The Self Made Theory

I’ve been a little tardy on getting you some new episodes (of course, I could blame Covid, the editing team, lots of consulting work etc etc…), but mostly I’ve been diverting my attention to some new business ideas I’m working on.

 

So, in this episode, I’ve done a role reversal – this is an interview, not that I conducted, but that was conducted on me!

 

Landell, from PlaceOS, asked me last year if I would come on her podcast…and this is the result.  We talk tech, changing business practices, relationships…it’s a pretty diverse conversation.

 

I must tell you; I LOVE asking the questions – way more than I enjoy answering them.

 

I have to apologise in advance for the audio quality…it was conducted remotely over the good ol’ internet, so it’s a far cry from the quality that we normally put out on this podcast.

 

Hope you enjoy it.

 

If you want to find out more about The Self Made Theory, what we do, how we can help you, and your business…head to our website www.theselfmadetheory.com.

 

Until next time - keep INNOVATING, OVERCOMING and PROSPERING

 

Thanks to:

Landell Archer from Place OS

www.place.technology

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What do you do when you discover you’re getting an Apple Watch as a present for Christmas?  For most of us, we’d probably brag about it on social media but for our 17-year-old genius Will Bishop, he decided to do what the likes of Twitter, Reddit and Wikipedia hadn’t done – create apps that actually work well for the Apple Watch.

 

Fast forward, he has successfully created 3 apps that are currently being used by Apple Watch users all around the world!  In this episode, we speak to him about his journey and what it’s like being an entrepreneur achieving amazing feats at such a young age.

 

Listen on and be inspired to follow your dream as Will talks about passion, education, and innovation.

 

In this Episode You’ll Learn:

• How solving problems really is at the heart of entrepreneurship
• Passion matters just as much as education (or maybe it matters more?)
• His experience in winning a competition to attend the Apple Worldwide Conference in California
• Advice to young aspiring developers and entrepreneurs
• How different age brackets balance between Ideas, Risk and Responsibility

 

Until next time - keep INNOVATING, OVERCOMING and PROSPERING

 

 

Contact Will Bishop

 

Website:

www.willbish.com

 

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/WillRBishop

 

Blog:

https://blog.willbish.com/

 

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/willrbishop/

 

Email:

[email protected]

 

Will’s Apple Watch apps:

Chirp for Twitter

Nano for Reddit

MiniWiki

 

NEED HELP WITH YOUR BUSINESS? If you’re an entrepreneur, or business leader, and are faced with challenges in your startup, scale up or established business that you’re not sure how to solve for, then contact us to discuss how our Executive Coaching / Advisory practice can help you. Email us on [email protected]

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today our guest is Phil, who runs a great business in Adelaide.  If you’re in business, or thinking about going into business, you HAVE to listen to this episode.  There is something in here for everyone:

 

-Why staying true to your vision pays off

-The importance of doing what you love

-The most cost effective thing you can do to differentiate yourself from your competition

-Realising there are really tough times that business owners can go through

 

 

Just a warning, there is a part of our conversation where suicide is referenced.  If this is a trigger for you, skip from around the 24 min mark to 26 min mark.   If you need help regarding suicide or mental health, please contact the BeyondBlue Support Service on 1300 22 4636 or visit www.beyondblue.org.au. Or call LifeLine on 13 11 14 or visit www.lifeline.org.au. 

 

Hope you enjoy the episode….and don’t forget to keep INNOVATING, OVERCOMING & PROSPERING. 

 

You can find Phil at:

-Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caparezzaespresso/

-Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/CaparezzaEspressoBar/

-Web:         http://www.caparezza.com.au/

-Physical:    26 James Place, Adelaide SA 5000

 

Don’t forget to subscribe to The Self Made Theory on your favourite podcast app (PocketCasts, Apple Podcasts, Podbean or many of the others available). You can also find us on:

-Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/theselfmadetheory/

-Facebook:    https://www.facebook.com/theselfmadetheory/

-Twitter:       https://twitter.com/SelfMadeTheory

-Web:           https://www.theselfmadetheory.com 

 

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I love the intersection of technology and healthcare – the potential impacts on a person’s life if you do it right are amazing.

And that’s where my next guest comes in. Michelle Perugini, Co-Founder of Presagen and Life Whisperer, who shares her story of creating a platform that helps people with one of the most challenging and emotional medical procedures – IVF.

IVF (In Vitro Fertilisation) is used to overcome a range of fertility issues that many couples experience. Basically, eggs are taken from the woman and fertilised outside of the womb in a specialised laboratory. The fertilised eggs (now embryos) are allowed to grow, usually for 5 days, before being analysed by an embryologist – at which point, based on their experience and what they see in a microscope, they choose the best embryo to be transferred into the woman's uterus to increase the chance that a pregnancy will occur.

