20+ Years of Startup Lessons in 50 Minutes | Colin Kinner on AI, Founders & Building Better Startups

After coaching more than 2,000 founders over two decades, Colin Kinner has seen the patterns that separate successful startups from those that struggle. Now he's turning that experience into an AI Founder Coach designed to help thousands of entrepreneurs make better decisions.

In this episode of The Growth Engine, Mike Parsons sits down with Colin to explore why experienced operators have a massive advantage in the AI era, how AI can amplify—not replace—human expertise, and why today's founders can build, test, and learn faster than at any point in history.

If you're building a startup, launching an AI product, or looking for practical advice on product-market fit, customer validation, fundraising, and growth, this episode is packed with actionable insights.

In this episode Why AI won't replace great startup coaches The rise of AI-powered domain experts Building an AI Founder Coach with ElevenLabs, n8n and frontier models The biggest mistakes founders make Why agency and resilience matter more than ever How successful founders think differently Why you should fall in love with the problem—not your solution How AI has completely changed startup validation Why founders should build first and learn fast The future of Australia's startup ecosystem

Whether you're a first-time founder or scaling your next company, this conversation offers practical lessons from someone who has spent more than 20 years helping founders succeed.