Procreate co-founder James Cuda has spent more than a decade obsessing over one thing: the brushstroke. From hacking the iPad 1 to run at 60fps, to turning a side project into the world’s leading creative app, James has built Procreate on a radical philosophy: simplicity, permanence, and creative freedom above all else.

In this episode of Wild Hearts, James joins Mason to share why the company never took VC money, how “flow state” shapes everything from product design to team culture, and what it really takes to scale without losing soul. They also dive deep into generative AI, ethical data, and why Procreate’s biggest unfair advantage may simply be staying small and Tasmanian.

James also reflects on the tension between addition and reduction, the power of jam sessions, and why listening to the “little voice” is the artist’s greatest superpower.

Time Stamps

00:00 – Intro

02:05 – Why brushstrokes were the starting point

05:10 – The art of subtraction: keeping flow while adding features

07:50 – Permanence as a product philosophy

09:36 – From “an amazing piece of shit” to a world-class creative tool

12:11 – How Procreate’s archetype grew from amateurs to architects

15:01 – Listening to users without losing the soul

17:31 – Scaling creativity and protecting flow inside the team

19:51 – Jam sessions, “holy shit” moments, and making ideas real

23:31 – James’ strong stance on generative AI and ethical data

34:51 – Authenticity over slogans: building trust with artists

37:21 – Bringing artists together, online and offline

39:06 – Staying independent: why Procreate never took VC

44:01 – Simplicity vs. optionality in future workflows

46:39 – The advice James gives every artist: listen to the little voice

48:26 – Outro

What if you could take the most mysterious force in physics—and make it useful?

In our final episode of this season of Wild Hearts, we sit down with Pete Shadbolt, co-founder of PsiQuantum, a company racing to build the world’s first utility-scale quantum computer. But this isn’t a conversation about quantum theory. It’s about execution. Engineering. Scaling. Building something that moves humanity forward - not in decades, but now.

Pete shares why 300 or 3,000 qubits won’t cut it, and why a million is the magic number. We explore the technical marvels (and madness) involved in the team’s journey: superconducting detectors millimetres from red-hot heaters, lasers brighter than a trillion photons, and a cryostat that throws out the chandelier model altogether.

But most of all, this is a story of ambition. Of leaving behind prestigious academic careers, raising a billion dollars, and assembling a team of physicists, welders, aerospace engineers, and cryo-specialists to take one shot at building something historic.

In this conversation, we cover:

🚀 Why PsiQuantum is chasing 1 million qubits—not 300, not 3,000🏗️ What it takes to move quantum computing from theory to hardware—with welders, chip designers, and aerospace engineers

📉 Why academia can be a trap—and how PsiQuantum built an anti-academic company culture

🌐 The real-world applications of quantum computing: from designing drugs to revolutionising materials science

👩‍🔬 How team DNA, not just tech, shapes PsiQuantum’s ability to scale and execute

⚙️ Why quantum computing isn’t a mass adoption tool - and why that’s perfectly okay

🔥 How engineering targets that once caused mutiny are now being hit daily

This episode concludes our fifth season of Wild Hearts. Over the past 40 weeks, it’s been our honour to chat to the founders and operators shaping the world we live in. If you’ve enjoyed the conversations, we would be grateful if you could like, subscribe, and share our program with other wild hearts.

Wild Hearts will take a short break, and will return to all streaming platforms later this year.

From everyone at the Wild Hearts team, thank you!

What if planning dinner wasn’t a chore—but something you looked forward to? In this episode, Wild Hearts guest host, Silk Kadala - investor at Blackbird - chats with Anna Guerrero, founder of Clove, a beautifully designed cooking app that’s reimagining how we cook at home.

You might know Anna from her nine years scaling the creator marketplace at Canva—but it was a stint as a pasta chef in the Dolomites that ultimately set her on the path to launching Clove.

Whether you’re interested in the role of AI in reducing decision fatigue, why brands are betting big on recipe creators as the next wave of culinary entrepreneurs or just stood in front of the fridge thinking “what’s for dinner?”—this episode is for you.

🔍 In this conversation, we cover:

🍳 The invisible mental load of everyday cooking—and how Clove is removing it with Smart Planner

📲 Why Clove’s approach to AI is more whisper than shout—and why that matters for creativity

📚 Building for creators: how Clove is giving food bloggers, TikTok cooks and chefs a new way to publish and earn

🎯 From pitch decks to real traction: Anna’s high-stakes decision to pause Clove’s creator program and set a new quality bar

🚀 The leap from Canva exec to culinary school student—and what working in a Michelin-starred restaurant taught Anna about product

🧠 Low ego, high initiative: what Clove looks for in early team members and building a culture of adaptability

🧭 What it means to follow the dots—why you don’t need to have it all figured out to move forward

🍽️ The long-term ambition: turning Clove into the global go-to for “what’s for dinner?”—with a billion recipes cooked through the platform

From Canva to Clove, Anna Guerrero shows what it looks like to reinvent yourself, back a bold vision, and build something that truly changes how we live and cook.