In this episode of Open The Pod Bay Doors, Host Ian Gardiner is joined by Chris Morgan, Co-CEO of Oxygen Advisors, a fast-growing outsourced CFO service supporting early-stage tech startups across Australasia. Chris shares the story of how Oxygen grew from a one-man band in New Zealand to a 45-person team, helping more than 100 startups scale and raise capital.

He dives into the challenges and opportunities of expanding into Australia, the evolving needs of startups, and how Oxygen is staying ahead by introducing new services like fractional revenue operations (RevOps) and exploring AI tools to drive efficiency — all while maintaining a strong, relationship-first approach.

Episode Highlights:


How Oxygen Advisors scaled from New Zealand to Australia.


Key differences between the New Zealand and Australian startup ecosystems.


The critical role of building trust and relationships in early-stage support.


Trends in fractional services, including CFO and RevOps support.


How AI is shaping the future of outsourced finance and operations.


Chris’s personal career journey and lessons learned from growing a high-performing services business.

Quick Fire Round:

📚 Book recommendation – Personally I like to read as a form of escapism from the heavy pressures of the world. So I really just read fiction. The one book that stays with me is slaughter house fire by Kurt Vonnegut. It's a classic, anti war sort of sci fi combo. It's weird. It's wonderful.
🎧 Podcast recommendation – I don't listen to a lot of podcasts but my go to would be Desert Island Disc
👨‍💼 Favourite CEO –  From an international perspective Jason Lemkin from echosign, but then from a personal front I'd say James Sampson from file invite and Lincoln wantson from BraveGen 
🗞️ News source – I can't help but check the New Zealand Herald. BBC for international news, but if I ever want to learn something or go deep on something, my go to is, Johnny Harris? He's a YouTube independent journalist. 
🛠️ Productivity tool – I wouldn't be able to do my job without Slack. Both for managing external clients and internal
📱 Favourite app – Seesaw to stay up to date with what my oldest son, Teddy, is learning in his first weeks at school
📺 TV or movie recommendation – I'm partial to any British comedy but I think the top for me would be Gavin and Stacy 
🎤 TED Talk topic – The art of fractional working - not fractional services but how to work in a fractional environment. 

Tune in for a masterclass on scaling services for startups and the power of adapting to new markets.

In this episode of Open The Pod Bay Doors, Host Ian Gardiner is joined by Chris Morgan, Co-CEO of Oxygen Advisors, a fast-growing outsourced CFO service supporting early-stage tech startups across Australasia. Chris shares the story of how Oxygen grew from a one-man band in New Zealand to a 45-person team, helping more than 100 startups scale and raise capital.
He dives into the challenges and opportunities of expanding into Australia, the evolving needs of startups, and how Oxygen is staying ahead by introducing new services like fractional revenue operations (RevOps) and exploring AI tools to drive efficiency &mdash; all while maintaining a strong, relationship-first approach.
Episode Highlights:
<ul data-start="931" data-end="1397">
<li data-start="931" data-end="992">
How Oxygen Advisors scaled from New Zealand to Australia.
</li>
<li data-start="993" data-end="1071">
Key differences between the New Zealand and Australian startup ecosystems.
</li>
<li data-start="1072" data-end="1153">
The critical role of building trust and relationships in early-stage support.
</li>
<li data-start="1154" data-end="1222">
Trends in fractional services, including CFO and RevOps support.
</li>
<li data-start="1223" data-end="1293">
How AI is shaping the future of outsourced finance and operations.
</li>
<li data-start="1294" data-end="1397">
Chris&rsquo;s personal career journey and lessons learned from growing a high-performing services business.
</li>
</ul>
Quick Fire Round:
📚 Book recommendation &ndash; Personally I like to read as a form of escapism from the heavy pressures of the world. So I really just read fiction. The one book that stays with me is slaughter house fire by Kurt Vonnegut. It's a classic, anti war sort of sci fi combo. It's weird. It's wonderful. 🎧 Podcast recommendation &ndash; I don't listen to a lot of podcasts but my go to would be Desert Island Disc 👨&zwj;💼 Favourite CEO &ndash;&nbsp; From an international perspective Jason Lemkin from echosign, but then from a personal front I'd say James Sampson from file invite and Lincoln wantson from BraveGen&nbsp; 🗞️ News source &ndash; I can't help but check the New Zealand Herald. BBC for international news, but if I ever want to learn something or go deep on something, my go to is, Johnny Harris? He's a YouTube independent journalist.&nbsp; 🛠️ Productivity tool &ndash; I wouldn't be able to do my job without Slack. Both for managing external clients and internal 📱 Favourite app &ndash; Seesaw to stay up to date with what my oldest son, Teddy, is learning in his first weeks at school 📺&nbsp;TV or movie recommendation &ndash; I'm partial to any British comedy but I think the top for me would be Gavin and Stacy&nbsp; 🎤 TED Talk topic &ndash; The art of fractional working - not fractional services but how to work in a fractional environment.&nbsp;
Tune in for a masterclass on scaling services for startups and the power of adapting to new markets.

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.

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