Fayl Tales

Hey Crew! Sam Garven spent 10 years watching HR get left behind while every other team got the shiny new tools.So she built Hello Canopy to fix it.Got into Techstars pre-MVP. Pivoted live on stage at SXSW. Had hundreds of users and angel investors ready to back her next raise.Two weeks ago she chose to close it all down.Not because she ran out of money. Not because she lost her team.Because she spent six weeks rigorously testing every signal she needed to feel confident moving forward. And not all of them stacked up.This is the full story of that decision, what it felt like, and why she has zero regrets.We get into 👇:★ 10 years watching HR get left behind while everyone else got better tools★ The workplace harassment that made building Hello Canopy feel personal★ Getting into Techstars pre-MVP on a pitch deck and a janky prototype★ The six week validation framework that led to closing it down★ What it feels like to wind your identity around a startup and then let it go★ Why closing is sometimes the bravest move a founder can makeLet's keep the crew together 🤝📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fayltales/🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@fayltales💼 LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/loveth-ochayi-a67491152Follow us on all platforms!Instagram ~ @fayltalesTiktok ~ @fayltales LinkedIn ~ @fayltales

Hey Crew! Loughlan Dalton de Burgh named his cafe Pyramid Scheme. On purpose. Got a cease and desist from his landlord, went viral with 400,000 views, and had people driving two hours for his falafel.Then his business partner overdosed in the kitchen, $30,000 went missing from the books, and he shut it all down.He missed 12 consecutive mortgage payments. Used a foreclosure notice to unlock his super and clear $68,000 in arrears. Nobody knew any of this. He just kept building.So he started Pretty Privilege.The names are always the least controversial thing about him.We cover:- How Pyramid Scheme went viral and fell apart at the same time- The $30,000 betrayal nobody knew about until now- Missing 12 mortgages while building a Forbes 30 Under 30 company- Getting kicked out of the Taylor Swift concert four times in one night- What "success is shameless" actually means when everything is on the lineFollow Fayl Tales on all platforms @fayltalesFollow Loveth on LinkedIn and Instagram @lovethochayiFollow Loughlan and Pretty Privilege at https://www.prettyprivilege.club/Follow us on all platforms!Instagram ~ @fayltalesTiktok ~ @fayltales LinkedIn ~ @fayltales

Hey Crew! Ben Cull didn't set out to sell his company. He went to market for a $5 million funding round and came back with an acquisition offer from Fiserv at double what he thought the business was worth.Eight years. Two developers who hated selling. 2,500 merchants. One napkin sketch in a Sheffield pub. No hype. Just acquired.We get into what the acquisition process actually looks like from the inside, what developers consistently get wrong when they become founders, and what it feels like when the deal finally closes after six months of daily emotional whiplash.We get into 👇:★ How a $5M funding round became an unexpected acquisition★ Building Pinch from a napkin sketch to 2,500 merchants★ The legal clause that nearly blew up the whole deal★ Two developers who hated sales and how they fixed it★ What developers get wrong when they become founders★ Life inside a corporate after eight years of full autonomyLet's keep the crew together 🤝 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fayltales/ 🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@fayltales 💼 LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/loveth-ochayi-a67491152On the move? 🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/64449Kq2PDzlkVyCjlN5U8 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/fayl-tales/id1797274868Follow us on all platforms!Instagram ~ @fayltalesTiktok ~ @fayltales LinkedIn ~ @fayltales

Hey Crew! Imagine you've spent years building a company around live events. You just cracked your first million dollar year, you're training the Eventbrite team in Nashville, you're about to partner with one of the biggest ticketing platforms in the world. Then Friday the 13th of March 2020 hits and every single client calls to cancel and ask for their deposits back.That's where Nina McMahon was when COVID landed.What she did next is the part worth talking about. Oh, and she accidentally invented the whole product in 2013 because Wi-Fi at events kept breaking and she told a client "we'll just bring the internet" before confirming that was actually possible.We cover:- The Friday the 13th phone call that broke everything and what happened in the weeks after- How they accidentally invented portable Wi-Fi from a two-meter prototype that needed a truck to move- Tripling revenue through COVID without a playbook- Getting a cease and desist from Fox Media six events in (and why it was the best thing that ever happened to them)- Powering a SpaceX launch without knowing it was SpaceX until the GPS said Cape Canaveral- Why their company motto is "don't work with dicks" and how long it took to actually listen to itANNOUNCEMENTI've just launched our very own Fayl Tales substack!! If you love a good story, especially one from the trenches, with the ups, pivots and figuring it out, then search Fayl Tales on substack!Follow Fayl Tales on all platforms @fayltalesFollow Loveth on LinkedIn and Instagram @lovethochayiFollow Nina and Pop-Up Wi-Fi at popupwifi.comYouTube Chapters:0:00 the teaser1:21 friday the 13th, every client cancelled, and what dissociation actually feels like3:22 pivoting in under a month and why COVID was their volkswagen moment6:08 why the industry refused to trust remote networks (until jimmy fallon had no choice)8:35 accidentally inventing pop-up wifi because venue internet kept breaking16:14 scaling without a sales team, a love letter to producers, and a cease and desist from fox30:47 coachella, taylor swift in lake tahoe, and going all in on the US market38:44 hardware advice, the "don't work with dicks" rule, and trusting your gut#fayltales #startuppodcast #hardwarestartup #femalefounder #founderstoryFollow us on all platforms!Instagram ~ @fayltalesTiktok ~ @fayltales LinkedIn ~ @fayltales

