The Self Made Theory

Dr Sam Costello; co-founded BiomeBank (it’s a poo bank, used to treat various diseases – it’s not a gross story, it’s actually quite amazing).

You will learn about the incredible medical benefits of this treatment, the importance of having a healthy microbiome, and how Dr. Costello came to start his business, BiomeBank.

Whether you're a listener who wants to get involved in this research (ie donate!), a pe...

This episode will inspire you to take a step back, reflect on your work or business, and think of innovative ways to disrupt the traditional, perhaps broken, business model you are working in.

I interview Mellissa Larkin, Founder and Managing Director of legal firm Peripheral Blue.

In this episode, she talks about disrupting the traditional, Partner-centric legal firm model.   Her vision is wonderful &nd...

This week on The Self Made Theory, I chat with Kelly Jamieson, co-founder of Edible Blooms!  A totally amazing, unique gift business in Australia, the UK & New Zealand.

Kelly runs her business from both her office in Adelaide and from her farm, which she has done so for 10 years.  While you can imagine how prepared she was for Covid19 having a home office, based on her business model, there are just some thin...

Our "Pilot" episode for "Entrepreneurs on eScooters" is the wild, featuring Allison Nikula, founder of CareApp.

A very, very different way of telling a great story.  You really need to see the video of this interview:  www.entrepreneursonescooters.com 

Allison was inspired to create CareApp through her own personal experience seeing her grandparents access aged care services.  CareApp is a powerful commun...

You know those people you meet whose stories are just so fascinating that you just have to hear more?

Well, this week on The Self Made Theory, that person is Mark Roe from Fusetec. He’s making body parts

Mark has reinvented himself as an entrepreneur multiple times.  Originally starting in the printing industry, he sold that business and semi-retired to an island in Fiji…only to discover that rel...

Oh my goodness - you are going to love this episode! 

I met up recently with Eloise Hall and Isobel Marshall, co-founders of TABOO Sanitary Products.  And BEFORE you decide that this isn’t a topic of interest for you, especially you fellas out there, you HAVE to listen to this.

Why?

This episode is all about business models, social impact, making a difference, overcoming hurdles, the process from business idea through t...

Serial entrepreneurs are so much fun – and the honesty and openness of my next guests is refreshing……and enlightening.

Leah Itsines and Mitch Caon co-founded BARE - the Balanced And Realistic Eating Guide – a “realistic’ way of looking at food.  They have a big following, including over half a million Instagram followers.

But the BARE Guide isn’t the only thing they’ve launched – they have had a lot, and I mean a lot of bus...

How do you move from being an aerospace engineer working on missile systems to running your own video game development company?

That’s part of the story of Dineth Abeynayake, founder of Foxie Games.  Foxie produces mobile-based games that sell across the world, some which lead their category.

It’s a pretty fascinating story, and we cover a lot in this interview on how to start and build a company. If you’ve got a side hack ...

I’ve been a little tardy on getting you some new episodes (of course, I could blame Covid, the editing team, lots of consulting work etc etc…), but mostly I’ve been diverting my attention to some new business ideas I’m working on.

So, in this episode, I’ve done a role reversal – this is an interview, not that I conducted, but that was conducted on me!

Landell, from PlaceOS, asked me last year if I would come on her podcast…...

What do you do when you discover you’re getting an Apple Watch as a present for Christmas?  For most of us, we’d probably brag about it on social media but for our 17-year-old genius Will Bishop, he decided to do what the likes of Twitter, Reddit and Wikipedia hadn’t done – create apps that actually work well for the Apple Watch.

Fast forward, he has successfully created 3 apps that are currently being used by Apple Watch users...

Today our guest is Phil, who runs a great business in Adelaide.  If you’re in business, or thinking about going into business, you HAVE to listen to this episode.  There is something in here for everyone:

-Why staying true to your vision pays off

-The importance of doing what you love

-The most cost effective thing you can do to differentiate yourself from your competition

-Realising there are really tough times that busines...

I love the intersection of technology and healthcare – the potential impacts on a person’s life if you do it right are amazing.

And that’s where my next guest comes in. Michelle Perugini, Co-Founder of Presagen and Life Whisperer, who shares her story of creating a platform that helps people with one of the most challenging and emotional medical procedures – IVF.

IVF (In Vitro Fertilisation) is used to overcome a range of fertili...

An interesting, “under-the-radar” story in this episode.

I first met Milorad Zecevic when I presented at the CEO Institute a few months ago. We got talking about Energy Exemplar (where he’s the VP of Sales and a shareholder) about their extraordinary success and growth.

They’ve been in business 20 years and they’ve enjoyed consistent year on year growth of around 30%.

What do they do? They’re a software company, provid...

A great interview with husband and wife duo, Mel and Dean Flintoft.  In 2007, they founded Australia Fashion Labels, a business that now has 5 fashion labels sold throughout the world, both online and through 1700 stockists in 26 countries.

As you can imagine, the fashion world has changed dramatically since 2007.  In our conversation, we discuss:

• Starting a business in the Global Financial Crisis with no money
• Disrupt...

Kelly Carpenter is the co-founder of two companies – Lookinglass and Culture Team.

I found both of her businesses fascinating (& completely different).  Lookinglass is some very smart tech (both Machine Learning, computer vision and a physical Smart Mirror to detect the symptoms and progression of degenerative health conditions like Parkinson’s.  The early detection of Parkinson’s disease or the complication from medication aft...

You’ve probably read in some articles about how Artificial Intelligence is going to replace your job.  I’ve been reading a lot about the Future of Jobs lately, so I invited Dr Eva Balan-Vnuk, a senior business & thought leader onto the podcast to discuss this really important topic.  Dr Eva holds the role of Executive Director of ICT and Digital Government for South Australia and has held other senior roles such as State Director f...

Before I contacted my next guest, Toby Strong, to request an interview, I was (and still am) a heavy user of his Urban Brew coffee pod products. I love the product, their subscription-based service and their unique value-adds (and no, this isn’t a paid product endorsement).

Toby runs a business where he is both a manufacturer of his own product, as well as a manufacturer for others, a wholesaler and an online retailer.

We uncover...

A double guest interview this week.  Brendon and Connor, co-founders of Nuago, describe themselves as a “born in cloud” company providing IT services to their customers.  They’re obviously doing something right, ranking No.7 in the Australian CRN Fast 50 award.

Lots of gold in here if you’re building a business.  We discuss:

1. Different isn’t always Better, but BETTER IS ALWAYS different

2. If you want to be a good IT provid...

In this episode, I interview Jim Whalley, who has been appointed as the Chief Entrepreneur for South Australia.  Now, while it might seem strange to interview a Govt employee for a show that’s all about Founders, Entrepreneurs and Great Business people, Jim just doesn’t fit the mould of what many might consider a typical Govt Employee.

1. He isn’t PAID! It’s a volunteer position

2. He has a track record in building a successful b...