Could real meat grown without animals be cheaper than traditional farming? And could Australia become one of the best places in the world to launch it?

In this episode of Pick My Brain, Alan Jones is joined by Paul Bevan, founder of cultivated meat startup Magic Valley, to explore how second-generation food tech is reshaping the economics and investability of cultivated meat. Paul pitches Magic Valley’s approach to growing real meat from animal cells, without livestock, and explains why minced products like lamb and pork are the logical first step to reaching commercial scale.

Alan and Paul unpack why earlier cultivated meat companies struggled, how advances in equipment and cell culture media have dramatically lowered costs, and what that means for investors assessing deep tech risk today. They also dig into Australia’s surprisingly strong regulatory framework for novel foods, Magic Valley’s decision to launch locally first, and how to raise deep tech capital without burning hundreds of millions of dollars.

Along the way, Alan shares practical advice on investor communication, momentum, and signalling progress, while Paul reflects on the challenge of telling one coherent story to impact investors, deep tech funds, and commercial partners at the same time.

If you are building in food tech, climate tech, deep tech, or navigating complex investor messaging, this episode is packed with hard-earned insight.

Galah Cyber offers the Foundations of Application Security course: a practical, hands-on AppSec course built for engineers who actually ship code. Two days of real-world lessons you can apply immediately. Learn more at galahcyber.com.au/learn.

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.

How are you, fans of the show? You might have noticed there’ve been no new episodes for a while. Honestly, I didn’t really want to say anything earlier, but I’m starting to feel like I owe you an explanation.

Earlier this year, I got a cancer diagnosis. That sucked. But I had surgery at the end of September, and it looks like it was successful. So maybe now I update my LinkedIn profile to say “cancer survivor” — I don’t know.

With all that going on, I dropped a few things, and new episodes of Pick My Brain was one of them. And here we are in December. I feel much, much better than I did a few months ago, but that break in recording means we won’t have any new episodes for you until early January.

The good news is we’re recording again now. We’ve made some big improvements to the show, and I hope you’re going to love what we have in store for you starting January 2026.

If you need more listening in the meantime, I highly recommend First Check, Perspective X, In The Blink of AI, and our newest show Oversubscribed with angel investor Brendan Hill, which goes deep into the stories behind Australia’s best performing startups.

Anyway, I hope you have a safe, happy, and fun summer break. I hope it’s full of friendship, love, and good times. And I hope your startups are doing well too.

See you in January.

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:

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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.

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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:

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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.

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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:

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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:

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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.

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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:

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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:

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