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Key Takeaways

  • • Two approaches: phase AI in so teams can learn, or swing big because the innovation curve is straight up
  • • A 5 percent productivity improvement is still worth it – don’t dismiss incremental gains
  • • Hire for AI openness as much as technical competency
  • • Swing big, but wear protective gear: take reversible risks with contingencies
  • • The human skills that stay defensible: critical reasoning, creativity, empathy, emotional intelligence

The Innovation Curve Is Straight Up

The AI conversation in startups usually falls into two camps: the cautious (“give teams time to learn before you throw everyone in the deep end”) and the aggressive (“swing big, because the innovation curve isn’t a curve – it’s straight up”). The panel represents both sides, and the tension between them is where the real insight lives.
The cautious view is practical. Under-resourcing teams plus “AI everything” leads to burnout and bad output. If you adopt AI tools without giving people time to actually learn them, you’re not getting efficiency – you’re getting mistakes dressed up as speed. Even a baseline 5 percent productivity improvement is worth it, but only if teams trust the tools enough to use them properly. You can’t mandate adoption. You have to create the conditions for it.
The aggressive view is equally compelling. The innovation curve in AI is accelerating so fast that waiting is its own risk. The panel frames the right approach as “swing big, but wear protective gear”: take the largest swing possible, but make sure it’s reversible. Build in contingencies. Hire for “AI openness” as much as competency – people who are curious about the tools, not threatened by them. And double down on the skills that AI can’t replace: critical reasoning, creativity, empathy, emotional intelligence, and the ability to check AI output. The panel also surfaces a surprising insight: Melbourne’s people-and-culture community is often faster than AI for practical resources like policy templates. The human network still matters.

Swing big. If you’re going to swing, take the biggest swing possible. The innovation curve in AI is not a curve. It’s like straight up.

— Michael Delaney, Head of People & Culture, JET Charge

Featured People Leaders

Michael Delaney – Head of People & Culture at JET Charge. Ex-Preezie. Blends people-first leadership with AI-driven strategy to build teams that scale. Former professional ballet dancer with 20+ years in talent and culture at Salesforce, DocuSign, and high-growth startups. Co-hosts the Talent Savvy podcast and leads diversity initiatives with Jobs for Humanity.

Sarah Sherriff – People Experience Manager at Factor House. The Melbourne-based engineering-led software house behind Kpow and Flex. Builds people and culture in “by engineers, for engineers” environments. 13+ years in talent acquisition and people operations across high-growth scale-ups. Joined Factor House after their $5M Seed round to support scaling from 15 to 30+.

Pavi Iyer – Head of People & Talent at Fortiro. Purpose-driven people leader with a background in medicinal chemistry and experience across global organisations, startups, and co-founding a coffee business. Champions workplace cultures that enable individual and organisational growth, and advocates for empathy, mentorship, and supportive networks in the Victorian talent community.

Anthony Meek – Chief People Officer at Edrolo. Australia’s leading edtech. Reformed teacher and people-and-culture champion with an MBA and background in organisational psychology and therapy. Has led Edrolo through two CEO transitions while scaling the team to 200+ and speaks widely on burnout, trust, and building teams you can rely on.

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