At The Top with Ben Andrews

Success at work doesn't always mean success at home. And for many business owners, the habits that drive their business forward are the same ones quietly destroying their personal lives.

Kateesha Hembrow is a high performance coach who specializes in shadow work, helping senior executives and business owners integrate the parts of themselves they've been hiding, suppressing, or ignoring. She's worked with over a thousand clients, many of whom are running seven to eight figure businesses while privately struggling with burnout, disconnection, and self-sabotaging behaviors they can't seem to shake. Her work isn't about productivity hacks or morning routines. It's about understanding why successful people keep making choices they're not proud of, and what it takes to stop.

In this conversation, Kateesha shares why business owners are uniquely good at hiding their personal struggles, and the patterns she sees showing up again and again in high achievers who are winning at work but losing at home. She also opens up about her own journey through chaos, self-sabotage, and the moment she realized she was using victimhood as an excuse to avoid accountability. She explains the framework she uses to help clients break destructive patterns, why guilt is powerful but shame is paralyzing, and the uncomfortable truth about ego, arrogance, and the secondary gains we get from our worst habits.

She explains:

• Why business owners are better at hiding personal struggles than most people, and how success becomes a distraction from what's happening at home
• Why understanding your unconscious patterns is the key to stopping self-sabotage
• The emotion, thought, action framework she uses to help clients break destructive habits
• Why every bad behavior has a secondary gain, and how owning that benefit is the first step to change
• The difference between guilt and shame, and why one is powerful and the other is paralyzing
• How to identify your shadows by looking at the people who trigger you most
• Why rage isn't bad, and what healthy ways to express anger actually look like
• How she healed her own cycle of burnout and illness by understanding the hidden benefits she was getting from staying unwell
• Why ego blocks you from seeing your shadow, and when arrogance shows up as complacency instead of confidence
• The most important reason to do this work: so your kids don't inherit your unintegrated shadows

If you're running a successful business but struggling with habits, relationships, or behaviors you're not proud of, this episode will give you a framework to understand why you keep making choices that don't align with who you want to be, and what it takes to finally change.

Timestamps:

• 00:00:00 Introduction
• 00:04:07 The Loneliness at the Top: Why Business Owners Hide Their Struggles
• 00:05:34 The Convenient Lie: Are You Really Doing It All for Your Family?
• 00:06:07 The Breaking Point: When High Performers Finally Ask for Help
• 00:12:37 From Chaos to Clarity: Katisha's Journey Through Tragedy and Self-Destruction
• 00:14:52 Shadow Work Explained: Becoming Conscious of Your Unconscious
• 00:20:34 The Mirror Exercise: Finding Your Shadows in the People You Hate
• 00:22:03 The Arrogance Test: How Success Breeds Complacency
• 00:25:18 The Shame Sandwich: Why Guilt Is Powerful But Shame Is Paralyzing
• 00:28:34 Ego vs. Shadow: Why Your Ego Blocks You from Seeing the Truth
• 00:32:23 The 24-Hour Test: Would You Be Proud If Someone Followed You All Day?
• 00:35:09 Emotion, Thought, Action: The Framework for Breaking Bad Habits
• 00:37:08 The Secondary Gain: How You Secretly Benefit from Your Worst Behaviors
• 00:40:11 The Generational Ripple Effect: Why This Work Matters for Your Kids
• 00:41:24 Shake Hands with the Worst Parts of Yourself

We're just getting started! Subscribe for more conversations with founders, operators, and their advisers.

Kateesha Hembrow:
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/kateeshahembrow/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/kateeshahembrow

At The Top

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@atthetopwithben
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atthetopwithben/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/at-the-top-with-ben/
Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/show/1GTjCXqdQzQtZ33idMpQgo?si=C5gNvXDZSkWdxBz-mW13AA
Apple Podcasts: http://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/at-the-top/id1893782299

The playbook that helped Australians build wealth over the last 20 years doesn’t work anymore.

Ben Nash is Australia's most followed advisor, managing over $2.5 billion in assets for high-income Australians. He's written three books on wealth building and has spent more than a decade helping business owners, high earners, and families navigate the complex intersection of income, investing, and financial security. With major changes to negative gearing, capital gains tax, and superannuation, combined with AI reshaping how people earn and build wealth, the rules are shifting faster than most people realize.