HHey Crew! What do you do when you build a recruitment firm from a cockroach-infested Surry Hills office into a nearly 100-person, $20M-a-year global business, and then look back and say, yeah, I was faking it the whole time?That's Phaedon. He founded Mitchell Lake at 26, exited, and co-founded Innovation Bay, the longest running startup community in Australia. He's been inside more founder journeys than most of us will ever meet.In this one he gets into a US founder who raised $360M from tier one VCs and still shut it down, Sequoia's "PowerPoint of death" during the GFC, an investor whose whole philosophy is "I drown puppies," and the mentor who told him mid-spiral: you're stuffed, stop everything.We cover:How Mitchell Lake scaled to $20M across three countries and what he'd do differentlyThe $360M raise that still ended in a shutdownWhy Australian founders hold on too long and what it's costing themWhy US VCs specifically back founders who already failed onceKeeping a co-founder relationship alive when everything is on fireBuilding from Hobart and what other states are getting rightFollow Loveth on LinkedIn and Instagram @lovethochayi Follow Fayl Tales on all platforms @fayltales Follow Phaedon at Innovation Bay: innovationbay.comFollow us on all platforms!Instagram ~ @fayltalesTiktok ~ @fayltales LinkedIn ~ @fayltales

Hey Crew!Haobo Zhang is 20 years old. He has a full scholarship to study biomedicine at University of Melbourne, 30,000 users on his AI platform, and a very public goal to build a unicorn by 25. He's also on a leave of absence from that scholarship, which is basically just a polite way of saying he dropped out.He's been building since he was 14, and not for the reasons you'd think. It started because he wanted money to buy video games. He wrote novels, sold them online, then hired someone else to write them because he didn't want to do it himself. At 15, he was running a YouTube creator agency while pretending to be an adult because he knew no one would take him seriously. His dad was signing the Shopify forms on his behalf.Now he's building Polarbear, an AI study tool for students, with 1,300 daily active users and a raise coming. But the most interesting thing about Haobo isn't the product. It's his philosophy. He calls himself lazy. And he thinks that's exactly why he's been able to build so much.We get into:- Why being lazy might actually be the founder superpower nobody talks about- How a random Antler hackathon accidentally created Polarbear- Why he markets to students instead of parents and why it works every time- Building a content machine without being a natural content creator- The reality of being 20 and building, the rent anxiety, the sleepless nights, calling 20 parents a day just to cover expenses- What he's had to sacrifice to get here- The unicorn by 25 goal and whether he actually believes itIf this one hit, subscribe to Fayl Tales wherever you listen and follow Haobo on LinkedIn. His journey is very much worth watching in real time.Follow us on all platforms!Instagram ~ @fayltalesTiktok ~ @fayltales LinkedIn ~ @fayltales

Hey Crew!Millie Marconi has been building for 9 years. In that whole time she's had exactly one real job, and it only lasted a couple of months. She's the kind of founder who doesn't wait for permission, which is exactly why this episode hit different.We get into the LinkedIn post that nearly broke her (and ended up building her next company), how she walked away from $100K in revenue because the vision was bigger, and the AI product she built back in 2019 that she dropped, the one that basically became Heidi Health.Millie's current company is TestFeed, a synthetic audience platform for B2B market research. The industry is a $140B one, 70% of it is going synthetic by 2028, and she's already got 3000 people on the waitlist. She just pulled the B2C product and is going all in on enterprise. Raise is coming.But beyond the startup stuff, we talk about building as a neurodivergent person, what it means to be a dark horse, and the Italian grandfather who crossed the world with nothing and became a horse trainer. That part will get you.We cover:- The accidental origin story of TestFeed (a LinkedIn post gone very wrong)- Killing a $100K revenue product to go after something bigger- What synthetic audiences actually are and why B2B is the play- The AI note taker she built in 2019 (before the space blew up)- Her grandfather and the "build with what you've got" mentality#fayltales #founderlife #startuppodcast #buildinginpublic #startupstory Follow us on all platforms!Instagram ~ @fayltalesTiktok ~ @fayltales LinkedIn ~ @fayltales