Life Whisperer provides significant help in this process. Michelle and her team have developed an AI (artificial intelligence) engine that has analysed thousands and thousands of embryos from around the world (& their success rates of pregnancy), and use this analysis to improve the selection success rate for embryologists.It’s amazing stuff.

From a business & product viewpoint, they have had to deal with some interesting challenges along the way (including regulatory approval, despite it not being an invasive medical procedure). It’s rare in most businesses & product development cycles that you have to convince 3 different customer groups before you can successfully sell your product. In this case, Life Whisperer need to convince the medical regulatory authorities, the end consumer (the woman/couple who are going through IVF) and the fertility clinic. Any one of those that don’t believe in what you are doing, and no sale.

There are heaps of other great things you can learn in this episode, so buckle up for a great conversation.

 

If you want to find out more, head to our website www.theselfmadetheory.com/podcast where you can find out more about Michelle, Presagen, Life Whisperer and IVF.

 

Until next time….keep INNOVATING, OVERCOMING and PROSPERING

 

REFERENCES IN THIS EPISODEhttps://www.ivf.com.au/treatments/fertility-treatments/ivf-treatmenthttps://www.healthdatamanagement.com/news/australian-company-sets-plan-to-gather-diverse-clinical-data-for-ai

 

Web: https://www.lifewhisperer.co/ https://www.presagen.com/ 

Linkedin:https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelleperugini/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/16164642 https://www.linkedin.com/company/17921411 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrMPerugini https://twitter.com/Life_Whisperer_ https://twitter.com/Presagen_ 

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/lifewhispererco/ 

NEED HELP WITH YOUR BUSINESS?If you’re an entrepreneur, or business leader, and are faced with challenges in your startup, scale up or established business that you’re not sure how to solve for, then contact us to discuss how our Executive Coaching / Advisory practice can help you. Email us on [email protected]

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An interesting, “under-the-radar” story in this episode.

 

I first met Milorad Zecevic when I presented at the CEO Institute a few months ago. We got talking about Energy Exemplar (where he’s the VP of Sales and a shareholder) about their extraordinary success and growth.

 

They’ve been in business 20 years and they’ve enjoyed consistent year on year growth of around 30%.

 

What do they do? They’re a software company, providing the global leading Economic Modeling and Market Simulation Software for the Energy Industry, based out of Adelaide.

 

It’s a classic living room / University project start-up by the founder Glenn Drayton. They now have offices all over the world including London, 4 offices in USA, Singapore and Dubai.

 

We also talk about the need to look after yourself if you’re going to be involved in running a global business – Milorad had been to 20 countries and visited 41 cities in the 9 months up to when we recorded!

 

It’s an interesting company, with an interesting product – in an industry we rarely think about. But when you power up your phone to listen to this podcast, sitting behind that power is a WORLD of complexity which the average person has no idea about.

 

If you’re an entrepreneur, or business leader, and are faced with challenges in your startup, scale up or established business that you’re not sure how to solve for, then contact us to discuss how our Executive Coaching / Advisory practice can help you. Email us on [email protected]

 

Until next time….keep INNOVATING, OVERCOMING and PROSPERING

HOW TO CONTACT ENERGY EXEMPLAR:

Web: https://energyexemplar.com/ 

Linkedin:https://www.linkedin.com/company/energy-exemplar 

YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUFzHcB1gfSyfAT9M8sknoA/ 

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A great interview with husband and wife duo, Mel and Dean Flintoft.  In 2007, they founded Australia Fashion Labels, a business that now has 5 fashion labels sold throughout the world, both online and through 1700 stockists in 26 countries.

 

As you can imagine, the fashion world has changed dramatically since 2007.  In our conversation, we discuss:

 

• Starting a business in the Global Financial Crisis with no money
• Disrupting an industry that was doing seasonal collections (4 per year), by producing 12 collections per year (500+ new products every month!)
• The change in retailing, including bricks & mortar, online and department stores
• How to succeed in an industry that is “low barrier to entry”, but “high barrier” to success

 

It’s a great story – I LOVE the fact, as a husband and wife team, they work so well together.  I hear plenty of stories from businesses that are family-based where being related isn’t a good thing.

