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Top of Mind

Top of Mind

Hosted by Gambit Collective

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Episodes

58

Latest episode

Aug 2026

Language

EN

About the show

In today's attention economy, it is no longer about being the best, it is about being the best known. Top of Mind is your go-to podcast helping you stay top-of-mind as a business brand or individual, for free. Top-of-mind awareness as a marketing term typically talks to the first brand that comes to mind when a consumer is asked about a particular product category or niche. When you need to buy a phone, what brand do think of? When you need to look something up online, where do you go? When you want to get a coffee with a friend, what’s the first place you recommend? When people think of you first, they’re more likely to purchase your products, service or business. This podcast is an extension of my business Gambit Collective, a pay-as-you-go marketing agency making marketing, social media and personal branding expertise accessible to everyone. Follow along on your preferred channels: Top of Mind on IG: https://www.instagram.com/topofmind.pod/ Top of Mind on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@topofmind.pod Gambit Collective on IG: https://www.instagram.com/gambit.collective Gambit Collective on LI: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gambitcollective/ Gambit Collective on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gambitcollective Hayley on IG: https://www.instagram.com/hayleywestoby/ Hayley on LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hayleywestoby/ Hayley on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hayleywestoby

Listen to episodes

58 recent
August 18, 202638 min

Sophie Hood: The Wellness Founder Disrupting a Billion Dollar Category With a Transparent Product!

What does a year of actually backing yourself look like? When Sophie Hood first appeared on Top of Mind in July 2024, she was a Sydney founder with a hangover cure tonic and a big idea. Now she's back in Sydney briefly, away from her home in New York - pitching Qantas at board level, quietly building a second brand, and telling Hayley she doesn't really want to be the face of her own company anymore. In just over a year, Sophie has moved countries with no visa and no job, bootstrapped a US and UK launch from scratch, rebranded her entire product positioning, developed four new SKUs - including a clear electrolyte drink that will be the first of its kind in the category - and started building an entirely new brand in private. Here’s what we cover in this episode: - Sophie in 2024 vs Sophie now - the one mindset shift that made everything else possible - The Soul Tonic rebrand - why 'hangover' became a dirty word, how the product evolved into recovery and hydration, and her new cognitive performance arm - The clear electrolyte drink - why everything in the hydration category is bright blue, and how Sophie plans to be the first to disrupt it with something truly transparent - The Qantas pitch - how a single TikTok about airplane hydration turned into board-level conversations, cabin crew DMs, and an active campaign pitch - Moving to New York with no visa and no plan - why bootstrapping the American launch was the right call, and what she'd tell herself on day one - So Topical - the second brand Sophie is building in private with her business partner Francesca, launching to a community before it ever goes public - The wellness roundup - matcha, cold plunging, fasting, lymphatic drainage, Korean skincare, Ozempic, the 5AM club: overrated or underrated? If you have a question you want answered: 🎙️ Leave us a voice note → speakpipe.com/TopOfMindPodcast 📩 DM us → @topofmind.pod 💌 Email → hello@topofmindpod.com 🎧 Or drop a question in the Spotify Q&A box Sign up to our emails and get the ideas, events, and tools that’ll keep you inspired, confident, and showing up like the brand you know you can be: https://www.gambitcollective.com.au/lets-chat Top of Mind is an extension of our business Gambit Collective - Australia’s first pay-as-you-go agency for founders and brands ready to be known, respected and experienced. Don’t forget to rate, subscribe, and review – it helps the podcast grow, brings in incredible guests, and unlocks more conversations to help you grow and scale your brand. Follow along on your preferred channels: Sophie Hood on IG: https://www.instagram.com/sophiehood1/ Sophie Hood on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophie-hood-b1b2a3115/ Top of Mind on IG: https://www.instagram.com/topofmind.pod/ Top of Mind on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@topofmind.pod Gambit Collective on IG: https://www.instagram.com/gambit.collective Hayley on IG: https://www.instagram.com/hayleywestoby/ Hayley on LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hayleywestoby/ Hayley on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hayleywestoby

August 6, 202639 min

Sophie Hood: Launching in the US, Pitching to Qantas & Launching A Secret Second brand - all in 12 months

