Back in 2023, SafetyCulture founder Luke Anear had a vision – a four-part documentary series with profiling the founders of some of Australia’s most successful tech companies, including himself.
It was an insight into the highs and lows and drama of local startup life, which was released as a pay-per-view on Apple TV, Prime Video, and Google Play.
He’d has his first taste of filmmaking in 2017 as executive producer of the feature-length doco The New Hustle, covering startup life and the backstories of the founders of Canva, and Vinomofo, as well as Anear’s own adventures, from running a fight night to launching SafetyCulture in Townsville.
The SafetyCulture founder then came back for more six years later, reprising his centre-stage role alongside Canva’s Melanie Perkins, with Brighte’s Katherine McConnell and Fred Schebesta from Finder rounding out the fab four.
Anear was EP again, and the brief was to capture the behind-the-scenes uncertainty, doubt and struggle of what now looks like massive success for some high-profile founders.
”I hope that by sharing more about my journey with SafetyCulture – along with Mel, Katherine and Fred’s stories – we can encourage more people to take a chance,” Anear said at the time, just as everyone began stepping outside the post-lockdown front doors.
“Founder is a pretty honest look at the determination and personal sacrifice it takes to start a company that has the potential to change the world. I hope it gives people some insight into what it takes to be a founder, and that it inspires the people who are sitting on incredible ideas to back themselves and give it a go. I’m a big believer that great ideas and incredible businesses can come from anywhere.”
The good news is that all four episodes have recently been uploaded to YouTube where you can watch them for free. And people are. In just a month, the Canva episode featuring the perfectionist Perkins has clocked up more than 111,000 views.
At the end of last year, after 2o years at SafetyCulture’s helm, Anear stepped down as CEO, and became executive chairman, having built a business that put his personal wealth north of $600 million. It’s not bad for a bloke who admits in his episode that he had 18 different jobs or businesses before launching his proverbial garage-based startup in North Queensland.
But what Founder also makes clear in Anear’s case is the personal sacrifice involved as he reflects on the lonely, all-consuming journey that’s pushed him and everyone he loves to the breaking point. He also likes rally driving and compares driving on the edge and potentially crashing to running a startup
Schebesta’s maverick charm was part of what made Finder exciting and talked about, but as the company’s global reputation and value rose, the barefoot and bearded crypto visionary’s talent for disruption veered more to simply disruptive. His move to New York to launch Finder there is a fascinating back to basics lesson. In late 2022 Schebesta walked away from co-CEO role .
Brighte’s Katherine McConnell brings her own very different founder story having quit her corporate job with a young family and risking her mortgage on a gut instinct, helping
Here are the four Founder episodes, to watch for free.
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