Why I left millions on the table | Carl Thompson with Josh Comrie

Carl Thompson flew to Singapore in January 2011 with $3,000 to his name, no employment pass, and a prototype nobody had asked for yet. He and his co-founder shared a bedroom because they couldn't afford two. They were in the office until the early hours calling New York, surviving on $4 hawker centre meals, and working 18-hour days. Two and a half years in, Carl came home. He was halfway through his vesting schedule. He left millions of dollars on the table. He says he'd do it again.

The company he left was TradeGecko. It sold to Intuit during COVID for $100 million US. The acquisition offer had been sitting in Cam's spam folder.

This episode covers the full arc: the Singapore origin story, the product market fit moment that changed everything, the vesting decision that cost Carl a fortune, and the Intuit acquisition that validated everything they'd built. We also get into what Carl has learned since. He has ADHD, has been cycling in and out of burnout for 20 years without a name for it, and now runs SortMe, a money management platform built on the observation that 60% of NZ households can't cover a $1,500 bill without borrowing. His clients aren't the people you'd expect. This is one of the more honest conversations I've had on the show about what it actually costs to build something, and what it means to make the call that puts your life before the money.

Seeby Woodhouse: A $24m exit in my 20's!

Seeby Woodhouse, a pioneering entrepreneur in New Zealand's internet space, built Orcon from the ground up, starting at just 19 years old. In this episode, he shares how he scaled the company, navigated near-bankruptcy, and sold it in a multimillion-dollar exit before turning 30. He reflects on the lessons from that deal, the fortune he left on the table, and his journey through investments, photography, and a return to telecommunications with Voyager. A candid conversation about risk, resilience, and the highs and lows of life after a big exit.

Rudi Bublitz: How we went from kitchen table to $100m+ in <10 years!

What does it take to scale a company from two people to 400 and secure an £87M exit? 🎙️
In this episode of Two Commas, Rudi Bublitz reveals the key inflexion points that drove his company’s success, the art of training talent over hiring experience, and the critical role of timing in making the perfect exit.
From bold cultural moves to strategic decisions, Rudi shares lessons every founder scaling towards their big win needs to hear.

Marisa Fong: A double multiple by big thinking and playing hard to get!

What’s the secret to turning a small recruitment company into a national powerhouse, leading to a multimillion-dollar exit?

In this episode of Two Commas, I chat with Marisa Fong, a trailblazing entrepreneur who scaled her business from a part-time receptionist setup to a thriving enterprise acquired by a major player.

Marisa shares her unfiltered insights on crafting a scalable business culture, winning government contracts against the odds, and the lessons learned from navigating partnerships and leadership. This episode is packed with wisdom for founders ready to think big and achieve game-changing exits.