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Calling Operator with Laura Nicol

Laura Nicol
Calling Operator with Laura Nicol
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  • Ep 48. Paul Redfern on Growth, Scale and Staying Human
    Laura Nicol connects with Paul Redfern, Chief Operating Officer at Big Picture Medical. He’s someone who’s spent most of his career toggling between product and operations, and getting pretty good at living in the grey. And becoming “reasonably okay-ish” in a whole bunch of different worlds.This episode is all about a tension every operator knows too well: the never-ending juggle between growth and scale. Serving today’s customers while building for tomorrow. Every decision has a cost. The real skill is knowing which ones are actually worth it.Inside this conversation:The journey from Bank of Queensland, Tyro, Brighte and now Big Picture MedicalWhat scaling a global healthtech startup looks like behind the scenesThe Red Line Framework for sustainable leadership and life momentsHow to grow up as a company (we’re talking communication maturity for scaling orgs)Context switching and energy management as a new parent-leaderWhy the chaos never really ends. It just shapeshiftsTreating operations like a product and how that changes what you optimise for[Relationships] The power of weekly Notion check-ins. A quick gut-check on what’s happening, where you need flex, and how you’re showing up for each otherWhat it feels like to have an imaginary infinite batteryA tiny mental trick: asking “Will this move me closer to my goals this week?” And sometimes “Will this move me closer to my goals, full stop?”For every operator out there, pausing to rethink your own operating system and patterns is a real level-up momentWant to connect with Paul? Find him on LinkedIn.Also mentioned:The psychological reason journaling makes you better.Kate GlazebrookJackie RabecPriya VaseDr Tom McKinnonBen Colley A note from your host, Laura:My goal for Calling Operator is to open-source stories from startup operators across various functional areas and learn how they excel at building and scaling companies. As a Chief of Staff, I often find myself in (virtual) rooms with people facing similar challenges and reinventing the wheel. I want this podcast to open a line for operators across Australia and New Zealand to learn from fellow operators. Each episode shares personal stories, the execution behind big ideas, career-defining moments, successes, failures, and lessons. Guest ideas?Do you have an operator on speed dial who could be perfect for the show? Please share your suggestions with me via LinkedIn. Never miss an episode:Subscribe on your favourite platform:SpotifyApple Podcasts(Other) CallingOperator.com
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  • Ep 47. The Water Cooler Chat with Gaby Howard & Laura Nicol
    Laura Nicol connects with today's co-host: the wonderful Gaby Howard, Head of Growth and Operations at Carted.Gaby’s no stranger to the podcast—she first appeared on Ep 23. Gaby Howard on Navigating the Shift from Founder to Operator in Tech: Insights from Carted and Flaunter, where the wonderful Paloma interviewed her about her journey from founder to operator. (If you’re here for her backstory, head there first—we’re not retelling it today.) This episode is something different: a pulse check. A water-cooler moment. The kind of chat Gaby and I usually have off-mic—only this time, we hit record. If the noise of the internet lately feels like a never-ending hamster wheel, you’re not alone. In this chat, we cover:A mid-year temperature check from two operatorsHonest reflections on how we’re feeling in our operator rolesA pulse check on what’s happening out there: Insights surfaced from operators at our first-ever community meetup (Calling Operator x Notion coffee)Questions like: Am I ahead? Behind? Keeping up?Plus a few laughs as we find our rhythm as co-hosts (I left in the bossy host blooper 🙃)Huge thanks to Gaby for jumping into the co-host seat. We hope this chat feels like the water-cooler moment you didn’t know you needed.Want to connect with Gaby? Find her on LinkedIn. A note from your host, Laura:My goal for Calling Operator is to open-source stories from startup operators across various functional areas and learn how they excel at building and scaling companies. As a Chief of Staff, I often find myself in (virtual) rooms with people facing similar challenges and reinventing the wheel. I want this podcast to open a line for operators across Australia and New Zealand to learn from fellow operators. Each episode shares personal stories, the execution behind big ideas, career-defining moments, successes, failures, and lessons. Guest ideas?Do you have an operator on speed dial who could be perfect for the show? Please share your suggestions with me via LinkedIn. Never miss an episode:Subscribe on your favourite platform:SpotifyApple Podcasts(Other) CallingOperator.com
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  • Ep 46. Operators and Burnout with Laura Nicol—Solo Reflections
    Today, I’m turning the mic inward for my first-ever solo episode of Calling Operator. I’m Laura Nicol, your host and Chief of Staff at Co Ventures—and in this conversation, we’re talking burnout. The kind that creeps up. The kind that hits hard. The kind that startup operators know all too well. It comes up on the pod all the time—for a reason. I'm calling it my #buildinpublic reflection on this topic from the operator’s seat. I chat through: The aha moment: Being a great operator starts with self-workMy journey from an epilepsy diagnosis to todayPhysical health, mental health and wellbeingBurnoutGiving yourself permission to step off the treadmillTrying to prevent itBuilding an environment that catches it more oftenShoutout to past guests whose wisdom shows up throughout (check out their full eps here):Ep 42. Olivia Panzic at TikTok ANZEp 45. Anitta Krishan at Hoogly AIEp 38. Alice Hehman at Glue ClubEp 39. Harry Uffindell at PartlyEp 32. Maxine Minter at Co VenturesEp 30. Emily Robinson at Kic A note from your host, Laura:My goal for Calling Operator is to open-source stories from startup operators across various functional areas and learn how they excel at building and scaling companies. As a Chief of Staff, I often find myself in (virtual) rooms with people facing similar challenges and reinventing the wheel. I want this podcast to open a line for operators across Australia and New Zealand to learn from fellow operators. Each episode shares personal stories, the execution behind big ideas, career-defining moments, successes, failures, and lessons. Guest ideas?Do you have an operator on speed dial who could be perfect for the show? Please share your suggestions with me via LinkedIn. Never miss an episode:Subscribe on your favourite platform:SpotifyApple Podcasts(Other) CallingOperator.com
