Ben Thompson: CEO and Co-Founder, Employment Hero
Episode description
Ben Thompson is the Co-Founder and CEO of Employment Hero — one of Australia’s most successful tech companies, valued at over A$2 billion and used by more than 300,000 businesses worldwide. Before that, he bootstrapped multiple companies, blending legal expertise with product thinking to build tools for employers.
In this candid long-form public interview, Ben shares the lessons, missteps, and mindset behind one of the most enduring and quietly influential founder journeys in Australian tech.
Show notes
Published 21st May, 2025.
Ben Thompson is the Co-Founder and CEO of Employment Hero — a global leader in employment management platforms valued at over A$2 billion. From bootstrapping a law firm to building a suite of businesses, and ultimately scaling Employment Hero to serve over 300,000 SMEs and 2 million+ employees worldwide, Ben has become one of the most enduring and impactful founders and leaders in Tech.
This is a rare, in-depth interview with Ben — going well beyond the headlines.
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Hosted by Vidit Agarwal, Founder of Curiosity Center and The High Flyers Podcast.
It’s now time to explore your curiosity.
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In this rare, long-form conversation, Ben opens up about:
- Growing up in Fairlight, moving to Armidale for boarding school at 15, and the hiking trips through Nepal and Tasmania that shaped his love of adventure.
- How watching his dad build a solo HR consulting firm inspired him to start a tech law practice instead of pursuing a corporate law career.
- Bootstrapping EI Legal and Employment Innovations, then founding Employment Hero — and what changed when he hit $1M ARR and realised he had to raise capital.
- Why Australia gets pay and performance wrong, and how he’s built equity-first incentive structures that favour long-term ownership over cash bonuses.
- The early days of Employment Hero: splitting it out from his other businesses and landing a pivotal distribution deal with ANZ Bank.
- The costly lessons from expanding into Southeast Asia, why cloning the Australian model failed, and how he’d now lead with product-led growth.
- How he defines product-market fit using CAC, churn, time-to-close and customer retention — and why PMF is never “done”.
- His views on founder-led sales in new markets, and how he adapted when he couldn’t travel due to his son’s rare disease — including scaling globally during COVID without boarding a single flight.
- How raising a child with complex medical needs reshaped his leadership, fuelled his belief in remote work, and led to launching the Hero Foundation.
- The role his wife plays as his closest advisor, sounding board and emotional anchor — and why he shares credit for everything with her.
- His use of “masterplans” and vision boards to stay grounded, set direction, and push through the hard days.
- Why he believes Australia lacks bold leadership — and how he’s thinking about company-building in a fast-moving, AI-first world.
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About the podcast
The High Flyers Podcast is a "meticulously researched audio biography" that uncovers the untold stories of remarkable people and companies—redefining what it means to be a high flyer. Launched in 2020, it has ranked in the global top ten for past two years, with listeners in 27 countries and over 200 episodes released. A flagship product of the Curiosity Center, it has been featured in Forbes, Daily Telegraph, and at SXSW, offering raw, relatable insights from childhood to career, helping listeners become 1% better every day.
200+ guests have joined Vidit Agarwal on the show from 15+ countries, including The CEO's of multi-billion dollar companies like Bunnings, Australia Post, Woolworths; Board Members at Macquarie Bank, ANZ, Reserve Bank; Former Prime Minister of Australia; Globally renowned tech leaders from Google, Microsoft, Xero; Successful Venture Capital and Family Office Investors; CIO's at the world's biggest superannuation funds; Leading Entertainers; Olympic Gold Medal Winning Athletes and interesting minds you wouldn't have heard of that are changing the world.
Our parent company, Curiosity Centre is your on-demand intelligence hub for knowledge, connections and growth to achieve your potential, everyday. Join 200,000+ Investors, Founders, Functional Leaders, CEOs and Emerging Leaders. Learn with the world's best and be 1% better everyday at https://curiositycentre.com
The High Flyers Podcast is a "meticulously researched audio biography" that uncovers the untold stories of remarkable people and companies—redefining what it means to be a high flyer. Launched in 2020, it has ranked in the global top ten for past two years, with listeners in 27 countries and over 200 episodes released. A flagship product of the Curiosity Center, it has been featured in Forbes, Daily Telegraph, and at SXSW, offering raw, relatable insights from childhood to career, helping listeners become 1% better every day.
200+ guests have joined Vidit Agarwal on the show from 15+ countries, including The CEO's of multi-billion dollar companies like Bunnings, Australia Post, Woolworths; Board Members at Macquarie Bank, ANZ, Reserve Bank; Former Prime Minister of Australia; Globally renowned tech leaders from Google, Microsoft, Xero; Successful Venture Capital and Family Office Investors; CIO's at the world's biggest superannuation funds; Leading Entertainers; Olympic Gold Medal Winning Athletes and interesting minds you wouldn't have heard of that are changing the world.
Our parent company, Curiosity Centre is your on-demand intelligence hub for knowledge, connections and growth to achieve your potential, everyday. Join 200,000+ Investors, Founders, Functional Leaders, CEOs and Emerging Leaders. Learn with the world's best and be 1% better everyday at https://curiositycentre.com
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