In this conversation, Ben shares the four biggest mistakes wealthy Australians make that sabotage their financial future, why the boomer playbook of property and super is no longer enough, and what business owners should be doing right now to protect themselves as the world around them changes. He also opens up about the psychology that stops high earners from getting ahead, why earning a million dollars a year doesn't mean you're wealthy, and the uncomfortable truth about how much you actually need to retire on the lifestyle you're living today.

He explains:

• Why the boomer playbook of buying property, negative gearing, and cranking super is dead for most people today
• The four biggest mistakes wealthy Australians make that bring them undone, and how to avoid them
• Why earning a million dollars a year doesn't mean you're wealthy, and the paper rich trap high income earners fall into
• How much you actually need to replace your income with investments, and why most people underestimate the gap
• Why business owners who don't pay themselves first are quietly sabotaging their own wealth, and how to fix it
• What's happening with property prices right now, and whether this is just a correction or a paradigm shift
• Why Australia's biggest companies are investing overseas instead of at home, and whether Australians should be doing the same
• How many of his clients are exploring leaving Australia for tax reasons, and what's driving that decision
• Why superannuation is becoming less attractive for wealthy Australians, and what the $3 million threshold really means
• The opportunity cost of holding too much cash, and why caution might be the fifth biggest mistake
• Why every business owner should be nervous if 90% of their wealth is tied up in their business
• What he'd tell himself when his business was turning over a million dollars, and the lessons he wishes he learned sooner

If you're earning good money but still feel like you're not getting ahead, or if you're a business owner wondering whether the strategies that worked in the past will still work in the future, this episode will change how you think about wealth, risk, and what it really takes to build financial security in a world that's shifting faster than ever.

Timestamps:

• 00:00:00 Introduction
• 00:03:01 The Boomer Playbook Is Dead: Why Traditional Wealth Strategies No Longer Work
• 00:07:04 The Property Market Reality: Supply, Demand, and the 10% Sydney Decline
• 00:12:11 Should Australians Be Investing More Globally?
• 00:16:30 The Wealthy Exodus: Are High-Net-Worth Australians Leaving for Tax Reasons?
• 00:20:29 Mistake One: Confusing Your Income With Your Wealth
• 00:25:36 Mistake Two: Waiting Until After the Next Big Year to Get Started
• 00:28:10 Mistake Three: Paying Yourself Last as a Business Owner
• 00:32:15 Mistake Four: Never Deciding What Enough Actually Looks Like
• 00:43:06 The Cash Trap: Why Holding Too Much Cash Costs You Millions
• 00:44:56 The Fifth Mistake: When Caution Becomes Paralysis
• 00:47:13 Business Owners and Concentration Risk: When 90% of Your Wealth Is Your Business
• 00:50:11 The Superannuation Dilemma: Is Super Still Worth It After Recent Tax Changes?
• 00:53:15 The Alex Hormozi Question: Future-Proofing Your Business in the AI Era
• 00:57:03 Final Advice: Focus Less, Execute Better, and Master Your Team

We're just getting started! Subscribe for more conversations with founders, and their advisers.

Ben Nash:
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminjnash/
Pivot Wealth https://www.pivotwealth.com.au/

At The Top:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@atthetopwithben
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atthetopwithben/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/at-the-top-with-ben/
Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/show/1GTjCXqdQzQtZ33idMpQgo?si=C5gNvXDZSkWdxBz-mW13AA
Apple Podcasts: http://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/at-the-top/id1893782299

AI is already better at lawyering than humans says Greg Baker.

Greg is a lecturer in computer science and AI at Macquarie University. He's also the first person in Australia to successfully use AI agents to win a legal case against his employer. No law degree. No barrister. Just ChatGPT, a Git repository, and a bet that AI would be better at legal reasoning than a top-tier law firm by the time his case reached a hearing. He was right.

In this conversation, Greg shares what it was like to face off against one of Australia's top barristers using nothing but AI, how he structured his case like a software development project, and why he believes we're three years away from AGI wiping out most white collar work. He also opens up about the identity crisis facing every profession that thinks they're safe, the doomsday scenarios that keep AI researchers awake at night, and why slowing down might be the most important decision humanity ever makes.

