The High Flyers Podcast with Vidit Agarwal
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?
00:08:55 · Vidit Agarwal, Grace Brown
[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? [00:09:09] S1: Oh my god. I actually have messages and emails from my high school teachers saying they're not surprised where I've ended up. It's so funny. One of my... I had an engineering teacher. He messaged me on LinkedIn and said something to the effect... I can't remember exact words, but something to the effect of your quirkiness and just whatever that quality is of my personality has really just, you know, kind of stayed... I've stayed true to that all the way through university and through to my career. Like, he says he's just not at all surprised where I ended up. He always said I was... All the teachers would say I talk too much. I love talking. I was always a kid that got put in the back of the class for talking to too many other people, which is funny because now I do a lot of talks now, and so I always wanna be like, hey. I actually do talking for a living now, which is kinda funny. But, yeah, I think the teachers knew that I was a little bit... I don't wanna say I was, like, different, but I was just I always took... In high school, I took the STEM classes, so accelerated math, physics. And I was always the more extroverted chart student in these classes because generally a lot of more reserved students would take... Choose these classes. So I did always stand out in my classes a little bit for that reason.
00:09:09 · Grace Brown, Vidit Agarwal
[00:09:09] S1: Oh my god. I actually have messages and emails from my high school teachers saying they're not surprised where I've ended up. It's so funny. One of my... I had an engineering teacher. He messaged me on LinkedIn and said something to the effect... I can't remember exact words, but something to the effect of your quirkiness and just whatever that quality is of my personality has really just, you know, kind of stayed... I've stayed true to that all the way through university and through to my career. Like, he says he's just not at all surprised where I ended up. He always said I was... All the teachers would say I talk too much. I love talking. I was always a kid that got put in the back of the class for talking to too many other people, which is funny because now I do a lot of talks now, and so I always wanna be like, hey. I actually do talking for a living now, which is kinda funny. But, yeah, I think the teachers knew that I was a little bit... I don't wanna say I was, like, different, but I was just I always took... In high school, I took the STEM classes, so accelerated math, physics. And I was always the more extroverted chart student in these classes because generally a lot of more reserved students would take... Choose these classes. So I did always stand out in my classes a little bit for that reason. [00:10:15] S0: And you were the only child, right? [00:10:18] S1: Yes, I grew [00:10:19] S0: up as an only [00:10:20] S1: I grew up as an only child.