"Set your life on fire, seek those who fan your flames."
Bio
Simon Murphy is a builder and operator who's optimistic AI will improve knowledge work. He co-founded RefLIVE, a smartwatch app for sports officials that reached referees in more than 150 countries before winding down in 2023, then ran growth at Mobble, an agri-SaaS company. Today he's the AI and Startups Specialist at the Melbourne Entrepreneurial Centre (MEC) at the University of Melbourne, working mainly with the Melbourne Accelerator Program (MAP), where he's helped more than 50 startups put AI to work and runs the program's AI curriculum. Through Extracting Ideas he works hands-on with a small number of companies as an AI-native operator, building the systems and workflows rather than advising from the sidelines. He's also building Zonesplit, a watch app for detailed workout tracking and exporting cleaner workout data to LLMs.
How I work
I start by understanding the problem properly.
That usually means mapping it out, visually, until the whole team can see the same thing. Then I work alongside them to fix it.
I've done this closely with more than 50 founders over the last six years, ranging from early stage to venture-backed scale-ups. Depending on the product, industry and stage, that's meant rebuilding a company's entire website and public touchpoints, building acquisition analytics pipelines from scratch, rebuilding part or all of a product, or simply unblocking a founder's time so they can focus on what moves the company forward.
I'm energised by big problems and ambitious teams, and I work at a fast pace.
Experience
SeenCulture helps teams get the full value from AI by building it around what their people do best. It starts with a workshop, backed by a platform that turns feedback from the people you work with into a clear picture of each person's strengths. I work across product and growth, co-designed the workshop model, and build the systems around the product making sure every decision gets measured so we know what's working rather than guessing. AI is embedded across the work, which lets a small team operate well beyond its headcount.
I work primarily with the Melbourne Accelerator Program (MAP), a program within MEC. I lead the AI strategy across MEC, embedding AI into how we deliver programs and develop founders. I train MEC staff on the practical use of AI for program delivery and founder coaching, and I've built AI education into every part of the founder learning experience, treating it as a core operating tool rather than a standalone module, so every team uses it to gain leverage, challenge assumptions, and learn faster. This sits alongside leading MAP's founder coaching and curriculum strategy: coaching founders through weekly sessions while designing the accountability frameworks, learning content, and EIR structures that turn early-stage founders into effective operators.
▶ Key elements
▶ Founder testimonials
"Simon deeply cares about the startups he coaches. He knows when to ask the right questions and how to get you thinking differently to overcome your barriers for growth."
"Simon's guidance has been invaluable in helping me sharpen my product thinking and understand product-led growth. His mentorship shaped the way I approach building and growing our product from the ground up."
"Simon's calm, constructive approach and ability to guide without simply handing over solutions was incredibly impactful. Simon has a unique way of encouraging founders to think critically and creatively."
Leading growth at Mobble, including building the systems, feedback loops, and experiments that turn product usage into revenue. I focus on understanding what drives activation, conversion, and retention, then building infrastructure to improve it continuously.
▶ Key elements
▶ CEO testimonial
"Simon is a rare breed of growth leader who operates like a CEO—he just gets it. We originally brought him in to transform operations, but quickly realised his skills were best used identifying the levers for impactful growth. He immediately changed how we see our own business, bringing a level of professionalism, energy, and big-picture thinking that helped us look beyond our restricted view of where Mobble fits into the world.
Before Simon, we had a significant gap in our attribution and KPI visibility. We knew we were growing, but the 'why' was unclear. Simon didn't just suggest a tool—he built the entire end-to-end reporting engine himself, moving from an unclear problem to a working solution with speed.
He is truly AI-native, using modern tools to do the work of an entire department, but it's his judgment on what to build that sets him apart. From reinventing our Enterprise strategy to managing complex paid channels and SEO, he owned the range. Any high-growth company would be lucky to have him as an architect of their success."
Built RefLIVE into a global sports technology platform as a non-technical co-founder. Started with a smartwatch app for match officials, then evolved into enterprise SaaS for sporting organisations.
▶ Key elements
▶ Highlights
I invest in early-stage companies alongside operators and founders I trust.
▶ Syndicates
M8 Ventures 
Euphemia Syndicate 
Co Ventures 
Airtree Explorers ▶ Investments
How I Think
Radical personal accountability—introspection over assigning blame.
Hard decisions require trade-offs—you have to give up something to get something.
I create systems and processes to simplify my life and free up time for creative exploration.
I constantly search for the non-obvious details behind the complexity of successful teams, projects, and businesses.
Not everything needs an opinion—there is nuance in most topics.
Outside Work
Before all this, I played soccer semi-professionally, worked in accounting and finance, and attended college in the US on a soccer scholarship. After founding RefLIVE, I briefly lived in Chicago and San Francisco—two of my favourite cities in the world.
In my spare time, you'll find me with my wife and two daughters, staying fit, reading books and long-form articles, and watching movies and sitcoms.