Kady O'Connell moved from Ireland to Sydney knowing nobody, got deported after leaving a toxic agency that was holding her visa hostage, turned that into seven months of travel, and came back to build Kady Creative from a kitchen table into an award-winning branding agency that built over 200 brands. Then in 2025, she closed the doors. Not because she had to, but because she wanted to.

In this conversation she talks about the dopamine addiction of agency chaos, wrapping your entire identity in a business that will never love you back, why every problem in agency life has a first and last name, and what it actually feels like to walk away from something you built from nothing. She also makes the case that self-sacrifice isn't leadership and that nobody on their deathbed is going to care about that client email you agonised over.

Find Kady at https://kadyoconnell.com/

Got a question, topic or guest suggestion? [email protected] or visit youregoodgetbetter.com

Special thanks to DOUBLESTAR.CO and thanks to PhaseOne and Fat Cat Music for the use of their track Crash & Burn feat. Northlane.

Jonathan Pease started his career at BBDO New York, came back to Australia, co-founded Tong (an ideas agency he sold to STW/AKQA), judged Australia's Next Top Model for five seasons, launched a fashion label into 13 countries, and is the founding creative director of Sown Hearts and Minds, which has raised close to $100 million for medical research. He also wrote Winning the Room, a book about pitching that belongs on every agency person's shelf.

In this conversation he talks about what BBDO New York taught him about work ethic and treating everyone the same regardless of status, why being the only Australian in a 1,500-person agency was an advantage, the founder trap where your team shields you from the truth, and why the biggest mistake in any pitch is treating it like a one-way performance. He also makes the case that in a world where AI is about to make all content look the same, the only thing left that differentiates you is how you make people feel in the room.

Find JP on LinkedIn and defintel get his book Winning the Room.

Got a question, topic or guest suggestion? [email protected] or at youregoodgetbetter.com

Katja Forbes founded an agency, sold it, ran design for the company that acquired her, wrote a book, and somehow taught at university through all of it. In this conversation she talks about the loneliness of being a sole founder, why the maths of mid-sized agency life rarely work, the moment she claimed her space in a room full of men, and why asking for help is the only real survival strategy in agency land.

Find out more and get a copy of Machine Customers https://www.thecxevolutionist.ai/

Got a question, topic or guest suggestion? [email protected]

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