Weird Growth

On this episode Cam & Scotty dive deep into product-led thinking, early-stage validation, founder-led sales, and the uncomfortable truths every startup needs to face before scaling.Scotty Allen, founder of The Product Bus, fresh from Perth where he ran workshops, coached founders, and delivered the brutally honest Startup Killers event with the team at Everest Engineering.Ammo sat in on their sessions, played The Product Bus card game, and experienced firsthand why Scotty’s philosophy resonates so deeply with founders: fall in love with the problem, not the solution. The conversation didn’t stop when Scotty left WA, we had to keep it going.Problem:You’ve built something real, maybe a prototype with early traction but before you invest in development, you need proof that it isn’t just desirable but commercially viable.Solution:The Product Bus runs programs, pit-stops and pre-mvp projects to help startups build stronger evidence for their idea. With product-led thinking and design they help teams build something customers actually want.One big piece of advice:Take a hard look at how you spend your time.If talking to potential customers isn’t at least 75% of youreffort—more than building or networking—you’re not focusing on the rightthings.Bullets:(00:00) - Welcome & intro(01:17) - Scotty’s background and journey into startups(03:11) - How The Product Bus started(05:36) - Don’t fall in love with your product—fall in love with the problem(06:58) - What real product-led thinking looks like in practice(10:43) - Finding the “hair-on-fire” problem(12:57) - Why having an idea isn’t enough(17:18) - Asking the tough questions(18:57) - The pros and cons of a welcoming startup ecosystem(21:21) - Validation with early customers(27:33) - The startup crimes Scotty sees most often(30:58) - Validation with invalidation(34:10) - Understanding your customer’s buying process(37:38) - Signals of validation and scale(42:54) - Owning sales as a founder(46:17) - Founder-led sales and life-changing outcomes(49:08) - One big piece of advice – spend time with customers(50:26) - How Scotty’s education background keeps him grounded(51:47) - Show & Tell – Gamma(55:01) - What Scotty would call this episode(55:46) - Where to find The Product Bus & The BootstrapPodcast(57:55) - Wrap up Show & tell:The Product Bus – https://theproductbus.comThe Bootstrap Podcast – https://thebootstrap.tech/Gamma – https://gamma.appY Combinator – https://www.ycombinator.comClaude (Anthropic) – https://www.anthropic.com/claudeGet founder stories, startup insights, and marketing ideas straight to your inbox:https://www.ammo.marketing/subscribe

In this episode, we sit down with Charlie Westerman, founder of Personr, to unpack how his own experience with identity theft inspired a mission to fight financial crime. From building anti–money laundering (AML) compliance technology to helping businesses meet new Tranche 2 obligations, Personr is on the front lines of protecting trust in the digital economy.We explored the hard realities of selling compliance tech, the challenges of scaling in a regulated space, and the human side of building software that truly makes a difference. Problem:Financial crime is one of the biggest threats to modern business, with identity theft and money laundering costing billions each year. As regulations tighten and Tranche 2 compliance takes effect, many organisations are struggling to stay ahead and protect their customers.Solution:Personr provides advanced AML and identity verification tools powered by Optical Character Recognition (OCR) so that businesses can streamline compliance, detect fraud early, and keep financial systems safe. With intuitive workflows and automation, Personr turns what used to be a manual burden into a seamless, scalable process for fighting financial crime.One big piece of advice:Get comfortable with discomfort. Founding a startup takes persistence and belief. Embrace your narrative it is the ultimate chess play and will help you win customers, team members and investors.Show & tell:- Personr - https://www.personr.co/- Comet Browser - https://www.perplexity.ai/comet- Fund WA - https://www.fundwa.com.au/Don’t forget to subscribe to our monthly newsletter to receive cutting-edge links from around the web, podcast updates, and marketing insights. ⁠⁠⁠https://www.ammo.marketing/subscribe

