When you're creating an entirely new category, you can't just sell—you have to educate. Kate Abrahams, founder of TrafficAI (a platform that predicts reputational risk events using workforce behavioral data), sits down with Naomi Simson to discuss the exhausting gap between building groundbreaking technology and getting customers to understand why they need it.

Drawing on her experience launching RedBalloon when "experience gifting" wasn't a thing, Naomi shares battle-tested strategies for market development: how to look bigger than you are, turn customers into your sales force through case studies, and build authority when nobody knows your category exists. Kate and Naomi explore keeping tech teams energized during years of customer education, what investors actually need to hear about new categories, and how to cut through the AI hype to demonstrate real value.

If you're building something genuinely new and struggling to reach customers who don't yet know they need you, this conversation offers practical frameworks for building customer reach and turning an interesting idea into a must-have solution.

Thank you to Deel.com for supporting Australian business owners through it's sponsorship of Handpicked Season 6 for more information about Anytime Pay click here

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What's slowing your business down could become your biggest competitive advantage. James Yang, founder of Kaizen Solutions (a productivity suite for remote teams), asks Naomi Simson the hard questions every Australian startup founder faces: why do our businesses fizzle while American companies scale globally? How do you shift from selling to individuals to landing corporate clients? When do you stop competing and start acquiring?

Naomi delivers game-changing insights drawn from 20+ years scaling RedBalloon: stop buying customers one by one and build distribution partnerships instead, transition from throwing people at problems to building platforms that scale, and most powerfully—identify your biggest constraint and weaponize it. She shares how 1-800-GOT-JUNK cornered the market by pre-buying their truck supplier's entire production, preventing competitors from copying them, and how RedBalloon locked up Australia's best experiences before a billion-euro competitor could enter the market.

If you're struggling to scale, burning cash on customer acquisition, or wondering whether to compete or consolidate your market, this conversation offers brutally practical frameworks for turning limitations into competitive moats.

Thank you to Deel.com for supporting Australian business owners through it's sponsorship of Handpicked Season 6 for more information about Anytime Pay click here

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Strategy is easy. Execution is where most businesses fail. In this episode, Naomi Simson sits down with Mat Wilk, founder of Ballast Point Construction and creator of the Inner West Tech & Startup community, to tackle the challenges every entrepreneur faces: how to move from planning to doing, how to build partnerships that actually work, and whether being a polymath helps or hurts your business growth.

Mat shares his belief that businesses spend too much time perfecting strategy when they should be building their execution muscle and creating feedback loops. Naomi counters with practical frameworks including the one-page strategic plan, how to work backwards from big goals to daily actions, and why focusing on one hard thing makes everything else easier. 

If you're juggling multiple projects, struggling to get others committed to your vision, or wondering whether your diverse interests are diluting your personal brand, this conversation offers honest, actionable advice for finding focus and getting things done.

Thank you to Deel.com for supporting Australian business owners through it's sponsorship of Handpicked Season 6 for more information about Anytime Pay click here

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Every successful business starts with a problem worth solving. In this episode of Handpicked, Naomi Simson sits down with Mark Woodland, founder of Kismet, who's tackling one of Australia's biggest challenges: the administrative burden crushing families caring for aging parents. After successfully building and selling Explore, Mark is now automating healthcare admin for the "sandwich generation"—those caught between caring for aging parents and dependent children. Discover why the biggest business opportunities lie in solving nation-building challenges in healthcare, education, and housing. Learn how to build thought leadership and authority in your industry, why celebrating customer wins matters more than self-promotion, and Mark's surprising next venture into solving housing affordability.

Thank you to Deel.com for supporting Australian business owners through it's sponsorship of Handpicked Season 6 for more information about Anytime Pay click here

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Time is your most precious resource—so why are you spending it on admin at 11pm? Naomi Simson and Slavic Teplitsky from Deel reveal exactly how to get your time back. From consolidating 16 time-sucking vendors into one streamlined platform to giving employees instant access to their earned wages (saving everyone's time), this episode is a masterclass in reclaiming hours you didn't know you had. If you're time-poor, you're system-poor. Learn the triggers that signal it's time to invest in getting your time back—and discover the practical tools that make it possible.

