The Venture Beyond Podcast

20 months. Countless lessons. One lightning bolt moment that set everything in motion. In this episode, we share the raw story of how a random idea turned into XtraClubs. A business built around sauna, ice, and steam recovery that’s grown faster (and taught us more) than we could’ve imagined. We talk about: The messy early days of our startup journey What we wish we knew before we started Fundrais...

“This industry needs to be shaken up and it needs to be done by somebody outside the industry.”In Episode 10 of The Venture Beyond podcast, Anthony and James reunite after a few months away to discuss their latest venture, Xtra Clubs. A departure from the digital businesses the pair are known for developing, Xtra Clubs is envisioned as a chain of wellness centres, which will finally bring Sydneysi...

“Don’t think too much, just do it… Once you step out, think a lot”. In Episode 9 of The Venture Beyond podcast, Anthony and James speak to Vivian from Dulcet Cakes & Sweets, an entrepreneur who found her calling in the cake industry not long after calling Australia home. Vivian shares her initial struggles in the business, from completing orders at home to launching stores while pregnant. This...

“There were many things that I was getting wrong that I’m now getting right”. In Episode 8 of The Venture Beyond podcast, Anthony and James speak to Justin Lewis, an Aussie larrikin whose business Yellow Express is earning a reputation as the Uber of transporting bulky goods in Sydney. In the chat, Justin mentions that this hireable man and a van operation has been in his family since his father p...

"The only thing that can go wrong from taking a risk is a lesson learned". In Episode 7 of The Venture Beyond podcast, Anthony and James sit down with Simon, CEO and co-founder of 'Disport' - a digital app and social platform that allows sports fans to chat in one place while live sport plays. Simon reflects on the evolution of Disport compared to what he originally envisioned wh...

“The trick of winning in the word space is being a deeply empathetic human being because you need to know what to put on paper in order to connect with other people.” Filmed on the backdrop of sunny Gold Coast, Episode 6 of the Venture Beyond Podcast features the successful but incredibly humble Jason Roberts, founder of The Sector website. Jason leads a publishing team who’ve built a remarkable r...

“If you are to fail, fail fast. Don’t fall in love with a bad idea.”   In Episode 5 of The Venture Beyond podcast, Anthony and James welcome the founder and CEO of Perfection Fresh Australia (PFA) to the mic, who just so happens to also be their father - Michael Simonetta. The pair get an insight from Michael on the difficulties and triumphs that came from managing PFA in the 90s, and early 2...

“Don’t get lost in the dream; really be introspective about who you are and what you need to find in your circle of influence or in wider networks… be quick to have the hard conversation, which will save a lot of potential problems.”   In Episode 4 of The Venture Beyond podcast, Anthony reflects on his past experiences within venture partnerships, discussing with James why they work well as p...

“Think about how you’re going to communicate the core value proposition and just do that, nothing else.”   Having described a MVP in previous weeks of The Venture Beyond podcast, Anthony and James use Episode 3 to lay out a blueprint for budding entrepreneurs and business leaders to launch their own products.  The pair explain how they launched and tested ‘SiteWatcher’ within just 8 hour...

"Have a scalable business, but know you’re going to need to do non-scalable things to start with... everything started with a guy behind a keyboard.” In Episode 2 of The Venture Beyond podcast, Anthony and James turn their focus to discussing how businesses can launch ‘Minimal Viable Products’ (MVPs) through the example of their latest venture, ‘SiteWatcher’.   As well as highlighting the ‘wh...

In their maiden episode of The Venture Beyond Podcast, Anthony and James highlight how they’re looking to make an even bigger splash on the market than ever before by returning their focus to developing innovative business products. As well the pair detail the launch of their company’s first venture, ‘WPNativeApps’. Thanks to our partners at Sector, James showcases the application's functionality,...