Hey Crew!Picture this. You win world's best liquor. You're in Qantas first class lounges. You're in over 500 venues across the country. And you got here by betting every dollar you had on a family limoncello recipe.That's Stefan Di Benedetto's story.Stefan is the founder of Solbevi, the world's first limoncello spritz in a can, born from an Italian family tradition and $300k of his own savings. He quit construction, watched three capital raises collapse at the last minute, ran out of stock before the Formula One, and kept going anyway.We cover:The Saturday afternoon that sparked the world's first limoncello spritz in a canHow he landed Dan Murphy's 9 days after launching by guessing a category manager's emailThree capital raises. Three last minute collapses.The Formula One stock disaster. He ignored his gut and paid for it.How a conversation with a stranger on a Qantas flight led to his cans being served in first class loungesHis fiancée's breaking point after two years of never seeing him and what finally changedWhy his advice to new founders is "don't do it" (and then the real answer underneath that)One of the most entertaining and honest episodes we've had on the show. Stefan is the kind of founder who just makes you want to back yourself.Check out Solbevi and follow Stefan on Instagram. Subscribe to Fayl Tales on YouTube and Buzzsprout, and follow us @fayltales everywhere.Follow us on all platforms!Instagram ~ @fayltalesTiktok ~ @fayltales LinkedIn ~ @fayltales

Hey Crew!Picture this: you walk away from a successful corporate tech career, buy a vineyard in Tasmania with your partner, and dream about the simple life.Then the vineyard goes haywire, you're burning through money, and you can't get anyone to come help.Most people sell up. Fiona Turner built an AI company instead.Fiona is the co-founder and CEO of Bitwise Agronomy — an AI platform now operating in 10 countries, with 3 petabytes of berry data (for context, ChatGPT was trained on 1), 89% revenue growth this year, and $5 million raised. All from Launceston, Tasmania.We get into:How a broken vineyard became a $5M AI companyThe pivot from wine to berries and why vineyards just wouldn't payBuilding drone swarms, vine rovers, and sensor networks from scratch with a kids robotics clubRaising capital as a female founder when only 4% of Aussie startup funding goes to womenHaving a baby mid-capital raise while Silicon Valley Bank collapsed (her daughter flew 50 flights in her first year of life)What it actually takes to become the Google of forecastingOne of the most honest, unfiltered conversations we've had on the show.Follow Fiona on LinkedIn and check out Bitwise Agronomy. Subscribe to Fayl Tales on YouTube and Buzzsprout, and follow us @fayltales — fayltales.com#fayltales #femalefounder #agtech #startupaustralia #founderjourneyFollow us on all platforms!Instagram ~ @fayltalesTiktok ~ @fayltales LinkedIn ~ @fayltales

Hey Crew! Ok so this one hit different. Megan Luttrell has built Aussie Founders Club into a community of thousands of founders, runs Kairos Recruitment, just launched People Stack, won Victorian Ecosystem Hero of the Year, and landed a $200K grant from Launch Vic.But her first year? She was broke. Like properly broke. She got her partner to pay her to clean their own house just to have an extra 80 bucks a week. She borrowed money from her uncle. She tried a bunch of ideas that went absolutely nowhere.And the wild part is she didn't even think she deserved the Ecosystem Hero award. She literally told people not to nominate her yet. They did anyway. And when they called her name, she had her camera out recording someone else because she was so sure it wasn't going to be her.We get into the stuff nobody talks about when it comes to hiring in startups. Why most founders completely skip thinking about who they are as an employer before they start recruiting. Why culture fit is actually code for hiring people exactly like you. And why your first hires are the most make-or-break decisions you'll ever make.We cover:Why your first startup hires will either 10x your business or tank itThe difference between culture fit and culture contributionHow Aussie Founders Club went from a meetup with a 7-word name to thousands of membersWhy she spent her broke year building community instead of just chasing revenueThe compounding effect of showing up when nobody's watchingHer first startup experience where the CEO was allegedly high on the job and everyone quit on the same dayIf you're hiring, building a community, or just trying to figure out what the hell you're doing as a founder, this one's for you.Follow us on all platforms!Instagram ~ @fayltalesTiktok ~ @fayltales LinkedIn ~ @fayltales

