For Founders Sake

This week on For Founders Sake, we're joined by Grace Roby, owner of Grace Roby Hair in Milton and our very first guest from north of the Eurobodalla.

Grace grew up around hairdressing because her mum was a hairdresser. She actually wanted to stay in school for the social side of it, but a school careers advisor suggested she do her training through TAFE, and that set her path. She went on to own a super busy salon in Cronulla with her mum. Then she and her son moved to Milton for a slower lifestyle, with no intention of opening a salon here. She saw a space, and it just spoke to her.

Her Milton salon is intentionally smaller. There are no other stylists, it's just Grace most days, and her mum now rents a chair off her sometimes. In this chat, Grace shares the non negotiables in her day to day life that keep her grounded and let her be a good mum. We talk about the pressure of being a hairdresser and a therapist in the one chair, and what it's really like to own a business as a single parent, including the mum guilt, the boundaries and the flexibility.

Grace also tells us how she fell into the wedding industry and how it has grown into big business for her. Plus, she shares the story of how one Facebook post about her new Milton salon had people calling to book within minutes, and how organic social media has helped her grow to 15.4k followers on Instagram at the time of recording.

Shelby was unwell when we recorded this one, so Emma, co owner of Sam's Pizza in Batemans Bay and our very first guest, joined as fill in co host. You might also hear a dog making a few guest appearances in the background. We think that's part of the charm.

This episode is brought to you by Grace Roby Hair.

Find Grace
Website: gracerobyhair.com.au
Instagram: @gracerobyhair

Find us
Instagram: @for.founders.sake
TikTok: @forfounderssakepodcast
YouTube: @forfounderssake

This week on For Founders Sake, we're sitting down with Beck, the founder of Coko Baby, an Australian label creating heirloom quality baby essentials born out of a very simple problem: she couldn't find storage for her daughter's accessories that was actually beautiful. So she made her own, and Coko Baby was born.

A quick note before you dive in, Shelby was unwell at the time of recording, so this episode is hosted by Em alongside a very special fill in co host, Emma, our very first ever guest and co owner of Sam's Pizza in Batemans Bay. You might also hear one of Emma's dogs make a background appearance throughout the chat. We couldn't edit it all out, and honestly, we think it's a nice reminder that this podcast is made with heart, not a huge production team.

In this episode, Beck opens up about growing a business while raising three kids, and why starting Coko Baby was as much about creating flexibility for her family as it was about the products themselves. We talk about her decision to grow slowly and intentionally, protecting the principles that make the brand what it is rather than chasing rapid scale, and the genuine challenge of working in a business while also trying to grow it. Beck shares just how underrated markets are as a growth tool, the evolving role her husband has taken on in the business, and drops a sneak peek at a possible Daddy Coko range in the works. We also get into the reality of Meta ads and why it can sometimes feel like a gamble, how much social media and the algorithm have shifted since the early days of organic growth, and how Beck sets firm boundaries around work and family time, doing the behind the scenes hustle in the early mornings and evenings so she can be fully present with her kids. And of course, we talk about the personal touches, like steaming every single garment and including a handwritten note with every order, that will always be non negotiable for Coko Baby.

It's an honest, warm conversation about building a business on your own terms, without losing what matters most along the way.

Find Coko Baby at cokobaby.com.au and on Instagram at @coko.baby_

Bec has also kindly given our listeners a discount code for online. Use FFS15 for 15% off at checkout

Follow For Founders Sake on Instagram @for.founders.sake, TikTok @forfounderssakepodcast and YouTube @forfounderssake

This week on For Founders Sake, we're joined by Jack Matthews, the physiotherapist and founder behind PeakForm Physio in Tomakin.

Jack's path started with a Bachelor of Exercise Science at Wollongong and a Master of Physiotherapy in Canberra, followed by years working in private practice and orthopaedic settings, including time spent alongside surgeons on robotic joint replacements.

For a while he was settled into a corporate role in Canberra, thinking this was it, until he had kids and realised what he actually wanted was to be around for school drop off and pick up, home for dinner and bathtime, present for the everyday stuff rather than just nearby for it. It's not a story we hear from dads often, but it turns out plenty of them are chasing the same thing quietly.

That decision led Jack to start PeakForm from home before eventually moving into a commercial space, and we get into what that whole journey looked like, from the early days of being the physio, the marketer, the receptionist and the accountant all at once, through to the moment it started to feel like it might actually work. We also talk about how he's grown the business almost entirely through word of mouth, leaning on a handful of key local connections who kept sending people his way rather than pouring money into ads or social media.

