The High Flyers Podcast with Vidit Agarwal | Podcast Guru

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Founded 6+ years ago by Vidit Agarwal, The High Flyers Podcast (THF) is a global top ranked show exploring the personal and professional journeys behind the most relatable role models shaping our world. Enjoy 250+ in-depth (and often rare) conversations with the world’s most influential and relatable role models in business, tech, finance, government and sport -- going beyond the headlines to explore their life and work including their formative years, inflection points, industry insights, and how they think, lead and build. Episodes are listened to by CEOs, C-Suite Executives, Investors, Founders, and Government Leaders across Australia, USA, India, UK, Singapore, Canada and New Zealand. Alongside the podcast, we host an annual High Flyers Growth Summit in Sydney and San Francisco. This podcast is one of five products under our parent company, Curiosity Centre. We're proud that more than 60% of our 250+ guests have trusted us for their first-ever public interview — or to go in-depth on their personal story for the first time. These include: Malcolm Turnbull (Prime Minister of Australia), Jason Collins (Head of BlackRock, Asia Pacific), Brad Banducci (CEO, Woolworths), Anil Sabharwal (Global VP Product, Google), Elena Verna (Head of Growth, Lovable), David Haber (a16z Partner), Jodie Auster (Uber's Global Head of Travel), Rob Giglio (CCO, Canva), Jean-Michel Limieux (CTO, Shopify and Atlassian), Stevie Case (CRO, Vanta), John Haddock (CBO, Harvey), Mark Suster (Partner, Upfront Ventures), Niki Scevak (Partner, Blackbird), Craig Tiley (CEO, USA Tennis), Michael Schneider (CEO, Bunnings), Jeanne DeWitt Grosser (COO, Vercel), Paul Bassat (Partner, Square Peg), Bowen Pan (Creator, Facebook Marketplace), Sweta Mehra (Executive GM, NAB), Peter Varghese (Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Australian Government), Sam Sicilia (CIO, Hostplus), Jack Zhang (CEO, Airwallex), Tim Doyle (CEO, Eucalyptus), Sukhinder Singh Cassidy (CEO, Xero), Rod Hamilton (CPO, Culture Amp), Sanjeev Gandhi (CEO, Orica), Philip Green (Australia's Ambassador/High Commissioner to India), Vivek Bhatia (CEO, MUFG) and more. Engage with us via: Email: [email protected] Website: https://highflyerspodcast.com X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/vidags10 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thehighflyers Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thehighflyerspodcast/ Follow us on YouTube, Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Recent Episodes

#258 Cristina Cordova: Linear’s COO on Catching Taxis Alone to School, scaling Stripe as the 28th hire and more

MAY 26, 2026

#258 Cristina Cordova: Linear’s COO on Catching Taxis Alone to School, scaling Stripe as the 28th hire and more

Episode #258 features Cristina Cordova — employee number 28 at Stripe, an early hire at Notion, former Partner at First Round Capital, and now COO of Linear. This conversation is less about startup tactics and more about ambition, identity and operating inside some of Silicon Valley’s most respected companies before they became obvious to everyone else. Cristina reflects on growing up in Los Angeles with a single mother, becoming fiercely independent from a young age, and navigating worlds that initially felt completely foreign to her own. She shares the emotional complexity of spending more than a decade inside elite tech environments, from joining Stripe in its earliest days to helping scale Notion during its breakout years. Vidit and Cristina explore what separates companies that become deeply loved from those that simply grow fast, why some people thrive in ambiguity while others struggle as organisations scale, and how her “run through walls” mentality became both a superpower and a source of tension as companies matured from dozens to thousands of employees. They also discuss partnerships and developer ecosystems at Stripe, community-led growth at Notion, building products with taste and quality, AI and modern software companies, founder psychology, career reinvention, and the challenge of building a meaningful life when work becomes such a large part of who you are. Please enjoy exploring your curiosity. ________ Get in touch with us via email at [email protected] Join our stable of commercial partners including the Australian Government, Google, KPMG, Vanta, Allens, Macquarie Capital and more.

87 MIN

#257 Elena Verna: Lovable’s Head of Growth on Learning English Through SpongeBob and the Growth Playbook in the AI Era

MAY 20, 2026

#257 Elena Verna: Lovable’s Head of Growth on Learning English Through SpongeBob and the Growth Playbook in the AI Era

