Ep 54. Betting On People with Mahesh Muralidhar

Calling Operator with Laura Nicol

Laura Nicol dials into Mahesh Muralidhar.

From day one, Mahesh has been obsessed with making a difference. He was early in Sydney’s startup scene in the 2010s post-MBA—first chasing his own idea, then finding impact (and peace) in helping others build.

What followed? A career that reads like three lifetimes in one.

Inside:

• The romantic, messy-beautiful beginnings of Sydney’s startup scene.
• That nagging fear you’ve “missed the boat” in tech. Spoiler: the boat’s still boarding.
• The through-line of his career: founder > operator > investor > political candidate.
• Building customer intuition and products people love.
• Betting on people. Building trust. Understanding incentives. Getting obsessed with winning.
• Spotting great talent—and coaching them like a pro sports manager.
• Mahesh's founder story at Ureferjobs (a job referral marketplace)—why it didn’t land and the fateful “choosing Canva” moment.
• Operating inside early Canva, Airtasker, and Simply Wall St (from Head of People Ops to VP to COO).
• Phase One: why he’s convinced New Zealand founders can build world-changing companies with the right “been there, done that” support.
• The current chapter: “I want to make New Zealand a significantly happier place".

Also mentioned:

• Read Mahesh's Substack
• David Hearnden
• Alexey Mitko
• Bec Jenkins
• Yani Hornilla Donato
• Mick Liubinskas (Pollenizer)
• Phil Morle (Pollenizer)
• Tim Fung
• Al Bentley
• Emer McCann
• Vincent Wei
• Mark Macleod-Smith
• Elise Peate
• Alexander Fala
• Melanie Perkins
• Cliff Obrecht

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.

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.

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