Jack opens up about the pressure that comes with running your own clinic, the imposter syndrome that doesn't just disappear once things are working, and what balance really looks like when you're raising two young kids while running a business. He's also the head physio for the Batemans Bay Seahawks AFL team, so we get his take on what people misunderstand about physiotherapy and the one thing he wishes more people did before they ended up needing one. It's an honest, grounded conversation about building something of your own right here on the South Coast.

Find PeakForm Physio at peakformphysio.com.au or on Instagram at peakform_physio.

Follow For Founders Sake on Instagram at for.founders.sake, on TikTok at forfounderssakepodcast, and on YouTube at forfounderssake.

This week on For Founders Sake we are joined by one of the South Coast's most beloved and remarkable founders - Kelly Eastwood of Eastwoods Bermagui.

Kelly's story is one of those that genuinely stops you in your tracks. Before landing in the tiny fishing town of Bermagui, Kelly spent 14 years as a private chef to royalty, Russian oligarchs and some of the world's wealthiest people, before transitioning into television as a food producer and home economist on some of Australia's most iconic shows - MasterChef, My Kitchen Rules, Better Homes and Gardens and The Great Australian Bake Off among them. It was River Cottage Australia that brought her to the Far South Coast, and the rest, as they say, is history.

What started as a deli, café and cooking school has been reimagined more times than most of us would have the courage to attempt. Pop-up dinners, market stalls, cooking classes, festival catering - Kelly has never been someone to sit still. And when the Black Summer bushfires of 2019 to 2020 tore through the region, Kelly's kitchen became the beating heart of one of the most extraordinary community relief efforts this coast has ever seen. Over seven weeks, working alongside World Central Kitchen, Kelly led a team of 270 volunteers to produce more than 46,000 meals for affected communities from Mallacoota to Mogo. She was later awarded a National Emergency Medal by the Governor General's Office for her contribution.

Then COVID hit. Like every small business owner, Kelly was forced to pivot - and what emerged from that moment was the Eastwoods we know today. A thriving chef-made meal delivery service, operating weekly across the South Coast from Pambula to Batemans Bay, with over $2 million in turnover, 18,000 orders, and 227 menus under her belt. She's a regular on ABC Sydney radio, a Bega Valley Business Award winner, and is now setting her sights on the wholesale market.

In this episode we talk about the wild ride that got her here, what it really takes to keep reinventing yourself and your business, the community that carried her through the hard times, and what she's dreaming up next.

This is a conversation about food, grit, community and one woman who has never once taken the easy road - and we are so glad she ended up right here on the South Coast.

Find Eastwoods Bermagui at eastwoodsbermagui.com.au or follow along on Instagram at @eastwoodsbermagui.

Find us on Instagram at instagram.com/for.founders.sake, on TikTok at tiktok.com/@forfounderssakepodcast and on YouTube at youtube.com/@forfounderssake. We'd love it if you subscribed, left us a review, or shared this episode with someone who needs to hear it.

This week Em and Shelby sit down with Suzy Cherub, psychic medium, author and mum to our previous guest Bec. Suzy has been doing this work for over two decades, and her story starts in the most unassuming way possible, as a kid who used to see and speak with her late grandfather, fully convinced that was just a normal part of childhood everyone experienced.

From there the conversation opens right up. Suzy walks us through what mediumship actually is, the services she offers beyond one on one readings, and how she handles the sceptics who book in with her, including how she always manages to bring through evidence about a person's loved ones that she'd have no way of knowing herself. We get into the assumptions people carry about what a psychic medium is meant to look and sound like, thanks to decades of movies and books shaping that image, and the very common comment she gets about being so "normal."

Things get a little deeper as Suzy speaks candidly about the responsibility that comes with holding space for people in such a vulnerable state, including stories about times she's known something was coming for a client and how she's found ways to deliver that message without causing panic. She also shares some of the more challenging interactions she's had over the years, plus a memorable story from a stage reading where a spirit came through for someone in the crowd who was, let's just say, still holding a grudge.

We hear how Suzy turned this from a side hustle she squeezed into her lunch breaks while working in government, into a full time business, with a near death experience being the moment that made the decision for her. From there she's built out retreats (with a trip to India in the works for next year), authored her own oracle card decks, learned to set firm boundaries along the way, and now runs a program for people wanting to get into this line of work themselves. She even does a live business reading for Shelby, right there on the mic.

