From The Product Bus comes The Bootstrap: Building Startups from Scratch - your source of news and practical support for early stage founders.
The Bootstrap unpacks strategies that any founder can apply to make smart, data-informed decisions as they navigate the early stages of building a startup. We focus on helping founders avoid the common pitfalls that stop many great ideas from becoming a reality.
Each episode host Scotty Allen (Founder of The Product Bus) is joined by a guest who brings their experience and subject matter to a specific topic with practical, actionable strategies that founders can take away and apply immediately to their own business.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
From The Product Bus comes The Bootstrap: Building Startups from Scratch - your source of news and practical support for early stage founders.
The Bootstrap unpacks strategies that any founder can apply to make smart, data-informed decisions as they navigate the early stages of building a startup. We focus on helping founders avoid the common pitfalls that stop many great ideas from becoming a reality.
Each episode host Scotty Allen (Founder of The Product Bus) is joined by a guest who brings their experience and subject matter to a specific topic with practical, actionable strategies that founders can take away and apply immediately to their own business.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
With a CV that includes Google and Facebook, you might think Luke Marshall would be an unlikely person to be passionate about helping startups with sales and scaling, but he’s made it his mission to bring his experience and smarts to helping early founders navigate this tricky space.
In this episode, we share the experiences of working with early stage startups and founders, and run through a list of things we’d love them to understand, do, or not do.
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marshwah/
Website: https://www.lukemarshall.net/
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The Bootstrap is a production of Hieland Road for The Product Bus. It was developed by Scotty Allen and Declan Magee. Our producer is Sammy Perryman with assistance from Portia McEwan.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this Founder Friday Scotty is joined by Tabish Bidiwale to discuss early learnings as founder of Fission, a tool aiming to help developers everywhere plan better and build something they actually want.
Founder Friday is about works still in progress. Learning from success stories is important, but learning from founders still in the thick of getting to market is just as useful - and sometimes much more realistic.
About Tabish Bidiwale:
Linkedin: https://au.linkedin.com/in/tabishbidiwale
Website: https://fissionai.io/ and https://openspec.dev/
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The Bootstrap is a production of Hieland Road for The Product Bus. It was developed by Scotty Allen and Declan Magee. Our producer is Sammy Perryman with assistance from Portia McEwan.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Funding is a focus of so much conversation in the startup space, and yet so many ventures fail because founders don’t understand how to match their ideas to a commercial model that can indicate the right approach to funding.
In this episode we’re joined by Liz Van Zyl, a highly experienced entrepreneur and founder who has recently joined Tractor Ventures as their Head of Partnerships. We discuss the challenges and misunderstandings around funding for early startups, and Liz introduces the idea of a “Funding Stack” as a way for founders to build a more effective funding strategy.
Linkedin: https://au.linkedin.com/in/liz-van-zyl
Website: https://www.tractorventures.com/
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The Bootstrap is a production of Hieland Road for The Product Bus. It was developed by Scotty Allen and Declan Magee. Our producer is Sammy Perryman with assistance from Portia McEwan.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Founder Friday is about works still in progress. Learning from success stories is important, but learning from founders still in the thick of getting to market is just as useful – and sometimes much more realistic.
In this Founder Friday episode we’re talking to Nate Spiteri, the CEO & Co-Founder of Shopfront - a SaaS tool to help charities and resellers list products faster and in bulk across their own channels or marketplaces like eBay, Depop & Grailed. They were the 2025 winners of the eBay Circular Fashion Fund.
