Episode Summary

Carbon credits are meant to help the world fight climate change, but the reality is messy: project developers are still managing everything in spreadsheets, emails, and PDFs, making credits slow, opaque, and hard to trust.

In this episode of Pick My Brain, Alan Jones sits down with Allen Fan, co-founder of CarbonHQ, a B2B SaaS startup building the operating system for carbon project developers. Together they unpack how CarbonHQ is cutting issuance time from months to weeks, why credibility and transparency matter as much as climate impact, and what it really takes to sell software in a market still run on paper.

Allen also shares how he met his co-founder through a layoff talent directory, why sales never came naturally to him, and how repeated “reps” are helping him get better. Alan Jones dives in with advice on pricing strategy, investor communications, and building trust through authentic storytelling, the real ingredients behind startup growth.

Whether you’re tackling climate tech, B2B SaaS, or just wrestling with sales as a founder, this episode is packed with practical takeaways.

Time Stamps

01:15 – What CarbonHQ really does (and why it’s not carbon accounting)

03:40 – The pitch: fixing carbon credit issuance with software

06:15 – Co-founder story: meeting through a layoff talent directory

08:20 – Breaking down CarbonHQ’s 3-year journey and first $100K ARR

09:40 – Learning sales as a founder who isn’t “a salesperson”

12:10 – Why trust is the foundation of every sale

14:20 – Early-stage websites, product storytelling, and pricing psychology

19:55 – How to think about pricing when you don’t know your market yet

20:30 – Raising capital vs. focusing on revenue growth

23:40 – Why regular investor updates and pitching on stage build credibility

Resources Mentioned

🎙 Ask Alan a Question - https://www.speakpipe.com/PickMyBrain

👨‍💻 Allen Fan – https://www.linkedin.com/in/allen-fan-618b9864/

🌏 CarbonHQ – http://carbonhq.earth/

Mentioned in this episode:

Vanta PMB May 2025_01

Standard Ledger

For most founders, cybersecurity feels like something to worry about “later.” But what if ignoring it now could kill your business before it even gets off the ground?

In this episode of Pick My Brain, Cole Cornford, founder of Galah Cyber, joins Alan Jones to unpack the real security risks early-stage startups face, and why they’re not always the ones you expect. Forget hoodie-wearing hackers: the bigger risks might be your Instagram account, your payments funnel, or the invoices sitting in your inbox.

Alan and Cole explore how to think about attack surfaces without jargon, when frameworks like ISO and SOC 2 actually matter, and why introducing just the right amount of friction can save you from catastrophic mistakes. They also talk branding, talent, and how Galah’s bright pink approachability helps win the right kind of customers.

If you’re building a B2B SaaS startup or scaling towards enterprise clients, this episode will help you avoid costly security missteps and focus on the protections that really matter.

01:40 – Cole’s childhood dream: video games, Team Fortress, and eSports sponsorship

05:22 – Why Galah Cyber’s mascot is a pink galah (and not a scary hawk or snake)

07:36 – The three buyer journeys in cybersecurity: proactive, reactive, and compliance-driven

09:29 – What “attack surface” actually means, minus the jargon

10:08 – Who counts as a “threat actor”? From clumsy insiders to international hackers

12:07 – The overlooked risks: protecting marketing funnels and payment channels

14:20 – Why adding friction to payments can stop scams

16:09 – The opportunity cost of over-investing in security too early

17:28 – What ISO and SOC 2 certifications mean (and when founders should care)

19:25 – When enterprise customers will demand compliance

19:42 – Where founders should go for security advice that actually makes sense

21:08 – MFA (multi-factor authentication): better than nothing, even if it’s just SMS

21:25 – Why approachable branding makes Galah stand out in a serious industry

🙋🏻‍♂️ Cole Cornford: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colecornford/

🛡️ Galah Cyber: https://www.galahcyber.com.au/

🔒 Secured Podcast: https://www.galahcyber.com.au/podcasts/

🦙 Vanta automates up to 90% compliance, getting you audit-ready quickly and saving you up to 85% of associated costs. Join 10,000 global companies like Cipherstash, Handle and Indebted that use Vanta to build trust and prove security in real-time.

Get 10% off - http://dayone.fm/vanta/brain

💰 Standard Ledger is your all-in-one finance team for startups. From bookkeeping and payroll to R&D claims and fractional CFO support, they help founders stay on top of their numbers and make smarter decisions. Ready to scale?

Book your free chat at https://dayone.fm/standard

To learn more, join our newsletter to be notified of new and upcoming shows. The only content we create is content that will help Australian founders.

Mentioned in this episode:

Vanta PMB May 2025_01

Standard Ledger

Tap, beep, done. Australia’s payment experience is one of the world’s most convenient, but also one of the most expensive. Small businesses lose thousands a month in card and scheme fees, while everyday Australians pay hundreds each year just to access their own money.