Shelby and Em are total newcomers to this world, so expect a lot of laughing, a fair bit of disbelief, and more than a few goosebump moments along the way.

Trigger warning: this episode briefly discusses suicide and mental health.

Suzy's website: https://suzycherub.com/

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Today we're joined by Bec Cuzzillo, a spiritual business coach who blends intuition with strategy to help women build businesses that actually feel good to run.

In this episode we chat about what it really means to be a "spiritual business coach," why intuition deserves a seat at the table alongside strategy, and how to start trusting your own instincts even if you're the most practical person in the room. We get into money blocks, self-worth, and the sneaky ways business owners hold themselves back without realising it.

We also talk about the stuff that doesn't always make it into the highlight reel: mum guilt, hustle culture, imposter syndrome, and having babies while running a business, and how different that experience has looked for Bec each time around. Plus, what success actually feels like once you stop measuring it by what it looks like.

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Connect with Bec:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bec_cuzzillo/
Website: https://www.beccuzzillo.com/
Free Money Making Strategy Playbook: https://www.beccuzzillo.com/moneyguide

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TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@forfounderssakepodcast
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@forfounderssake

Today we’re joined by Anke, local GP, author, and proudly “crazy German”, for a conversation that’s as real as it gets.

We talk burnout, boundaries, and why putting your health first might feel selfish but is actually the smartest thing you can do. Anke shares the personal moments that reshaped how she sees health and creativity, and what it means to truly look after your body, because you only get one.

She opens up about finding the confidence to share snippets of her writing, and how that turned into a published book. We also get into her latest creative obsession, using AI to turn her poetry into music, plus an honest chat about AI in medicine, self diagnosing, and perseverance through perimenopause.

As Anke puts it, creativity is a drug she can’t live without.

Check out Anke’s books: https://ankezetbooks.com.au/deception/

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TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@forfounderssakepodcast

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Tom and Terri from Arcus Advisory in Moruya started their business during COVID, with young kids, a recent move, and a few curveballs along the way. No big deal, right? What began in the rumpus room grew fast enough to need a real office and a proper team and Terri stepped in to make sure it didn't all fall apart. Together they're a pretty unbeatable team. Tom's the calm, steady one, Terri brings the energy and the structure, and somehow it all works. Today we're getting into EOFY prep, the numbers that actually matter, and what it's genuinely like to run a business with the person you share a Netflix password with. Turns out they're both very passionate about Vanderpump Rules. We didn't see that coming either.

About Arcus Advisory

Tom and Terri run Arcus Advisory, a family owned accounting and advisory firm located on the NSW South Coast, based out of Moruya. Tom is a Chartered Accountant and registered tax agent with over 10 years of experience in tax and accounting, with a real passion for small and medium business. Terri keeps the whole operation running. She joined the business as it experienced rapid growth, stepping in as the organiser and the backbone that allowed Tom to keep doing what he does best. What started in a rumpus room is now a proper firm with an office in town, a growing team, and a reputation as one of the most popular accounting practices on the South Coast. They offer a full range of services including taxation, business advisory, bookkeeping, and corporate governance and were recognised as the #4 Most Popular accounting firm in the Illawarra & South Coast Region for 2024.

Visit: arcusadvisory.com.au | Unit 3/51 Vulcan Street, Moruya NSW | (02) 4410 0214

In This Episode We Cover

• Starting a business during COVID, with young kids, a recent move, and health challenges thrown in for good measure
• From rumpus room to real office, how rapid growth changed everything and brought Terri into the business
• What it's actually like to run a business with your partner, and how Tom and Terri balance each other out (spoiler: Tom's the calm, Terri's the chaos coordinator in the best possible way)
• How they set boundaries so work doesn't follow them home, or at least knowing when to call it
• Delegating and trusting new people, the balance between training properly and giving your team space to grow
• Adapting to budget changes and what that means for the tax advice they give clients right now
• EOFY prep: practical things you can do right now to make tax time less stressful
• Rapid fire: Claimable or Not 🎯
• And their not so secret shared love of reality TV, specifically Vanderpump Rules, and we're not even a little bit surprised Tom knows every cast member

Connect with Arcus Advisory

🌐 arcusadvisory.com.au
📍 Unit 3/51 Vulcan Street, Moruya NSW
📞 (02) 4410 0214
📧 [email protected]

Find Us

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/for.founders.sake
🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@forfounderssakepodcast
▶️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@forfounderssake

For Founders Sake is a podcast for and about the founders of the NSW South Coast, real stories, real businesses, no filter.

