Most teams try AI, get a chatbot, then drift back to old habits. We make the whole business AI-native: the tech implementation, and the training and behaviour change that makes it stick.
✉ Email# Slack◎ CRM▤ Drive
COMPANY AI BRAINEvery answer and draft comes from your business, not a generic chatbot.
What we build
Your servers, your cybersecurity. Everything is built inside your existing infrastructure and ring-fenced by your current security. Nothing leaves.
How we work
1/ AUDIT
We interview your team
Up to 10 people. Where's time wasted, what would you love to exist. You get a roadmap of 20-30 solutions.
$2,500 · 2 weeks
2/ BUILD
Foundation first
Brain, then infrastructure, then agents. Phase by phase, on your own systems.
Ships every 2 weeks
3/ UPGRADES
Better every fortnight
A new upgrade every 2 weeks, with training so your team actually uses it.
Long-term partner
Your data stays yoursWorks with any AI modelBest fit: 20-100 peopleSydney + Melbourne team of 7
Now: CrossFit Coogee, Mon to SatStartup Striders runs retiredBeach volleyball the odd cameo
“Never create a second patient.”
Look after yourself first. Everything else runs better, including the company.
Industry Growth Program
Backing Aussie innovators to take their ideas to market.
The Industry Growth Program is the federal government's program for startups and SMEs with something genuinely new. It pairs expert advice with matched grants to commercialise and grow.
$50k-$250kcommercialisation grants
$100k-$5mgrowth grants
My role: I sit on the independent committee that assesses applications on merit.
You don't need more advice. You need someone in the room.
1:1 coaching for founders, CEOs and senior leaders building something that matters. 300+ founders coached over 8 years at Startmate. Right now I coach 4 founders and take on 1 more this quarter.
01 · StrategyWhere are you going?
Six-month goals, twelve-month targets, three-year ambition. You leave with a clear direction and the confidence to decide fast.
02 · OperationsHow does the machine run?
Everything in your head and your Slack threads becomes one source of truth, so the company scales without you.
03 · Personal OSHow do you run?
From 47 open tabs to a system. Less cognitive load, faster execution.
CadenceFortnightly, monthly or ad hoc
FormatLive sessions plus async deep work
LengthNo lock-in. As long as it's useful
PricingHourly, case by case
“To say Batko left Startmate in a better place than when he took the reins would be an embarrassing understatement. Batko literally re-founded Startmate.”
Niki Scevak, Co-founder, Blackbird Ventures
“I feel good that there is a plan, instead of me jumping all over the place. I'm now more focused.”Founder, network
“It taught me more about me and my messaging than anything else I've really done.”Founder, CX consulting
Can you work with my team, not just me?
Absolutely. Bring your co-founder or leadership team into the session, whatever works best.
Do you work with pre-revenue startups?
Yes. Pre-revenue, scaling or well-established. What matters is high ambition and a willingness to do the work.
Where are you based?
Sydney. I coach founders across Australia, New Zealand and internationally over Zoom.
WhatsApp meNo booking calls. Just a direct conversation.
Batko OSThe World as a System
The World as a System
I see the world as a problem. The problem becomes a system. The system offers solutions. Batko OS is where I share the systems I actually use.
15 years in startups, mostly helping other people build theirs.
Vienna · London
Business school, then corporate
The safe path first: American Express in London, then PwC and KPMG. Then I moved to Sydney.
2015-2017
Fell for startups
First employee at Mad Paws. Then Expert360, growing the team from 7 to 60 and helping raise a $14M Series B.
2018-2025
Startmate: Head of Ops, then CEO
Joined a team of two. Left 8 years later with 300+ startups backed, now worth $4.5b+.
On the side
Built two companies and sold them
Startup Striders, a 1.3k-member founder run club, and Puddle Pod, a productivity course with 500+ members.
2026
Hourglass AI, plus a few things I love
Back in founder mode, making Aussie companies AI-native. Alongside it: Medical Angels, the Heaps Normal board and the Industry Growth Program.
still investing
I still back founders
Through the best Aussie funds, and with my own cheques.
LP in
BlackbirdSquare Peg
Angel cheques
Sense of Self
angels · invest with me
Invest alongside me.
After 8 years backing 300+ startups at Startmate, I'm lining up a few ways to invest together. Tell me what interests you and I'll reach out when there's something real.
300+startups backed
$4.5b+portfolio value
Top 5%global fund returns
2xfounder, both acquired
Open now
on
Batko VenturesMy syndicate
Co-invest deal by deal on the same terms I do, in productivity, automation and AI. Pick the ones that excite you.
Hourglass AI
training.log
Blackbird
Square Peg
Sense of Self
on 
Batko VenturesMy syndicate
