Origin to Ambition: The Entrepreneur Journey

What does it take to build a business in a highly regulated sector like aged care and disability support? In this episode of Origin to Ambition, host Sean Dunne sits down with Laurie Alonzo, the founder and owner of Smarter Connections.

Laurie shares her journey from a background in health insurance compliance and strata management to stepping into the self-employed world. She discusses her decision to start with a franchise model, ...

What do you do when the entire industry you've built your career in disappears from under your feet? For Adrian Bortignon, co-founder of Kongo Group, this "rug pull" experience wasn't just a crisis—it became his playbook for agility and survival.
In this deeply honest conversation, Sean Dunne sits down with Adrian to explore a 15-year entrepreneurial journey that began with a "white-knuckle ride." Adrian shares the unfilte...

What If the Opportunity That Changed Your Life Landed in Your Inbox by Accident?

That's exactly what happened to Jason Andrew — and he said yes anyway.

After two decades in financial services, a detour through an organic juice business in Samoa, an Executive MBA from one of the world's top-ranked business schools, and the sale of his own financial planning practice, Jason was doing business consulting and staring at his pipelin...

What if you could write your future into existence? For Ashley Al-Saadi, better known as the "Cold Calling Queen," that's not just a nice idea—it's how she built her business.

In this incredible episode of Origin to Ambition, Sean sits down with Ashley, the founder of The Promo Donna. She shares the raw story of her "sink or swim" start in business after the company she worked for went under, armed with just $500 and an unshak...

Welcome to Season 2 of Origin to Ambition! We kick off with a truly profound conversation with Cameron Schwab, a man whose life has been deeply woven into the fabric of the AFL. As the former CEO of three AFL clubs—Richmond, Melbourne, and Fremantle—over a 25-year career, Cameron has operated at the highest levels of professional sport.

But this isn't just a story about football. After an unexpected exit from his final C...

Welcome to Origin to Ambition Bytes, where we revisit our archives to bring you a concentrated dose of wisdom from our most impactful conversations.

This week, we're diving back into our fascinating chat with author and elite coach, Cody Royle. What if you could design your personal brand with the same precision as a tech product for 5 million daily users? And what if the secret to chasing massive goals was admitting you have a "scr...

Welcome to Origin to Ambition Bytes, where we revisit the archives to bring you a concentrated dose of wisdom from our most impactful conversations.

This week, we're diving back into our chat with the incredible Andy Gowers. If you've ever felt like you have a great business but no real way to track your progress, this episode is your playbook. Andy tackles one of the biggest weak spots in small business: the lack of measurability.

D...

What if the most important question for your business's success was the one you couldn't answer? That was the reality for Peter Mercuri, a seasoned chartered accountant, when he was asked a simple question: "Why do you do what you do?" It took him two weeks to find the answer, and that process of discovery changed everything.

In this deeply honest and reflective conversation, Sean Dunne sits down with Peter to explore his 15-year jo...

What happens when you write a book so honest that your readers demand you turn it into a business? That's the unique entrepreneurial journey of Cody Royle. After the gut-wrenching experience of his AFL draft dream ending, Cody "fell into" coaching and began a meandering 18-year search for his next great passion.

In this fascinating conversation, Sean Dunne sits down with Cody to explore how years spent "inadvertently" acquiring skil...

What does it take for a single mother, after years out of the industry, to build a 7-figure hairdressing salon from the ground up in a "disgusting and dirty" old milk bar? The answer is a simple, powerful, and non-negotiable mindset: failure is not an option.

In this inspiring episode, Sean Dunne sits down with Felicity Mace, the creative force behind Salon Mace. Felicity shares her incredible journey from a country town art student...

Paul Veldman never intended to be an entrepreneur. A 20-year veteran of the Victoria Police, his life was on a clear path until a devastating knee injury took him out of action. Bored and going stir-crazy, he made a seemingly small decision to help out at his local karate club. That decision sparked an "accidental" journey that would lead to the creation of the Kando Martial Arts empire, now spanning seven locations and thousands o...

What if your business's "exit plan" was simply the freedom to beg for a job if it all went wrong? That was the refreshingly honest and low-risk mentality that launched T.M. Collins Law, one of the fastest-growing law firms in the country.

In this episode, Sean Dunne sits down with co-founder & partner  at TM Collins Law, John Mapleston to unpack a story of explosive growth built on a simple premise: fixing the two things ev...

Imagine launching your dream business, pouring your heart and soul into it, only to be hit by a "full-blown tsunami" just four months later. That was the reality for Maggie McPherson, a 4'11" powerhouse in the martial arts world, when the COVID-19 pandemic shut her brand-new dojo down.

In this deeply inspiring conversation, Sean Dunne sits down with Maggie to explore a journey that began not with a business plan, but by simply taggi...

What if the most valuable business advice you could receive wasn't a list of things to do, but a clear guide on what to avoid? This is the powerful philosophy of Colin Wilson, a founder whose journey was forged over 22 years of cold-calling the streets of Melbourne.

In this episode, Sean Dunne sits down with Colin for an incredible deep-dive into the grit, resilience, and strategic thinking required to build a business that lasts. C...

What happens when the thing you do for fun becomes the only thing you want to do? For Philip Lai, founder of the Australian Combat Sports Academy, it was a signal he couldn't ignore.

In this powerful episode of Origin to Ambition, Sean sits down with Philip to uncover a journey that began with a single, brutal Muay Thai session and led to quitting a stable advertising career with absolutely no plan. Philip shares the raw, unfiltered...

What does a former AFL star and the President of the Hawthorn Football Club know about entrepreneurship? As it turns out, everything that matters.

In this episode, Sean is joined by Andy Gowers for a masterclass in high-performance thinking. Andy shares the game-changing advice he received from Michael Gerber: if you can't sell your business, you don't own a business—you own a job. This single idea reshaped his entire approach...

What does officiating a high-stakes football match in front of 100,000 fans have in common with building a successful business from the ground up? As it turns out, almost everything.

In this episode of Origin to Ambition, Sean Dunne sits down with Simon Micallef, a former international FIFA referee and the founder of business consultancy Finfocus. Simon shares his remarkable journey from a structured career in banking to the discipl...

Ever faced a frustrating problem in your field and thought, "There has to be a better way"? That's exactly where Suzi Wright found herself. As a dance studio owner, she was tired of the high cost and limited options for costumes in Australia. Her solution? A trip to Bangkok that uncovered an "Aladdin's cave" of vibrant, affordable costumes and sparked a brilliant business idea.

In this high-energy episode, Sean is joined by the unst...

Ever wondered what it truly takes to leave the security of a corporate job and build a purpose-driven business from the ground up?

In the very first episode of Origin to Ambition, host Sean Dunne sits down with seasoned entrepreneur Chris Rossidis. Chris shares the incredible story of his journey from a lab scientist to the co-founder of Emerge Health, a pharmaceutical company he successfully built and sold to an international partn...