In this episode of Pick My Brain, Gaurav Rana, co-founder of GANI Pay, joins Alan Jones to pitch his mobile-first payment platform designed to bypass the legacy card system entirely. GANI Pay uses NPP, PayID, and PayTo to enable instant, secure QR payments, with flat monthly fees for merchants and cash-back rewards for consumers.

Alan and Gaurav dig into the economics of “tap and go,” how to convince both merchants and customers to switch, and why regulatory trust is just as important as slick tech in fintech. They also explore GANI Pay’s go-to-market focus on high-volume, low-ticket retailers, and what it takes to turn a payment product into a movement.

If you’re building in fintech, payments, or tackling an entrenched incumbent, this is a masterclass in pitching, positioning, and finding your wedge.

01:40 – What is GaniPay? Mobile-first QR payments without the card fees

03:00 – Gaurav’s early ambitions: from science to entrepreneurship

04:15 – The problem: why tap payments quietly cost Australians billions

06:10 – How GaniPay works: bypassing Visa/Mastercard with NPP & PayTo

08:20 – Merchants’ biggest question: will customers adopt it?

09:50 – Building trust: compliance, security, and banking partnerships

12:15 – Go-to-market: targeting high-volume, sub-$100 transactions

14:30 – Competing with Afterpay & co: different problem, different value

15:55 – Alan on finding the most promising merchant verticals

17:40 – Fundraising plans: seeking $600k to scale tech & marketing

18:35 – How to become an “investable” fintech in 60 days

20:45 – Movement vs product: can GaniPay spark a payments revolution?

🙋🏻‍♂️ Gaurav Rana – https://www.linkedin.com/in/gauravrana841/

💰 GaniPay – https://ganipay.com.au/

🦙 Vanta automates up to 90% compliance, getting you audit-ready quickly and saving you up to 85% of associated costs. Join 10,000 global companies like Cipherstash, Handle and Indebted that use Vanta to build trust and prove security in real-time.

Get 10% off - http://dayone.fm/vanta/brain

💰 Standard Ledger is your all-in-one finance team for startups. From bookkeeping and payroll to R&D claims and fractional CFO support, they help founders stay on top of their numbers and make smarter decisions. Ready to scale?

Book your free chat at https://dayone.fm/standard

To learn more, join our newsletter to be notified of new and upcoming shows. The only content we create is content that will help Australian founders.

Mentioned in this episode:

Standard Ledger

Vanta PMB May 2025_01

Would you trust AI to help close a multi-million dollar acquisition? That’s exactly what Deeligence is helping lawyers do faster and with fewer headaches.

In this episode of Pick My Brain, Elena Tsalanidis, co-founder of Deeligence joins Alan Jones to pitch her AI-powered legal tech startup. Elena shares how her platform streamlines the M&A due diligence process for lawyers, cutting review time in half while delivering greater accuracy.

Alan and Elena dive deep into B2B SaaS sales strategy, how to stand out in a sea of AI wrappers, and what actually makes a startup defensible when everyone’s using the same language models. They explore how founders can navigate complex enterprise sales cycles, why law firms resist change, and how product distribution (not tech) is the real moat.

If you’re building in legal tech, enterprise AI, or B2B SaaS, you’ll want to take notes.

01:40 – What is Deeligence? AI-powered legal due diligence for M&A lawyers

03:05 – Elena’s background: ex-lawyer, ex-legal tech startup operator

04:15 – Childhood ambitions: politics, drill sergeant energy, and leadership

06:00 – The challenge: how do AI startups prove real product differentiation?

08:30 – Alan on “thin wrappers” vs customer experience as a moat

10:10 – Building trust in professional services: security, UX, and reliability

11:40 – Why distribution beats tech in B2B AI

14:10 – What makes a moat in the era of fast, AI-powered software

16:05 – How deal size affects sales cycles in enterprise SaaS

17:15 – Selling into law firms: why Hobart offices can be a strategic wedge

20:00 – Innovation teams: gatekeepers, champions… or blockers?

22:00 – The danger of general-purpose tools vs specialist point solutions

25:05 – How to respond when clients say “we’ll build it in-house”

27:00 – Why law firms are fast-moving money machines (and hate friction)

👩‍⚖️ Elena Tsalanidis – https://www.linkedin.com/in/elenatsalanidis

⚖️ Deeligence – https://www.deeligence.ai

🎧 More from Alan Jones – https://www.startupfoundercoach.com

🦙 Vanta automates up to 90% compliance, getting you audit-ready quickly and saving you up to 85% of associated costs. Join 10,000 global companies like Cipherstash, Handle and Indebted that use Vanta to build trust and prove security in real-time.

