Jessica Venning-Bryan joined Troy Hammond, Serge Van Dam, and Adrienne Muir on Startup Theatre, New Zealand's number one startup podcast, fresh off Factor's acquisition by NZX-listed Gentrack.
It is one of the more wide-ranging founder conversations you will come across. The episode covers the full Factor journey in detail, including how Jessica and Simon identified a major problem hiding in plain sight inside the global energy industry, how they built an AI-powered SaaS platform that could solve it, and how they navigated an acquisition process in under two years.
But it goes well beyond the business story. Jessica talks openly about the founder relationship, what it takes to raise venture capital as a female founder, how she thinks about leadership and work-life balance, and the due diligence lessons she would want every founder to know before they go through an acquisition process.
There is also a broader conversation about critical thinking, the future of education, AI, and why she believes careers should be jungle gyms rather than ladders.
Whether you are building a startup, thinking about your first exit, or simply want to hear what one of New Zealand's most impressive founders actually sounds like when she talks honestly about the journey, this episode is worth your time.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
https://www.startuptheatre.com/she-built-sold-an-ai-startup-in-under-2-years-for-34m
