The High Flyers Podcast with Vidit Agarwal
00:02:55 · Vidit Agarwal, Grace Brown
[00:02:55] S0: Yeah, particularly in hospitality, which as you know, is a tough space to work in. Customer service is really a lot of learnings. But... And as you know, purpose of this show is to reimagine the concept of a high flyer, to go beyond people's shop titles and cover their human story. Is there a high flyer you know who you feel hasn't got the recognition they deserve? [00:03:13] S1: Yeah. I wasn't sure if I could reference this person, but I definitely think it's my cofounder, Jan. He intentionally is a much more private individual. He never wanted to be in the videos, the photos. He much preferred just being in the back building the company, the product. But he deserves a lot of recognition for the work that he's done without... But I know that probably isn't what he'd actually want. But he's definitely a high... An unassuming high flyer. [00:03:41] S0: I agree. I was lucky enough to speak to him as part of the research. And yeah, he's a great speaker and actually was very easy to chat to. So I think it also tends to be people that are on the technical side, they don't want to be in the limelight, right? I think that's a quite a common pattern, even in companies that are much later stage is that technical cofounder tends to be behind the scenes.
00:03:41 · Vidit Agarwal, Grace Brown
[00:03:41] S0: I agree. I was lucky enough to speak to him as part of the research. And yeah, he's a great speaker and actually was very easy to chat to. So I think it also tends to be people that are on the technical side, they don't want to be in the limelight, right? I think that's a quite a common pattern, even in companies that are much later stage is that technical cofounder tends to be behind the scenes. [00:04:03] S1: Yeah. Yeah. He definitely just wants to build great products and build a great company, and he doesn't like all the hype that comes with it. He understands it's part of the journey. He understands you need people to know about you and what you're building. But, yeah, he very much prefers just to be able to build awesome things. So very lucky to have him on this journey with us. [00:04:23] S0: Because there's two of you. Right? The two of you are cofounders of the company. [00:04:26] S1: Yes. Yeah. That's correct.
00:04:26 · Grace Brown, Vidit Agarwal
[00:04:26] S1: Yes. Yeah. That's correct. [00:04:30] S0: Back to the episode in a moment. Something I've heard a lot from business owners and leaders is that speed only matters if you still feel confident in the output. And it's particularly an important point in this world of AI. Xero's answer to that is Accountable Intelligence. AI that shows you what it's doing and works from your own real data and is designed to keep you in control before anything happens. As Xero puts it, most AI asks you to trust it. Accountable intelligence shows you why you can. And that's how it works with JAX, Xero's in platform AI finance partner. So whether you're running the business, advising the client, or working with your board, JAX ensures that you get the upside of automation without giving up any of the control. If you want to see this practice, head over to xero.com/highflyers for 90% off your plan for the first six months. Terms apply and go to the website. That's xero xero dot com slash highflyers. Now back to the episode. Yeah, we will talk a lot about your company before we get to that I want to talk about you. And I think this is interesting because you've not really talked about yourself in maybe the format that I have. So if we run back to your sunrise as I call it, your childhood, so I think Brisbane, did you grow up in Brisbane in Australia, is that right? Tell me about your memories, like particularly the environment, what was the environment like growing up?
00:06:02 · Grace Brown, Vidit Agarwal
[00:06:02] S1: I think lots of people in Australia would know what Brisbane's like. It's very humid. It's... I had a very... I feel like very stereotypical childhood. I was very, like, very curious about mythical creatures and mermaids, and I love Disney princesses. So lots of fantasy, very creative. I love music. I love sports. I had lots of different interests. I was never too much of a weird kid in school. At least I don't think so. I was able to make friends, you know, had a pretty rich childhood with all the activities. But, yeah, it was definitely very formative for where I got to. So I don't know if that answers your question or if that's what you're asking about, but that's kind of a little bit of my younger period. [00:06:40] S0: And tell me about the the family unit. Or maybe tell me about the influences. I think we all have influences growing up. Who would you say were your key influences that shaped you early on?
00:06:52 · Grace Brown
[00:06:52] S1: Definitely, like most people, definitely my parents. Actually, one part of my childhood perhaps I didn't mention. I did grow up in Brisbane, Australia, but I did fly back to China quite regularly. So there are various periods of my childhood where I was living in China. I went to kindergarten there, a few years of primary school. So, yeah, definitely, my parents shaped a lot of who I am today and seeing their worldviews and how they operated. Now that was pretty significant. So mom, a lot of her background wasn't really recognized in Australia, her education. So she had to do all sorts of odd jobs just to kind of keep the lights on and raise us. It's not like a rags to riches story. It's not so much like that, but I... She worked very hard. And so I think from a really young age, I just always knew that to get anywhere you wanna go in life, like, have to go really work for it. Mom told me when I was really young that it's only nine... 2% in... Where you get to in life is only 2% intellect and 98% effort. And so... Because as a kid, people would always tell me, oh, you're very, quote, gifted. I know I hate when I hear people saying that, but, like, they'd say, oh, you're very smart. You're really good at math. You're very you know, you're very inquisitive, very curious, and you can learn quite quickly. I got told that a lot as a kid. And my mom always told me, like, you can't let that get to your head, and it doesn't even matter if that's true because you still won't get to where you wanna get to on that alone. So that that was always a very significant, like, axiom that I've followed through the rest of my life.
00:08:16 · Vidit Agarwal, Grace Brown
[00:08:16] S0: Yeah. And I think everyone would say that you've got all the effort in the world. I think I I'd have to go into a effort contest with you. I think you've demonstrated that, and I think I've admired just watching that as a as an observer from a [00:08:30] S1: That's from a so sweet. [00:08:32] S0: On the the Chinese heritage one is interesting because both your parents are Chinese heritage. Right? Or [00:08:37] S1: are they from China? My mom. [00:08:38] S0: Just my [00:08:39] S1: mom. My dad's Australian, but he met my mom in China. So he went over there for work, and met my mom. And, yeah, and I was born and raised here. Well, in Melbourne, in Brisbane. [00:08:50] S0: Yeah. And when you say Australian, you mean white Australian? [00:08:53] S1: White Australian. Yes. Yes. [00:08:55] S0: Yes. Yes. Because you and I are also Australians. Right? Okay. Interesting. And how would I'm really curious if I met your, like, high school teachers and asked them to describe the Young Grace, how would they have described you?