EPISODE · Sep 26, 2025 · 37 MIN
The extraordinary adventures of Best in Tech Industry Champion Mick Liubinskas
from Startup 360 · host Startup Daily
This week's Startup 360 is a little different as cohosts Simon Thomsen and Majella Campbell frock up for the Startup Daily Best in Tech Awards. That's the key theme of this week's episode and we celebrate one of the winners by replaying our conversation with Climate Salad cofounder Mick Liubinskas. On Thursday night, Mick was named Industry Champion among 14 winners, with Sydney-based workplace AI agent builder Relevance AI winning both the AI Game-changer category and Startup of the Year awards, having raised a $37 million Series B just a few months earlier. Simon and Majella chat about the big news of the week, including Canva's profitability after the design giant filed overdue financial statements with ASIC that revealed a $200 million loss in 2022 - mostly because the company handed out more than $400m worth of shares to its team. And Strongroom AI returned to the news this week amid its legal battle with in investor EVP, after cofounder Max Mito filed his defence against allegations of fraud by the VC. But the fun part of the conversation is Mick, who spoke to Simon and inaugural podcast cohost Kayla Medica earlier this year, telling stories from a career that's spanned startup founder, startup investor, startup accelerator founder and novelist. Mick talks about his journey and how family brought his focus to climate tech and wanting to lead the planet in better shape for the next generation. He also talks about the price of being a founder, and understanding the sacrifices that need to be made. He also reveals his genius for being able to get more drinks, now matter where he is celebrating in the middle of the night - a skill that no doubt made him popular at the Startup Daily Best in Tech awards as the night wore on. Startup 360 is more founder fund than founder mode. It’s all about finding out what makes people tick and staying human. Startup360 is a SmartCo Media production. This episode is supported by Vanta, helping startups unlock market opportunities through automated compliance. Subscribe to the show on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube, and don't forget to read StartupDaily.net for all the ANZ tech news for free!
What this episode covers
This week's Startup 360 is a little different as cohosts Simon Thomsen and Majella Campbell frock up for the Startup Daily Best in Tech Awards. That's the key theme of this week's episode and we celebrate one of the winners by replaying our conversation with Climate Salad cofounder Mick Liubinskas. On Thursday night, Mick was named Industry Champion among 14 winners, with Sydney-based workplace AI agent builder Relevance AI winning both the AI Game-changer category and Startup of the Year awards, having raised a $37 million Series B just a few months earlier. Simon and Majella chat about the big news of the week, including Canva's profitability after the design giant filed overdue financial statements with ASIC that revealed a $200 million loss in 2022 - mostly because the company handed out more than $400m worth of shares to its team. And Strongroom AI returned to the news this week amid its legal battle with in investor EVP, after cofounder Max Mito filed his defence against allegations of fraud by the VC. But the fun part of the conversation is Mick, who spoke to Simon and inaugural podcast cohost Kayla Medica earlier this year, telling stories from a career that's spanned startup founder, startup investor, startup accelerator founder and novelist. Mick talks about his journey and how family brought his focus to climate tech and wanting to lead the planet in better shape for the next generation. He also talks about the price of being a founder, and understanding the sacrifices that need to be made. He also reveals his genius for being able to get more drinks, now matter where he is celebrating in the middle of the night - a skill that no doubt made him popular at the Startup Daily Best in Tech awards as the night wore on. Startup 360 is more founder fund than founder mode. It’s all about finding out what makes people tick and staying human. Startup360 is a SmartCo Media production. This episode is supported by Vanta, helping startups unlock market opportunities through automated compliance. Subscribe to the show on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube, and don't forget to read StartupDaily.net for all the ANZ tech news for free!
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The extraordinary adventures of Best in Tech Industry Champion Mick Liubinskas
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