Beck Thompson is a dating and attachment coach, podcast host, and author behind The Relationship Circle — and this conversation goes deep.

Beck shares how her background in social work and trauma led her to specialise in relationships and dating, and why trusting your intuition as a business owner — even when it means turning down a client — is one of the most powerful things you can do.

We talk about the juggle. The very real, very exhausting balancing act of showing up for your relationship when you're also running a business, raising kids, and trying to keep your head above water. Because your business doesn't pause for your relationships — and your relationships don't pause for your business. Somewhere in the middle of all of that, a lot of us are quietly wondering if we're doing enough. Beck's take? Balance isn't the goal. Doing the best you can in any given moment is.

We get into attachment styles: anxious, avoidant, anxious-avoidant, and secure — what they actually mean, how they show up in your relationships, and what it looks like to move toward something healthier.

And then there's social media — the curated highlight reel that has us quietly measuring our relationships against something that doesn't exist. Beck unpacks why that comparison is so damaging, and brings it all back to self-worth: knowing what you deserve, and actually holding that standard.

Whether you're navigating the dating world, deep in something complicated, or happily settled in a long-term relationship — Shelby and I both walked away from this one with something. It's equal parts validating and eye-opening, no matter where you're at.

This one will stay with you.

Connect with Beck: 📱 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_relationship_circle

Follow For Founders Sake: 📱 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/for.founders.sake 🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@forfounderssakepodcast ▶️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@forfounderssake

What do you do when a business you love isn't doing what a business needs to do - make money?

That's exactly where Claire finds herself right now. Owner of Mogo Book Store on the NSW South Coast, Claire is in the middle of one of the most emotionally loaded decisions a founder can face: close, sell, or find a reason to keep going.

But spend five minutes listening to Claire talk about books and you'll understand why this decision isn't simple. This isn't a hobby she picked up casually. Claire is someone who feels books. The old ones, the rare ones, the ones that have lived a whole life before they reach her shelves. There were moments in this conversation that genuinely gave us goosebumps. That kind of love for what you do makes everything else a whole lot harder to walk away from.

In this episode, we sit down with Claire for a conversation that is equal parts honest, funny, and genuinely moving. She doesn't have it all figured out and she doesn't pretend to. What she does have is six kids, a full-time government job in Canberra, a deep love for books, and a very clear sense of what Mogo Book Store means beyond the bottom line.

In this episode we talk about:

• The decision Claire is currently navigating - whether to close or sell Mogo Book Store, and everything that makes that so complicated
• How she bought the store off Facebook - while working full time and raising six children - and what happened when the dream met reality
• Expectations vs reality: what we imagine owning a beautiful little bookstore in a small town will look like, and what it actually looks like day to day
• What it's like to listen to someone speak about something they truly love - and the goosebumps that came with it
• The moments of pure joy - opening the store, breathing in the smell of books, sitting with a chai latte - and how those moments make the hard ones feel even harder to walk away from
• The moments when you're ready to give up, and what pulls you back
• The impact of big chain retailers on small independents like Mogo Book Store - customers conditioned to expect prices that simply aren't possible for a small business to match
• Claire's extraordinary connection to her customers - she learns who they are, worries about them when they haven't been in, and on scouting trips, keeps specific clients in mind when she spots something they'd love
• The guilt of not having enough time for everything and how Claire found ways to bring her family into the business rather than pull herself away from them
• Life with a blended family of six children, and how the chaos is very much real and very much woven into the fabric of the store
• What working a shift at Mogo Book Store means for each of Claire's younger kids, and why it feels completely different for each one of them
• Mogo Book Store's point of difference: this isn't a new bookstore. Claire sources and restores books, many of them rare or old, and there's a whole world of people who care deeply about that
• The shift in Mogo - once a buzzy tourist destination on the South Coast and what that change has meant for small businesses in the village
• Honest reflection: what Claire would do differently if she started again; getting things in writing, finding a good accountant from day one
• Taking risks, and the truth that they don't always work out and why having a go is the only way you'll ever find that out
• The quote that stayed with us: "After all, tomorrow is another day." - Gone with the Wind

This episode is for you if: You've ever kept something going for reasons that don't show up on a spreadsheet. Or you're in the thick of deciding whether a risk that didn't quite pay off was still worth taking. Or you just need a reminder that tomorrow is, in fact, another day.

📍 Find Mogo Book Store in Mogo, NSW South Coast

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