Good Shift

Joe Rotondo (founder of SmearCase) left a corporate job to create frozen cottage cheese (Froco). Stay with me, Joe moves with intention and has a huge amount of wisdom to share for career shifters or early-stage founders. Joe has shifted from exercise science to sustainable denim to bagels to corporate and now to disrupting the ice cream aisle. This one's about betting on yourself, knowing wh...

If you're saying to yourself, " I'll do it when the timing is better " then dive in.  Megan Black and Eliana Field-Marsham are childhood friends turned co-founders of Sonni, a next-generation mineral sunscreen brand they launched 11 months ago. Before that: Estée Lauder, McKinsey, Little Spoon, and two MBAs between them. We get into: what it actually feels like to leave a job y...

Debs Brocklesby was a performance analyst for the New Zealand Olympic Cycling team — a specialised, high-achieving role she'd built her identity around. She's now the founder of Stoked NZ , a multi-million dollar towlie company that started from her garage. In this episode, we get into: What it feels like to be stuck in a job that looks great on paper How Debs let go of who she was profe...

This is the most-requested topic I've had on the show! Most people think building wealth means starting a business from scratch or climbing a ladder for thirty years. There's a third path that often flies under the radar.  My guest Brandon Lipman has bought 12+ businesses across various fields and now coaches others to do the same, even if they've never run a business before. He sta...

Nikki Creasy spent nine years working her way from intern to account director at a PR agency. Then Covid, a restructure and a personal itch she couldn't ignore led her to launch Peachy Lip Co. In this episode: how Nikki transitioned from employee to contractor to freelancer to founder, what it actually cost to get a cosmetics brand off the ground, the marketing tactics that grew her community...

If you've been sitting on a big life change but can't quite pull the trigger, this one's for you. Maddie Ireland is an empowerment coach, entrepreneur and reformed self-doubter who spent over a decade building her dream life in LA before making the terrifying leap back to Australia at 35 — no plan, no partner, no idea where she'd even live. In this episode we dig into: How to m...

Your playbook to becoming a side-hustle founder — and building real momentum without having to quit your day job. Amelia Jory is a high performer in corporate (having held roles as a Senior Brand Manager at NZ’s most successful companies ) and the founder of Dulesé — a NZ personal care brand disrupting the category with all-natural, high-performing products and refillable, eco-friendly packaging....

If you are feeling stuck on "corporate autopilot" or worried that AI is coming for your paycheck, this episode is your survival guide for the new digital economy.  In this episode, we dive into: The "Shedding" Process: How to detach your self-worth from your job title and rebuild from a blank slate.  The Reality of AI Today: Why Meghana changed her mind and now admits that AI i...

Thinking about a career shift — but worried about financial security? In this episode, Adam Stewart (founder of Compound Wealth) shares the practical money framework that helps you buy back options and work toward financial freedom: invest consistently, consider buying a business, or build something on the side until you’re ready. We cover KiwiSaver + index investing basics, entrepreneurship throu...

What does it actually look like to pursue a creative passion while still thriving in a full-time career? Ned Gow, drummer for No Cigar, talks about building and balancing a creative life alongside his full-time job — without sacrificing financial security. Ned shares: 🎵 The discipline and structure behind juggling music and real estate 🌍 How travel and taking a break gave him clarity at a career...

With Leah Marcus and Yasaman Bakhtiar, founders of Good Girl Snacks This is a masterclass in how to start a business and build momentum fast. In this episode of Good Shift , I’m joined by Leah Marcus and Yasaman Bakhtiar , best friends and co-founders of Good Girl Snacks , the brand behind the viral Hot Girl Pickles . Just a few years ago, they were working corporate jobs with zero business experi...

I submitted Good Shift to the podcast awards (!) and as part of that, I had to put together a 15-minute highlight reel to showcase what the pod is all about. It’s a great place to start if you’re new here, or to send to a friend who’s thinking about a career shift, hating their job, or feeling stuck on what’s next. Enjoy my friends and cross your fingers for me for the awards!