He explains:

• How he won a Fair Work case using AI against a top barrister, and why it wasn't even close by the end
• Why AI is already better at legal reasoning than most human lawyers, and what that means for the profession
• How he structured his entire case like a software development project using Git repositories and build processes
• Why written submissions give AI an unfair advantage, and what that tells us about where AI has already surpassed humans
• The moment Macquarie's lawyers realized this wasn't going to be the walkover they expected
• Why every white collar profession thinks they're safe, and why none of them are
• His prediction that AGI will arrive by 2029, and why three years is the window before most office jobs disappear
• Why responsibility is the only thing AI can't take from you, and what jobs will survive because of it
• The doomsday scenarios that AI researchers are genuinely worried about, and why slowing down might be impossible
• Why Trump is right that whoever wins AI wins, and why that makes pausing even more complicated
• What motivated him to write a book about building identity beyond work, and why that matters more than ever

If you've been watching AI from the sidelines, or if you're in a profession that feels safe for now, this episode will change how you think about what's coming, how fast it's arriving, and what you should be doing to prepare.

Timestamps:

• 00:00:00 Introduction
• 00:02:25 The First AI Legal Victory: How It Happened
• 00:04:19 Why AI Is Already Better Than Human Lawyers
• 00:09:59 The Git Repository Strategy: Treating Legal Cases Like Code
• 00:11:54 The White-Collar Decimation: What's Coming for Every Profession
• 00:13:58 When the University Realized They'd Hit a Brick Wall
• 00:17:00 The Crisis of Identity: No Profession Is Safe
• 00:17:10 AGI by 2029: The Timeline and What It Means
• 00:18:15 The 25% Productivity Myth and Job Displacement Reality
• 00:25:10 The Offshore Advantage: How AI Translation Changes Everything
• 00:27:21 What Jobs Will Actually Survive AI?
• 00:27:45 The Robotics Revolution: Blue-Collar Jobs by 2036
• 00:32:35 The Luddites Were Right: Lessons from the Industrial Revolution
• 00:35:30 The Pause Debate: Trump vs. Tech Leaders on Slowing AI
• 00:37:49 Doomsday Scenarios: Why We're Not Ready for What's Coming
• 00:43:03 An Infinite Supply of Someone: Writing for the Future
• 00:46:44 Final Thoughts: Leveling the Playing Field

We're just getting started! Subscribe for more conversations with founders, operators, and their advisers.

Greg Baker:
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/solresol/
Substack https://solresol.substack.com/
Greg’s Book (An Infinite Supply of Someone) https://mailchi.mp/3aa69d0e27e2/an-infinite-supply-of-someone-book-updates

Other Notes:

[31:25] Waymo robotaxi growth: paid rides grew from ~50,000 per week in May 2024 to 500,000 per week by March 2026, a 10× increase in less than two years.
[39:41] If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies: Why Superhuman AI Would Kill Us All (Eliezer Yudkowsky)
[40:43] Universal Paperclips https://www.decisionproblem.com/paperclips/
[41:11] The Coming Wave (Mustafa Suleyman)

At The Top

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@atthetopwithben
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atthetopwithben/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/at-the-top-with-ben/
Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/show/1GTjCXqdQzQtZ33idMpQgo?si=C5gNvXDZSkWdxBz-mW13AA
Apple Podcasts: http://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/at-the-top/id1893782299

AI is coming for white collar work. But the loudest voices predicting the end of human labor might have the most to gain from the hype.

Mike is Founder and CEO of Outsourced, a global offshore talent company employing just under 2,000 people across six countries. While technologists predict AI will eliminate the need for human workers, Mike is seeing the opposite. His business is growing faster than ever, hiring 100 people per month, and clients aren't replacing offshore staff with AI. They're using AI to make those teams more powerful.

In this conversation, Mike shares what's actually happening on the ground as businesses navigate AI, automation, and offshore talent. He explains why major Australian companies like NAB, Coles, and Woolworths are moving thousands of roles offshore while simultaneously investing in AI, why economists disagree with the technologists about the future of work, and how business owners should decide what to automate, what to offshore, and what to keep onshore.

He also opens up about the decision to partner with private equity four years ago, how that partnership helped him scale from 400 to nearly 2,000 staff, and what he's learned about valuation, accountability, and building a business that can grow without breaking.

He explains:

• Why AI is more of a threat to onshore staff than offshore staff, and what that means for how businesses should structure their teams
• How major Australian companies are moving thousands of roles offshore while investing heavily in AI at the same time
• Why the technologists predicting the end of human work have different incentives than the economists studying it
• The framework for deciding what to automate, what to offshore, and what to keep onshore
• Why roles requiring human judgment, client relationships, or compliance oversight should stay with humans, even if AI can assist
• How multilingual real time translation technology will remove the last major barrier to offshore hiring within 12 months
• The cultural nuances business owners need to understand when managing offshore teams, and why hierarchy systems in the Philippines and India change how meetings and brainstorming sessions work
• Why he decided to partner with private equity, and how that partnership helped him scale from 400 to nearly 2,000 staff in four years
• What changed when private equity came on board, and why the increased accountability was necessary to scale past 60 million in revenue
• The acquisition strategy that opened up new countries, and what he learned about valuation by looking at the books of 30 different companies

If you've been wondering whether AI will make offshore talent irrelevant, or if you're trying to figure out how to structure your team in a world where automation and global talent are both accelerating, this episode will give you a perspective most business owners aren't hearing.

Timestamps:

• 00:00:00 Introduction
• 00:01:53 The AI Threat: Will Offshore Jobs Disappear?
• 00:04:18 What's Already Changed: The First AI Job Losses
• 00:06:41 Why AI Makes Offshore Talent More Competitive, Not Less
• 00:07:27 The Corporate Evidence: NAB, Coles, Woolworths Going Offshore
• 00:11:56 How to Decide: Automate, Offshore, or Keep Onshore?
• 00:14:59 The Offshore Talent Myth: From VAs to CTOs
• 00:18:56 Cultural Intelligence: What Onshore Leaders Need to Learn
• 00:20:55 The AI Skills Revolution: What Changes for Offshore Teams
• 00:31:56 Bringing in Private Equity: The Decision That 10x'd the Business
• 00:34:46 The PE Learning Curve: Experts, Accountability, and Acquisitions
• 00:39:08 Choosing the Right PE Partner: Red Flags and Green Flags

We're just getting started! Subscribe for more conversations with founders, operators, and their advisers.

Mike Larcher:
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-larcher/
Outsourced https://outsourced.co/

At The Top

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@atthetopwithben
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atthetopwithben/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/at-the-top-with-ben/
Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/show/1GTjCXqdQzQtZ33idMpQgo?si=C5gNvXDZSkWdxBz-mW13AA
Apple Podcasts: http://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/at-the-top/id1893782299

Jackson is CEO of Passmark Software, a 27 year old company he acquired through what's known as a traditional search fund model. He raised capital from 18 investors, reached out to 2,500 business owners, had conversations with about 100, went deeper with 20, and ultimately bought a business he now leads. He didn't have a technical background. He didn't start the company. He’s proof that the path exists for others who want to do the same.

In this conversation, Jackson shares what it actually takes to buy a business when you don't have one yet, how he raised capital from investors who were backing him and not a business, why most business owners don't know what their company is worth, and what he's learned now that he's sitting in the chair he worked years to get to. He also opens up about the nine month transaction process, the due diligence that nearly derailed the deal, and the moment he realized his investor pipeline had dried up and he had to find a completely different way to reach people.

He explains:

• What a traditional search fund is, and why it's a third path to the top that most people never consider
• How he raised capital from 18 investors before he had a business, and why that took nine months
• Why he contacted 2,500 business owners, and what the most common reasons were that deals didn't proceed
• The questions he asks to filter out businesses that can't survive without the owner
• Why most founders don't know what their business is worth, and how that creates friction in negotiations
• What business owners should do three to five years before they want to sell to maximize their exit value
• The moment his investor pipeline dried up, and the analog strategy he used to unlock a hidden capital market
• Why handwritten letters to investors' homes opened more doors than any automated outreach ever could
• How he leads a technical team when his expertise is in sales and commercial strategy, not software engineering
• What no amount of due diligence can prepare you for when you finally step into the CEO seat
• Why 500,000 Australian businesses have no succession plan, and what that means for the next generation of business leaders

If you've ever wondered whether there's another way to lead a business without starting from scratch or waiting decades to climb the ladder, this episode will show you the path that most people don't know exists.

Timestamps:

• 00:00:00 Introduction
• 00:02:00 The Search Fund Model: A Third Path to the Top
• 00:06:46 What Search Funds Bring That Startups Don't
• 00:10:42 Contacting 2,500 Businesses: What Makes Deals Fall Apart
• 00:14:05 The Owner Dependency Problem: When Founders Can't Step Away
• 00:16:44 Valuation Gaps: When Owners Overestimate Their Business Worth
• 00:19:20 Preparing Your Business for Sale: The Three-Year Plan
• 00:22:49 Raising Capital from 18 Investors: The Nine-Month Journey
• 00:27:38 The Belief That Anything Is Possible
• 00:30:18 The Handwritten Letter Strategy: Finding Hidden Investors
• 00:38:25 Deal Signed: The Relief of Closing After Nine Months
• 00:41:33 The First 60 Days: Customer Conversations and Learning the Business
• 00:42:03 Leading Without Technical Expertise: Running a Tech Company as a Commercial Leader
• 00:50:02 What Due Diligence Can't Show You: Market Disruption and AI Search
• 00:51:24 The 500,000 Business Succession Crisis: Opportunity and Risk
• 00:53:55 Getting Started: Books, Resources, and the Search Fund Community

We're just getting started! Subscribe for more conversations with founders, operators, and their advisers.

Jackson Allan:
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacksonallan1/
Passmark Software https://www.passmark.com/

At The Top

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@atthetopwithben
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atthetopwithben/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/at-the-top-with-ben/
Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/show/1GTjCXqdQzQtZ33idMpQgo?si=C5gNvXDZSkWdxBz-mW13AA
Apple Podcasts: http://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/at-the-top/id1893782299

The tax changes in Australia have business owners asking a question they never thought they'd seriously consider: should I leave?

Patrick is Head of Tax at Air Accounting, and Matthew is Founder and CEO of Four Corners Migration. Together, they've guided hundreds of business owners through the complex intersection of tax residency, migration law, and the real life trade-offs that come with leaving Australia.

In this conversation, they break down what it actually takes to stop being an Australian taxpayer, how easy or difficult it is to move to four of the most popular destinations for business owners, and the traps most people don't see until it's too late. They also explain the exit tax that catches nearly everyone off guard, the three tests the ATO uses to keep taxing you even after you've left, and why simply buying a plane ticket doesn't mean you've stopped being a tax resident.

They explain:

• The four countries business owners are asking about most, and what taxes you'd actually pay in each
• Why New Zealand is the easiest to move to, but may not be the best long term option
• Why Bali is a trap for founders planning to sell their business one day
• How Singapore has the best tax environment, but the highest barrier to entry
• Why Dubai has zero personal income tax, and what visas are available to get there
• The three tests the ATO uses to determine whether you're still a tax resident, even after you've left the country
• The exit tax that can trigger a tax bill on your investments the day you leave, even if you haven't sold anything
• Why you can't just set up a company overseas and pay lower tax rates while staying in Australia
• How to prove to the ATO that you've genuinely left, and why intention matters more than days spent abroad
• What most people underestimate when they think about moving, and why half the people who start the process don't follow through

If you've been frustrated by the recent tax changes, or if you've ever wondered what it would actually take to leave Australia from a tax and migration perspective, this episode will give you the clarity most business owners never get until they're already committed.

General information only. Not tax, legal or migration advice.

Timestamps:

• 00:00:00 Introduction
• 00:03:29 The Four-Country Comparison: What Business Owners Need to Know
• 00:04:13 New Zealand: The Easy Option with No Capital Gains Tax
• 00:08:55 Bali: The Lifestyle Trap for Founders Planning to Exit
• 00:14:20 Singapore: The Low-Tax Dream That's Hard to Reach
• 00:20:23 Dubai: Zero Personal Tax and the Golden Visa
• 00:27:18 The Three ATO Tests: How Australia Keeps Taxing You After You Leave
• 00:28:28 The Resides Test: Proving Your Intention to Leave for Good
• 00:36:57 Can You Be Taxed in Two Countries at Once?
• 00:37:17 The Exit Tax: The Final Trap on Your Way Out
• 00:40:43 The Reality Check: What People Underestimate About Moving Countries
• 00:44:04 Final Thoughts: Is the Door Worth Walking Through?

We're just getting started! Subscribe for more conversations with founders, operators, and their advisers.

Patrick:
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/air-accounting/
Air Accounting https://www.air.com.au/

Matthew:
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewgarvey/
Four Corners Migration https://four-corners.com.au/

At The Top

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@atthetopwithben
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atthetopwithben/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/at-the-top-with-ben/
Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/show/1GTjCXqdQzQtZ33idMpQgo?si=C5gNvXDZSkWdxBz-mW13AA
Apple Podcasts: http://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/at-the-top/id1893782299

Plenty of e-commerce businesses are chasing growth while quietly losing money. Dean Salakas has seen what separates the ones that scale from the ones that collapse.

Dean is a former e-commerce founder who built and exited a party store business that started in 1999. He was Google Australia's first advertiser, pioneered click and collect in Australia, and scaled his business through multiple waves of disruption before exiting 18 months ago. Today, he advises e-commerce businesses and leads a community of nearly 4,000 retail and e-commerce founders, giving him a rare vantage point on what's actually working and what's breaking across the industry behind closed doors.

In this conversation, Dean shares what founders are avoiding, the emerging trends most businesses are missing, why gross margins are at record highs while net margins are at record lows, and the hard pivots that separate businesses that survive from those that don't. He also opens up about what it felt like to exit after 18 years, the identity crisis that followed, and the weight he didn't realize he was carrying until it was gone.

He explains:

• The two critical blind spots most e-commerce founders are avoiding, and why it's costing them
• Why live shopping is quietly doing hundreds of thousands in Australia, and how to get started before it becomes saturated
• The profitability paradox: why gross margins are at record highs but net margins are at record lows
• Why 97% of e-commerce businesses now depend on paid traffic, and whether that's actually a problem
• What it was like being Google's first advertiser, paying one cent per click, and why that moment is happening again right now with OpenAI ads
• How his business went from down 98% during COVID to beating the prior year by pivoting in weeks
• The e-commerce founder who cut her team from 30 employees to 3 using AI without losing revenue
• Why capital and scale become bottlenecks, and when founders need to stop tweaking and start swinging the axe
• The unit economics that actually matter, and why most founders are tracking the wrong numbers
• What happened after the exit: the identity crisis, the weight he didn't know he carried, and why he couldn't stay retired

If you're running an e-commerce business and growth feels harder than it should, or if you're stuck tweaking instead of making the big changes that actually move the needle, this episode will shift how you think about what's working, what's breaking, and what comes next.

Timestamps:

• 00:00:00 Introduction
• 00:02:08 From Party Store to E-Commerce Pioneer: Dean's Journey
• 00:04:30 The Accidental Community: How 4,000 Members Started with One WhatsApp Group
• 00:08:47 What Founders Are Avoiding: The Two Critical Blind Spots
• 00:11:28 Emerging Trends: Live Shopping and the Future of E-Commerce
• 00:14:31 The Profitability Paradox: Record High Margins, Record Low Profits
• 00:17:23 AI and the Human Connection Vacuum
• 00:19:23 The Paid Traffic Reality: 97% of E-Commerce Depends on It
• 00:22:55 Being Early to the Wave: Google Ads, Click and Collect, and OpenAI
• 00:25:22 The Experimental Mindset: Failing Fast and Winning Big
• 00:27:14 The COVID Pivot: Down 98% to Beating Prior Year
• 00:28:43 AI in Action: From 30 Employees to 3 Without Losing Revenue
• 00:29:55 The Growth Trap: When Capital and Scale Become Your Bottleneck
• 00:32:05 The Adaptable Founder: Evolving Through Different Business Stages
• 00:33:31 Get a Mentor: Why You Don't Have to Know All the Answers
• 00:39:16 The Numbers That Actually Matter: Unit Economics Over Vanity Metrics
• 00:42:27 Stop Tweaking, Start Swinging: When to Make the Big Change
• 00:44:27 The Exit: Identity Crisis and the Weight You Didn't Know You Carried
• 00:47:27 Building Something Special: The Power of Community

We're just getting started! Subscribe for more conversations with founders, operators, and their advisers.

Dean Salakas:
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/deansalakas/
Retail Community https://retailcommunity.com.au/

At The Top

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@atthetopwithben
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atthetopwithben/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/at-the-top-with-ben/
Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/show/1GTjCXqdQzQtZ33idMpQgo?si=C5gNvXDZSkWdxBz-mW13AA
Apple Podcasts: http://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/at-the-top/id1893782299

Sources mentioned:
eComFuel Trends Report 2026 https://www.ecommercefuel.com/

Most mortgage brokers try to serve everyone. Andrew Johnson built a multimillion dollar business by deliberately ignoring 99% of potential clients.

Andrew is the founder of Legal Home Loans, a mortgage broking business which only serves lawyers, judges and barristerrs. Instead of competing in a market with 22,000 other brokers, decided to focus exclusively on lawyers. In a country with 14.7 million employed people and just under 100,000 lawyers, he chose to serve less than 1% of the market. The result? Faster growth, deeper expertise, and a business model that allowed him to step away for two years while the company thrived.

