The Hidden Criteria Behind a YC Yes: Yotam on Founder Signals, and the Real Work Behind a Yes

She Lost the Company She Built — Not Herself: Yas Grigaliunas (Part 2)

She raised $4 million just before Christmas, moved out of her marital home inside sixty days, and came back from a two-week break to find an interim CEO appointed and the doors of her own company closed to her. In Part 2 of her Perspective X conversation with Pauline Fetaui, Yas Grigaliunas tells the part founders almost never say out loud: nine months locked out of World's Biggest Garage Sale, watching the brand she built be steered somewhere she would never have taken it. Yas walks through the pattern that ran underneath the whole journey — high highs and low lows landing on top of each other. The Lord Mayor's award the same week her mum died. The $4 million raise the same month as her divorce. And then "prove your value, Yas" — sell to customers from home, no access to the product, no hand in the brand, while a million dollars of the raise went on things she would never have signed off. She is unsparing but never vengeful about the board and advisers who did it. Two truths can be true at once, she says: they believed they were giving her space to manage a hard year; what it actually was, was a displacement. It took a founder friend shoving a lawyer's number at her in a bar to get her back inside the company she still majority-owned. The numbers tell the rest. A $200,000 Ignite Ideas grant ten days before liquidation. A $20-odd million large global retailer partnership ready to sign. A $6,000 bank balance the month after half a million in revenue. Yas unpacks the over-engineered structure, the siloed executives, the curated board papers, and the moment the safe-harbour report from BDO finally backed what she had been saying all along. What she does with the ending is the lesson. She rang every investor by phone before the liquidation notice went public. She traded through so staff got their final pay. She stayed thirty days after the liquidator was appointed to hand back a spotless warehouse — because, as her liquidator put it, the best stay and the worst disappear. There is also the human spine of it: building a team around neurodiverse people and "the cracks you can't see", the scars she is not ashamed of, and her daughters watching her lose everything and land — without, in their eyes, any effort — back at Videopro, the company she helped build twenty years ago. "I lost my company," she says, "but I didn't lose myself." Yas Grigaliunas is the founder of World's Biggest Garage Sale and Circonomy, a pioneer of Australia's circular economy who raised $4 million and partnered with a large domestic retailer before the company went into liquidation in 2024. She is now part of the leadership team at Videopro. Links: - Day One: https://dayone.fm [https://dayone.fm] - Join the Day One newsletter: https://dayone.fm/newsletter [https://dayone.fm/newsletter] - Videopro: https://www.videopro.com.au [https://www.videopro.com.au] - Deel (sponsor): https://www.deel.com/dayone [https://www.deel.com/dayone] If it doesn't feel right, it probably isn't. This is Perspective X. Deel: Founders scale faster on Deel. Set up payroll for any country in minutes, hire anyone anywhere, and get visas handled fast, so you stay focused on scaling. Deel takes care of onboarding, HR, IT, EOR, benefits, and compliance, so your team can grow without borders. It's why more than 40,000 fast-growing companies trust Deel to move fast. Visit https://www.deel.com/dayone [https://www.deel.com/dayone] Episode Summary Part 2 of Yas Grigaliunas on Perspective X is the harder chapter: the $4 million raise, the divorce, and nine months locked out of the company she founded. She walks through the liquidation of World's Biggest Garage Sale — the large global retailer deal, the grant, the $6,000 bank balance — and how she led the ending with integrity, then landed back at Videopro. She lost the company. She did not lose herself. Time Stamps 00:00 - The part no one tells 00:51 - Building a team around neurodiversity 08:49 - Leading the narrative into liquidation 10:43 - High highs, low lows: the pattern 12:03 - Raised $4M, then locked out 14:10 - "Prove your value": nine months outside 19:43 - When founders take the fall in silence 21:19 - Two truths about the board 28:13 - The large global retailer deal and the $6,000 call 38:29 - Closing the company with integrity 47:40 - Lessons for founders raising capital 55:21 - Landing back at Videopro 66:53 - What the world hasn't caught up on About the host Pauline Fetaui hosts Perspective X, drawing out the founder stories that usually stay hidden — the cost, the conviction, and the decisions made under real pressure. About Day One Network Perspective X is part of Day One, the podcast network dedicated to founders, operators and investors. To learn more, join our newsletter (https://dayone.fm/newsletter) [https://dayone.fm/newsletter)] to be notified of new and upcoming shows. Day One helps founders and startup operators make better business decisions more often. Follow our socials LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/dayonefm/ [https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/dayonefm/] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dayone.fm/ [https://www.instagram.com/dayone.fm/] TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dayone.fm [https://www.tiktok.com/@dayone.fm] Mentioned in this episode: Deel x PX_Script 1 Day One sting Deel x PX_Script 2

