“We felt like we had no option but to start Pitchblak to solve this problem."
Big Idea. Try. Fail. Repeat.
Unfortunately, this is the typical path of an entrepreneur… we know because our journey was exactly like it. We failed so many times, learning things the hard way, before eventually building some great companies.
Failing sucks! It damages your relationships, your bank account and your overall mindset.
We don’t encourage children to crash cars to figure out how to drive. And doctors don’t improvise while learning how to perform surgery.
So why do entrepreneurs learn about startups by failing them? We felt like we had no option but to start Pitchblak to solve this problem.
Our 9 commandments.
(What we stand for and what we can’t stand)
Our work is our play.
We enjoy Mondays just as much as Fridays. It’s 100% possible to absolutely love what you do! The majority of your life is spent at work. Luckily though, you get to decide what ‘work’ is.
10x your vision.
We push ourselves to think crazy big and we understand that delusion is only useful when coupled with relentless execution.
If it's not a f**k yeah, it's a no.
We don’t struggle to make decisions because we only choose to pursue what feels like an astounding F**k Yes!
The team supporting you.
Adrian Osman
Co-Founder & CEO
Likes: Pondering if he likes Phó or Ramen more, listening to loud live music, helping people to help themselves, making 80s pop tunes, day drinking.
Dislikes: Negativity, when people put the toilet roll the wrong way round, liquorice, house parties when he knows less than 80% of the attendees, the feeling of dry sand on his feet.
Kimberly Teo
Co-Founder & Ventures
Likes: The first sip of everyone else’s beer, dancing until her calves are sore, curious people who just get shit done, podcasts, lots and lots of hugs.
Dislikes: Instagram's pretentiousness, mushy food (mashed potato, peas, overripe bananas), ungratefulness, burnt soy milk in her coffee, pity parties (get over it).
Campbell Walshe
Partner
Likes: 90's punk music, the study of religion, historical fiction, starting conversations with strangers, live music and comedy, the feeling of salt water on my face.
Dislikes: Possums, hypocrisy, overcooked eggs, reality medical shows, pessimism.
Anaïs Lesage
Creative Director
Likes: Salty butter caramel, collecting books, bargain hunting, fresh bed sheets, beer, staring at strangers on public transport, dressing up, sewing, crazy dance-offs, puppies, protecting the environment.
Dislikes: Washing cutlery, fish sauce, humidity, creepy crawlies, eating noises, running.
Kerry Osborn
Head of Growth
Likes: Learning cool shit, wineries, weekends away, keyboard shortcuts, big dog puppies, sticky date pudding, prosciutto and cheese.
Dislikes: Slow walkers, loud chewers, loud typers, selfishness, oysters, when people kill big spiders.
Haley Johnson
Head of Community
Likes: Making ginormous smoothie bowls, dancing like a weirdo, squats and burpees, open-minded people, self-improvement in the form of books and podcasts, laughing until her stomach hurts.
Dislikes: Adrenaline pumping activities like bungee jumping or rope swings, people who say they're bad with names, routine disruption, arts and crafts.
Julia Catalano
Head of Operations
Likes: Travelling, makeup, impulse buying clothes, acai bowls and smashed avocado, parties where the dance floor is more important than mingling.
Dislikes: milk without chocolate in it, cold weather, the sound when someone rubs a balloon, people who think they are entitled.
Zac Hutchings
Head of Stories
Likes: Self awareness, punk music, soccer, human beings, Asian food, being forced to think outside the box, interviewing cool people, not being injured (in the ACL specifically).
Dislikes: ACL injuries, mainstream news sources, how snakes move, negative vibes.
Adrian Osman
Co-Founder & CEO
Likes: Pondering if he likes Phó or Ramen more, listening to loud live music, helping people to help themselves, making 80s pop tunes, day drinking.
Dislikes: Negativity, when people put the toilet roll the wrong way round, liquorice, house parties when he knows less than 80% of the attendees, the feeling of dry sand on his feet.
Kimberly Teo
Co-Founder & Ventures
Likes: The first sip of everyone else’s beer, dancing until her calves are sore, curious people who just get shit done, podcasts, lots and lots of hugs.
Dislikes: Instagram's pretentiousness, mushy food (mashed potato, peas, overripe bananas), ungratefulness, burnt soy milk in her coffee, pity parties (get over it).
Campbell Walshe
Partner
Likes: 90's punk music, the study of religion, historical fiction, starting conversations with strangers, live music and comedy, the feeling of salt water on my face.