About Nate Spiteri:
Linkedin: https://au.linkedin.com/in/nathanspiteri
Website: https://shopfront.app/
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The Bootstrap is a production of Hieland Road for The Product Bus. It was developed by Scotty Allen and Declan Magee. Our producer is Sammy Perryman with assistance from Portia McEwan.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The rise of AI is set to reshape the way agencies work, creating both challenges and opportunities for how they deliver value. In this episode, we’ll explore what agencies need to do to adapt, stay relevant, and thrive in an AI-driven future. Guiding us through the conversation is Martin Anderson, CEO of Ionata Digital, his own agency he has established and scaled over the last 25 years
About Martin Anderson:
Linkedin: https://au.linkedin.com/in/martincanderson
Website: https://ionata.com.au/
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The Bootstrap is a production of Hieland Road for The Product Bus. It was developed by Scotty Allen and Declan Magee. Our producer is Sammy Perryman with assistance from Portia McEwan.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this Founder Friday, we’re joined by Chris Asher, Founder and CEO of Oink Digital to talk about how to hone creativity into productivity.
Founder Friday is about works still in progress. Learning from success stories is important, but learning from founders still in the thick of getting to market is just as useful - and sometimes much more realistic.
Linkedin: https://au.linkedin.com/in/chris-asher-3b476b26
Website: https://www.oinkdigital.com.au/
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The Bootstrap is a production of Hieland Road for The Product Bus. It was developed by Scotty Allen and Declan Magee. Our producer is Sammy Perryman with assistance from Portia McEwan.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Access to capital is one of the biggest challenges facing early-stage founders, and while most think immediately of VC or angel investment, grants offer a compelling non-dilutive alternative. Despite $100 billion in grant funding available to Australian businesses and organisations each year, many founders don't know where to start or assume the process is too complex. Is it really as difficult as it seems? What should early founders know about grants, and when should they be thinking about applying for them,?
Our guest today is Janine Owen, founder of Grant'd, Australia's first AI-powered, all-in-one grants platform. Janine has over 18 years of experience helping organisations raise more than $100+ million. She previously ran a successful grants agency before creating Grant'd to make grant-seeking more accessible for founders and businesses.
About Janine Owen:
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/janine-owen-21348b78
Website: http://grantd.com.au/
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The Bootstrap is a production of Hieland Road for The Product Bus. It was developed by Scotty Allen and Declan Magee. Our producer is Sammy Perryman with assistance from Portia McEwan.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this Founder Friday episode, we’re talking to Dominic Lindsay, founder of Nexobot.
Founder Friday is about works still in progress. Learning from success stories is important, but learning from founders still in the thick of getting to market is just as useful – and sometimes much more realistic.
With a rich background in e-commerce logistics and innovative facility design from his time at Australia Post, Dominic's extensive experience provides the foundation for Nexobot's mission to revolutionize warehouse robotics and order fulfilment.
About Dominic Lindsay:
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/dominiclindsay
Website: https://nexobot.com.au/
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The Bootstrap is a production of Hieland Road for The Product Bus. It was developed by Scotty Allen and Declan Magee. Our producer is Sammy Perryman with assistance from Portia McEwan.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Failure isn't the opposite of success - it's the stepping stone to it. Every entrepreneur faces the inevitable question: when do you push through, and when do you pivot? How do you read the subtle signals the market sends about whether to accelerate or pull the plug?
In this episode, Benjemen Elengovan, Founder and CEO of MyGigsters, shares his entrepreneurial journey through both triumph and setback. He shares hard-won insights on transforming failures into fuel, making those crucial go/no-go decisions, and knowing when it's time to gracefully exit one venture to birth the next.
From his early startup wins and losses to the lessons now powering MyGigsters, Benjemen reveals how every "failure" became a building block for something bigger. This is about turning your scars into wisdom - and your wisdom into your next breakthrough.
About Benjemin Elengovan:
Linkedin: https://au.linkedin.com/in/benjemenelengovan
Website: https://www.mygigsters.com.au/
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The Bootstrap is a production of Hieland Road for The Product Bus. It was developed by Scotty Allen and Declan Magee. Our producer is Sammy Perryman with assistance from Portia McEwan.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this Founder Friday episode, we’re talking to Elleesha King, founder of Pulsatile Innovations.
Founder Friday is about works still in progress. Learning from success stories is important, but learning from founders still in the thick of getting to market is just as useful - and sometimes much more realistic.
Elleesha is an experienced ambulance paramedic and registered nurse who saw opportunities for improved patient care using innovative medical devices. Elleesha started Pulsatile Innovations, a startup aimed to develop products that empower rescuers and improve patient outcomes, with a focus on the emergency setting. Her platform technology, Pulse Tile, is set to revolutionise the approach to cardiac arrest and save lives across the world.
About Elleesha King:
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/elleesha-king-831b732ab
Website: thepulsetile.com
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The Bootstrap is a production of Hieland Road for The Product Bus. It was developed by Scotty Allen and Declan Magee. Our producer is Sammy Perryman with assistance from Portia McEwan.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Until AI replaces the need for humans completely, building a team remains a crucial part of building a startup, and the need for other humans to help get things off the ground often comes before the budget to hire them, so some clever thinking is required. Megan Luttrell - founder of Kairos Recruitment and Aussie Founders Club - joins Scotty this week for a conversation to work out what's smart, and what's not, when it comes to startup recruitment.
About Megan Luttrell:
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/meganluttrell
Website: https://www.kairosrecruitment.com.au/
Aussie Founders Club: https://www.aussiefoundersclub.com/
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The Bootstrap is a production of Hieland Road for The Product Bus. It was developed by Scotty Allen and Declan Magee. Our producer is Sammy Perryman with assistance from Portia McEwan.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this Founder Friday episode, we’re talking to Nicole Bouchier, founder of SklChat
Founder Friday is about works still in progress. Learning from success stories is important, but learning from founders still in the thick of getting to market is just as useful - and sometimes much more realistic.
In this chat, we talk about Nicole’s experience of building and exiting her first company and the steps that led her to jumping back on the startup rollercoaster to develop SklChat. She shares a number of great learnings as a second time founder and the things she’s doing differently this time around thanks to her previous experience.
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The Bootstrap is a production of Hieland Road for The Product Bus. It was developed by Scotty Allen and Declan Magee. Our producer is Sammy Perryman with assistance from Portia McEwan.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Fractional leadership roles are becoming more common in startups and scaleups. We’re more familiar with a fractional CFO or CTO - but what about business development?
In this discussion with experienced enterprise leader Andrew Sharpe, we look at the ways that larger companies are embracing fractional leadership in the growth arena - be is sales, product, etc, how it applies to the startup world, and what mindset is required both the founder and the fractional leader when approaching this strategy in the startup space.
About Andrew Shape:
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/a-sharpe/
Website: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sharpepts
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The Bootstrap is a production of Hieland Road for The Product Bus. It was developed by Scotty Allen and Declan Magee. Our producer is Sammy Perryman with assistance from Portia McEwan.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this Founder Friday episode, we’re talking to Mari Robert, founder of Inflamed.
Founder Friday is about works still in progress. Learning from success stories is important, but learning from founders still in the thick of getting to market is just as useful - and sometimes much more realistic.
In this chat, we talk about the very personal experience that led Mari to the creation of Inflamed, the challenges of generalising a solution to a problem you’ve experienced to make it a commercially viable product, and all of Mari’s learnings from the Inflamed journey to date.
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The Bootstrap is a production of Hieland Road for The Product Bus. It was developed by Scotty Allen and Declan Magee. Our producer is Sammy Perryman with assistance from Portia McEwan.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
AI is everywhere. Depending on where you are at on the continuum, it's probably the thing that is either exciting you the most, confusing you the most, or scaring you the most at the moment - maybe a combination of all three.
The market is struggling with its own confusion, concerns, and fear around AI, and that makes it critical that founders challenge their own biases and misconceptions in order to effectively position products for customers in this current landscape.
