First Act

First Act is back with a brand new season.

Each week, Kochie’s Business Builders editors and co-hosts Cec Busby and Adam Bub talk with some of Australia’s most innovative business owners and personalities and share their inspirational stories and origin tales.

From former Bachelor Matty J’s first job to Jodie Fox’s raw insights from the rise and fall of Shoes of Prey, these conversations dig into the trials, tribulations and lightbulb moments behind the veil of success.

So listen in each Tuesday for First Act. Because every story has a beginning.

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In this episode of First Act, Cec Busby chats with Melanie Perkins, the co-founder of online design tool Canva and explores how she brought the idea to fruition, what motivates her and why mentors are so important. See /listener for privacy information.

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In this week's podcast, Cec Busby catches up with Dean Foley, the founder of Australia's first indigenous accelerator program, Barayamal. Foley gives us the nitty-gritty on life as an indigenous entrepreneur, explains what inspires him and why he recommends a stint in the armed forces to anyone uncertain of their career path.

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In this week's podcast, host Cec Busby gets up close and personal with Lisa Messenger. A prolific author, a serial entrepreneur and the founder of The Messenger Group and Collective Hub, Lisa is known for her honesty and no holds barred opinions. In this episode, Lisa chats with us about the making and breaking of her brand, why risk and resilience matter for entrepreneurs and how you can bounce back after setbacks.

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Usman Iftikhar is the co-founder of Catalysr, an accelerator program that assists refugees and migrapreneurs to achieve their startup dreams. A mechanical engineer by trade, Usman arrived in Australia in 2013 and like many skilled migrants and refugees before him, he found there were barriers to getting work. Rather than remain disillusioned, Usman took matters into his own hands and started an entrepreneur program that helps others get their start. Today Catalysr has helped over 100 migrapreneurs and spawned over 30 new enterprises. Did we mention he's also the Commonwealth Young Person of the Year!

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In this episode of First Act, host Cec Busby gets up close and personal with the founder of Keep Sydney Open, Tyson Koh. A self-described reluctant activist, Koh explains the genesis of the grassroots campaign which has since grown to become a political party, shares his view on how a city's nighttime culture correlates with its level of innovation and explains why we all need to fire up our passions.

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