In this conversation, Andrew shares what actually happens when you niche down hard, why trying to serve everyone dilutes your ability to serve anyone well, and how choosing a narrow market allowed him to build trust, scale faster, and create a business that didn't depend on him being in the room. He also opens up about burnout, the 18 month process he used to step away from the business, and what he learned about purpose, delegation, and building a company that works without you.

He explains:

• Why ignoring 99% of potential clients was the smartest business decision he ever made
• How niching down made marketing, messaging, and client acquisition dramatically easier
• The difference between going shallow across a broad market versus deep in a narrow one
• What he learned from a painful early exit
• The 18 month process he used to step away from his business for two years without it falling apart
• What structures, incentives, and culture had to be in place before he could leave
• Why trust, not systems, was the number one thing that allowed him to step back
• What he discovered about purpose after achieving the freedom he thought he wanted
• Why he's now expanding into accounting, and how to know when your niche is tapped out

If you've been trying to serve everyone and wondering why growth feels so hard, or if you're burnt out and can't imagine stepping away from your business for even a week, this episode will change how you think about focus, delegation, and what it really takes to build something sustainable.

Timestamps:

• 00:00:00 Introduction
• 00:01:48 The Power of Niching: Why Ignore 99% of Your Market?
• 00:04:24 Standing Out in a Crowded Market of 22,000 Brokers
• 00:05:58 Opening Doors: How Niching Unlocked Partnerships
• 00:07:00 The Marketing Strategy That Replaced Word of Mouth
• 00:07:47 Go All In: Making the Niche Decision
• 00:10:27 The First Business: Lessons from a Partnership Gone Wrong
• 00:13:06 Values Alignment: The Non-Negotiable for Shareholders
• 00:15:38 Burnout and the Decision to Step Away
• 00:17:49 Building a Business That Runs Without You
• 00:19:02 Culture First: Why All Ships Rise on a Rising Tide
• 00:23:50 The Founder's Dilemma: Are You Doing Too Much?
• 00:26:55 Finding Purpose: Why Andrew Came Back
• 00:28:17 Expanding the Niche: Launching Accounting Home Loans
• 00:31:03 Final Advice: Your Trajectory Can Change in a Second

We're just getting started! Subscribe for more conversations with founders, operators, and their advisers.

Andrew Johnson:
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-johnson-075559a5/
Legal Home Loans https://www.legalhomeloans.com.au

At The Top

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@atthetopwithben
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atthetopwithben/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/at-the-top-with-ben/
Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/show/1GTjCXqdQzQtZ33idMpQgo?si=C5gNvXDZSkWdxBz-mW13AA
Apple Podcasts: http://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/at-the-top/id1893782299

Understanding how investors think about valuation, risk, and growth could transform how you build your business today, even if you never plan to sell.

Katrina Engelbert is a Director at Pemba Capital Partners, a private equity firm with $2 billion in funds under management and investments across 36 companies. She sits on the board of five portfolio companies and has spent years evaluating businesses, structuring deals, and working alongside founders through the most critical stages of growth.

In this conversation, Katrina shares what actually happens when a business gets evaluated by private equity, why the gap between founder optimism and investor skepticism creates friction, and what the bar looks like for businesses that want to attract serious capital. She also explains how AI is reshaping the landscape, why services businesses are suddenly being valued like software companies, and what founders need to know before they ever take a meeting with an investor.

She explains:

• Why founders and investors see the same business through completely different lenses
• The revenue and profitability thresholds that make a business interesting to private equity
• What actually gets priced into a valuation, and what doesn't
• The red flags that make investors walk away, even when the numbers look good
• How AI is changing deal flow, and why services businesses with automation potential are suddenly commanding software multiples
• Why liquidity preferences and earn outs exist, and when they actually make sense
• What changes when an investor comes on board, and why accountability lifts performance
• The reverse due diligence every founder should do before accepting capital
• Why every business owner should map out their strategy as if an exit is coming, even if they never plan to sell

If you've ever wondered what private equity actually looks for, or whether your business is on the right trajectory to attract serious capital, this episode will give you the investor perspective most founders never get to hear.

