The Leap: A Business Journeys Podcast

Ash Frenken shares the real, unfiltered journey of building and losing a high-growth PropTech startup. From raising millions and scaling to a 50-person team, to near-collapse during COVID and the painful decision to shut it down, Ash opens up about failure, resilience, ADHD, mental health, and learning to forgive himself. This is an honest conversation about ambition, burnout, rebuilding after los...

Joseph Daoud, Founder of It’s Simple Finance, shares the raw truth behind scaling from one-man broker to settling over $200 million.  From sleepless nights to missing family moments, to battling fear and criticism, Joseph opens up about the real cost behind fast growth. He breaks down how he built repeatable systems, delegated properly, and learned to let go, so he could finally have the freedom t...

Arjun Paliwal, Founder of InvestorKit and one of Australia’s leading property experts, joins The Leap to share his journey from banking to building a $25M buyers agency. From leaving a secure corporate job to facing open-heart surgery and the loss of his mum, Arjun opens up about the defining moments that shaped his mindset, leadership, and purpose.  He talks about the early mistakes that nearly s...

Peter Gatt, CEO of EMANDA and nine-time founder with six exits, joins  The Leap  to share the highs, lows, and lessons from his 20+ years in business. From a tough upbringing in St Albans to building multi-million-dollar companies, Peter opens up about failure, cashflow struggles, self-doubt, and what it really takes to start again. He talks about the importance of thinking about your exit from da...

David Goodwin shares his powerful journey from a traumaticchildhood and near-death experience in Africa, to building one of the fastest-growing, values-driven businesses in Australia’s NDIS sector. He talks about doing business differently, building something that actually helps people, and why purpose – not profit – has always been his driving force. Welcome to The Leap: A Business Journeys Podca...

What does it take to build a billion-dollar travel business from scratch? In this episode of The Leap, Adam Schwab, Co-Founder and CEO of Luxury Escapes, shares how he went from overworked junior lawyer to leading one of Australia’s fastest-growing travel companies. From flipping backpacker apartments to surviving the collapse of the daily deals industry, Adam’s journey is packed with bold decisio...

In this episode of The Leap, we sit down with Tony Kofkin, Managing Director of Kofkin Bond & Co, who shares with us how a career-ending knee injury became the unexpected turning point in building a successful financial services firm. From collecting insurance premiums as a kid, to landing $50M super funds, Tony’s journey is packed with grit, discipline, and reinvention. He opens up about scal...

Nick Stehr never planned to be a business owner, but when opportunity knocked, he bet on himself. In this episode of The Leap, Nick shares how he went from a teenage dad with no clear career path to leading HLS Healthcare, a national business in the assistive healthcare sector. He opens up about the sacrifices he and his wife Melissa made, the early struggles of funding growth, and the turning poi...

From battling depression as a teenager to building one of Australia's top personal development brands, Morgan Nelson’s journey is anything but ordinary. He’s the founder of the Dream Out Loud Institute and host of the Dream Out Loud Podcast, helping people across the world create lives by design, not by default. In this episode, Morgan shares how he went from a broke apprentice carpenter to fi...

Starting a business is never easy but for Jessica Buff, taking the leap led to something incredible. Jess started out in hairdressing, but everything changed when she discovered lashes. Fully booked and making solid money, she took a risk - turning her skills into an online course. It took off overnight, but success came with challenges. A business deal went south, payments got delayed, and the co...

He built a multi-million dollar property portfolio by 24 - then lost it all. Left with $348K in debt, no income, and forced to move back in with his parents, Chris Christofi had every reason to quit. But instead, he rebuilt from scratch, securing investment and turning Reventon into a thriving property and financial services business. In this episode, Chris shares his journey of resilience, busine...

Starting a business often feels like taking a huge leap of faith. But for John, stepping into the unknown led to something incredible. John didn’t set out to build a business. He wanted a side hustle where he could work remotely and started Meson Agency. But what began as a solo gig quickly turned into a thriving onshore contact centre for real estate trusted by over 500 companies across Australia...