Our guest for this episode is Dr Sam Donegan. Sam is the co-founder of Support Sorted and the Vice President of MLAI. You can learn more at:
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samueldonegan/
MLAI: https://mlai.au/
Support Sorted: https://www.supportsorted.com/
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The Bootstrap is a production of Hieland Road for The Product Bus. It was developed by Scotty Allen and Declan Magee. Our producer is Sammy Perryman with assistance from Portia McEwan. Original sound design by Rob Clarke.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In our first Founder Friday episode, we’re talking to Andrew Murphy, founder of Tech Leaders Launchpad.
Founder Friday is about works still in progress. Learning from success stories is important, but learning from founders still in the thick of getting to market is just as useful - and sometimes much more realistic.
In this chat, we talk about what inspired Andrew to create TLL, his learnings along the way, and the advice he’d give brand new founders based on the experience.
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The Bootstrap is a production of Hieland Road for The Product Bus. It was developed by Scotty Allen and Declan Magee. Our producer is Sammy Perryman with assistance from Portia McEwan.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Bootstrap is back for 2025, and we’re kicking off with a great conversation with Brenton Anderson from Lovable about the learnings and success stories from the recent Lovable Shipped program.
We also have a wider discussion about the impact of AI tools like Lovable on validation and commercialisation - it’s definitely worth a listen!
Also, we now have a website! You can check out thebootstrap.tech for all current and past episodes of the show - watch this space as we take some of our most impactful episodes and turn them in to resources you’ll love.
Brenton Andersen looks after Community Engagement for startup rocketship Lovable. He started as a Lovable user and now heads up community outreach, including the recent Loveable Shipped program.
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The Bootstrap is a production of Hieland Road for The Product Bus. It was developed by Scotty Allen and Declan Magee. Our producer is Sammy Perryman with assistance from Portia McEwan.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
If you work in tech and or with startups and you haven’t heard a dozen people say a version of “we need to add AI” ot “I’m building an AI product”, then well weve been in different meetings. It can feel like a mess of talk and buzzwords, and honestly a lot of it is, so how does the average founder navigate all the noise and work out what we really should be focusing on when it comes to AI?
is here to help try to asnwer that question. Gavin is the founder of Tactic AI and the developer of the Airtok AI Token.
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The Bootstrap is a production of Swivol Media and The Product Bus. It was developed by Scotty Allen, and Declan Magee. This episode was produced and edited by Sammy Perryman. Original sound design by Rob Clarke. Executive Producers are Natalie Ellis and Scotty Allen for Hieland Road.
If you’re an early stage founder looking for resources and practical help, check out theproductbus.com and get in touch
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
What influences the decision to bootstrap a startup as opposed to going down the fundeaising route, and if you decide to go that waty, how do you do it? My guest for this episode, Tom Bruining, stepped out of a long histopry of working in funded startups and decided to do just that. Along with his co-founders, Tom started HowdyGo, a product that allows you to easyilu Capture real, interactive product demos
To share that journey and help us learn from it, Tom joins us now.
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The Bootstrap is a production of Swivol Media and The Product Bus. It was developed by Scotty Allen, and Declan Magee. This episode was produced and edited by Sammy Perryman. Original sound design by Rob Clarke. Executive Producers are Natalie Ellis and Scotty Allen for Hieland Road.
If you’re an early stage founder looking for resources and practical help, check out theproductbus.com and get in touch
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Most founders don’t see themselves as sales people, and many either try to avoid taking on that role altogether, or offloading it as soon as possible. What is the best way for founders to approach sales when its not a comfortable pair of shoes, how do you know when it’s time to transition away from founder-led sales, and how do you do it?
To help me unpack this host Scotty Allen is joined by Gavin Tye. Gavin is the founder of sales market fit where he helps founders, and their teams create a repeatable sales framework that delivers real results for their business.
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The Bootstrap is a production of Swivol Media and The Product Bus. It was developed by Scotty Allen, and Declan Magee. This episode was produced and edited by Sammy Perryman. Original sound design by Rob Clarke. Executive Producers are Natalie Ellis and Scotty Allen for Hieland Road.
If you’re an early stage founder looking for resources and practical help, check out theproductbus.com and get in touch
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