Thank you to Deel.com for supporting Australian business owners through it's sponsorship of Handpicked Season 6 for more information about Anytime Pay click here

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Every founder says yes too often—and it's killing their business growth. Naomi Simson sits down with serial entrepreneur Sheree Andersen (founder of Elephant and Trove corporate gifting platforms) to reveal the pivotal moment in RedBalloon maturing and learning what to say no to.  Discover why business success comes from what you refuse, not what you accept. Learn business focus strategies, the cost-to-serve analysis every startup needs, how female founders can stop self-limiting, and the personal planning framework that prevents founder burnout. If you're struggling with business focus, work-life balance, or knowing which customers to turn away, this entrepreneur advice will transform how you think about scaling your Australian business.

Thank you to Deel.com for supporting Australian business owners through it's sponsorship of Handpicked Season 6 for more information about Anytime Pay click here

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Six kids under six. C-suite roles at Australia's biggest retail brands. A law degree completed just to prove her brothers wrong.

Amy Louise doesn't do things halfway.

From shop floor to boardrooms. Amy's built her career scaling iconic Australian retailers while raising six children in what can only be described as controlled chaos.

But here's what she wants to know: Is burnout really a badge of honour? Or are we all deceiving to ourselves?

Amy asks the questions retail leaders are wrestling with right now—and the answers aren't what you'd expect. How do you move from corporate to founder to investor? What should you outsource when you're trying to do it all? And what does Naomi look for in leaders she backs?

Naomi shares the conversation that made her realise she needed help, why she and her husband make a plan each year, and the moment she knew her angel investing days were over.

Plus: the untapped opportunity in Australian retail over the next few years. It's not what most retailers think—and it can't be put in a box.

This episode is for anyone juggling impossible loads, wondering if there's a smarter way to do it all, or questioning what the next chapter looks like when you've already achieved what you set out to do.

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Liam Forde ran a big business in London. His confession? "I turned into an asshole."

So he spent the next 26 years teaching people not to be like him—creating transformation experiences for leaders across 40 countries.

Now he's relocated to Australia for his grandkids—and he's starting completely fresh. No networks. No contacts. No idea where to begin in the Australian market.

His questions are brutally honest: Where do I even start? What networks matter? How do I build trust when nobody knows who I am?

And then the big one: What's keeping Australian leaders up at night right now?

Naomi doesn't hold back. She shares the phone call that changed everything for RedBalloon ("How do I know you're real?"), why she wears red every single day, and the networking mistake most people make when building a business.

Plus: the truth about burnout that went viral on LinkedIn, why leaders are struggling with a completely new set of pressures (AI, cybersecurity, remote teams), and the "tiger team" approach that's replacing traditional org structures.

And when Liam asks how to get partners to work harder for you than anyone else? Naomi reveals what she has seen work successfully.

This episode is for anyone who's ever felt like they're starting over—whether you're new to a market, rebuilding after a setback, or just trying to figure out where your people are.

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January 2020. New CEO. Six-month-old baby. Seven weeks later? COVID hits.

That's how Cara McLeod stepped into the CEO role at Mahlab—and somehow that chaos became the launchpad for international growth.

But here's the problem: Mahlab does bespoke strategy work. Everything is custom. Every project needs people. More growth = more headcount. The classic service business trap.

So how do you scale what on paper looks hard to scale?

Cara asks the questions keeping service business CEOs up at night: How do you stand out in a global marketplace when you're suddenly competing worldwide? Can you turn custom expertise into scalable products without losing your magic? And how do you test international markets—especially for their niche in member-based organisations—without taking your eye off the Australian ball?

Naomi doesn't hold back. She reveals the partnership model that took a  Shark Tank investment global fast. Plus: the warm referral strategies that crack international markets (spoiler: ditch the cold calling) and why tapping into global associations through your existing clients is pure gold.

If you're wrestling with taking custom work global, this episode is your playbook.

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What do you do when you've built a successful business in a niche that most people don't even know exists? Oliver Lonergan went from selling lollies in primary school to running Professional Picture Hanging—a 12-person operation spanning Australia's east coast and London, with major contracts including Crown Sydney and luxury hotels. At just years out of school, he's facing the classic scale-up challenge: how do you grow from 1 million to 5 million without losing what makes you special?

In this episode, Naomi tackles Oliver's tough questions: building a memorable brand in an "invisible" industry, navigating the leadership shifts required for multi-location growth, and whether to plan for acquisition now or later. From AI-powered scheduling to strategic partnerships and the power of a well-branded van, this conversation is packed with actionable advice for any service-based business looking to scale. Plus, discover why being someone's first customer sometimes comes back to you in the best way possible.

NaomiSimson.com
www.professionalpicturehanging.com.au

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