If you've ever read a piece of startup advice and thought "that doesn't feel right"... trust that instinct. This one's for you.This is another solo episode. No guest. Just me unpacking the startup advice that sounds great on a LinkedIn post but actually messes people up when they're in the thick of building.I've interviewed a lot of founders over the past year and I kept noticing the same thing. So many of them followed the "right" advice and it led them in the completely wrong direction. Move fast and break things. Your MVP should embarrass you. Passion is everything. Sleep is for the weak.We've all heard them. But when you actually sit with founders who've been burned by this stuff, you start to see the cracks.So I broke down 6 pieces of startup advice that I think are misguided, overhyped, or just straight up wrong depending on your context.We cover:Why "move fast and break things" can destroy trust before you even get startedThe MVP embarrassment myth and why scrappy doesn't fly in 2026Hiring for culture fit vs culture contribution and why echo chambers kill startupsHow passion can actually blind you from fixing your productThe difference between building a business and funding an expensive hobbyWhy hustle culture is a scam and burnout is not a flexFollow us on all platforms!Instagram ~ @fayltalesTiktok ~ @fayltales LinkedIn ~ @fayltales

Ok so this one is different. No guest. Just me.I've interviewed so many founders about their failures and mistakes but I realised I've literally never talked about my own. A few friends and guests have called me out on it too so here we are.I also recap the first ever Fayl Tales Live event at Canva in Sydney, which sold out in four days (still a bit shocked about that). I talk about what worked, what I'd change, and what's coming next with Melbourne.And then I get into my own failure. A sports recovery product I spent months developing with a chemist who just... ghosted me. No contract. No IP protection. Just blind faith that it would work out. Spoiler: it didn't.I cover:How the Sydney event at Canva sold out in 4 days and what the format looked likeWhy I designed the event to feel like friends chatting, not a panelWhat's different about the Melbourne event at Stone and ChalkHow the podcast has pivoted from failed startups only to founders actively buildingWhy self-funding this has been the best investment I've ever madeMy sports recovery product that died because I trusted without a contractThe lessons I should have learned way earlier about IP protectionThis is me being vulnerable for once. More of this to come.Follow us on all platforms!Instagram ~ @fayltalesTiktok ~ @fayltales LinkedIn ~ @fayltales

Ok so this one is a ride. Alex Melocco studied law AND software engineering (overachiever energy), ditched the safe corporate path, and went full send on building startups. First attempt? A tutoring marketplace that flopped because nobody actually needed it. Second attempt? A calendar app he built with a whole team for months only to find out people were basically like "yeah it's cool... I wouldn't pay for it though." Brutal.Now he's building Mira, which pulls all your comms (Gmail, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Slack, the works) into one feed so you can stop losing your mind. And the way they validated it is actually so good. No demo, no fancy launch. Just a brochure, three promises, and a Stripe link. If you'll pay before it even exists, you actually care.We get into the messy stuff too. Convincing yourself a problem is real when it's not, the awkwardness of shutting something down when your co-founder's livelihood is on the line, why Aussie tall poppy syndrome makes it so hard to just be loud about what you're building, and why he's obsessing over making like 10 people love the product before thinking about scale.If you've ever built something nobody asked for, this one will hit.Follow us on all platforms!Instagram ~ @fayltalesTiktok ~ @fayltales LinkedIn ~ @fayltales

Riana Shah was in second year uni with one unit of Python… and somehow ended up co-founding Dugong Technologies - an AI-powered drowning detection startup designed to flag incidents in real time.And then? When the mission started feeling heavier than the company (and the founders) could carry… she made the call most people avoid: she shut it down.In this episode we get into the messy, real stuff founders don’t post:why “don’t start building” is the most underrated advice (and why everyone ignores it)how she went from YouTube tutorials → MVP experiments → the brutal reality of data + oceanswhy AI isn’t “build once, deploy everywhere” (lake vs ocean = totally different game)the pressure of accelerators, hype, and not wanting to “let people down”tall poppy syndrome in Australia vs the no-ceiling ambition she saw in the USand how she went from feeling like “just an investor” to becoming an operator again with a bigger North Star: building healthcare impact for KenyaIf you’ve ever started something because it sounded cool… then realised you don’t want to spend 10 years of your life on it, this one will hit.🎧 Listen now and tell me: when do you push through… and when do you walk away?Follow us on all platforms!Instagram ~ @fayltalesTiktok ~ @fayltales LinkedIn ~ @fayltales

