Unicorns Podcast: Inside Straker, the ASX translation company that saw AI coming first

In this episode, Justin talks with Latrobe Magnesium’s CEO David Paterson about the company’s progress since it made international headlines last year. Latrobe Magnesium’s (ASX:LMG) was one of only seven ASX listed stocks named in the $8.5 billion US-Australia critical minerals deal announced last October between US President Donald Trump and Australian PM Anthony Albanese. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Justin talks with Unity Metals’ MD Craig Mackay who’s leading the company’s drilling program at its flagship Ngot gold project that closely follows its IPO in January. What makes Unity’s (ASX:UM1) 100% owned Ngot stand out is that it’s right on the fenceline of Emerald Resources’ (ASX:EMR) profitable 100,000ozpa Okvau gold mine. But – by quirk of history – Ngot has never been drilled. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Justin sits down with Chaice Paterson, founder and CEO of Low Deposit Homes, a specialist brokerage helping Australians break into the housing market with far smaller deposits than many believe are required. The company has already helped 1000 first home buyers purchase property, writing over $250 million in loans by guiding buyers through the complex web of government grants, lender policies and deposit schemes available across Australia.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Justin speaks with Dr Peter Walsh, founder, CEO and CTO of Brisbane-based medtech company QHeart Medical, alongside Mr Aubrey Almeida, a Melbourne cardiothoracic surgeon specialising in minimally invasive and robotic cardiac surgery. The conversation comes at a pivotal moment. QHeart has received approval to begin a world first human study of its Transcatheter Aortic Recoil Repair, TARR™, device at Monash Health’s Victorian Heart Hospital in early 2026. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Justin sits down with Jeremy Pell, Country Manager ANZ at Elastic, the global Search AI company whose technology underpins many of the digital platforms Australians rely on every day. Elastic is best known as the company behind Elasticsearch, but its role extends far beyond a website search bar. Its technology sits beneath e-commerce, financial services, government systems and cybersecurity operations, helping organisations interpret vast volumes of data in real time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Justin sits down with Grant Straker, founder and Managing Director of Straker Ltd, the ASX-listed translation and content verification company that has quietly been on the frontline of the AI revolution for more than a decade. Straker, listed under the ticker STG, is the only pure-play translation and content verification company on the ASX. With a market capitalisation of around $24 million, a strong balance sheet and a long-standing commitment to R&D, the business has been navigating AI disruption long before large language models became mainstream. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Justin sits down with Steve Grace, co-founder of The Pillars, a private members club housed inside a meticulously restored 170-year-old heritage building in the heart of Sydney. The Pillars is not a co-working space, and it is not a traditional members club in the old sense. Instead, it has been designed as a fully integrated ecosystem where entrepreneurs, investors and decision-makers spend real time together, working, dining, training, recovering and building relationships away from the noise of deals and pitch decks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Justin interviews Nick Williamson, CEO of Waverley Social Enterprises. Waverley is a commercial services business that has been quietly competing with mainstream providers across Australia since 1984, while redefining what supported employment can achieve at scale. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Justin interviews Mark Nagy, founder and CEO of DataMesh, a payments technology company quietly rebuilding the invisible plumbing behind global commerce. Every time a consumer taps a card, swipes a phone or checks out online, a vast and fragile network of legacy systems springs into action. While the experience feels seamless, the infrastructure behind it is anything but, with decades-old banking architecture struggling to keep pace with modern consumer behaviour, new payment methods and rising expectations around speed, reliability and insight. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Justin interviews Assaf Stizki, co-founder and CEO of Restoke.ai, a hospitality technology intelligence platform. Running a restaurant in the United States has become increasingly precarious, with tariffs, supply chain disruption and volatile ingredient prices putting extreme pressure on already thin margins. Most operators survive on just 3 to 5 percent profit, meaning even small cost increases can wipe out profitability. Against that backdrop, Melbourne founded Restoke AI entered the US market earlier this year, just as many hospitality businesses were struggling to stay afloat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices