Episodes 58
Avg. Duration 51m
Activity Declining
Since Oct 2022
Latest Episode Dec 2025

Publishing Details

Schedule
Every 2 Weeks
Format
Episodic
Consistency
55%
Hosting
feeds.captivate.fm

About This Podcast

Join Laura Nicol (your host) as she dials into the stories of startup operators in the trenches of building and scaling companies. Together, we master the art of ‘building the plane while flying it', drawing on insights from leaders and rising stars at companies like Tracksuit, Canva, Culture Amp, Atlassian, me&u, Airwallex, Eucalyptus, and more. Laura's day job is Chief of Staff to Maxine Minter﹢Co Ventures—all views shared on this podcast are her own.

Podcasting 2.0 Features

episode medium

Social Media

Explore Statistics

Recent Episodes

Ep 57. Leading Across Different Stages & Contexts—Laura Warden

Dec 08, 2025 55m

After 19 conversations with some of the sharpest operators around, I’m closing the year** with someone who rewired how I think about building process: Laura Warden. Your job as an operator is to make…

Ep 56. The Multi-Domain Operator with Kai Crow

Nov 25, 2025 56m

Every great founder has a small Avengers team turning vision into operational reality. This episode shines a light on someone running marketing, customer and revenue operations while acting as the…

Ep 55. Anna Prell on Building Forage, Being Acquired and Building Again

Oct 07, 2025 51m

Laura Nicol dials into Anna Prell, VP Operations at Ivo.Anna reminds us why being an operator is a) so damn exciting and b) the ultimate leadership testing ground: "In a startup, you can be your own…

Ep 54. Betting On People with Mahesh Muralidhar

Sep 23, 2025 1h 11m

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…

Ep 53. Savannah Black on Range, Hypergrowth & ADHD

Sep 09, 2025 1h 2m

Laura Nicol dials into Savannah Black.For Savannah, being a startup operator is about making the company work in the real world. All the forward planning, mission, and vision stuff is important.…

Ep 52. Operational Leadership with Alexey Mitko

Aug 26, 2025 58m

Laura Nicol dials into Alexey Mitko. Alexey’s career has been all about operational leadership. Finance, HR, legal — he’s held the keys to the gritty, foundational work that lets startups scale…

Ep 51. Falling in Love with Startups and Running—Phoebe Pincus

Aug 12, 2025 54m

Laura Nicol dials into Phoebe Pincus, COO at Startmate and Co-Founder at Cheeky Run Club.We cover a lot. Learning to lead when you've never had female leadership role models. Being the opposite of a…

Ep 50. Emer McCann on Building People Functions & Scaling Orgs

Jul 29, 2025 55m

Laura Nicol dials into Emer McCann, Head of People & Chief of Staff at Simply Wall St.Emer scaled Deputy’s people and culture through hypergrowth (70 to 350 employees) before joining Simply Wall…

Ep 49. Liani Strauss on Keeping Tracksuit on Track

Jul 14, 2025 1h 2m

Laura Nicol connects with Liani Strauss, Chief of Staff at Tracksuit.Liani’s background in industrial engineering gave her structure. Startups gave her speed. Today, she works at the intersection of…

Ep 48. Paul Redfern on Growth, Scale and Staying Human

Jul 01, 2025 53m

Laura Nicol connects with Paul Redfern, Chief Operating Officer at Big Picture Medical. He’s someone who’s spent most of his career toggling between product and operations, and getting pretty good at…

Ep 47. The Water Cooler Chat with Gaby Howard & Laura Nicol

Jun 16, 2025 55m

Laura Nicol connects with today's co-host: the wonderful Gaby Howard, Head of Growth and Operations at Carted.Gaby’s no stranger to the podcast—she first appeared on Ep 23. Gaby Howard on Navigating…

Ep 46. Operators and Burnout with Laura Nicol—Solo Reflections

Jun 03, 2025 56m

Today, I’m turning the mic inward for my first-ever solo episode of Calling Operator. I’m Laura Nicol, your host and Chief of Staff at Co Ventures—and in this conversation, we’re talking burnout. The…

Ep 45. Scale and Soul: Anitta Krishan on Leading People and Culture Transformation at trivago, Grab, TikTok & Hoogly AI

May 20, 2025 1h 13m

Laura Nicol connects with Anitta Krishan, Chief Culture Officer at Hoogly AI. We begin with a breath—a literal nervous system–balancing pause—followed by people-first perspectives from a former…

Ep 44. Scaling Hnry with Karan Anand—Inside the Chief Strategy Officer Role, His Operating Philosophy, Abductive Logic

May 07, 2025 1h 7m

Today, I'm connecting with Karan Anand, Chief Strategy Officer & Managing Director, Australia at Hnry.We trace his journey from 13 years in consulting to becoming Hnry’s first hire in Australia,…

Ep 43. Sophie McKay on Launching Tech Brands Across Asia-Pacific—Qualtrics to Notion

Apr 22, 2025 45m

**Join us at our first-ever podcast meetup in Sydney. Info below**Today, I'm connecting with Sophie Mckay, Head of Marketing, Asia Pacific and Japan at Notion. Sophie’s career has been all about…

Ep 42. Culture Drivers with Olivia Panzic—Leading Marketing Communications and Building High-Performing Teams at TikTok ANZ

Apr 08, 2025 47m

**Join us at our first-ever podcast meetup in Sydney. Info below**Today, I'm connecting with Olivia (Liv) Panzic, Head of Marketing Communications at TikTok ANZ. A core part of Liv’s belief system?…

Ep 41. Rach Matters on Turning OCD Anxiety into Her Superpower and Scaling to Senior Program Manager at Linktree

Mar 25, 2025 44m

Today, I'm connecting with Rach Matters, Senior Program Manager at Linktree. Rach’s sweet spot is joining fast-growing organizations with a blank job description, and she’s had the privilege of…

Ep 40. Shipra Mahindra: From Software Engineer to Canva’s First PM and Product Leader at Octopus Deploy

Mar 11, 2025 47m

Today, I'm connecting with Shipra Mahindra, Principal Product Manager at Octopus Deploy. Let’s just say—Shipra’s peers can’t stop raving about her. She made her mark as the first product manager at…

Ep 39. Harry Uffindell on Scaling Partly, The ONE Thing and Lessons from the Climb

Feb 24, 2025 48m

Today, I'm connecting with Harry Uffindell, Chief People Officer at Partly. Harry’s worn just about every startup hat—founder, growth, bizops, revops, people, culture—you name it. But he ultimately…

Ep 38. Alice Hehman on Being a Glue Person—From Facebook to Quip to Glue Club

Feb 11, 2025 52m

Connecting with Alice Hehman, a "SWAT team" startup leader who’s built recruiting and operations playbooks for some of Silicon Valley’s biggest names. An under-the-radar operator, you need to know.…

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does Calling Operator with Laura Nicol have?

Calling Operator with Laura Nicol has published 58 episodes since October 2022, covering topics in Business, Education.

Is Calling Operator with Laura Nicol still active?

Calling Operator with Laura Nicol is currently declining with new episodes every 2 weeks. Average episode length is 51m.

Similar Podcasts