If you’ve ever tried to plan a group trip and watched it fall apart in the group chat… this one’s for you.In this episode, I sit down with Jay Raval, co-founder of Troopa — an AI-powered travel planning platform built around one simple truth: someone always ends up doing all the work.Jay walked away from a stable consulting career to build a startup that’s part AI, part collaboration tool, and very human. We talk about what it’s actually like to make that leap — the self-doubt, the imposter syndrome, the messy middle, and the mistakes you only see once you’re in it.We cover:Why quitting consulting “sounded like a stupid decision”The reality of building an AI product (and how expensive APIs get… fast)Why “build it and they’ll come” is a lieUnderestimating marketing and distribution from day oneBeing told by a VC not to raise moneyBuilding in public without becoming a self-help guruAnd why travel planning is emotional, not just logisticalThis is a candid, grounded conversation about startups, risk, and learning as you go, not just the highlight reel.Follow us on all platforms!Instagram ~ @fayltalesTiktok ~ @fayltales LinkedIn ~ @fayltales

What actually kills startups? Sometimes it’s not product… it’s timing.In this episode, I’m joined by Alan Jones: angel investor, startup mentor, ex-founder, and co-manager at M8 Ventures (backing early-stage tech across Australia & New Zealand). Alan’s also the host of Pick My Brain, where founders pitch live and get the kind of feedback that’s equal parts practical and slightly brutal.We talk about:why timing is the variable no one can control (and why it quietly decides so many outcomes)Alan’s “life is a side-scrolling shooter” metaphor (and why it’s weirdly accurate for careers + startups)what he looks for in early-stage founders — and the red flags that make him pausewhy he says he likes to invest in time (not just money), and how relationship-building scales… until it doesn’twhy diverse teams are often more resilient than “perfect” monoculture founder duosthe balance founders need: what to do carefully vs what can be tested fast and messya classic story of moving fast… and sending the wrong cover letters (painful, hilarious, and a real lesson)If you’re building in a world where AI is speeding everything up — this one will make you rethink what you can control, what you can’t, and how to keep moving anyway.Follow us on all platforms!Instagram ~ @fayltalesTiktok ~ @fayltales LinkedIn ~ @fayltales

What if donating didn’t require a big monthly commitment… or an awkward “do you want to round up?” moment at the checkout?In this episode I’m joined by Tim Millbank, founder of Change for Change, a fintech-for-good platform designed to turn everyday spending into micro-donations for vetted charities. Think round-up apps, but instead of investing spare change for private wealth… it goes straight to social impact.Tim shares what it actually takes to build a charity fintech in Australia and the stuff donors and charities don’t say out loud like why people expect 100% of donations to go directly to programs (and why that can backfire).In this episode, we cover:- What Change for Change is and how round-up donations work-  Building a fintech with a non-technical background (and bootstrapping reality)- Charity fundraising channels, donor psychology, and the “emails every week” problem- The iOS/App Store barrier (and why they refused to become a charity just to list)- The pivot to a progressive web app (PWA) and the user-experience tradeoffs- Why fintech + charity = innovation… but also hard modeTim’s biggest lessons on MVP, product-market fit, and doing impact work sustainablyFollow us on all platforms!Instagram ~ @fayltalesTiktok ~ @fayltales LinkedIn ~ @fayltales

Nick Hazell raised $180M building V2 Food, Australia’s market leader in plant-based protein, before exiting and turning his focus to an even bigger climate problem.Now the founder of Algenie, Nick is betting that algae biomanufacturing could one day compete with crude oil and become a scalable solution for food, fuel, and materials.In this episode, we cover:Raising $180M and scaling V2 Food nationally and globallyWhat the plant-based meat boom got wrong (and what V2 did differently)The real challenges of supermarket listings and category confusionMissteps along the way, including expansion into China during COVIDWhy Nick left V2 Food and how the venture market shift changed everythingThe origin story of Algenie and the race to make algae economically viableWhy climate tech won’t scale unless it makes financial senseA candid conversation on ambition, failure, and building companies that aim for planetary-scale impact.Follow us on all platforms!Instagram ~ @fayltalesTiktok ~ @fayltales LinkedIn ~ @fayltales