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  • Ep 45. Scale and Soul: Anitta Krishan on Leading People and Culture Transformation at trivago, Grab, TikTok & Hoogly AI
    Today, I'm connecting with Anitta Krishan, Chief Culture Officer at Hoogly AI. We begin with a breath—a literal nervous system–balancing pause—followed by people-first perspectives from a former Trivago, Grab, and TikTok executive now shaping the future of work through an AI-powered Culture OS.Inside the episode:Operating mindfully: breathing, sleeping, deep sighing, and listening to your body’s signalsThe future of work, where humans serve as culture architects and AI steps in as orchestratorJoining Trivago at 200 employees and scaling through IPO to 1,600Leading people and culture transformation at Grab during a chapter of hypergrowth and reinventionScaling TikTok globally from 1,000 to 50,000 employees, navigating geopolitical tensions and cultural nuance at warp speedThe black ops moment: how the TikTok India ban shaped her legacy as a people-first operatorWhy “your calendar reflects your values”—and the case for auditing it weeklyBuilding from the ground floor inside an AI-native companyAdvice for rising operators: “Stop waiting for permission and titles. Just influence.”Connect with Anitta on LinkedIn.Check out Hoogly AI for your org. A note from your host, Laura:My goal for Calling Operator is to open-source stories from startup operators across various functional areas and learn how they excel at building and scaling companies. As a Chief of Staff, I often find myself in (virtual) rooms with people facing similar challenges and reinventing the wheel. I want this podcast to open a line for operators across Australia and New Zealand to learn from fellow operators. Each episode shares personal stories, the execution behind big ideas, career-defining moments, successes, failures, and lessons. Guest ideas?Do you have an operator on speed dial who could be perfect for the show? Please share your suggestions with me via LinkedIn. Never miss an episode:Subscribe on your favourite platform:SpotifyApple Podcasts(Other) CallingOperator.com
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  • Ep 44. Scaling Hnry with Karan Anand—Inside the Chief Strategy Officer Role, His Operating Philosophy, Abductive Logic
    Today, I'm connecting with Karan Anand, Chief Strategy Officer & Managing Director, Australia at Hnry.We trace his journey from 13 years in consulting to becoming Hnry’s first hire in Australia, exploring what it really means to lead without ego, think in systems, and be a force multiplier for founders.Inside the episode:His experience as a new dadBuilding generational community projects, including the creation of the Young Seek Professionals NetworkThe co-pilot model of the Chief Strategy Officer—and how to support founders while staying anchored to long-term goalsWhat it meant to be the first hire in Australia for Hnry—and how to scale without a playbookWhy being in rooms you're “not ready for” is often where you learn the most—and how to hold your ground when you get thereThe startup superpowers management consulting teaches: structured problem solving, corporate technique, and navigating directional tensionBreaking a company into 26 first-principles components to build a three-year strategy—and reaching a consensus on directionBuilding Hnry’s "Sole Trader Pulse" data play—and turning underrepresented customer voices into strategic advantageMoving between inductive and abductive logic when data is sparse but decisions can’t waitThe traits Karan looks for in strategy operators at early-stage startupsHis operating philosophy: Helping people become their best in service of the businessWhy systems thinking is a survival skill in fast-scaling companiesConnect with Karan Anand on LinkedIn. Learn more about Hnry.Other operators mentioned in the episode:Brandon Palmer, Head of Marketing @ HnrySandeep Chandra, Strategy @ AtlassianAlbert Patajo, Chief of Staff @ NexlHarry Hamilton, Product @ Tracksuit, Co-Founder @ Fuzzy A note from your host, Laura:My goal for Calling Operator is to open-source stories from startup operators across various functional areas and learn how they excel at building and scaling companies. As a Chief of Staff, I often find myself in (virtual) rooms with people facing similar challenges and reinventing the wheel. I want this podcast to open a line for operators across Australia and New Zealand to learn from fellow operators. Each episode shares personal stories, the execution behind big ideas, career-defining moments, successes, failures, and lessons. Guest ideas?Do you have an operator on speed dial who could be perfect for the show? Please share your suggestions with me via LinkedIn. Never miss an episode:Subscribe on your favourite platform:SpotifyApple Podcasts(Other) CallingOperator.com
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About Calling Operator with Laura Nicol

Join Laura Nicol (your host) as she dials into the stories of startup operators in the trenches of building and scaling companies. Together, we master the art of ‘building the plane while flying it', drawing on insights from leaders and rising stars at companies like Tracksuit, Canva, Culture Amp, Atlassian, me&u, Airwallex, Eucalyptus, and more. Laura's day job is Chief of Staff to Maxine Minter﹢Co Ventures—all views shared on this podcast are her own.
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