Get 10% off - http://dayone.fm/vanta/brain

💰 Standard Ledger is your all-in-one finance team for startups. From bookkeeping and payroll to R&D claims and fractional CFO support, they help founders stay on top of their numbers and make smarter decisions. Ready to scale?

Book your free chat at https://dayone.fm/standard

To learn more, join our newsletter to be notified of new and upcoming shows. The only content we create is content that will help Australian founders.

Mentioned in this episode:

Standard Ledger

Vanta PMB May 2025_01

James Davie is the Co-founder and CEO of Miyagi, an AI-powered platform helping tech companies run more efficient and engaging online communities. In this episode, Alan sits down with James to explore what it takes to build a startup when you’ve never sold a thing in your life, and why community might just be the next frontier in customer experience.

They talk founder-led sales, credibility building on LinkedIn, and how James is navigating the messy middle between MVP and product-market fit. You’ll also hear real insights into Miyagi’s pilot customers, the importance of owning your distribution channel early, and why building your personal brand can unlock your first 100 users, even before the product is “done.”

This is essential listening for early-stage founders, community managers, and product leaders who know the power of customer engagement, but also know how hard it is to scale it.

01:44 – James’ surprising path to becoming a founder

06:39 – What is Miyagi, and who is it for?

10:30 – The hidden cost of running a community without ownership

12:45 – Founder-led sales when you’ve never sold before

13:17 – Learning to ask for the sale: how James is building muscle

15:54 – Imposter syndrome and credibility as an unknown founder

17:39 – Why LinkedIn alone won’t build your funnel

18:51 – Using small events and meetups as growth channels

21:29 – From attendee to speaker: how to build “expert magic”

24:35 – Becoming a panelist, host, or community organiser

25:58 – Why different roles across the org all touch “community”

26:56 – Founder brand vs company brand: what comes first?

👨🏻‍💻 James Davie on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-davie/

🏗️ Miyagi – https://www.linkedin.com/company/miyagi-ai/

🦙 Vanta automates up to 90% compliance, getting you audit-ready quickly and saving you up to 85% of associated costs. Join 10,000 global companies like Cipherstash, Handle and Indebted that use Vanta to build trust and prove security in real-time.

Get 10% off - http://dayone.fm/vanta/brain

💰 Standard Ledger is your all-in-one finance team for startups. From bookkeeping and payroll to R&D claims and fractional CFO support, they help founders stay on top of their numbers and make smarter decisions. Ready to scale?

Book your free chat at https://dayone.fm/standard

To learn more, join our newsletter to be notified of new and upcoming shows. The only content we create is content that will help Australian founders.

Mentioned in this episode:

Standard Ledger

Vanta PMB May 2025_01

Can a 27-second video replace a cover letter?

In this episode, Alan sits down with Luke Marshall, Head of Growth at UseVerb, a startup reinventing the way frontline teams hire with short-form video job applications. Luke shares his journey from big-budget media agencies to lean startup teams, the lessons learned from building and rebuilding UseVerb, and why Gen Z is redefining how we think about recruitment, content, and connection.

You’ll hear why UseVerb is doubling down on portrait video, how they’re targeting multi-location retailers and hospitality groups, and what their experiments in landing pages, email outreach, and TikTok-style branding have revealed so far.

If you’ve ever tried hiring at scale or building a startup in a noisy market, Luke’s insights on growth, product-market fit, and trust-based hiring will hit home.

02:02 – Childhood dreams, Jurassic Park, and marine dinosaurs

03:12 – From media agency life to the startup world

04:34 – The origin story of UseVerb and what went wrong the first time

07:41 – Rebooting the startup: What’s different now

08:40 – The power of a 27-second video job application

10:57 – Why Gen Z gets video — and how that’s a hiring advantage

12:07 – Who UseVerb is built for (and how to reach them)

14:37 – Why TikTok changed everything for startup marketing

16:46 – UseVerb’s omnichannel growth strategy

18:18 – Creating content for portrait video vs landscape: Lessons from Gen Z

22:43 – Personalised landing pages: Too creepy or just right?

24:39 – How UseVerb uses AI to write emails that don’t sound like AI

29:25 – Why diversity in case studies matters for conversion

31:34 – The heartbreak of bounce rates and browser tab 76

33:26 – Final thoughts + a callout for user research participants

🙋🏻‍♂️ Luke’s Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/marshwah/

🗣️ UseVerb – https://www.useverb.com/

🧊 SmartLead – https://smartlead.ai/ – tool for cold outbound

🕸️ Make.com – https://www.make.com/ – no-code automation for landing page generation

📋 Microsoft Clarity – https://clarity.microsoft.com/ – session replay for landing page behaviour

🦙 Vanta automates up to 90% compliance, getting you audit-ready quickly and saving you up to 85% of associated costs. Join 10,000 global companies like Cipherstash, Handle and Indebted that use Vanta to build trust and prove security in real-time.