In a special episode, we change things up and Nathan’s in the hot seat! Hosted by Tom Andronas from The Content Engine (producers of this podcast), we walk through Nathan’s own humble journey and what it took to leave a stable job to start a business with zero experience in that industry! Welcome to The Leap: A Business Journeys Podcast. Hosted by Nathan Soti, our goal is a simple one – to help mo...

In Episode 10 of The Leap, we’re joined by Chloe Walker, CEO and Managing Director of Pirk—a platform born from her own journey of navigating the complexities of plastic surgery options. Chloe identified a significant gap in the industry—a lack of transparent resources to find qualified surgeons—which inspired her to create Pirk, a solution transforming how people connect with trusted professional...

We sit down with Adrian Trimboli, Founder of Fresh Start Advisory, a Buyers Agency with the ambitious goal of becoming the leading Buyers Agency in the country by 2027. Adrian’s journey is one of resilience—going from nearly losing it all more than once; to scaling his team to 14 within just a few years. In this episode, Adrian shares the power of authenticity, the importance of knowing your numbe...

Peter’s story is one for the ages – no matter how many times I listen it still blows me away. Peter started his business on annual leave and never went back! Ethos Migration lawyers is one of Victoria’s most highly respected law firms – and it all started by not listening to those who weren’t where he wanted to be. Welcome to The Leap: A Business Journeys Podcast. Hosted by Nathan Soti, our goal i...

Ash Brown is the founder of Empiraa, a complete strategy solution combining expert consulting and intuitive software. Ash saw an opportunity to help business execute on strategy and took the leap! From initial concept to now raising millions of dollars, he has built an incredibly successful business making waves in the industry. Welcome to The Leap: A Business Journeys Podcast. Hosted by Nathan So...

I’m joined by my good friend Adrian Ranieri from LNDR Group for a super transparent discussion about the realities of entrepreneurship. Adrian, known for his raw and authentic approach, shares his journey and the hard truths of running a business. Welcome to The Leap: A Business Journeys Podcast. Hosted by Nathan Soti, our goal is a simple one – to help more businesses succeed! The Leap is proudly...

John Cachia is a multi-award-winning Financial Adviser who has grown his business to close to 20 staff. John takes us through his journey and what has catapulted the business’ growth over the past 7 years. Welcome to The Leap: A Business Journeys Podcast. Hosted by Nathan Soti, our goal is a simple one – to help more businesses succeed! The Leap is proudly supported by Ethos 360 Recruitment and pr...

At 21, Bill founded his first company and by 26, he had established three. After his business was acquired, he ascended to CEO of an ASX-listed company, overseeing a 500% share price increase. As Chief Revenue Officer at PropTech Group Limited, he drove 136% year-on-year growth, propelling market value to over $100 million. Bill’s latest venture as Co-Founder of Bond Property Lawyers has rapidly e...

Mel Yu is the founder of MCO Events Group and Ego Expo – Australia’s largest streetwear and lifestyle expo. She's also known for her work as a personal branding expert, coaching entrepreneurs to business success. Mel’s purpose is to leave people in a better place than when she found them. We spoke about all things branding, the realities of of being a business owner and how to bounce back and...

Nick Grinberg drops some knowledge on the importance of branding and gives advice on low-cost high return marketing activities that worked for his business. Nick shares his journey of growing and scaling his business which was recently named Agency of the Year for 2023! Welcome to The Leap: A Business Journeys Podcast. Hosted by Nathan Soti, our goal is a simple one – to help more businesses succe...

Sam Rapke’s story is a true startup fairytale! From four friends starting a business in a garage, to almost 100 employees and an exciting overseas expansion. Welcome to The Leap: A Business Journeys Podcast. Hosted by Nathan Soti, our goal is a simple one – to help more businesses succeed! The Leap is proudly supported by Ethos360 Recruitment and produced by The Content Engine.