The Part No One Tells - WBGS Yas Grigaliunas (Part 1)

Yas Grigaliunas turned a backyard charity garage sale into Circonomy, one of Australia's most recognised circular-economy companies — years before "circular economy" was even a phrase. In Part 1 of her Perspective X conversation with Pauline Fetaui, she traces the rise: from selling homemade cupcakes at 5am triathlon training and asking herself "how do you raise money without asking people for money," to $15,000 in a single day, to quitting her job with no plan B, to a $4 million raise in four weeks with Officeworks on the cap table. It's also a portrait of the engine underneath: a relentlessly data-obsessed, "burn bright, not burn out" founder who walked into rooms she was told she didn't belong in — including a memorable run-in with Steve Baxter at River City Labs — turned "surprise chain" into supply chain for Officeworks the weekend COVID shut the world down, and built a company on the conviction that idle assets, and overlooked people, are worth far more than anyone assumes. Part 2 is the harder conversation — the cost, and what happened when it all changed. Episode Summary Yas Grigaliunas, founder of World's Biggest Garage Sale and Circonomy, joins Pauline Fetaui for Part 1 of a Perspective X conversation about building a circular-economy company in Australia before the term existed. From a charity garage sale that did $15,000 in a day to a $4 million capital raise in four weeks, Yas unpacks the data discipline, the conviction, and the well-timed moments that turned "dormant goods for good" into a national enterprise — and the energy source that, after 30 years of people predicting her burnout, still hasn't run dry. Time Stamps 00:00 - A garage full of stuff, and one question: how do you raise money without asking for money? 02:10 - Welcome to Perspective X: Pauline's "love letter" introduction to Yas 03:13 - The cancer-charity origin and "dormant goods for good" 05:30 - The first World's Biggest Garage Sale: $15k in a day, 50 volunteers 12:58 - Scaling the events: $15k to $60k to $150k in a single day 18:06 - River City Labs, Steve Baxter, and "I'm not a tech founder, I'm a business builder" 24:55 - 168 hours in a week: time, data, and consistency 31:14 - Confidence, the seesaw, and falling in love with yourself 36:57 - Coining "Circonomy" before circular economy was a buzzword 41:29 - From events to a warehouse: building a real business 48:07 - Officeworks, "surprise chain," and the Retail Rescue the weekend COVID hit 49:54 - The $4 million raise and the "capital raise cave" 51:13 - Raising $4M in four weeks as a female founder 58:55 - Preparation, persistence, and watching who opened the pitch deck About the host Pauline Fetaui hosts Perspective X, the Day One Network show that goes beyond the highlight reel to explore the inner worlds, convictions and turning points of founders and leaders. About Day One Network Perspective X is part of Day One, the podcast network dedicated to founders, operators and investors. Join our newsletter at https://dayone.fm/newsletter [https://dayone.fm/newsletter] to hear about new and upcoming shows. Perspective X is powered by Deel. SPONSORS: PERSPECTIVE X IS SUPPORTED BY OUR WONDERFUL SPONSORS: Deel: Founders scale faster on Deel. Set up payroll for any country in minutes, hire anyone anywhere, and get visas handled fast, so you stay focused on scaling. Deel takes care of onboarding, HR, IT, EOR, benefits, and compliance, so your team can grow without borders. It’s why more than 40,000 fast-growing companies trust Deel to move fast. Visit https://www.deel.com/dayone Follow Day One: LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/dayonefm/ [https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/dayonefm/] · Instagram https://www.instagram.com/dayone.fm/ [https://www.instagram.com/dayone.fm/] · TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@dayone.fm [https://www.tiktok.com/@dayone.fm] Mentioned in this episode: Deel x PX_Script 2 Deel x PX_Script 1