 

If you’re an entrepreneur, or business leader, and are faced with challenges in your startup, scale up or established business that you’re not sure how to solve for, then contact us to discuss how our Executive Coaching / Advisory practice can help you.  Email us on [email protected]

 

Until next time….keep INNOVATING, OVERCOMING and PROSPERING

 

 

CONTACT DETAILS FOR MEL, DEAN & AUST FASHION LABELS

 

Web:   

https://www.australianfashionlabels.com.au/

https://fashionbunker.com/

 

Linkedin:

https://au.linkedin.com/in/dean-flintoft-4335b893

https://au.linkedin.com/in/melanie-flintoft-39276094

https://au.linkedin.com/company/australian-fashion-labels-pty-ltd

 

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/thefashionbunker/

 

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/fshnbnkr/

https://www.instagram.com/finderskeepersthelabel/

https://www.instagram.com/keepsakethelabel/

https://www.instagram.com/thefifthlabel/

https://www.instagram.com/cmeocollective/

https://www.instagram.com/jaggarthelabel/

 

CREDITS

Audio Post Production by S.Byrne, in collaboration with the SAE Creative Media Institute, Adelaide, Australia

 

HELP US

I trust your learning some great stuff from all the great entrepreneurs and leaders we feature here on the podcast.    If you are and feel like the podcast is adding value to your business, your career, your ideas or your life, and you would like to help fund the ongoing costs of producing the podcast, then head to

www.patreon.com/theselfmadetheory.

Even if you can donate the cost of a cup of coffee per month, that would be immensely helpful - check with your accountant, you might even be able to claim it as a tax deduction.  Thanks for your support

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you want to get inside the head of a serial entrepreneur, then this is the episode for you.  I interview Anton Andreacchio, who has founded multiple companies including Convergen & JumpgateVR

 

We discuss a lot of the amazing things that he’s doing in the Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality space including his collaboration with AFL football teams using VR/AR to train footballers, how using this tech with traditional landowners can help them visualise the impacts of major projects on their environment along with how he brought the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra experience into people’s homes in a world first.

 

If you thought that was a lot, wait, there’s more!  We also discuss data science, solutions looking for problems ~v~ real-world value propositions, building sustainable startups, under-promising and over-delivering, how telling the brutal truth when pitching for business might not pay off in the short term, but it does in the end.

 

There’s a lot to digest here….so, hang on, you’re in for a ride.

 

The life of an entrepreneur isn’t easy.  But I can tell you from experience, that it certainly is exciting and can be very rewarding. 

 

If you’re an entrepreneur, or business leader, and are faced with challenges in your startup, scale up or established business that you’re not sure how to solve for, then contact us to discuss how our Executive Coaching / Advisory practice can help you.  Email us on [email protected]

 

Until next time….keep INNOVATING, OVERCOMING and PROSPERING

 

CONTACT DETAILS FOR ANTON

 

Web:              

http://convergen.com.au/ https://jumpgatevr.com/

 

Linkedin:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/anton-andreacchio-8b206713/  https://www.linkedin.com/company/jumpgate/  

 

Twitter:          

https://twitter.com/JumpgateVR

 

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/JumpgateVR

https://www.facebook.com/Convergen

 

REFERENCES IN THIS EPISODE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZlNCAGWtwE (click & hold on the screen and then drag around to change your view)

http://theleadsouthaustralia.com.au/industries/technology/australian-vr-tech-at-venice-biennale/

http://theleadsouthaustralia.com.au/industries/technology/australian-vr-tech-at-venice-biennale/

 

I trust your learning some great stuff from all the great entrepreneurs and leaders we feature here on the podcast.    If you are, and feel like the podcast is adding value to your business, your career, your ideas or your life, and you would like to help fund the ongoing costs of producing the podcast, then head to

www.patreon.com/theselfmadetheory.

 

Even if you can donate the cost of a cup of coffee per month, that would be immensely helpful - check with your accountant, you might even be able to claim it as a tax deduction.  Thanks for your support!

Kelly Carpenter is the co-founder of two companies – Lookinglass and Culture Team.

 

I found both of her businesses fascinating (& completely different).  Lookinglass is some very smart tech (both Machine Learning, computer vision and a physical Smart Mirror to detect the symptoms and progression of degenerative health conditions like Parkinson’s.  The early detection of Parkinson’s disease or the complication from medication after surgery can greatly improve his prognosis.

 

I’m sure many of you will have in the past attending corporate training sessions/workshops …and have probably been bored-to-tears. Culture Team, taking a human-centred design approach, use gameplay to provide engaging fun and meaningful learning by custom-tailored team-building experiences.

 

We also talk to Kelly about her career transformation from Film Producer to Entrepreneur - I love hearing stories of people who decide, not straight out of school, but after they’ve had some life experience to completely change direction.

 

Jump on our website www.theselfmadetheory.com (or check out the show notes) to find ways to connect with Kelly, Lookinglass & Culture Team and how they’re helping change the world.

