First Act

You’d be hard pressed to find a more determined entrepreneur than Irene Falcone. From the comfort of her garage, Irene created low-tox eCommerce brand Nourished Life and eventually sold it for $20 million. But the experience was anything but nourishing, she tells us with raw honesty on this episode of First Act. From those dark days, Irene went on to create non-alcoholic beverage brand Sans Drinks...

Jason T Smith is someone who has redefined resilience in business. Jason’s entrepreneurial journey started with an entirely different goal – to become a medical missionary. But life took him on a detour, and at just 24, he founded what would become Australia’s largest physiotherapy network, the Back In Motion Health Group, which he later sold for over $100 million. Despite his success, Jason sees...

Aviv Palti is a lifelong entrepreneur with a knack for building businesses — and a heart set on making a difference. As the CEO of Lifestyle Brands and founder of the Cambodia Rural Students Trust (CRST), Aviv’s journey weaves together commercial success and social impact. Starting his first business at just 19, Aviv grew a small family venture into a thriving wholesale brand with global partnersh...

Megan Dalla-Camina’s career is a masterclass in reinvention. From climbing the corporate ladder in male-dominated industries to becoming a best-selling author, speaker, and advocate for women's empowerment, Megan has continually pushed boundaries and shattered glass ceilings. But what happens when a high-flying executive decides to step away from the boardroom and embrace a life of purpose-driven...

Lucy Bloom's journey is anything but ordinary. From launching a boutique ad agency at just 19, to leading life-changing initiatives in Ethiopia and Cambodia, Lucy has carved a unique path fueled by creativity, resilience, and a knack for doing business differently. But what happens when the CEO who built a charity from the ground up gets fired by her own board?  In this episode, Lucy reveals how b...

Growing up in a tiny village in Poland, Charlie Puchala could have never imagined she’d one day be running a multi-million-dollar construction empire in Sydney. But with grit, determination, and a touch of flair, she’s made it happen.  Now, as the powerhouse behind Puch Constructions and Charlie’s Interiors, she’s building more than just structures—she’s building a legacy. From navigating the chal...

Shaun Christie-David is a passionate entrepreneur who’s turning the tables on the food industry with a purpose-driven mission. Founder of Plate it Forward, Shaun’s journey from the corporate world of finance to creating a socially conscious food business is nothing short of inspiring. Initially set on a different path, Shaun discovered a deeper calling – one that blends his love for food with a co...

Is Heaps Normal heaps normal yet? That’s a question we posed to Andy Miller, the beer-branding wunderkind who co-founded the fast-growing, Sydney-based non-alcoholic beer brand. While it’s a staple in pubs, bottle-Os and supermarkets now, it’s easy to forget that Heaps Normal only brewed into existence during the first COVID lockdown in 2020. As the CEO and co-founder, Andy brought the marketing n...

Meet Corrina Wright, a winemaking trailblazer who has transformed her family's vineyard into a celebrated brand. Born into six generations of grape growers, Corrina initially dreamed of becoming a lawyer. However, a trip overseas sparked a new appreciation for her winemaking heritage and led her back to a life among the vines. In this episode of First Act, Corrina shares her story of embracing her...

Alec Ramsey is a chronic overachiever. The Sydney-based serial entrepreneur builds globally successful brands like it’s a sport – the latest being cult budget-friendly fragrance brand Àerre, which creates convincing dupes of luxe perfumes so you don’t have to fork out for an exxy Tom Ford or Maison Margiela. Disruption is his game. Flower delivery service Floraly uses tech to deliver fresher, more...

Angus Stevens’ life flashed before his eyes. He didn’t think he would make it after a hang-gliding accident left him in hospitalised for months. The Sydney father-of-two came out of the near-death experience with fresh sense of purpose. This paved the way for a new business venture: virtual reality and augmented reality studio Start Beyond. Coming from a background in writing, directing and produc...

‘Am I the CEO?’ Astrid Jorgensen asked herself while wrapping her head around the idea that maybe her wildly popular Pub Choir was indeed a business. But when you attract fans like Mariah Carey, KISS and The Cranberries, you’re onto something. Over the past 7 years, Pub Choir has become a global phenomenon that brings thousands of people together to learn the harmonies of a song in the most non-ju...

First Act is back with a brand new season, kicking off on Friday 14 June. 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. So subscribe now for the new season of First Act. Because every story has a beginning. Learn more about your...