From Police Officer to AI Pioneer to Psychedelics: Dr. Catriona Wallace’s Unfiltered Story (Part Two)

From policing the streets of Sydney’s King’s Cross to founding one of the world's first enterprise AI companies, Dr. Catriona Wallace has navigated a career arc that defies convention. As one of the few women globally to list an AI company on the ASX, she scaled Flamingo AI to New York and back, all while raising five children and operating on a frontier that barely had a name. But behind the milestone of a $20M capital raise and the adrenaline of the public markets lay a deeper story of personal cost, identity, and the "sacred wounds" that fuel high-performance leadership. In this deep-dive episode of Perspective X, Dr. Cat shares her unfiltered story of transition: from the corruption and shadow-side of law enforcement to the high-pressure world of venture capital, and eventually, to the jungles of Peru. We explore the "hard thing about hard things," the brutal reality of having your product commoditised by tech giants, and why she chose to sit with ayahuasca the same day she exited her company. This isn't just a talk about technology; it’s a masterclass in the human operating system. We dive into why AI poses a 1-in-10 existential risk, the intersection of ancient ritual and modern innovation, and why Dr. Cat believes the next generation of leaders must undergo a "rapid transformation" of consciousness to ensure humanity isn't left behind by the machines we’ve built. SPONSORS: PERSPECTIVE X IS SUPPORTED BY OUR WONDERFUL SPONSORS: Deel: Founders scale faster on Deel. Set up payroll for any country in minutes, hire anyone anywhere, and get visas handled fast, so you stay focused on scaling. Deel takes care of onboarding, HR, IT, EOR, benefits, and compliance, so your team can grow without borders. It’s why more than 40,000 fast-growing companies trust Deel to move fast. Visit https://www.deel.com/dayone PERSPECTIVE X IS PART OF DAY ONE. DAY ONE HELPS FOUNDERS AND STARTUP OPERATORS MAKE BETTER BUSINESS DECISIONS MORE OFTEN. To learn more, join our newsletter [https://dayone.fm/newsletter] to be notified of new Perspective X episodes and upcoming shows. Mentioned in this episode: Deel x PX_Script 1 Deel x PX_Script 2

From Police Officer to AI Pioneer to Psychedelics: Dr. Catriona Wallace’s Unfiltered Story (Part One)

Win $2,000 in credits with the Day One Network — take our 2-minute audience survey before 30 June: dayone.fm/survey From policing the streets of Sydney’s King’s Cross to founding one of the world's first enterprise AI companies, Dr. Catriona Wallace has navigated a career arc that defies convention. As one of the few women globally to list an AI company on the ASX, she scaled Flamingo AI to New York and back, all while raising five children and operating on a frontier that barely had a name. But behind the milestone of a $20M capital raise and the adrenaline of the public markets lay a deeper story of personal cost, identity, and the "sacred wounds" that fuel high-performance leadership. In this deep-dive episode of Perspective X, Dr. Cat shares her unfiltered story of transition: from the corruption and shadow-side of law enforcement to the high-pressure world of venture capital, and eventually, to the jungles of Peru. We explore the "hard thing about hard things," the brutal reality of having your product commoditised by tech giants, and why she chose to sit with ayahuasca the same day she exited her company. This isn't just a talk about technology; it’s a masterclass in the human operating system. We dive into why AI poses a 1-in-10 existential risk, the intersection of ancient ritual and modern innovation, and why Dr. Cat believes the next generation of leaders must undergo a "rapid transformation" of consciousness to ensure humanity isn't left behind by the machines we’ve built. Mentioned in this episode: Deel x PX_Script 1 Deel x PX_Script 2