Some founders build products. Others build the future.In this episode of Fayl Tales, I sit down with Roxanne Bardini-Medio, CEO and co-founder of Geoneon, a climate tech company using geo-intelligence and data science to help governments and communities prepare for natural disasters like bushfires, floods, and deforestation.Roxanne shares her journey from earth sciences and disaster risk research to building a bootstrapped climate tech startup in Australia, alongside her husband and co-founder, without external investment.We cover:Why disaster preparedness matters more than responseBootstrapping a climate tech company through consulting → productBalancing scientific integrity with startup speedThe emotional reality of entrepreneurship and founder resilienceWorking with governments, NGOs, and global partners across Australia, Bhutan, and LaosHow to understand your risk tolerance and move forward even when failure feels closeThis episode is for founders, operators, and anyone interested in climate technology, disaster risk reduction, geospatial data, and mission-driven startups.🎧 Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.Follow us on all platforms!Instagram ~ @fayltalesTiktok ~ @fayltales LinkedIn ~ @fayltales

Welcome to the first ever solo episode of Fayl Tales.After interviewing founders across Vienna, Sydney, Melbourne and Tasmania, Loveth has noticed the same themes appearing again and again, regardless of industry, experience or geography. In this episode, she unpacks the truths founders whisper privately, the lessons they wish they’d learned earlier, and why failure is rarely catastrophic but always transformative.You’ll hear insights on:• Why hesitation breaks more companies than bold moves • Why product doesn’t kill startups, people do • The emotional skill set founders underestimate • The messy middle: that foggy space where you’re too far to quit but too early to win • How co-founder dynamics can make or break everything • Why chaos is normal (even for founders with exits) • Why failure isn’t the opposite of success, it’s part of it..Loveth also shares, for the first time, the behind-the-scenes of building Fayl Tales: the fear, the self-doubt, the shift from corporate to creative, posting online as a private person, the growth of the show, and her vision for where it’s going next, across Australia and eventually globally.If you’re in that foggy middle right now, wondering whether something is failing you or you’re failing it, this episode will give you language, comfort and a reminder that you’re not alone. Even founders who’ve exited $100M companies are still figuring it out one step at a time.Follow us on all platforms!Instagram ~ @fayltalesTiktok ~ @fayltales LinkedIn ~ @fayltales

From booking bands to backing founders in Tasmania. Amy Fogarty has lived multiple lives. And somehow they all make sense.In this episode, Amy shares how she went from booking talent for live gigs, coordinating hundreds of performers and managing the chaos of the creative economy, to becoming a leader in the startup world. She explains why those early chapters, with all their pressure and unpredictability, turned out to be the perfect training ground for her biggest roles.You will hear: • Lessons from the gig economy that unexpectedly translate into startup life • The emotional load of being the reliable one in every room • How to build a career when the path never feels linear • Why founders outside major hubs often develop advantages that last • What she has learned from supporting creatives, founders and early stage teamsThis conversation is warm, funny and full of the kind of honesty that defines Fayl Tales.🎧 Search “Fayl Tales” on any platform or YouTube to listen. This one is special.Follow us on all platforms!Instagram ~ @fayltalesTiktok ~ @fayltales LinkedIn ~ @fayltales

What do you do when your first hire steals from you, your business partner stops working, and your media company burns nearly half a million dollars?For Steve Grace, founder of The Nudge Group and private members’ club The Pillars, the answer has always been the same: you keep going, even when the chaos feels personal.In this episode, Steve opens up about:The shocking betrayal he uncovered the day before his weddingWhy growing too fast nearly destroyed NudgeHow a fully funded media venture lost ~$480,000 and forced him to shut it downThe hidden emotional toll of entrepreneurship (and what his wife never hears)Creating a 2,000 sqm private members club with six co-founders and zero hospitality experienceHis unapologetically honest take on failure, risk-taking and why “fail fast” is terrible life adviceFrom recruitment floors in London to filming tanks in the outback, Steve’s career has been anything but predictable. This convo is packed with pivots he’s never shared publicly before.#StartupLessons #EntrepreneurLife #FounderStories #BusinessFailures #LeadershipLessonsFollow us on all platforms!Instagram ~ @fayltalesTiktok ~ @fayltales LinkedIn ~ @fayltales

Australian founder Taryn Williams built Wink Models at 21, then launched marketplace startup theright.fit, raised venture capital from Airtree, expanded into Asia and exited to international acquirers – all while surviving hyper-growth, chaos, and burnout.In this episode of Fayl Tales, we dive into how she rebuilt a broken modelling industry, the real economics of the creator and influencer space, what she got wrong about raising VC so early, and why international expansion to Singapore nearly broke her.Taryn also shares why she’s now all in on AI, how she helps companies design real AI strategies (not just cost-cutting), and what the future of creative work, modelling and influencer marketing might actually look like.Follow us on all platforms!Instagram ~ @fayltalesTiktok ~ @fayltales LinkedIn ~ @fayltales

