Rooster Radio - Stories & Insights from Entrepreneurs and Leaders in Business, Health, Tech & More

Ep 115 The richness of the experience

We end 2018 with some reflection, picking up on an episode we recorded almost a year ago to the day. It was episode 100 [http://roosterradio.biz/blog/100], when Rooster Radio co-host James Begley unpacked what was the hardest year of his life, in raw detail. A number of our listeners were a bit stunned - it seems not many people understand the financial and personal impact that running a startup can have. After posting the episode, there were more than a few phone calls from concerned mates asking if Begs was holding up ok. (But there are many gold nuggets on business and resilience in that episode, so make sure you wind back to episode 100 if you haven’t already - here's the link [http://roosterradio.biz/blog/100].) Now, a year later, a lot has happened since that fateful episode. The rollercoaster has continued, but this time with more amazing successes and achievements. James' startup PickStar [pickstar.com.au] got funded, launched new tech, grew significantly and the future looks bright .. and yet, of course, ’the unknown' always remains. So in this episode, Andrew put Begs under the microscope … enjoy the insights and reflections. Rooster Radio [http://roosterradio.biz/] is hosted by Andrew Montesi and James Begley - visit http://roosterradio.biz [http://roosterradio.biz/] Connect with Rooster Radio [http://roosterradio.biz/] - sign up to our mailing list [http://eepurl.com/bZHJcT] at http://roosterradio.biz and join our Facebook community [http://facebook.com/roosterradioHQ] at http://facebook.com/roosterradioHQ [http://facebook.com/roosterradioHQ] For podcasting strategy, production and commercial services, visit Apiro Media [http://apiropodcasts.com/] http://apiropodcasts.com [http://apiropodcasts.com/] For other content and marketing services, visit Apiro Consulting [http://www.apiroconsulting.com/] http://apiroconsulting.com [http://apiroconsulting.com/] (Andrew Montesi). For leadership and and high performance services, connect with James Begley [http://www.jamesbegley.com.au/] http://jamesbegley.com.au [http://jamesbegley.com.au/]

Ep 114 How Tobi Pearce built global fitness empire Sweat

Tobi Pearce and his fiancee Kayla Itsines are behind the remarkable Adelaide based fitness empire Sweat, which is hitting around $100 million in annual revenue, and saw the couple’s wealth valued at $486 million on the AFR Young Rich List in 2018. The company was initially built on the back of Kayla’s unbelievable social media presence (which by the way has passed 10 million followers on Instagram and 23 million on Facebook) and their product, the Bikini Body Guide - giving users a work out plan, nutrition information, recipes and more. Now, Sweat is becoming the ’Netflix of health and fitness’ with millions around the world consuming content on a monthly subscription via the Sweat app. It is hard to believe that just 10 years ago, Tobi was homeless and trying to find his way in life. We talk about his personal journey and meeting Kayla. We go deep into the mechanics of how the duo built this amazing company and the strategy behind it. Tobi also talks about managing rapid growth, leadership, dealing with success and the limelight, building in Adelaide and so much more. Tobi is a fascinating guy with plenty of surprises, including a musical background which may just be one of the secrets to his success. Rooster Radio [http://roosterradio.biz/] is hosted by Andrew Montesi and James Begley - visit http://roosterradio.biz [http://roosterradio.biz/] Connect with Rooster Radio [http://roosterradio.biz/] - sign up to our mailing list [http://eepurl.com/bZHJcT] at http://roosterradio.biz and join our Facebook community [http://facebook.com/roosterradioHQ] at http://facebook.com/roosterradioHQ [http://facebook.com/roosterradioHQ] For podcasting strategy, production and commercial services, visit Apiro Media [http://apiropodcasts.com/] http://apiropodcasts.com [http://apiropodcasts.com/] For other content and marketing services, visit Apiro Consulting [http://www.apiroconsulting.com/] http://apiroconsulting.com [http://apiroconsulting.com/] (Andrew Montesi). For leadership and and high performance services, connect with James Begley [http://www.jamesbegley.com.au/] http://jamesbegley.com.au [http://jamesbegley.com.au/]

Ep 113 SouthStart Series - How Dr Michelle Perugini is unlocking the life giving power of AI

Dr Michelle Perugini is an academic, entrepreneur, and an internationally renowned expert in health, medical research, advanced analytics, and cognitive AI. Michelle spent the first 13 years of her career in health and medical research, specialising in predictive genetics and translational medicine. Michelle then co-founded global technology company ISD Analytics with her husband Don, who is also an accomplished scientist, selling the business to Ernst and Young (EY) in 2015. With little time to rest, the Perugini's founded Life Whisperer, a company that uses technology to help improve the chances of IVF couples having children. This is AI-driven, cloud based image analysis that improves the accuracy of healthy embryo selection in IVF. In conjunction with Life Whisperer, the duo also launched another AI company, Presagen. It has been a remarkable journey for someone who didn’t feel born for entrepreneurship. Michelle shares her story, the naivety of her approach to her first company, and the learnings from that experience that she has taken into Life Whisperer and Presagen today. Michelle is speaking at Southstart in 2018, a conference that celebrates the collision of people, ideas and technology on 22 and 23 November 2018 in Adelaide. Make sure you join and support Adelaide’s startup community. More on Life Whisperer [https://www.lifewhisperer.co/] - https://www.lifewhisperer.co/ More on Presagen [https://www.presagen.com/] - https://www.presagen.com/ More info here [https://southstart.co/] https://southstart.co Rooster Radio [http://roosterradio.biz/] is hosted by Andrew Montesi and James Begley - visit http://roosterradio.biz [http://roosterradio.biz/] Connect with Rooster Radio [http://roosterradio.biz/] - sign up to our mailing list [http://eepurl.com/bZHJcT] at http://roosterradio.biz and join our Facebook community [http://facebook.com/roosterradioHQ] at http://facebook.com/roosterradioHQ [http://facebook.com/roosterradioHQ] For podcasting strategy, production and commercial services, visit Apiro Media [http://apiropodcasts.com/] http://apiropodcasts.com [http://apiropodcasts.com/] For other content and marketing services, visit Apiro Consulting [http://www.apiroconsulting.com/] http://apiroconsulting.com [http://apiroconsulting.com/] (Andrew Montesi). For leadership and and high performance services, connect with James Begley [http://www.jamesbegley.com.au/] http://jamesbegley.com.au [http://jamesbegley.com.au/]

