The Growth Engine

Hosted by Mike Parsons, each episode explores the systems, strategies, and decision-making behind predictable growth in an AI-powered world. Mike is an AI-driven Growth Marketing Strategist whose career blends technology, creativity, and growth. His journey began in 1997 when he launched Australia’s first internet radio station, which led to work across Europe and Silicon Valley, a Guinness World Record, building and selling startups, and advising founders on growth and innovation. Today, Mike coaches finalists in the Australian Technologies Competition and the World Cup.

The Growth Engine is a business podcast hosted by Mike Parsons Apollo Advisors, with 29 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Mike Parsons Apollo Advisors hosts The Growth Engine, a business show with 29 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

• 

  The Growth Engine

  AI Could Change Everything. Just Not as Fast as Investors Think.

  Sep 14, 202619 min

  AI could change everything. But probably not as fast as the hype suggests.In this episode of The Growth Engine Podcast, I look at where AI is actually creating disruption today, why software development is so far ahead, and what we should watch for as AI starts to move into other industries.I use AI every day, and I’ve seen first-hand how dramatically it has changed software development. Developers are moving from writing code and researching solutions manually to working inside AI harnesses such as Cursor, Codex and Replit, where the job increasingly becomes setting goals, providing context and orchestrating outcomes.But outside software, the picture is much more mixed.In areas such as customer service, marketing, translation, accounting, legal and recruitment, AI is still largely assisting or producing rather than autonomously executing entire workflows. That distinction matters because AI adoption is not the same as AI disruption.In the episode, I explore the pattern I think we should be watching:Tool → Workflow → Orchestration → OutcomeI also look at Canva as an example of how disruption moves up the stack. Canva disrupted Adobe by making professional design accessible to more people. Now AI is beginning to challenge Canva itself, forcing it to think beyond the design tool and toward outcomes such as build a brand, launch a brand and grow a brand.We also look at which industries may be next, why customer service could move faster than legal or accounting, and why human judgement, trust and the cost of mistakes may slow adoption in many professional services.Finally, I share the signals that I think will tell us when real AI transformation has arrived: workflows and orchestration becoming more important than individual tools, pricing shifting toward outcomes, jobs and roles changing, and interfaces beginning to disappear altogether.AI may well become one of the great disruptive technologies of our time. The question is not whether it can change everything.The question is how long it takes to move from invention to transformation.#AI #ArtificialIntelligence #FutureOfWork #AIAdoption #AIAgents #SoftwareDevelopment #BusinessStrategy #DigitalTransformation #GrowthEngine

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  The Growth Engine

  I Met 900+ Founders. Here’s What’s Working in the AI Era

  Sep 6, 202619 min

  After meeting and working alongside more than 900 founders in one month, three patterns became impossible to ignore.AI capability is becoming widely available. The real challenge now is creating meaningful differentiation, choosing opportunities that deliver value quickly, and preserving the human qualities competitors can’t automate.In this monthly edition of The Growth Engine, Mike Parsons shares lessons from three major founder communities:• The Australian Technologies Competition • Build Your Go-to-Market at UTS Startups • The S2S Summit in Sydney You’ll learn:• Why agentic-first products and proprietary data can create a defensible advantage • How high-touch human experiences can differentiate a company • Why early-stage founders should focus on one opportunity with short-term ROI • When a major enterprise customer may be the wrong first target • Why AI-generated sameness makes authentic human communication more valuable • How founders can go deeper, serve customers better, and stand out The three lessons:1. Search for sustainable differentiation 2. Focus on one thing with the greatest short-term ROI 3. Be more human Also in this Apollo update: new Moonshots episodes about creativity and AI, Mike’s conversation with Giles Bourne about what investors want from founders, and the launch of Clarity.Try Clarity free: https://tryclarity.xyzCHAPTERS00:00 Three lessons from 900+ founders 00:31 The gap between the AI world and everyone else 01:30 Lessons from the Australian Technologies Competition 02:40 The search for sustainable differentiation 03:45 Agentic-first products and proprietary data 05:03 Why human service is becoming more valuable 05:35 Building go-to-market with 16 founders 07:26 Successful founders are all in 08:05 Focus on one market, customer and value proposition 09:48 Why the biggest customer may be the wrong first customer 12:13 Inside the S2S Summit 14:39 How to win when AI is everywhere 16:20 Three lessons for founders 17:03 New podcasts and the launch of Clarity ABOUT THE GROWTH ENGINEThe Growth Engine is the podcast where founders, operators and growth leaders break down how modern companies scale. Hosted by Mike Parsons, each episode explores the systems, strategies and decisions behind predictable growth in an AI-powered world.Subscribe for practical conversations about go-to-market strategy, product-market fit, positioning, funnels, RevOps and AI-powered growth.#StartupGrowth #FounderAdvice #ArtificialIntelligence