Co-founders Tori and Calum are on a mission to make early literacy magical with their read-along app for kids aged 2–8. From partnering with publishers like Fremantle Press to building a healthy alternative to screen-time, Joey Books is reshaping how children discover the joy of reading. This episode dives into the turning points, challenges, and small wins that brought Joey to life—and what’s next in their vision to transform digital publishing for kids, parents, and educators. Problem: Parents want safe, engaging ways for kids to learn that don’t feel like more scrolling. Screen-time is often passive, unwholesome, and unhelpful for literacy.Solution: A refined set of wholesome stories from trusted publishing houses with both local and international reputations, narrated by professional voice actors and designed for children to read along.  One big piece of advice: Make sure you are really passionate about what you are doing. Do you enjoy it? If you’re only in it for the money—don’t start the company. It’s going to take a long time, and persistence is only possible if you truly love the journey. Bullets: (00:00 – 02:24) – Intro to Joey Books (02:25 – 03:22) – Fremantle Press supports Joey Books (03:23 – 04:07) – How Joey Books works (04:08 – 04:45) – Cam's experience with Joey Books (04:46 – 07:18) – What business Tory & Callum would start today (07:19 – 08:30) – Is technology the answer to custom education? (08:31 – 09:34) – The turning point for Joey Books (09:35 – 10:40) – What makes Joey Books different (10:41 – 12:52) – A healthy option for screen-time (12:53 – 14:08) – Dopamine tactics (14:09 – 15:28) – Reaching their first customers (15:29 – 17:15) – Building user feedback into development (17:16 – 19:23) – Partnering with publishers (19:24 – 20:30) – Disruption in digital publishing (20:31 – 22:29) – About the voice actors behind Joey Books (22:30 – 23:34) – The ideal customer for Joey Books (23:35 – 24:31) – Text tracking and narration (24:32 – 27:06) – The benefits of reading for children (27:07 – 28:49) – How schools and libraries can use Joey (28:50 – 31:38) – Callum's view on Vibe Coding (31:39 – 32:38) – Finding fulfillment in product development (32:39 – 33:42) – What looks like for Joey Books (33:43 – 34:07) – Joey's vision (34:08 – 35:41) – On pricing the app (35:42 – 36:19) – How the app supports publishers (36:20 – 38:09) – One big piece of advice (38:10 – 38:52) – The MVP dilemma (38:53 – 41:24) – Life hacks and healthy habits (41:25 – 43:30) – Entrepreneurship runs in the family (43:31 – 45:37) – Are we still ambitious? (45:38 – 46:38) – Australia is home to great entrepreneurs (46:39 – 47:05) – Commit to lifelong learning (47:06 – 48:38) – On using the app and Bookweek (48:39 – 49:25) – Closing remarks Show & Tell: Joey Books – https://www.readwithjoey.com/ Fremantle Press – https://www.fremantlepress.com.au/ Cursor – https://cursor.so/ Audible – https://www.audible.com/  Don’t forget to subscribe to our monthly newsletter to receive cutting-edge links from around the web, podcast updates, and marketing insights >> https://www.ammo.marketing/subscribe 