Ep 112 SouthStart Series - Antony Ceravolo on witnessing 9/11, a $300 million exit and changing the world of workplaces

"I opened my cab door that morning, and watched the first plane crash into the building above our heads." Antony Ceravolo was living the corporate life as an investment banker in New York's World Trade Center when he saw the 9/11 attacks happen in front of his eyes. It was the series of moments that would change the world, including his own. In the fallout, many investment bankers lost their jobs and Antony was forced to turn to his own business ideas. Now, Antony is known for building global tech companies. First there was Red Bus Media, an out of home media network, and then LoveFilm, a DVD distribution and video streaming company that Antony sold to Amazon for around $AU300 million. He could’ve comfortably stopped there. Instead, he moved home to Adelaide and built his next company, Sine, developing technology to make it easy for visitors, contractors and staff to check in to the everyday locations they attend. Sine has checked in more than 20 million visitors, working with some of the world’s biggest brands as well as every day businesses. Antony shares his amazing story, as well as insights about winning early customers, scaling businesses and dealing with growing pains, why he has chosen Adelaide to build his global business .. and much, much more. Antony is speaking at Southstart in 2018, a conference that celebrates the collision of people, ideas and technology on 22 and 23 November 2018 in Adelaide. Make sure you join and support Adelaide’s startup community. More info here [https://southstart.co/] https://southstart.co Rooster Radio [http://roosterradio.biz/] is hosted by Andrew Montesi and James Begley - visit http://roosterradio.biz [http://roosterradio.biz/] Connect with Rooster Radio [http://roosterradio.biz/] - sign up to our mailing list [http://eepurl.com/bZHJcT] at http://roosterradio.biz and join our Facebook community [http://facebook.com/roosterradioHQ] at http://facebook.com/roosterradioHQ [http://facebook.com/roosterradioHQ] For podcasting strategy, production and commercial services, visit Apiro Media [http://apiropodcasts.com/] http://apiropodcasts.com [http://apiropodcasts.com/] For other content and marketing services, visit Apiro Consulting [http://www.apiroconsulting.com/] http://apiroconsulting.com [http://apiroconsulting.com/] (Andrew Montesi). For leadership and and high performance services, connect with James Begley [http://www.jamesbegley.com.au/] http://jamesbegley.com.au [http://jamesbegley.com.au/]

Ep 111 SouthStart Series - Craig Swann on the early internet, innovating music and community

It has been quite some time since our last episode (sorry), we took a break from Rooster HQ to focus on our REAL businesses. But now we’re back with our SouthStart series, which we’re excited about. We’re interviewing some of the stars of the Southstart Conference [southstart.co], which celebrates the collision of people, ideas and technology in Adelaide on November 21 to 23. And first cab off the rank is the man behind SouthStart in 2018, Craig Swann. SouthStart fell into the hands of Craig and his business partners last year, and he has done an amazing job pulling together a world class event and activating an 'interesting' startup community in Adelaide. Craig is a highly successful global innovator, in his own right. The Canadian founded companies in New York City, including award winning interactive agency CRASHMEDIA and the internet’s first online music studio, Looplabs [https://www.looplabs.com/]. Millions of people have benefited from Craig’s innovations, including Steve Jobs, who demoed Looplabs for the launch of the Safari Browser at an Apple Keynote. Craig has since become an industry thought leader in the interactive music space; authoring books, speaking internationally, teaching, curating technology events and developing and licensing customized online music experiences for top global brands. He has received special recognition at SxSW and has won the prestigious Webby Award. Before we get into Craig’s fascinating story, make sure you open your browser now and check out southstart.co [southstart.co]. Southstart is activating Adelaide’s startup community by bringing together innovators, creators, founders and investors on November 22 and 23, in 2018 .. get involved, grab a ticket and we’ll see you there. If you’re late to this interview and have realised you’ve missed the event, make sure you sign up to the mailing list and follow Southstart on social media, and join the community. More info on SouthStart here [https://southstart.co] https://southstart.co Check out Looplabs [https://www.looplabs.com/] https://www.looplabs.com/ Rooster Radio [http://roosterradio.biz/] is hosted by Andrew Montesi and James Begley - visit http://roosterradio.biz [http://roosterradio.biz/] Connect with Rooster Radio [http://roosterradio.biz/] - sign up to our mailing list [http://eepurl.com/bZHJcT] at http://roosterradio.biz and join our Facebook community [http://facebook.com/roosterradioHQ] at http://facebook.com/roosterradioHQ [http://facebook.com/roosterradioHQ] For podcasting strategy, production and commercial services, visit Apiro Media [http://apiropodcasts.com/] http://apiropodcasts.com [http://apiropodcasts.com/] For other content and marketing services, visit Apiro Consulting [http://www.apiroconsulting.com/] http://apiroconsulting.com [http://apiroconsulting.com/] (Andrew Montesi). For leadership and and high performance services, connect with James Begley [http://www.jamesbegley.com.au/] http://jamesbegley.com.au [http://jamesbegley.com.au/]