Guest Episode: Calling Operator — Harry Uffindell

Harry Uffindell is the Chief People Officer at Partly. He’s worn just about every startup hat: founder, growth, bizops, revops, people, culture; you name it. But he ultimately found his calling in the people space. Now, he’s scaling Partly, hiring the world’s top 1% talent, and building a culture where people stay excited about their work a decade in. In today’s episode, we discuss: * Scaling Partly from its first non-technical hire to ~100 employees—and the lessons behind making it the best startup to work for. * Building a company culture that lasts, where 10 years in, you’re still buzzing to show up every day. * Co-founding and selling MeatMail (a food subscription startup) with Dave Booth, the zero-to-one story. * “This is a pretty good V1” — what Tim Ryan taught Harry about quality work and scaling startups globally. * Tilt to Airbnb: From first APAC hire to Country Manager, scaling Tilt, and what it takes to land a global “boots on the ground” role. * A bad-reception phone call that changed everything. How Airbnb’s acquisition of Tilt set Harry on a path to helping make Australia Airbnb’s most penetrated market worldwide before the IPO. * Focus as a superpower. Mastering the art of focus is the most impactful skill an operator can develop. * Learning from the best. How Patti McCord, Reed Hastings (Netflix), and the Collison Brothers (Stripe) are shaping Harry’s playbook as a world-class Chief People Officer. * Angel Investing 101. His advice for operators making their first bets. Listen On: * Apple Podcasts * Spotify Harry’s Recommended Frameworks, Podcasts & Books: * Books: * Delivering Happiness (people and culture) * No Rules Rules (Netflix culture) * The Hard Thing About Hard Things (gritty leadership) * Amp It Up (high-performance culture) * Powerful by Patty McCord (freedom + responsibility) * Radical Candor (feedback and relationships) * Great by Choice (10x leadership) * How to Win Friends and Influence People * Podcasts: * Acquired, a16z, Founders, Tim Ferriss, Crucible Moments, 20VC. * Frameworks: * The One Thing (goal-setting) * The Quarterly Rhythm That Fuels Growth and High-Performing Teams (includes duplicatable resources/Notion pages) * Eisenhower Matrix (urgent/important prioritization) * Radical Candor (caring personally + challenging directly). * Operators—Future leader/vision: * Patti McCord and Reed Hastings from Netflix (culture) * Patrick Collison and the Stripe brothers (execution) Ones to Watch & Other Folks Mentioned in the Episode: * Pene Barton (CEO at Crimson Global Academy) * Kirsti Grant (Chief People Experience Officer at Auror) * Jamie Beaton (CEO and Co-Founder at Crimson Education) * Dave Booth (Founder in Residence at Blackbird) * Mike Duboe (General Partner at Greylock Partners) * Levi Fawcett (CEO at Partly) * Tim Ryan (Co-Founder and CEO at Atomic8) * Andrew Huynh (GTM Strategy Lead, New Products at Culture Amp) * Dan Brockwell (Co-founder and Head of Program at Earlywork) Find Harry Online: * LinkedIn * Harry’s Newsletter This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.harrysnewsletter.com