; Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro 🎧 Podcast recommendation &ndash; Latent Space (AI engineering deep dives) 🗞️ News source &ndash; Alpha Signal (AI research + repo summaries) 👩&zwj;💼 Favourite leader &ndash; Lila Ibrahim (COO, DeepMind / Chief AI Readiness Officer) 🛠️ Productivity tool &ndash; Gemini CLI (with strong context engineering) 📺 TV / entertainment &ndash; Married at First Sight (pure brain-off viewing)
A sharp, grounded conversation on where AI is actually delivering value &mdash; and what to do about it.

EP 186 Stuart Dullard, Partner, Ashurt

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