Ep 36. Annie Liao on Designing a Dream Career and Building a Training Campus for 1 Million AI Builders by 2026

Calling Operator with Laura Nicol

Today, I'm connecting with Annie Liao, founder and CEO of Build Club. What began as a weekend AI project among friends has now evolved into APAC’s largest AI learning platform. Fresh off closing her pre-seed round and going all-in on Build Club, Annie shares what’s next for her and her team. In today’s episode, we discuss: Annie’s early career journey as a data scientist, consultant, venture capitalist, community builder, operator, and startup founder—and the lessons she gained from each transition; A nod to her recent crowning as a Forbes Australia 30 Under 30 honoree; Scaling the impact of why Build Club started: to empower everyone to build their dreams into reality; Build Club’s internal AI strategy and approach to building; Why providing clarity is the most valuable role a founder can play; Taking a leap of faith to build custom GPTs (a beginner's guide); How to upskill your workforce in AI; The rise of AI workforce manager roles—plus why operators are uniquely suited for this shift. And, of course, I ask the “stupid” questions to help us all accelerate our AI learning journey.

Find Annie Liao:

• LinkedIn
• X
• Art
• Build Club events
• Join Build Club’s waitlist: www.buildclub.ai

Annie Liao’s Northstars and Frameworks:

• The Build Club Story and Why We Raised Venture Capital Funding
• This 23-year-old banked $1.2 million to build the ‘Duolingo for AI learning’
• Goal setting: Objectives and Key Results (OKRs)

ANZ Operators—Ones to Watch:

• Mitchell Hughes (Co-founder at NextGen Ventures)
• Clinton Lui (Build Club)

Other Folks Mentioned in the Episode:

• Julia Wells (Lecturer at the University of Technology Sydney)
• Daniel Vassilev (Co-founder at Relevance AI)
• Jacky Koh (Co-founder at Relevance AI)
• Tom McKenzie (CTO at Build Club)
• Jessy Wu (Founder at Encour)

A note from your host, Laura:

My goal for Calling Operator is to open-source stories from startup operators across various functional areas and learn how they excel at building and scaling companies. As a Chief of Staff, I often find myself in (virtual) rooms with people facing similar challenges and reinventing the wheel. I want this podcast to open a line for operators across Australia and New Zealand to learn from fellow operators. Each episode shares personal stories, the execution behind big ideas, career-defining moments, successes, failures, and lessons.

Guest ideas?

Do you have an operator on speed dial who could be perfect for the show? Please share your suggestions with me via LinkedIn.

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