New Episode: Colin Kinner — 20 Years of Startup Lessons, AI Coaching & Building Better Founders

What happens when you combine two decades of startup coaching with the latest advances in AI?

You don't replace the coach.

You amplify them.

In the latest episode of The Growth Engine, I sat down with Colin Kinner, Founder & CEO of Startup Onramp, to explore what he's learned after helping more than 2,000 startup founders—and why he believes AI is about to transform how founders learn, validate ideas and build companies.

Colin has spent over twenty years working alongside founders, investors, accelerators and governments to strengthen Australia's startup ecosystem. Today, he's taking that experience one step further by building an AI Founder Coach that captures the questioning, pattern recognition and judgement of an experienced mentor, making high-quality startup guidance available to founders anywhere in the world.

Some of my biggest takeaways

AI is a force multiplier

The best use of AI isn't replacing experienced operators.

It's giving them leverage.

Rather than spending hours researching markets, competitors and customers before every meeting, AI can perform that work in minutes, allowing founders and advisors to spend more time making better decisions.

The age of the domain expert has arrived

One of the biggest opportunities in AI isn't building another generic chatbot.

It's combining years—even decades—of domain expertise with AI to create products that solve real problems.

Whether you're in healthcare, procurement, finance or startups, deep expertise has become an even bigger competitive advantage.

Great founders love the problem—not the solution

One insight from Colin really resonated with me.

The founders who succeed aren't obsessed with one product idea.

They're obsessed with solving a customer problem.

That gives them the flexibility to change direction when new information appears while remaining committed to the mission.

Startup validation has fundamentally changed

Five years ago, building software often required significant capital before you could even test an idea.

Today, AI-powered development means founders can build an MVP in days, get customer feedback, iterate quickly and dramatically reduce both cost and risk.

The pace of experimentation has never been faster.

Why you should watch

Whether you're:

• Building your first startup

• Launching an AI product

• Advising founders

• Investing in early-stage companies

• Or simply curious about where AI is taking entrepreneurship...

...this conversation is full of practical insights from someone who has spent his career helping founders navigate uncertainty.

Colin shares honest lessons about founder psychology, product-market fit, customer validation, AI-native businesses and the future of startup coaching.

Watch the full episode

🎥 https://youtu.be/MQSlVJacQBg

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

What do you think will become the biggest advantage for founders in the AI era?

About Colin Kinner

Colin Kinner is the Founder & CEO of Startup Onramp and one of Australia's leading startup ecosystem builders. For more than 20 years, he has worked with founders, investors, accelerators, universities and governments to help launch and scale high-growth technology companies.

Through Startup Onramp, Colin has helped more than 2,000 founders with mentoring, training and startup programs. Today, he's combining that experience with AI by building the AI Founder Coach, giving founders access to world-class startup guidance anytime they need it. He's also the founder of Carrick Labs, where he develops AI decision-support systems for business leaders.