Cameron Falloon is passionate about fitness. He’s spent decades helping elite athletes, the rich and famous and everyday Aussies meet their fitness goals to be the best they can be. He is the founder of Body Fit Training - the fastest-growing fitness franchise in Australia - with over 240 locations opened across the globe. Plus he’s the former head fitness coach of the Geelong Cats, the Western Bu...

Melbourne entrepreneur Mike Halligan is a bit of an overachiever. He’s mastered the worlds of eCommerce, marketing, blogging, apps and subscription services – all driven by his desire to find solutions to consumer problems and build brands accordingly. Some of his pet projects have taken off, others haven’t. Right now, he’s the co-founder of a howling multi-million dollar success: Scratch, Austral...

He’s one of the most recognisable faces on Australian TV thanks to My Kitchen Rules, but that’s only one part of the Manu Feildel story. Coming from a family of French foodies, Manu caught the cooking bug working as a teenage apprentice in his dad’s restaurant in Brittany. Armed with natural talent and joie de vivre, Manu embarked upon a career working in some of the finest French restaurants in L...

Lisa Cox has a no-BS approach to life. Her ability to cut through fluff has been key to her success as an internationally respected disability advocate, award-winning author, business consultant and media professional. It hasn’t been an easy ride. At just 24, Lisa suffered a brain haemorrhage caused by an infection. Three weeks in a coma, two months on life support and dozens of operations and pro...

Warning: This episode of First Act deals with trauma and may be potentially distressing for some listeners. Yarrie Bangura is a survivor. At the age of eight years old, her family fled the civil war in Sierra Leone and migrated to Australia as refugees. While the painful memories live on, Yarrie has found a way to celebrate the positive parts of growing up in her West African village. Inspired by...

From SoCal beaches to the streets of Darlinghurst, Clovis Young’s journey to becoming a fast food mogul has been a winding one. Growing up in sunny California, Clovis fell in love with the fresh flavours of Mexican cuisine. But it wasn’t until he ditched his Wall Street job as an equity trader for life down under, that he began his singular mission: to bring fresh Mexican food to Australians. It w...

Camplify is an Australian startup success on the road to world domination. Based in Newcastle, NSW, entrepreneur Justin Hales came up with the idea of connecting RV owners with holidaymakers through an online marketplace. Airbnb for caravan and campervan hire, if you like. In 2015, Camplify was born. Now Camplify is a multimillion-dollar, ASX-listed brand that’s expanded to the UK, Spain and New Z...

Richard Turner is a fountain of entrepreneurial knowledge. He’s founded four successful businesses in different industries from food distribution to labour hire to renewable energy – with three of those becoming multi-billion-dollar startups. One of them is ZEN Energy, the second-largest electricity retailer in South Australia, and soon to become Australia’s first Clean Energy Utility. As a mentor...

PaperKrane flew into Zara Cooper’s life and brought the winds of change with it. The mum of three was a customer of the cult barefoot shoe brand when she approached co-founder Kate Corleison with a proposition to grow the brand from its baby shoe niche into a global footwear company. Leaving the law firm she’d founded, Zara embraced her new life as an entrepreneur and helped expand the brand from...

Rebecca Klodinsky is one of Australia’s most successful young entrepreneurs. She’s the founder of cult swimwear brand IIXIIST - which she bootstrapped herself with just $2000 at the ripe old age of 24. Almost a decade later, IIXIIST has grown from a backyard brand to a global success story beloved by celebrities like the Kardashians and Rihanna. But that’s not Bec’s only startup - she’s also the c...

In 2010 Mark Dombkins and his wife Anna moved to Tanzania with their children in the hope of extending their family by adoption. Three years later, the couple returned to Australia as a family of eight and with a firm desire to help the women of Tanzania break the cycle of poverty.  From this desire, Forever Projects was born, a not-for-profit whose dream is to educate Tanzanian women to become se...

Here’s a story worth giving a crap about. In 2012, Simon Griffiths sat on a toilet for 50 hours to raise money for Who Gives A Crap – a social enterprise that would sell toilet paper and give 50 per cent of those profits to communities in dire need of clean water and toilets. That’s around 2 billion plus people on this earth. Who Gives A Crap became a sensation. A toilet paper disruptor. A saviour...