Dislikes: Possums, hypocrisy, overcooked eggs, reality medical shows, pessimism.
Anaïs Lesage
Creative Director
Likes: Salty butter caramel, collecting books, bargain hunting, fresh bed sheets, beer, staring at strangers on public transport, dressing up, sewing, crazy dance-offs, puppies, protecting the environment.
Dislikes: Washing cutlery, fish sauce, humidity, creepy crawlies, eating noises, running.
Kerry Osborn
Head of Growth
Likes: Learning cool shit, wineries, weekends away, keyboard shortcuts, big dog puppies, sticky date pudding, prosciutto and cheese.
Dislikes: Slow walkers, loud chewers, loud typers, selfishness, oysters, when people kill big spiders.
Haley Johnson
Head of Community
Likes: Making ginormous smoothie bowls, dancing like a weirdo, squats and burpees, open-minded people, self-improvement in the form of books and podcasts, laughing until her stomach hurts.
Dislikes: Adrenaline pumping activities like bungee jumping or rope swings, people who say they're bad with names, routine disruption, arts and crafts.
Julia Catalano
Head of Operations
Likes: Travelling, makeup, impulse buying clothes, acai bowls and smashed avocado, parties where the dance floor is more important than mingling.
Dislikes: milk without chocolate in it, cold weather, the sound when someone rubs a balloon, people who think they are entitled.
Zac Hutchings
Head of Stories
Likes: Self awareness, punk music, soccer, human beings, Asian food, being forced to think outside the box, interviewing cool people, not being injured (in the ACL specifically).
Dislikes: ACL injuries, mainstream news sources, how snakes move, negative vibes.
Success stories.
Mark Kelly, Clinqe
Raised $200K
Pitchblak’s program was pivotal in the life of our company. Most significantly, it gave us the momentum we needed to get investment. We collectively consider Adrian and Kim two of our most valuable mentors.
Alex Ewart, Explorate
Raised $300K
The team at Pitchblak have been integral in our pre-product strategy and for helping us to get investor-ready. I’d highly recommend anyone with an idea talks to them.
Paul Carr, Confeti
Raised $120K
I’ve been working with Pitchblak for years now. They helped me to secure our first angel investment and have since supported Confeti in becoming a fast-growing startup.
Shark Tank's Glen Richards
“
Any entrepreneur who wants a great team supporting them needs to work with Pitchblak. They have the best model I've seen for launching new ideas.
Pitchblak Brand Ambassador
Founder of Greencross (Pet Barn) and Investor on Shark Tank Australia
Founder stories.
Hear the stories of founders we've helped.
Our track record.
We don’t believe in teaching without doing. We started Pitchblak after years of successes and failures building our own startups, and we're still actively building our own companies to keep our finger on the pulse.
200+
Startups supported by Pitchblak to date.
$14M+
Investment for the entrepreneurs we’ve helped.
10+
Years experience building our own startups.
200+
Startups supported by Pitchblak to date.
$14M+
Investment for the entrepreneurs we’ve helped.
10+
Years experience building our own startups.
What We Do
What We Do
- Charge fixed fees for our startup support services (strategy / design / mentoring / education)
- Care about entrepreneurs... a lot! The founders we support stay in our community forever.
- Fast-track the first 18-24 months of your journey into 4-6 months, so you can quit your job and focus on it full time!
- Teach you the avoidable mistakes startups always make so you can avoid making them.
- Help you to validate the right solution to the gap you’ve noticed in the market.
- Practice what we preach. We base our advice on years of building our own companies.
- Help you raise $100-300K so you have 18-months of cash flow to build your product and get traction (customers & growth) before getting further investment.
- Teach you how to get investors excited about you and your startup so they back you.
- Create beautiful brands, mobile prototypes, and websites to make you look a million bucks!
What We Don’t Do
- Take equity (shares) in your startup.
- Finish supporting a startup then run for the hills.
- Support people who want a side hustle to ‘get rich’ while staying in their corporate job with minimal effort.
- Claim to be a success factory. We can’t help lazy people who don’t help themselves.
- Support you to launch a product people don’t actually want.
- Regurgitate outdated theory-based frameworks and famous startup books.
- Build your app for $150-300K and leave you with no cash to pay yourself a salary or improve and market your product. Anyone who sells this is a snake, and anyone who buys it is naive.
- Charge a monthly retainer to introduce you to “investors” and take a commission of your raise.
- Create ugly sh*t. We’re good at design, and most founders *think* they are good design .