THE SERIES
How do you CEO?
Michael Batko interviewed 15 leading founders - plus the CEO of Slack - about how they actually run their companies. Not theory. Real systems, real struggles, real answers. This became the most-read series on Batko OS and was covered by Startup Daily.
KEY TAKEAWAY
Every great CEO has a system. The best ones are transparent about what works and what doesn't. This series captures the operating systems of 15+ founders who are building companies worth billions.
THE INTERVIEWS
15 founders. One question.
Thomas Brunskill
Forage
Building the bridge between education and employability
Kate Morris
Glow Capital Partners
From founding Adore Beauty to investing in the next generation
Michael & Ajay
Fable + EntryLevel
Two founders, two companies, one honest conversation
Katherine McConnell
Brighte
Scaling clean energy finance across Australia
Alex Birch
XY Sense
Reimagining how workplaces understand space and occupancy
Rory San Miguel
Propeller Aero
Drone survey and mapping for the world's biggest worksites
Margot Balch
The OneTwo
Building a creative agency with radical transparency
Didier Elzinga
Culture Amp
Creating the platform that defines how companies measure culture
Duncan Anderson
Edrolo
Transforming how Australian high schoolers learn
Michael Batko
Startmate
The self-interview - turning the questions on himself
Lauren Humphrey
Mintable
Rethinking how teams manage their money
Kim Teo
Mr Yum
Reinventing the hospitality ordering experience
Insights from 15 Interviews
Summary
The patterns, surprises, and lessons that emerged across all conversations
Lidiane Jones
CEO of Slack
Bonus: how the CEO of one of the world's most iconic tools runs her company
WHAT EMERGED
Five themes across every conversation
Ruthless prioritisation
Every CEO has a system for saying no
Transparency as a superpower
The best CEOs share everything with their teams
Customer obsession
Not as a slogan, as a daily habit
Energy management
CEOs who last manage energy, not just time
Building culture intentionally
Culture doesn't happen by accident
PRESS
As covered by Startup Daily
“Startmate boss asked 15 leading startup founders ‘how do you CEO?’ - here's what he learnt”
Startup Daily