// insights

Sharp thinking from the team

Short reads on AI strategy, transformation, and what we're learning from shipping production AI work.

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Pop-art astronaut swinging a giant spoon through space

// insight · 2 Nov 2026

What makes a great Propeller

Our product team turned Propel's five values into 11 behaviours, written by the people who do the work. Here's how we ran it, what came out, and what it means for leaders hiring for judgement as AI takes on more of the delivery.

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// insight · 29 Oct 2026

Your AI training might be great. For someone else in the room

Group AI training rarely moves everyone forward. Twenty-five minutes beside someone, working through their actual workflow, can deliver far more.

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// insight · 27 Oct 2026

If the function looks like it did before, it's not yet AI native

Same handovers, same approval queues, now with an AI licence. The test I use for AI transformation: the result should feel unfamiliar.

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Legacy rebuild triage matrix: put senior effort where the shared product changes most

// insight · 26 Oct 2026

Don't port your legacy app. Rebuild it on purpose.

Most legacy rebuilds go wrong before a line of new code is written. AI changes the economics of a rebuild, but only for teams that plan first, build a delivery factory second and choose tooling last.

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AI-enabled PDLC diagram: shorten the time from product signal to value, with AI moving the bottleneck upstream

// insight · 25 Oct 2026

The AI bottleneck has moved upstream

AI has sped up engineering, but the bottleneck has moved to deciding what to build and shaping it well enough to build right. That's where the next gains are.

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Propel Ventures logo above the SpaceX Super Intelligence Partner Network badge

// insight · 23 Oct 2026

Propel Ventures is a SpaceX Super Intelligence Launch Partner

Proud to share that Propel Ventures is a SpaceX Super Intelligence Launch Partner. We're excited to be part of its Partner Network from day one.

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Speaker on stage at PieLab's 2026 Investor Day in Brisbane beside the slide 'Experience compounds, just like capital does'

// insight · 23 Oct 2026

Experience compounds, just like capital does

Nine years into Propel Ventures, every engagement leaves something behind. Early on it feels like pushing a rock uphill. Now it's a flywheel.

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// insight · 21 Oct 2026

300 minutes to 15: going AI native at EO Ignite South Pacific

At EO Ignite South Pacific I argued that business owners, not policy, can fix productivity. A proposal that took me 300 minutes now takes 15.

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Dinner guests around a long table listening to a host speaking at a private event

// insight · 21 Oct 2026

A powerful evening with Dr Peter Fuda

Two insights from Dr Peter Fuda stayed with me: the biggest barrier to change is acceptance, and people can't meet expectations we haven't made clear.

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