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  The Growth Engine

  What Investors Really Want From Founders in 2026 — Giles Bourne

  Aug 30, 202645 min

  What are investors really looking for from founders in 2026?With capital tighter, markets less forgiving, and AI reshaping industries at speed, the startup playbook is changing. Founders can no longer rely on funding alone to carry the story. They need resilience, traction, clarity, and the ability to adapt fast.In this episode of The Growth Engine, Mike Parsons sits down with Giles Bourne, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Scalare Partners, to unpack what winning founders are doing differently right now. Giles brings a rare perspective across operating, investing, and company building. He spent 14 years leading deep-tech company BluGlass, navigating the realities of running an ASX-listed technology business, raising significant capital, and commercialising complex technology. Today, through Scalare Partners and the Australian Technologies Competition, he works closely with early-stage founders across Australia.Drawing on hundreds of startup pitches and founder conversations, Giles shares what he is seeing in the market today: more bootstrapping, more capital discipline, and a much greater premium on founder resilience. He explains why the strongest founders are willing to change the path without giving up on the vision, and why listening to customers, investors, and co-founders is becoming an increasingly important competitive advantage.Mike and Giles also explore what investors really mean by “traction.” It is not just about showing an aggressive hockey-stick forecast. Investors want evidence that the company is learning, customers are engaging, revenue is moving in the right direction, and the founders understand how to manage capital responsibly. Giles also shares why simple storytelling matters so much: founders need to know their story deeply enough to communicate it clearly, naturally, and with conviction.The conversation covers the point where technical founders often hit a wall: they may deeply understand the product, but not yet understand the next customer segment. Giles explains why that moment often requires new commercial expertise, a different go-to-market strategy, or even an additional co-founder.They also dig into founding-team dynamics — why complementary skills matter, why listening and mutual respect are essential, and why founders should think about difficult scenarios before problems arise.The episode closes on a bigger ambition: Giles’ belief that Australia has the talent to make technology a much stronger pillar of the economy. Through Scalare, the Australian Technologies Competition, The Founders Union, and the wider startup ecosystem, the opportunity is to give Australian founders more capital, expertise, community, and support to build globally significant companies from Australia.In this episode:What investors really look for in foundersWhy resilience matters more in 2026How tighter funding markets are changing startup behaviourWhy more founders are bootstrapping for longerHow to know when it is time to pivotWhat traction actually looks like to investorsWhy customer evidence matters more than projectionsHow founders should tell their storyWhy practice is critical when pitchingWhen technical founders need commercial helpHow to approach a new customer segmentWhat makes a strong founding teamWhy complementary skills beat founder similarityThe importance of listening and mutual respectHow Australia can build a stronger technology ecosystemIf you’re a founder, operator, investor, or growth leader navigating the current startup environment, this episode is packed with practical lessons on building a company that can survive, adapt, and ultimately win.#Startups #Founders #VentureCapital #StartupFunding #Fundraising #Entrepreneurship #StartupGrowth #GoToMarket #GTM #Bootstrapping #FounderMindset #StartupAdvice #TechStartups #AustralianStartups #AustralianTech #VentureInvesting #ScalarePartners #AustralianTechnologiesCompetition #GrowthStrategy #TheGrowthEngine

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  The Growth Engine

  Ready to build your own Go-to-Market?

  Jul 13, 202638 min

  In this episode of The Growth Engine, Mike Parsons is joined by Lauren Calautti, Chief Revenue Rocketeer at Scalare Partners, to break down the essential building blocks of a successful go-to-market strategy.Together, they explore why great products don't automatically become great businesses, and why founders need to be just as obsessed with growth as with product development.Mike and Lauren discuss how to define your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP), build messaging that resonates with both users and buyers, identify the metrics that actually matter, and create a repeatable sales system using a CRM. They also share practical advice on founder-led sales, partnerships, referrals, AI-powered go-to-market, and how to launch with confidence while keeping your focus on generating real customer revenue.Whether you're pre-revenue, launching your first product, or looking to build a more predictable growth engine, this episode is packed with practical frameworks and real-world advice you can put into action immediately.In this episode you'll learn:- Why go-to-market deserves as much attention as product development- How to define your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)- The difference between users, champions and economic buyers- How to craft messaging for problem-aware and problem-unaware markets- Why customer education is often your biggest competitive advantage- The CRM metrics every founder should track- Practical founder-led sales strategies that win early customers- Different go-to-market motions including direct sales, referrals, partnerships and technology integrations- Why customer revenue is the best form of startup fundingReady to build your own Go-to-Market?Join Mike Parsons and Lauren Calautti in the 4-Week Go-to-Market Sprint and build a complete growth system for your startup.You'll walk away with:- A clearly defined Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)- Sharper positioning and messaging- Sales and outreach assets ready to use- A CRM and pipeline you can actually manage- Funnel metrics and a practical 90-day GTM roadmap- Live market activity already underwayPresented by: UTS Startups, TechReady Women and Zoho Startups.Register here: https://luma.com/vi8i7u8h

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  The Growth Engine

  From 10 Customers to 100: The 3 Levels of Startup Fit That Create Repeatable Growth

  Jun 3, 202617 minS0

  Most startups don’t fail because they can’t get their first customers.They fail because they can’t build a repeatable system to get the next 90.In this episode of The Growth Engine Podcast, Mike Parsons breaks down one of the most misunderstood phases in startup growth: the transition from early traction to scalable product-market fit.You’ve landed your first 10 customers. Great. But now comes the hard part:Can you generate customers while you sleep?Are customers paying and staying?Is growth dependent on founder hustle, or is there a repeatable engine underneath it?Mike introduces a practical framewor...

  ListenShow Notes

Recent guests on The Growth Engine. Study who booked and why before you pitch.

Based on semantic analysis of episode topics and host coverage, this show is a strong guest fit for executives in:

Industry fit is computed by PitchCentric using vector embeddings of the show's episode catalog.