 

If you’re an entrepreneur, or business leader, and are faced with challenges in your startup, scale up or established business that you’re not sure how to solve for, then contact us to discuss how our Executive Coaching & Consulting / Advisory practice can help you.  Email us on [email protected]

 

Until next time….keep INNOVATING, OVERCOMING and PROSPERING

 

CONNECT WITH KELLY

Web:

https://lookinglass.co and https://cultureteam.co

Linkedin:

https://www.linkedin.com/company/culture-team

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/cultureteam.go/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/cultureteam.go

 

CREDITS

Audio Post Production by K.Dawson in collaboration with the SAE Creative Media Institute, Adelaide, Australia.

 

#innovationaus #southaustralia #adelaide #innovation #entrepreneur #StartupAus #theselfmadetheory #startupADL #FIXE #innovateovercomeprosper #parkinsons #parkinsonsdisease #parkinsonsawareness #parkinsonssucks  #parkinsonsdiseaserecovery #parkinsonssymptoms #parkinsonseducation #teambuilding #workshops

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You’ve probably read in some articles about how Artificial Intelligence is going to replace your job.  I’ve been reading a lot about the Future of Jobs lately, so I invited Dr Eva Balan-Vnuk, a senior business & thought leader onto the podcast to discuss this really important topic.  Dr Eva holds the role of Executive Director of ICT and Digital Government for South Australia and has held other senior roles such as State Director for Microsoft. 

We cover many interesting and relevant topics for all business leaders, including:

• As a leader through times of change, you need to provide HOPE, TRUST, EMPATHY and STABILITY
• WHO is responsible for educating people for radical change – Employers? Employees? Governments?
• WHY DIVERSITY is important in technology organisations
• Regardless of whether you’re a Corporation or Social Enterprise, you have to COMPETE with everyone to get the $’s out of people’s pockets.
• What’s the right TRAINING model in a world of such great change? Uni? Vocational? On The Job?  Just in Time?

We also talk about promoting Tech Careers for Young Women (HerTechPath), the 4th Industrial Revolution, who gave Mark Zuckerberg the right to govern Freedom of Speech, The NDIS, Not for Profits, Ethics in business, Cyber Security.

If you want to find out more about Eva, or Her Tech Path head over to our website www.theselfmadetheory.com/podcast 

Until next time….keep INNOVATING, OVERCOMING and PROSPERING

Web:                https://hertechpath.org/

Linkedin:          https://www.linkedin.com/in/evabalanvnuk/

Twitter:            https://twitter.com/HerTechPath and https://twitter.com/Eva_BalanVnuk

 

REFERENCES IN THIS EPISODE

Podcast Episode with Kelly Drewett

Alvin Toffler – Future Shock

 

CREDITS

Audio Post Production by S.Byrne, in collaboration with the SAE Creative Media Institute, Adelaide.

 

SUPPORT US

Are you getting value for your own business from the Podcast?  We’d love to keep the podcast advertiser free but need your help in covering costs.

Head to our website www.theselfmadetheory.com/podcast and click on the Support us on Patreon button.  Even if you can only afford the price of a cup of coffee a month, it will make a big difference.

Maybe chat to your accountant – you might even be able to claim it as a Tax Deduction!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Before I contacted my next guest, Toby Strong, to request an interview, I was (and still am) a heavy user of his Urban Brew coffee pod products. I love the product, their subscription-based service and their unique value-adds (and no, this isn’t a paid product endorsement).

Toby runs a business where he is both a manufacturer of his own product, as well as a manufacturer for others, a wholesaler and an online retailer.

We uncover a lot in our conversation, including:

1. Are you BRAVE enough to have an open book policy with your staff on your profit & loss?

2. Diversification can be very important in minimising your market forces risk…but how diverse is TOO DIVERSE?

3. Is OWNERSHIP of “things” from a bygone era, and will we move to SUBSCRIPTION for most things in the future?

4. For busy executives, listening to AUDIOBOOKS can be an invaluable way to turn non-productive time into positive returns.

5. A simple “WALK & TALK” with a staff member can create a great connection with you, the CEO.

We started talking about the challenges of running a business, and particularly the roller-coaster of highs & lows (both financial and emotional)…we also cover some of Toby’s “life hacks”.  The episode starts after we were talking about his introduction of environmentally friendly biodegradable coffee pods into his product range.

Until next episode….keep INNOVATING, OVERCOMING and PROSPERING

Toby’s Book list

•           Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business.  Gino Wickman

•           The Great Game of Business.   Jack Stack

•           Extreme Ownership.   Jocko Willink

•           Contagious.   Jonah Berger

•           Purple Cow.   Seth Godin

•           Made to Stick.   Chip Heath

 

Toby’s Contact details

Web:               https://www.urbanbrew.co/

Linkedin:          https://au.linkedin.com/in/tobystrong

Facebook:       https://www.facebook.com/UrbanBrewPods

Instagram:       https://www.instagram.com/urbanbrewpods/

YouTube:        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cP_sZ9n-Q7w

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.