Timestamps:

• 00:00:00 Introduction
• 00:02:02 The Valuation Gap: Why Founders Feel Offended by PE Offers
• 00:04:20 Red Flags That Make PE Walk Away Immediately
• 00:06:03 Does Culture Actually Impact Valuation?
• 00:09:39 What Gets PE Really Excited About a Business
• 00:12:18 The AI Revolution: How It's Changing Private Equity
• 00:15:31 Services Businesses Trading Like Software: The AI Opportunity
• 00:18:35 Red Flags Revisited: Defensiveness and Unrealistic Forecasts
• 00:20:47 Due Diligence Explained: What Founders Need to Know
• 00:23:52 When PE Comes In: Revenue and Profitability Thresholds
• 00:25:51 The Teenage Years: Why PE Targets This Growth Stage
• 00:28:43 How PE Finds Deals and Why Inbound Inquiries Are Often Struggling
• 00:30:12 Reverse Due Diligence: What Founders Should Ask PE Funds
• 00:33:30 The Advisor Problem: When Your Lawyer Isn't M&A Ready
• 00:34:50 Liquidity Preferences Explained: Downside Protection or Trap?
• 00:37:56 Earn Outs vs. Management Ratchets: Aligning Incentives
• 00:39:30 Life After Investment: How Everything Changes
• 00:41:03 Rolling Equity: You Don't Have to Exit 100%

We're just getting started! Subscribe for more conversations with founders, operators, and their advisers.

Katrina Engelbert:
LinkedIn https://au.linkedin.com/in/katrinaengelbert
Pemba Capital Partners https://www.pemba.com.au

At The Top

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@atthetopwithben
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atthetopwithben/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/at-the-top-with-ben/
Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/show/1GTjCXqdQzQtZ33idMpQgo?si=C5gNvXDZSkWdxBz-mW13AA
Apple Podcasts: http://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/at-the-top/id1893782299

The reality is, you're already a target, and the threat landscape in 2026 is unlike anything we've seen before.

Ahmed Khanji is Founder and CEO of Gridware Cybersecurity, an award winning cybersecurity business. He recently stated that after 17 years in the industry, he's never been more worried. AI powered tools are now finding security vulnerabilities in minutes that used to take teams of PhDs a full year to uncover. Meanwhile, businesses are still operating without basic protections, hoping insurance will save them when things go wrong.

In this conversation, Ahmed shares what actually happens when a business gets hacked, why the 10 to 100 employee range is the most vulnerable, and the five essential actions every business owner needs to take right now to avoid becoming another victim on the dark web.

He explains:

• Why 2026 is the most dangerous year for cybersecurity he's seen in nearly two decades
• How businesses actually get hacked, and why it's usually embarrassingly simple
• Which businesses are most at risk, and why healthcare tops the list
• Why cyber insurance isn't the safety net most business owners think it is
• The danger zone for businesses with 10 to 100 employees, and why they're the easiest targets
• How AI is being weaponized by threat actors, and what tools like the Mythos model mean for global security
• Why building your own software with AI might be exposing your business to catastrophic risk
• The uncomfortable truth about your data: it's already out there
• Five practical actions you can take in the next few weeks to stop being an easy target

If you've been putting off cybersecurity because it feels expensive, complicated, or unlikely to affect you, this episode will change how you think about risk. The question isn't if your business will be targeted. It's when.

Timestamps:

• 00:00:00 Introduction
• 00:01:42 The AI-Powered Threat: Why 2025 Is Different
• 00:05:46 Is This Just Marketing Hype?
• 00:08:11 How Businesses Actually Get Hacked
• 00:10:52 The Ransomware Nightmare: When CEOs Cry
• 00:17:34 The Cat and Mouse Game: Are We Losing?
• 00:19:23 The Insurance Trap: Why Coverage Isn't Enough
• 00:21:26 Industry Risk Rankings: Who's Most Vulnerable?
• 00:29:36 The 10-100 Employee Danger Zone
• 00:32:22 The Mythos Model and AI Security Tools
• 00:34:09 The Vibe Coding Problem: Building Without Security
• 00:37:25 Your Data Is Already Out There
• 00:42:16 Five Essential Actions to Protect Your Business
• 00:46:48 Closing Thoughts and Resources

We're just getting started! Subscribe for more conversations with founders, operators, and their advisers.

Ahmed Khanji:
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ahmed-khanji/
Gridware Cybersecurity https://gridware.com.au

At The Top

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@atthetopwithben
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atthetopwithben/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/at-the-top-with-ben/
Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/show/1GTjCXqdQzQtZ33idMpQgo?si=C5gNvXDZSkWdxBz-mW13AA
Apple Podcasts: http://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/at-the-top/id1893782299