Get 10% off - http://dayone.fm/vanta/brain

💰 Standard Ledger is your all-in-one finance team for startups. From bookkeeping and payroll to R&D claims and fractional CFO support, they help founders stay on top of their numbers and make smarter decisions. Ready to scale?

Book your free chat at https://dayone.fm/standard

To learn more, join our newsletter to be notified of new and upcoming shows. The only content we create is content that will help Australian founders.

Mentioned in this episode:

Vanta PMB May 2025_01

Would you play a guitar without tuning it? Of course not. So why use AI music tools that you can’t control? That’s the thinking behind Koup Music.

In this episode of Pick My Brain, Kartini Ludwig, co-founder and CEO of Koup Music, shares her vision for an ethical, artist-first AI music platform. Kartini explains how Koup allows artists to fine-tune and collaborate with AI models to unlock new sonic possibilities, while still maintaining creative control.

Alan Jones dives deep into Koup’s pitch, offering tactical advice on simplifying IP rights, presenting a stronger fundraising narrative, and testing paid marketing before hiring a CMO. They also explore why community-driven tools need clear go-to-market strategies, and how to make investors feel safe in uncharted territory.

01:33 – Kartini’s background, creative roots, and how Koup Music began

03:00 – What Koup Music is: empowering artists with tunable AI music models

04:50 – Industry validation: APRA stats and ethical concerns in AI music

06:05 – How Koup Music works: live performance demos and remix capabilities

09:35 – Alan’s feedback: clarify visuals, showcase real artists in action

11:22 – Business model: pay-as-you-go credits, future subscriptions, and a model marketplace

14:39 – Who owns AI-generated music? IP rights, artist licensing, and transparency

18:42 – Fundraising strategy: what $1M in seed funding will achieve for Koup

22:04 – Growth goals: 100K users, CAC targets, and early marketing experiments

🙋🏻‍♀️ Kartini Ludwig – https://www.linkedin.com/in/kartiniludwig/

🎶 Koup Music – https://www.koupmusic.com/

🦙 Vanta automates up to 90% compliance, getting you audit-ready quickly and saving you up to 85% of associated costs. Join 10,000 global companies like Cipherstash, Handle and Indebted that use Vanta to build trust and prove security in real-time.

Get 10% off - http://dayone.fm/vanta/brain

💰 Standard Ledger is your all-in-one finance team for startups. From bookkeeping and payroll to R&D claims and fractional CFO support, they help founders stay on top of their numbers and make smarter decisions. Ready to scale?

Book your free chat at https://dayone.fm/standard

To learn more, join our newsletter to be notified of new and upcoming shows. The only content we create is content that will help Australian founders.

Mentioned in this episode:

Vanta PMB May 2025_01

Imagine navigating a festival with ease, knowing exactly where to go, how busy each venue is, and what’s happening around you. That’s the vision behind Bardar, an app revolutionising the festival experience.

In this episode of Pick My Brain, Dexter Todd shares how Bardar pivoted from a nightlife discovery app into a data-driven platform that helps festival organisers improve attendee experiences and prove their economic impact. Alan Jones dives into the importance of positioning Bardar as an enterprise SaaS product rather than a one-off event app, and how this strategy can unlock longer-term revenue and growth.

They also discuss Dexter’s cold outreach success with South by Southwest Sydney, landing a $25K contract, and the power of leveraging real-time foot traffic data to build value for festival clients.

00:00 – Dexter on festival frustrations and app clunkiness

02:01 – From ANU student startup to Bardar’s growth

03:37 – How Bardar pivoted to focus on festivals

08:23 – Landing a contract with South by Southwest via cold email

11:55 – Using foot traffic APIs to track venue capacity

14:24 – Post-event reports and insights for festivals

15:09 – Fundraising journey: $225K pre-seed and $200K extension

16:36 – Alan’s advice: converting seasonal deals into SaaS contracts

17:27 – Positioning Bardar as a data-driven SaaS enterprise

21:38 – The importance of annual contracts to build a sustainable business

🙋🏻‍♂️ Dexter Todd’s LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dexter-todd-77a600242/

📍 Bardar - https://www.bardar.app/

To learn more, join our newsletter to be notified of new and upcoming shows. The only content we create is content that will help Australian founders.

🦙 Vanta automates up to 90% compliance, getting you audit-ready quickly and saving you up to 85% of associated costs. Join 10,000 global companies like Cipherstash, Handle and Indebted that use Vanta to build trust and prove security in real-time.

Get 10% off - http://dayone.fm/vanta/brain

💰 Standard Ledger is your all-in-one finance team for startups. From bookkeeping and payroll to R&D claims and fractional CFO support, they help founders stay on top of their numbers and make smarter decisions. Ready to scale?

Book your free chat at https://dayone.fm/standard

Mentioned in this episode:

Vanta PMB May 2025_01