Rohit Bhargava
Hosted by Rohit Bhargava
A Melbourne-based entrepreneur documents his journey while interviewing successful founders and investors from Australia and beyond.
This YouTube channel presents two distinct but related formats from host Rohit Bhargava. The primary show is "Startup Playbook," a long-running audio and video podcast featuring in-depth interviews with founders, VCs, and operators, dissecting their origin stories and strategies. More recently, Rohit has added "Life Systems," a personal vlog series that documents his own life as an entrepreneur, investor, and traveler, reflecting on concepts like trade-offs and risk.
“The channel uniquely combines a traditional, guest-focused interview podcast with a personal, host-focused vlog, creating a 'flywheel' where the host's own business-building journey provides context for the lessons shared by his high-profile guests.”
Who hosts this show
Rohit Bhargava is a Melbourne-based entrepreneur, investor, and content creator. He is the host of the Startup Playbook Podcast, runs the growth marketing agency Playbook Media, and is the founder of Playbook Ventures, an angel investment network. Previously, he was the Co-founder and CEO of StageLabel, a crowdfunding platform for fashion that launched over 150 brands.
Credentials & credits
- Founder & General Partner, Playbook Ventures
- Director, Playbook Media
- Co-founder & CEO, StageLabel
- Bachelor of Engineering in Sustainable Energy Systems, ANU
- Bachelor of Economics, ANU
- Early team member, Startup team at AWS
Other ventures
- Startup Playbook Podcast
- Playbook Media
- Playbook Ventures
- Komo (formerly The Komo Club)
What kind of podcast
When new episodes drop
- 01The bet that changed my life | Life Systems Ep002Jun 28, 2026 · 32 min
- 02Every yes has a cost | Life Systems Ep001Jun 18, 2026 · 19 min
- 03
- 04
- 05
- 06
- 07
- 08
Notable episodes
- 01Ula’s hypergrowth, Bezos backing & shutting down w/ Nipun Mehra | Startup Playbook Ep218
A candid look into the difficult decision to shut down a high-growth, well-funded startup, offering lessons on failure at scale.
- 02The journey from Wallabies Captain to Tech Investor with Stirling Mortlock | Startup Playbook Ep219
Explores the uncommon career transition from professional sports captaincy to tech investing, highlighting transferable skills.
- 03Every yes has a cost | Life Systems Ep001
The first episode of the host's new vlog format, it explains the show's premise and gives a behind-the-scenes look at his own entrepreneurial life.
What you'll be asked on this show
Rohit typically opens an interview by asking the guest for their complete story, from their background to their current role. He often references prior off-air conversations to build rapport and then uses the guest's own narrative to ask specific follow-up questions. He probes into the guest's origin, early environment, and the specific moments or insights that led to their key business ideas.
The "Startup Playbook" episodes are typically structured, one-on-one remote interviews. The newer "Life Systems" episodes are vlogs, shot and edited by the host, featuring to-camera monologues, on-location footage, and occasional, informal interviews with business contacts in casual settings like dinners.
Questions Rohit Bhargava keeps coming back to
6 cataloguedIf you're going on this show as a guest, expect some version of each of these. Each note explains when Rohit Bhargava reaches for it.
origin
3- Q.01
“Can you share your story, background, and what got you to where you are today?”
This is his standard opening question to let the guest set the stage with their entire journey.
- Q.02
“Where did your entrepreneurial spark come from, especially if you weren't from an entrepreneurial family?”
He asks this to dig into the guest's core motivations beyond their immediate environment.
- Q.03
“Can you share how the idea for [your company] initially came about?”
He uses this to pinpoint the specific 'aha' moment behind the guest's main venture.
process
1- Q.01
“What was that early period like for you at university/in your first ventures?”
This question explores the mindset and actions during the formative, pre-success years.
advice
1- Q.01
“Knowing what you know now, how would you assess opportunities differently?”
This is a forward-looking question designed to extract actionable advice from the guest's hindsight.
personal
1- Q.01
“What was it like growing up in [guest's hometown/environment]?”
He asks this to understand the early influences and context that shaped the guest's worldview.