What happens when you realise you’re building the wrong kind of success?In this episode of Fayl Tales, Georgie Healy ~ engineer, founder, ex-VC, AI podcaster and leader of one of Australia’s biggest accelerator programs ~ unpacks the real story behind her pivots.We dive into:Leaving chemical engineering and consulting to chase more meaningful workBuilding a playground discovery app as a new mum… and why it wasn’t a unicorn (and that’s okay)Getting lost in VC metrics, external validation and “looking successful”The messy inner work of figuring out your actual values and rebuilding your career around themWhy community is her real superpower, and how she’s now backing Australia’s top AI founders at GoogleHow artificial intelligence is quietly democratising who gets to build products (even if you can’t code)If you’ve ever looked great “on paper” but felt totally misaligned underneath, or you’re curious about what’s really happening inside Australia’s AI boom, this one’s for you.Watch on YouTube, or listen on Spotify / Apple Podcasts by searching “Fayl Tales”.Follow us on all platforms!Instagram ~ @fayltalesTiktok ~ @fayltales LinkedIn ~ @fayltales

What happens when two consultants walk away from stable 6-figure careers… with no idea what they’ll build next?Meet Daniel Jo and Justin Jang, the co-founders of Attentv, who went from whiteboards and frameworks to late-night pub installations, broken TV systems, and a crash-course in hospitality, hardware, AI and co-founder conflict.In this episode, they share:why they quit without a planthe lucky breaks they created (not found)the messy reality of building a marketplace from scratchthe awkward conversation that saved their partnershipthe risks, mistakes, and moments they almost walked awayIf you’ve ever wondered what “figuring it out as you go” actually looks like, this is the episode you need.Follow us on all platforms!Instagram ~ @fayltalesTiktok ~ @fayltales LinkedIn ~ @fayltales

Strategist Adam Murray on the real startup killers: resentment, complacency, and fuzzy reality. We dig into scale-up breaking points, the danger of too much cash, “warm data” for better decisions, and a co-founder alignment ritual that prevents blow-ups. Plus a turnaround story, and how impermanence reshaped his approach to work and life. Follow us on all platforms!Instagram ~ @fayltalesTiktok ~ @fayltales LinkedIn ~ @fayltales

Before running startup pitch nights and ecosystem tours, Desmond John was showing backpackers around Melbourne’s bars and laneways. When COVID hit, it all collapsed, but that collapse became the blueprint for something new.In this episode, he shares how curiosity, connection, and failure led him to create Vibe Guide Ventures and help founders go further together.Follow us on all platforms!Instagram ~ @fayltalesTiktok ~ @fayltales LinkedIn ~ @fayltales

Dr Sam Donegan is a medical doctor turned AI founder and the creator of SupportSorted, one of Australia’s fastest-growing digital health startups.In this candid episode, Sam opens up about his leap from medicine to healthtech, co-founder breakups, VC pressure, burnout and rebuilding. He shares what he got wrong at his first startup, Fora (validate before you build, GTM > perfect UI), what most NDIS and health-tech founders overlook (workforce design, churn, compliance), and why ego and perfectionism quietly sink teams.We also talk openly about his Bipolar II diagnosis, how getting help changed his operating system as a founder, and the practical mental-health playbook guiding his second act at SupportSorted -https://www.supportsorted.com/.Follow us on all platforms!Instagram ~ @fayltalesTiktok ~ @fayltales LinkedIn ~ @fayltales

Product dies where onboarding breaks. Fintech product adviser, founder and podcast host Ray Yee shares Buy Now Pay Later lessons, audits without the blame game, scaling teams as risk increases, and why FastlaneIQ is helping charities modernise payments. You'll learn:Why “progress = happiness” in onboardingHow to run low-risk experiments regulators can live withThe people problem behind risk & compliance at scaleWhen to admit your solution is wrong (and pivot fast)Follow Ray @rayzworld on instagram and check out his website -> https://www.raymondyee.com.auFollow us on all platforms!Instagram ~ @fayltalesTiktok ~ @fayltales LinkedIn ~ @fayltales

