First Act

A four-time Olympian and three-time entrepreneur, diving sensation Melissa Wu is as busy in the pool as she is out of it. Juggling training and business is all in a day’s work for Melissa, who was thrust into the spotlight as a teenager when she scored a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games at the ripe old age of 13. The diver then backed it up with a silver medal at the Olympics two years later...

Tim Duggan has always been a person with his finger firmly on the pulse of the popular zeitgeist. But his ability to see what’s next is not some kind of crystal ball trickery. Rather it’s born from his boundless creativity, his sense of community and an unfaltering vision and belief in himself. He joins us to share the genesis of his entrepreneurial journey and it’s quite the rollercoaster ride. F...

Amanda Rose is a force of nature. She’s a serial entrepreneur and a tireless champion of both women in business and her local stomping ground, Western Sydney. Amanda’s a #BossLady with a ‘take no prisoners’ attitude, and her outspokenness makes her a wonderful advocate for Australia’s female founders. She’s a passionate mentor and campaigner for more women in leadership positions and if she sees a...

Troy Douglas was just 23 when he and {now} brother-in-law, Drew Bilbe started Nexba – a sugar-free drink brand that has taken Australia by storm. In this episode of First Act, Troy takes us back to where it all began. From selling drinks out of the back of a van in Bondi to opening a cannery with equipment bought off the internet, Troy and Drew have built up Nexba to be one of Australia’s leading...

Jodie Fox was always meant to be a lawyer but the universe had other plans. A chance conversation on a Gold Coast beach led to her abandoning her career to start Shoes of Prey with cofounders Michael Fox and Mike Knapp. Jodie was the face of the business. The brand’s rapid rise to success saw it gain fame as a startup darling and cemented Jodie’s status as one of Australia’s leading entrepreneurs....

There’s a lot you don’t know about Matty J, arguably Australia’s favourite Bachelor. Well before he was handing out roses, hosting radio shows and podcasts or posting comedy videos to more than 330,000 Instagram followers, Matt 'Matty J' Johnson was that guy having the time of his life working at your local Macca’s. And music festivals. And one “nightmare” job in London that made him question “Wha...

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...

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 b...

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 en...

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 passi...