Digital Nexus
Digital Nexus brings you inside Australia’s AI frontier. Hosts Chris Sinclair and Mark Monfort sit down with founders and leaders shaping the market, uncovering the products, journeys, and ideas driving AI adoption. Smart, unfiltered, and a little cheeky — it’s your backstage pass to the people redefining Australia’s tech future (and the world of course).
Mark Monfort, the tech wizard behind the @AusDefi Association and NotCentralised, isn't just a name—he's a legend. With blockchain fin-tech victories under his belt, he's now on a quest to build the ultimate #LLM, SIKE.ai, enhancing business workflows and securing data like a true digital sorcerer. Nothing can stop him!
Chris Sinclair, the design guru and UX/CX mastermind, knows the secrets of digital innovation and business strategy like the back of his hand. Partnered with Digital Village, a league of specialists leading the charge in product development and innovation, Chris is here to prove that the old ways of working are no match for the future!
Get ready for epic discussions, expert perspectives, and a sneak peek into the future of digital innovation. Don't forget to like, subscribe, and stay tuned for more episodes as we explore the frontiers of technology with a dash of humour and a whole lot of superhero flair...or fails!
Digital Nexus
Ep 34 | Aussie AI (Reality Check): From POCs to Product—What Changed?
In this episode of Digital Nexus, we sit down with Sha-mayne Chan, Co-founder of Friyay and Wakey Wakey Sales, to unpack how AI is reshaping startups, SMEs, and big business in Australia.
We cover:
🚀 How startups can now build products without a tech co-founder
📱 The story behind Wakey Wakey, an AI SMS sales assistant helping small businesses scale
🏦 Why big corporates are finally moving past endless POCs and into real AI adoption
🛠️ The rise of agentic workflows vs. AI agents — and what that means for service design
💡 How founders can “build while flying” with today’s AI tools (Bolt, Cursor, Windsurf, Midjourney, etc.)
🧠 The ethical, cultural, and human challenges of AI adoption — from junior job pathways to mental health chatbots
00:00 Intro
05:30 Backgrounds & early career
08:30 Small business growth: SMS vs email; 'product‑a‑month'
12:30 The Wakey story
16:30 Enterprises: from POCs to compliant rollouts
19:30 Where the pain is: manual checks & team ops
23:30 Service design: account UX, cancel flows, blueprints
29:00 Risk, value, and choosing bets
34:00 Automation & shipping fast (prompts, traction)
37:30 Vibe coding tools → personal app; VC outlook
42:30 Wrap‑up + what’s next
Links:
Friyay - https://www.friyay.ai/
Sha-Maybe linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/shamaynechan/
Podcast - https://www.digitalnexuspodcast.com/
Other Links
🎙️our podcast links here: https://digitalnexuspodcast.com/
👤Chris on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/pcsinclair/
👤Mark on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmonfort/
👤 Mark on Twitter - https://twitter.com/captdefi
SHOWNOTE LINKS
🔗 SIKE - https://sike.ai/
🌐Digital Village - https://digitalvillage.network/
🌐NotCentralised - https://www.notcentralised.com/
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DigitalNexusPodcast
X (twitter): @DigitalNexus