Dr. Prash on Building a $100M+ Crypto Brokerage and Pioneering Psychedelic Therapy

Win $2,000 in credits with the Day One Network — take our 2-minute audience survey before 30 June: dayone.fm/survey EPISODE SUMMARY From surgeon to psychiatrist, Bitcoin investor to billion-dollar crypto brokerage founder, Dr. Prash Puspanathan has lived one of the most unconventional founder journeys in tech. After co-founding and scaling Caleb & Brown into a global crypto powerhouse, later acquired by SwiftX in 2025, Dr. Prash is now pioneering the future of mental health with Enosis Therapeutics, using VR to transform psychedelic-assisted therapy integration. In this episode of Perspective X, Dr. Prash shares how a single psilocybin experience completely reshaped his worldview, steering him away from surgery and into psychiatry, entrepreneurship, and eventually, crypto. He reveals the parallels between fiscal freedom in decentralized finance and cognitive freedom in mental health, the scrappy early days of arbitrage trading, and the challenges of scaling a white-glove brokerage to serve high-net-worth clients worldwide. We also dive into the future of psychedelic medicine, why integration is the “real work,” how technology can lower costs and increase access, and why prevention, not just treatment, will define the next era of mental health. From paradigm-shifting psychedelics to building billion-dollar ventures, this is a conversation about liberation, of thought, finance, and human potential. TIME STAMPS 00:00 – Intro: Dr. Prash’s unconventional founder journey 02:00 – From surgery to psychiatry: psychedelics as a turning point 06:30 – The transformative psilocybin experience and shifting paradigms 10:30 – Understanding psychedelic therapy and integration work 16:00 – Why psychedelics challenge power structures and cultural norms 22:00 – Fiscal freedom and cognitive freedom: psychedelics and Bitcoin 30:00 – Founding Caleb & Brown and building a billion-dollar brokerage 37:00 – Global scaling, high-net-worth clients, and leadership transitions 42:00 – Preparing for acquisition: the 9-month journey to SwiftX 50:00 – Running a dual life as psychiatrist and founder 55:00 – Enosis Therapeutics: VR-powered integration for psychedelic therapy 01:02:00 – Building tools for patients, therapists, and the future of mental health 01:10:00 – The vision for a psychological digital twin 01:15:00 – Psychedelics in the next 10–50 years: from treatment to prevention 01:20:00 – Translating research into real-world impact and future mission RESOURCES 💰 Caleb & Brown – Global crypto brokerage: https://calebandbrown.com 🩺 Enosis Therapeutics – Tech for psychedelic-assisted therapy: https://www.enosistherapeutics.com/ 👤 Dr. Prash on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drprash/ SPONSORS: PERSPECTIVE X IS SUPPORTED BY OUR WONDERFUL SPONSORS: Deel: Founders scale faster on Deel. Set up payroll for any country in minutes, hire anyone anywhere, and get visas handled fast, so you stay focused on scaling. Deel takes care of onboarding, HR, IT, EOR, benefits, and compliance, so your team can grow without borders. It’s why more than 40,000 fast-growing companies trust Deel to move fast. Visit https://www.deel.com/dayone PERSPECTIVE X IS PART OF DAY ONE. DAY ONE HELPS FOUNDERS AND STARTUP OPERATORS MAKE BETTER BUSINESS DECISIONS MORE OFTEN. To learn more, join our newsletter [https://dayone.fm/newsletter] to be notified of new Perspective X episodes and upcoming shows. Mentioned in this episode: Mighty Partners_PX_May 2025 Deel x PX_Script 1 Vanta_PX_May 2025