First Act

Entrepreneurship may have seemed an unlikely choice for Leela Cosgrove, founder of business growth consulting firm Strategic Anarchy. Growing up in Brisbane’s housing commission estates, Leela was surrounded by less-than-ideal circumstances. Fortunately, she had strong female role models - in the guise of her mother and grandmother - who led her to believe anything was possible. Today, Leela heads up a multimillion-dollar business and counts Richard Branson among her friends.

She’s passionate about helping women succeed in business and shatter any barriers that are in their way. Leela is bringing this mission to life as the Australian Chapter Leader of the Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network (DWEN), and with the Women’s Leadership Festival in Melbourne this October.

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He’s the Aussie chef who’s made it in the US, popping up on shows like Good Morning America and The Drew Barrymore Show. And every day, he’s serving up Aussie breakfasts and coffees to discerning New Yorkers at his impact-driven restaurant in Nolita, New York: Charley St.

But we first met Dan on season five of MasterChef Australia when he was making ‘dude food’. He’s since become a globally renowned chef, cookbook author, athlete, wellness coach and podcast host on The Epic Table Podcast. He also happens to be the chef and nutrition expert for Chris Hemsworth’s CENTR health advice app – and he’s now joined Australian Eau De Vie grape spirit brand Feels Botanical as a partner and major investor. Busy, but oh so chill. How does he do it?

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Daniel Flynn is an eco-warrior. As the managing director and co-founder of Thankyou, Daniel and his team are flipping consumerism on its head to deliver meaningful change. In a world where brands often pay lip service to social impact, Thankyou is the real deal.

Since launching Thankyou in 2008, the brand has grown from selling a single product to over 50 lines that are available in supermarkets all over Australia. The ethos of Thankyou is simple: to create a better world where no one lives in poverty and as co-founder, Daniel is leading the charge.

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Cook, media publisher and entrepreneur, Marion Grasby wears a lot of hats. As one of Masterchef’s favourite contestants, Marion quickly won the hearts of Aussie viewers with her Thai-Aussie flavour fusions. Although she missed out on the crown, Marion quickly parlayed her fame into a cook book deal before launching her brand, Marion’s Kitchen.

Today Marion is the head of a next-generation food and lifestyle company with a subscriber base of 7 million and a global monthly reach of more than 30 million people. Not bad going for the home-cook who insists fame was never on her agenda.

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If you’re mad about pets, you’ll be mad for our next guest … Justus Hammer. Justus is the founder of Mad Paws, Australia’s largest online pet care platform. Dubbed ‘Airbnb for pets’, Mad Paws matches pets with trusted pet sitters. It’s a fabulous alternative to traditional kennels and has proved a massive success. But Mad Paws isn’t his first venture. Justus is also the man behind Australia’s largest group buying platform, Spreets – which he sold for a massive $40 million less than a year after launch. It was the first of a number of successes for the serial entrepreneur but there have been some failed ventures too. Justus joins us to share the highs and lows of his First Act.

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Sarah Cordiner’s used to breaking boundaries. As the first woman in her family to get a higher education, Sarah bucked convention from the start. Education is her passion and it drives her purpose. As one of the world’s leading edupreneurs, Sarah has helped thousands of small business owners use their expertise to create new revenue streams. She’s the queen of online courses, has been cited by Forbes as a leader in the education space, ranked by HuffPost as one of the world’s 50 must follow women entrepreneurs and has the number 1 blog in the e-learning space. Did we mention she holds the record as the youngest University ‘Executive Director and Head of Campus’ in Australian HISTORY? But it hasn’t all been plain sailing and Sarah joins us to share some of the ups and downs of her entrepreneurial journey.

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Simon Cohen knows a thing or two about the lifestyles of the rich and famous. As the founder of CohenHandler - Australia’s number one Buyers Agency - his job is to find the ultra-rich the most extra homes. He’s gone from starting a business with just $5000 in his bank account to becoming the highest-grossing buyers’ agent in Australia. A natural salesman, Simon has quickly carved out a niche in a competitive industry.

He joins us on First Act to unpack some of the secrets to his success, including how he’s leveraged his expertise into a popular TV show, Luxe Listings Australia.

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Pete Ceglinski is a surfer, industrial designer and ‘eco-preneur’ whose game-changing invention, the Seabin has captured millions of kilos of waste from our oceans. It’s a simple idea - a bin for the sea - yet its footprint is indelible.

Since launching the business with a crowdfunding campaign, Pete and his team have taken Seabin global, saving 1000s of sea creatures from being trapped in plastic waste. But the Seabin isn’t just a floating garbage collector, thanks to smart technology, Pete and co. can now track microplastics and their impact on the ocean. Thanks to Pete and the Seabin Project, our seas and futures look brighter every day!

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From his early days as a Dutch backpacker bartending in the ’70s gangster’s paradise of King’s Cross to growing his family business from a backyard caravan, Richard Kuipers is a man with stories to tell. At 75, he’s passionate about sharing what to do and what NOT to do when running a family business – based on his learnings from creating one of Australia’s largest removal companies, Two Men And A Truck.

Richard started the business more than 40 years ago with a single truck. Now it’s a multimillion-dollar operation that employs 300 people with a fleet of close to 100 vehicles. But not without family drama along the way.

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Jane Cay is one of the most humble entrepreneurs you’ll meet. She also happens to be one of Australia’s leading fashion retailers and has grown her business from a small boutique store in country New South Wales, into an online empire with more than 150 staff.

But retail was never the original plan for Jane. It wasn’t until she fell in love and returned to the Snowy Mountains that this accidental entrepreneur found her calling and her business Birdsnest was born. Jane knows how to make Australian women feel good, whatever size, colour or style of dress they’re wearing. She’s also got a crystal ball when it comes to trends in online shopping ...

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