Welcome to this classic episode. Classics are our favorite episodes from our back catalogue, published as frequently as possible. These are N of 1 conversations with N of 1 people. This is a replay of Episode 217, originally released in July 2025— one of our most loved classics. Elena Verna is one of Silicon Valley’s most respected growth operators, whose career has spanned companies including Lovable, SurveyMonkey, Miro and Dropbox. In conversation with Vidit Agarwal, Elena reflects on growing up in post-Soviet Russia during the collapse of communism, immigrating to the United States at 14 without speaking English, learning the language through SpongeBob, and going from rejected university applicant to one of tech’s most influential voices in growth. She shares the story of obsessively chasing a role at SurveyMonkey that changed her life, lessons from legendary CEO Dave Goldberg, why “not respecting roles and responsibilities” became both her superpower and weakness, and how navigating corporate politics shaped her leadership style. The conversation also explores AI-native companies, the future of growth, why experienced operators may carry “historical baggage”, how Lovable operates with extreme velocity, and what separates companies that scale from those that stall. Elena also dives into hiring, creativity, accountability, solo entrepreneurship, and why she believes victim mentality is one of the most dangerous traits in modern work culture. Please enjoy exploring your curiosity. ________ Get in touch with us via email at [email protected] Join our stable of commercial partners including the Australian Government, Google, KPMG, Vanta, Allens, Macquarie Capital and more.

89 MIN

#256 Shernaz Daver: Khosla Ventures recent CMO on being Indian-American, Standing Up to Steve Jobs, Building Netflix & Waymo Brands

MAY 12, 2026

#256 Shernaz Daver: Khosla Ventures recent CMO on being Indian-American, Standing Up to Steve Jobs, Building Netflix & Waymo Brands

Episode #256 features Shernaz Daver, one of Silicon Valley’s most respected executive advisors and communications strategists, who has worked alongside leaders including Steve Jobs, Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings, Khosla Ventures founder Vinod Khosla and Waymo/Udacity founder Sebastian Thrun. In conversation with Vidit Agarwal, Shernaz reflects on a remarkable journey shaped across India, Japan and the United States — from growing up between cultures as part of the small Zoroastrian community to navigating the inner circles of Silicon Valley’s most influential founders and companies. She shares stories from Motorola, Electronic Arts and Sun Microsystems, the rejection that changed her trajectory, the unforgettable moment Steve Jobs told her she had done a “terrible job” marketing a product, and the lessons she learned working alongside elite founders and operators. The conversation also explores insecurity, ambition, storytelling, AI, burnout, hype versus reality in Silicon Valley, and what separates visionary leaders from merely successful ones. Please enjoy exploring your curiosity. ________ Get in touch with us via email at [email protected] Join our stable of commercial partners including the Australian Government, Google, KPMG, Vanta, Allens, Macquarie Capital and more.

79 MIN

#255 Proserpine, State Treasurer at 30, Lost His Seat Live on TV at 35, Now Chairing Australia's Top Institutions | Andrew Fraser

APR 28, 2026

#255 Proserpine, State Treasurer at 30, Lost His Seat Live on TV at 35, Now Chairing Australia's Top Institutions | Andrew Fraser

Episode #255 features Andrew Fraser, Chair of Bank of Queensland, Chancellor of Griffith University, President of Motorsport Australia, and former Deputy Premier and Treasurer of Queensland. In conversation with Vidit Agarwal, Andrew shares his journey — from entering politics young and rising rapidly to the top of Queensland Government, to the very bitter public loss that ended his political career, becoming a stay-at-home dad in the aftermath, and the reinvention that led him to some of Australia’s most significant boardrooms. He breaks down what that period of collapse taught him about ego, judgment and sustainable leadership, how he now thinks through complex strategic decisions, why he uses sport constantly as a metaphor for teams and performance, the importance of “keeping up the chatter” as a leader, and the revealing question he asks every new hire to test for self-awareness and honesty. Andrew also unpacks the realities of chairing major institutions, transitioning from operator to governance, and how Australia should think about leadership, sovereignty and long-term competitiveness. Please enjoy exploring your curiosity. ________ Get in touch with us via email at [email protected] Join our stable of commercial partners including the Australian Government, Google, KPMG, Vanta, Allens, Macquarie Capital and more.

63 MIN

#254 Jeanne DeWitt Grosser: How I became COO of Vercel and CBO of Stripe by influencing in engineering led companies

APR 21, 2026

#254 Jeanne DeWitt Grosser: How I became COO of Vercel and CBO of Stripe by influencing in engineering led companies

Episode #254 features Jeanne DeWitt Grosser, COO at Vercel, and former Chief Business Officer at Stripe, and one of the most respected go-to-market leaders in tech. In conversation with Vidit Agarwal, Jeanne shares her journey — from growing up in California with a psychologist mother and tech sales father, to joining Google as an early employee in 2004, to navigating an unplanned career that led her to leadership roles at Stripe and now Vercel. She breaks down how to manage your energy at work and at home, how she learned to influence effectively in engineering-led environments, why “perfect” careers rarely feel that way, and how those lessons shaped her approach to leadership, decision-making, and company building. Jeanne also unpacks how to build credibility with engineers, design modern go-to-market systems, transition from founder-led sales, and rethink sales and marketing in an AI-native world. Please enjoy exploring your curiosity. ________ Get in touch with us via email at [email protected] Join our stable of commercial partners including the Australian Government, Google, KPMG, Vanta, Allens, Macquarie Capital and more.

78 MIN