🎥 Startup Life: Unscripted is back—and now in video

Startup Life: Unscripted features candid conversations with operators across the startup world, diving into the real stories behind career moves, lessons learned, and life inside fast-paced companies. If you received this email as a forward, you can read all our past interviews and subscribe right here.

Hey everyone,

Thanks so much for following along with Startup Life: Unscripted. It's been a real joy sharing these conversations with you. We've heard stories from people building and navigating the startup world, with all the ups, pivots, and unexpected turns that come with it.

We’ve got something new to share, and I think you’re really going to like it. Startup Life is becoming a video series.

From now on, you’ll still receive this newsletter as usual. But now, you’ll also get a full video version of each interview, along with the written notes. It’s the same honest and thoughtful conversations, just with a little more energy and presence. You’ll feel like you’re right there in the room.

We’re also welcoming a new host: Mitch Hazelhurst, who has recently joined The Nudge Group as our Director for Product, Data, Software & AI. He’s been in the trenches of product and startups for years, over in New Zealand. To kick things off, we’ve put together a Q&A so you can get to know him a bit—what he’s into, what kind of stories he’s excited to tell, and what this next chapter might look like.

If you’re working in the startup world and think you’ve got a story to share, we’d love to hear from you. We’re filming in our Sydney CBD studio, and we’re always looking to feature more great guests from the community.

Thanks again for being part of this. We’re really excited to share what’s next.

—Hao

Mitch, you recently joined The Nudge Group as a Director. How has your first few weeks shaped the way you think about the startup space?

First and foremost, I'm very excited to be here and from the moment I met the team it felt like fate stepping into this role with Nudge. These first few weeks have been a blur of intros, networking and events; and there is a real energy about the Australian startup scene which feels lively, fast paced and optimistic which is the perfect environment to step into coming out of New Zealand.

While there seems to be a similar level of passion between our two beautiful countries, the difference in scale is undeniable. There just feels like more of everything - startups, VCs and capital, people. It feels like a pot for entrepreneurship and opportunity.

As Startup Life: Unscripted is evolving into a video series. What excites you most about stepping in as host for this next chapter?

We can't begin talking about Startup Life without paying huge respects to the work Hao has done behind the scenes since its inception to grow it into the amazing platform it has become. Between curating diverse guests and attracting the audience, I feel an immense sense of privilege getting the opportunity to bring this "to life".

Video is such a powerful medium and turning this newsletter into such feels like a powerful metaphor that behind these amazing stories are ultimately people and relationships. This natural evolution of the show allows us to add that extra dimension for our audience to resonate with the fact that behind startup success and learnings are people, just like you and me, and by standing on the shoulders of giants we can learn and achieve great things in our own lives.

🎥 In the trenches of startup life? Come share it

We’re filming in our Sydney CBD studio and looking for guests for Startup Life: Unscripted. If you’re building behind the scenes at a startup or scaleup, we’d love to hear from you.

You’ve built products, founded companies, and helped scale teams. What perspective do you hope to bring to conversations on the show?

I hope by walking in these product and technology circles I can simply ask the right questions. People get into startups because they are passionate about solving problems, and learning software engineering was my ticket to being able to solve those problems I see in the world and enrich the conversations I have with people trying to do the same.

I hope by wearing my nature and curiosity on my sleeve I can create the space for our guests to speak their truths and really dive into the "why" that brought them into this whirlwind world, and by providing a more "behind the scenes" view for our audience.

What stories or guests are you most keen to spotlight in this new chapter of Startup Life?

Once again, Hao has done an amazing job curating such a diverse set of guests who've operated at pace in startups and scaleups. I’m keen on the ones you don’t usually hear from. The bootstrappers, the quiet operators, the folks building against the odds or in weird niches and absolutely crushing it. Not every success story needs a VC round and a Forbes feature. Also, I want to talk to the people who’ve failed and rebuilt, that kind of honesty helps more people than just another “how I scaled to 100K users in 3 weeks” story.

With 14K+ readers already tuning into the newsletter, how will the video version expand on that experience? What should subscribers look forward to?

We’re taking it from “reading on your phone over lunch” to “feels like you’re eavesdropping on a great convo in a café.” It’s more human, more dynamic, and honestly, just more fun. Expect behind-the-scenes stories, spicy takes, and the kind of founder-to-founder honesty that you rarely get in polished press interviews.
I'm excited to get this out to our audience and hear the feedback, and if you're someone with a story you need to share about operating in the startups, scaleups, VC and tech space; get in touch and let's lock in a chat!

From the Startup Life team

And that's a wrap! We hope you've enjoyed this edition as much as we loved putting it together. Stay curious, keep learning, and above all, enjoy the rollercoaster ride that is Startup Life. Catch you in the next one! 👋 Not subscribed yet? Do it here and don't miss out! Subscribe Now.

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