Signature segments
- · Life Systems Vlog Series
- · The Flywheel Effect (between his ventures)
- · Founder Origin Stories
Topics covered repeatedly
Who gets booked here
For the "Startup Playbook" podcast, guests are typically successful tech founders, investors, and operators from Australia and around the world. The show features a mix of bootstrapped founders like Adam Ewart (Send My Bag) and venture-backed entrepreneurs like Nipun Mehra (Ula).
- Adam Ewarton Bootstrapping Send My Bag from Side Project to Global Service w/ Adam Ewart | Startup Playbook Ep220
- Tom Willison 24 Hours in Sydney: Komo Club Welcome Drinks + Podcast with Tom Willis | Vlog Teaser
- Stirling Mortlockon The journey from Wallabies Captain to Tech Investor with Stirling Mortlock | Startup Playbook Ep219
- Nipun Mehraon Ula’s hypergrowth, Bezos backing & shutting down w/ Nipun Mehra (Ula) | Startup Playbook Ep218
- Dr Steven Luon Building the future of preventative health with Dr Steven Lu (Everlab) | Startup Playbook Ep217
- Chris Witherson Lessons from Uber, beating cancer & solving hard problems w/ Chris Withers | Startup Playbook Ep216
Where to find this show
Audience & reach
The "Startup Playbook" podcast features mid-roll advertisements for B2B tech companies like Vanta. The "Life Systems" vlog series promotes the host's own ventures, including his investment syndicate Playbook Ventures and founder community Komo.
Subscriber and view counts are pulled live from YouTube and re-verified on a 30-day cycle. Listener estimates for the RSS feed aren't published here unless they're host-verified.
Pitch Rohit Bhargava
r•••@•••.coFree: limited reveals · Pro: unlimited reveals + CSV export
You’re only charged when we return a verified hit.
People also ask
- What is the real name of the host?
- The host's name is Rohit Bhargava.
- What are the different formats on this channel?
- The channel features "Startup Playbook," a long-form interview podcast with founders and investors, and "Life Systems," a personal vlog about the host's own entrepreneurial journey.
- Is this podcast still active?
- Yes, the channel is actively releasing new episodes for both the "Startup Playbook" and "Life Systems" series as of mid-2026.
- Who is this podcast for?
- It's primarily for entrepreneurs and investors, particularly those interested in the Australian tech and startup scene.
- Where can I listen to the podcast?
- Full video episodes are available on the YouTube channel, and the audio version of "Startup Playbook Podcast" is available on platforms like Apple Podcasts and Podcast Addict.
- How can I pitch a guest for the show?
- The host provides professional contact details in his channel description and on his personal website for business inquiries.
Built from the show's public RSS feed, YouTube, the host's own websites, and the cited sources below. Computed and AI-extracted fields are labelled. Facts only — no private info, no fabrication, no transcripts republished.
Sources & how this page was built
This page is AI-assisted, grounded in the public sources cited below, and host-verifiable. We publish facts only; we do not republish transcripts. If anything here is wrong, the host can claim and correct the page above.Model: gemini-2.5-pro · high confidence
Podcasts like Rohit Bhargava
Silicon Valley Girl
Silicon Valley Girl
An entrepreneur interviews the founders and scientists building the next wave of AI to uncover practical strategies for career and business growth.
The Arena
The Arena
A daily sports debate show where 3-time NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas and a panel of former pros give unfiltered takes on basketball news.
Backstage with Millionaires
Pankaj Chauhan
A weekly news show and documentary-style channel breaking down the biggest stories and trends in the Indian startup and venture capital ecosystem.
Thomas Brush
Thomas Brush
A podcast for aspiring indie game developers, hosted by a solo dev who interviews peers about the practical and emotional journey of making games.
The Founder's Dream | Abhishek vyas
The Founder
A Hindi-language business podcast featuring long-form interviews with Indian startup founders about their real-world journeys and industries.
We Need to Talk
A charismatic Christian interview show exploring supernatural encounters, end-times prophecy, and dramatic faith testimonies.
Rusty Quill Podcasts
Rusty Quill Podcasts
A network feed from a London-based production house specializing in full-cast speculative fiction and horror audio dramas.
HAHA Podcast
Three Korean-American sisters and YouTubers bring their chaotic, unfiltered group chat to a weekly video podcast.