Anton Roe thought he was doing everything right - growing fast, hitting targets, building teams. But somewhere along the way, things broke. People started leaving. The board lost confidence. And Anton had to face the kind of feedback no one wants to hear.In this episode, he opens up about what it’s really like to lead through failure, and how those moments reshaped his approach to leadership, growth, and culture. From early days in the UK recruitment scene to launching businesses in Texas and Australia, Anton’s story is packed with honest insights for anyone navigating the messier side of growth.Follow us on all platforms!Instagram ~ @fayltalesTiktok ~ @fayltales LinkedIn ~ @fayltales

At 15, Michael Reitzenstein was already selling games. By 21, he’d helped build one of the first web-game businesses with in-game payments - pulling in thousands per day - while hiring fast, navigating co-founder tensions, and learning on the fly from an island off Auckland.In this Fayl Tales episode, Michael opens up about:Early wins and why product-market fit isn’t passionThe dangers of scaling too soonHow not knowing your audience kills conversionLuck vs. skill, and the discipline to keep goingWhat he’d tell his 21-year-old selfFollow us on all platforms!Instagram ~ @fayltalesTiktok ~ @fayltales LinkedIn ~ @fayltales

In this episode, entrepreneur and technologist Dietmar Gombotz shares the story of founding UGP Materials, a spin-out built around a novel high-performance polymer with a greener, water-based production process. Early traction with aerospace partners and major corporates suggested a clear path forward - until COVID hit, timelines stretched, and co-founder dynamics shifted.Dietmar opens up about:How to test co-founder fit (and why it’s tougher than marriage)The dangers of betting everything on one “perfect” partnerWhy controllers and gatekeepers can stall the best technical salesWhat a thoughtful shutdown looks like - and the emotions behind itA candid, practical conversation for founders, spin-outs, and anyone navigating the messy middle of deep-tech entrepreneurship.Follow us on all platforms!Instagram ~ @fayltalesTiktok ~ @fayltales LinkedIn ~ @fayltales

 In this episode, we sit down with Katja Lisanskaya, a talented software engineer and creative thinker, who shares the story behind Everent, her ambitious peer-to-peer tenting platform for everyday items. Katja rapidly built a sleek, functional product, but soon discovered a hard truth many creators face: a great solution doesn’t matter if it’s not solving the right problem. Follow us on all platforms!Instagram ~ @fayltalesTiktok ~ @fayltales LinkedIn ~ @fayltales

Dieter Rappold has been at the forefront of the digital and startup scene for over two decades - as a serial entrepreneur, business angel, and founder of one of the DACH region’s largest independent agencies. In this episode, we dive into Value Lab, his venture aimed at solving Europe’s SME succession crisis. Dieter also reflects on the growth engine behind Speedinvest Pirates and why taking risks is essential to meaningful innovation.Follow us on all platforms!Instagram ~ @fayltalesTiktok ~ @fayltales LinkedIn ~ @fayltales

Krisztina Szarvas always knew she wanted to build something of her own—but she didn’t expect to take over a family medical business while caring for a newborn. In this episode, she shares how that unexpected challenge shaped her as a founder and led to her next big venture: rethinking respiratory machines during the pandemic. It’s a story of resilience, rapid learning, and turning vision into tangible impact.Follow us on all platforms!Instagram ~ @fayltalesTiktok ~ @fayltales LinkedIn ~ @fayltales

What happens when two industry heavyweights—one from high finance, the other from cutting-edge tech—join forces to create a revolutionary startup? In this episode of Fayl Tales, I sit down with a guest who has worn some of the most prestigious titles in finance: Vice President at Morgan Stanley, Director at Merrill Lynch, and a guiding force behind multiple IPOs.Together with a tech visionary, he built a product before WhatsApp even existed—an innovation that could have changed the way we communicate. So, why did it fizzle out instead of taking off? Join us for a deep dive into what went wrong, what could have been, and why sometimes, playing it too safe can be the biggest risk of all.Follow us on all platforms!Instagram ~ @fayltalesTiktok ~ @fayltales LinkedIn ~ @fayltales

 In this debut episode of Fayl Tales, I sit down with Nasib Fathi, co-founder of AristoQuant, a startup that aimed to disrupt the hedge fund industry. While pursuing his Master’s in Finance, Nasib and his team quickly gained interest, built a team of over 10 volunteers, and pivoted multiple times in just a few months. But in their rush to shake up the industry, they realized they had taken on too much, too soon, and with too little experience. Tune in as we unpack the lessons from this ambitious but short-lived venture. Please note that a reference about Blackrock having $11.2 million in investment is actually $46 billion.Follow us on all platforms!Instagram ~ @fayltalesTiktok ~ @fayltales LinkedIn ~ @fayltales