In this episode, I sit down with Alexa Gray - founder of Social Bloome and one of the formative early team members at Olipop, where she helped shape the brand into one of the fastest-growing wellness companies in the U.S. With a background spanning nonprofit work, photography, brand building, and now her own agency, Alexa’s path has never been linear, but it’s always been purpose-led. We talk abou...

In this episode, I sit down with best friends, co-founders, and first-time entrepreneurs Elan Halpern and Kiki Couchman, who traded high-achieving careers in tech and private equity to start a probiotic yogurt company from scratch — without burning it all down overnight. They talk candidly about the slow build of misalignment, how they reframed leaving “successful” jobs without guilt, and the thre...

Have you ever felt the pull toward something totally different but held back because it seemed too weird, too impractical, or just too far off your current path? In this episode, I sit down with Belinda Price, who left behind travel agency life to milk cows on a dairy farm and eventually made a bold, purpose-fueled shift into one of the most misunderstood (and profound) careers: death doula. We di...

This episode covers how to support your partner when they want to make a career change, how to move through a shift yourself, and a side dive into the basics of insurance you might never have thought about but most definitely need to know.  This episode covers two major topics: Part 1: The emotional reality of career change in relationships How to support a partner's risky decisions while man...

What do you do when everyone thinks you can't stick to anything? Danii O'Malley spent years jumping between careers - failing university, personal training, construction sales - feeling like something was fundamentally wrong with her. Each time she moved on, it looked like she couldn't commit to anything. But she kept listening to that inner voice saying "this isn't it&quo...

Great for anyone with a business idea brewing or stuck wondering if they should make the jump. David Vioque and Arnold Fomété are two London based co-founders who went from finance careers to building and exiting a startup in under a year. They share what actually worked (and what almost killed their business). After burning out at Goldman Sachs and Evercore, they took the leap into entrepreneursh...

In this episode, Manoj Dias - Co-founder of Open , shares how he walked away from an epic corporate career to build one that actually felt right. It’s a conversation about rethinking success, taking risks and finding the courage to move against the status quo. We cover: What burnout feels like and how to make a change Why we stay stuck in careers that no longer fit The emotional and financial risk...

When the thing you’ve poured years of your life into — your career, your business, your identity — comes to an end, it can feel impossible to know what comes next. This episode is an honest look at how to rebuild from that place to make your next shift. Henry Mitchell, co-founder of Still Life, shares the raw reality of closing the chapter on something meaningful and how to find your footing again...

Meet Sarah Cox , a Stanford graduate who walked away from a high-growth startup career in her late 20s to return to something she thought she’d left behind for good: professional soccer. After nearly a decade off the pitch, Sarah made the wild, bold move to re-enter elite sport — and she’s now a pro goalkeeper for Lexington SC in Kentucky. This conversation is packed with everything you really wan...

Jay-Jay Feeney was New Zealand's most beloved radio host. She had everything - fame, success, a career most people dream of. But after 33 years, she made a decision that shocked everyone: she walked away from it all. In this raw and honest conversation, Jay-Jay shares: The real signs of burnout (and why she ignored them for years)  How to separate your identity from your job title  The mindse...

What if the job you’re in isn’t bad — but it’s not you ? In today’s episode of Good Shift , I’m sitting down with someone who made a shift that so many of us secretly think about but struggle to act on. Chris Harrison spent 15 years climbing the corporate ladder in banking. The money was good. The job was fine. But it never stopped gnawing at him — the childhood dream of becoming a police officer....

If you’re stuck in a job that doesn’t feel right anymore, but have no idea what to do next - this one’s for you. Since launching Good Shift, I’ve had so many conversations with people sitting in the same place: they know what they don’t want, but feel stuck on what comes next. This episode is your guide to getting unstuck - with 5 practical, mindset-shifting steps to help you start figuring it out...

If you're feeling stuck in a career that no longer fits, but the idea of change feels scary or overwhelming, this episode is for you. Today’s guest, Meredith Baker , has lived many lives. She’s a Harvard and Oxford graduate, a former international journalist, founder of an alcoholic beverage company and now a certified leadership coach and creator of the Powerful Stuff podcast. Meredith helps...