Corporate cards don’t have to be hard.Born out of the frustration of expense tracking with his own business Oliver decided to take on a challenge impacting every business owner from a new angle, the credit card.Oliver is rethinking how business owners manage spend and unlock growth. As founder and CEO of Archa, he’s building a powerful alternative to traditional banking and solving a frustrating problem for business owners along the way.In this episode of Weird Growth, Cam Sinclair sits down with Oliver to explore the world of fintech, funding, and building products that go from “nice-to-have” to “can’t-live-without.”Problem:Startups and small businesses struggle with outdated banking systems, corporate card approvals, and clunky expense management.Solution:Instant card creation. Smarter spend controls. A fintech product built for high-growth businesses, not red tape.One big piece of advice:“Sometimes there’s a fear that you can’t find the solution. There’s almost always a solution. If it’s not working, stop and change. Figure out how to fail fast and change what you’re doing.”Bullets:(00:00 – 00:59) – Intro to Weird Growth(01:00 – 02:39) – Oliver’s journey: From law to fintech(02:40 – 06:28) – Why Archa started with consumers, then pivoted(06:29 – 10:45) – What’s broken with traditional banks?(10:46 – 13:52) – Cold outreach, early partnerships, and finding first users(13:53 – 17:08) – When they knew they had product-market fit(17:09 – 21:53) – Maximising spend with credit cards(21:54 – 24:40) – Mastercard, Visa, and the future of payments(24:41 – 26:56) – Why fintech in Australia is booming(26:57 – 30:27) – How Archa improves productivity for business owners(30:28 – 34:22) – Card creation and spend tracking(34:23 – 36:43) – Oliver’s one big piece of advice, fail fast and change(36:44 – 38:02) – Inbox zero, stress hacks, and the importance of restShow & Tell:Archa – https://archa.com.auInbox Zero method (great article by our favourite tool for this, Superhuman) – https://blog.superhuman.com/inbox-zero-method/FinTech Australia – https://www.fintechaustralia.org.auDon’t forget to subscribe to our monthly newsletter to get fresh podcast episodes, marketing insights, and hand-picked links from the world of startups and growth: https://www.ammo.marketing/subscribe

You've heard startup stories, but few come as inspiring as Dominic Pym’s. From building some of Australia’s most iconic fintech companies to investing in the future of startups, Dom shares lessons every founder should hear. Recorded live at West Tech Fest, this episode of Weird Growth dives into the moments that defined Dom’s journey—and what drives his mission to support the next generation of founders. Problem: Fixing online payments in Australia. Creating a banking experience that’s the opposite of boring. Supporting the infrastructure for tomorrow’s startups. Solution: Simple online payments. Easy-to-love banking. An unapologetically different venture fund. One big piece of advice: If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again…I’m still here, I’m still persisting and I’m still making new startups. Bullets: (00:00 – 00:30) - Introduction (00:31 – 01:47) - Welcome Dom (01:48 – 03:55) - Dom’s background and philosophy (03:56 – 04:41) - The business Dom would start today (04:42 – 07:30) - Building Australia’s first online payments provider – Pin Payments (07:31 – 08:57) - What was the catalyst for Pin Payments’ growth? (08:58 – 09:55) - Who were Pin Payments’ first customers? (09:56 – 11:25) - When the momentum started to shift for Pin Payments (11:26 – 12:14) - When Checkout acquired Pin Payments (12:15 – 13:20) - Building the all-star team behind Up Bank (13:21 – 14:13) - Ripe conditions for Up Bank to disrupt (14:14 – 16:39) - What ingredients helped Up Bank cut through and grow (16:40 – 19:15) - The inflection points for Dom’s companies – Pin Payments, Up Bank, and Euphemia (19:16 – 25:04) - The story behind Up’s unique brand (25:05 – 26:29) - Up’s partnership with TikTok (26:30 – 27:49) - How Euphemia came about (27:50 – 31:28) - The four areas of Euphemia’s investment thesis (31:29 – 32:31) - The triple bubble fintech fund – primary, secondary, and public companies (32:32 – 34:31) - The one thing Dom can’t live without – his Tesla Model SP100D (34:32 – 35:33) - Dom’s one big piece of advice for founders (35:34 – 36:32) - Wrap-up Show & Tell: Up Bank - https://up.com.au/ Pin Payments - https://pinpayments.com/ Checkout - https://www.checkout.com/ Buildkite - https://buildkite.com/ Red Bubble - https://www.redbubble.com/ PAX Festival - https://aus.paxsite.com/en-us.html LGT Crestone - https://www.lgtcrestone.com.au/ Tesla Model S - https://www.tesla.com/models Don’t forget to subscribe to our monthly newsletter to receive cutting-edge links from around the web, podcast updates, and marketing insights. ⁠⁠ ⁠https://www.ammo.marketing/subscribe