(Part 1) What does a year of actually backing yourself look like? When Sophie Hood first appeared on Top of Mind in July 2024, she was a Sydney founder with a hangover cure tonic and a big idea. Now she's back in Sydney briefly, away from her home in New York - pitching Qantas at board level, quietly building a second brand, and telling Hayley she doesn't really want to be the face of her own company anymore. She’s the same guest. But a completely different person. In just over a year, Sophie has moved countries with no visa and no job, bootstrapped a US and UK launch from scratch, rebranded her entire product positioning, developed four new SKUs - including a clear electrolyte drink that will be the first of its kind in the category - and started building an entirely new brand in private. Here’s what we cover in this episode: Sophie in 2024 vs Sophie now - the one mindset shift that made everything else possible The Soul Tonic rebrand - why 'hangover' became a dirty word, how the product evolved into recovery and hydration, and her new cognitive performance arm The clear electrolyte drink - why everything in the hydration category is bright blue, and how Sophie plans to be the first to disrupt it with something truly transparent The Qantas pitch - how a single TikTok about airplane hydration turned into board-level conversations, cabin crew DMs, and an active campaign pitch Moving to New York with no visa and no plan - why bootstrapping the American launch was the right call, and what she'd tell herself on day one So Topical - the second brand Sophie is building in private with her business partner Francesca, launching to a community before it ever goes public The wellness roundup - matcha, cold plunging, fasting, lymphatic drainage, Korean skincare, Ozempic, the 5AM club: overrated or underrated? If you have a question you want answered: 🎙️ Leave us a voice note → speakpipe.com/TopOfMindPodcast 📩 DM us → @topofmind.pod 💌 Email → hello@topofmindpod.com 🎧 Or drop a question in the Spotify Q&A box Sign up to our emails and get the ideas, events, and tools that’ll keep you inspired, confident, and showing up like the brand you know you can be: https://www.gambitcollective.com.au/lets-chat  Top of Mind is an extension of our business Gambit Collective - Australia’s first pay-as-you-go agency for founders and brands ready to be known, respected and experienced. Don’t forget to rate, subscribe, and review – it helps the podcast grow, brings in incredible guests, and unlocks more conversations to help you grow and scale your brand. Follow along on your preferred channels: Sophie Hood on IG: https://www.instagram.com/sophiehood1/ Sophie Hood on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophie-hood-b1b2a3115/  Top of Mind on IG: https://www.instagram.com/topofmind.pod/ Top of Mind on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@topofmind.pod Gambit Collective on IG: https://www.instagram.com/gambit.collective Hayley on IG: https://www.instagram.com/hayleywestoby/ Hayley on LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hayleywestoby/ Hayley on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hayleywestoby

July 22, 202636 min

Ali Beeck: Sold Out in Three Months, Restocked, and Chasing $10M - The Unfiltered Balmee Story

If you apply lip balm daily, there's a high chance you're consuming up to 2 tubes of lip balm a year! This one insight stopped Ali Beeck and her co-founder in their tracks. And instead of ignoring it, they built a brand around it.  Balmee is an Australian lip balm made with your microbiome in mind - and in less than a year, it's had the kind of run most founders dream about - they sold out in three months, and had Kayla Itsines share it to her 15 million followers on Instagram.  But this episode isn't just about the highlight reel.  It's what launching a product in a saturated market actually looks like, including the manufacturing nightmares, the sell-out story nobody fully tells, and the full-time job Ali was still working the whole way through. Here’s what we cover in this episode:  Why launching with one hero product beats a full range every time Manufacturing f*ckboys, and what no one tells you about making a physical product How to stay visible when you're completely sold out The $10 million audacity of setting a goal that big, and saying it publicly If you have a question you want answered: 🎙️ Leave us a voice note → speakpipe.com/TopOfMindPodcast 📩 DM us → @topofmind.pod 💌 Email → hello@topofmindpod.com 🎧 Or drop a question in the Spotify Q&A box Sign up to our emails and get the ideas, events, and tools that’ll keep you inspired, confident, and showing up like the brand you know you can be: https://www.gambitcollective.com.au/lets-chat  Top of Mind is an extension of our business Gambit Collective - Australia’s first pay-as-you-go agency for founders and brands ready to be known, respected and experienced. Don’t forget to rate, subscribe, and review – it helps the podcast grow, brings in incredible guests, and unlocks more conversations to help you grow and scale your brand. Follow along on your preferred channels: Balmee on IG: https://www.instagram.com/balmeebeauty/  Ali Beeck on IG: https://www.instagram.com/alibeeck/  Ali Beeck on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@alibeeck  Ali Beeck on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alibeeck/  Top of Mind on IG: https://www.instagram.com/topofmind.pod/ Top of Mind on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@topofmind.pod Gambit Collective on IG: https://www.instagram.com/gambit.collective Hayley on IG: https://www.instagram.com/hayleywestoby/ Hayley on LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hayleywestoby/ Hayley on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hayleywestoby

July 7, 202641 min

Ali Beeck: Building Balmee, the $10 million Australian Lip Balm Brand

If you apply lip balm daily, there's a high chance you're consuming up to 2 tubes of lip balm a year! This one insight stopped Ali Beeck and her co-founder in their tracks. And instead of ignoring it, they built a brand around it.  Balmee is an Australian lip balm made with your microbiome in mind - and in less than a year, it's had the kind of run most founders dream about - they sold out in three months, and had Kayla Itsines share it to her 15 million followers on Instagram.  But this episode isn't just about the highlight reel.  It's what launching a product in a saturated market actually looks like, including the manufacturing nightmares, the sell-out story nobody fully tells, and the full-time job Ali was still working the whole way through. Here’s what we cover in this episode:  Why launching with one hero product beats a full range every time Manufacturing f*ckboys, and what no one tells you about making a physical product How to stay visible when you're completely sold out The $10 million audacity of setting a goal that big, and saying it publicly If you have a question you want answered: 🎙️ Leave us a voice note → speakpipe.com/TopOfMindPodcast 📩 DM us → @topofmind.pod 💌 Email → hello@topofmindpod.com 🎧 Or drop a question in the Spotify Q&A box Sign up to our emails and get the ideas, events, and tools that’ll keep you inspired, confident, and showing up like the brand you know you can be: https://www.gambitcollective.com.au/lets-chat  Top of Mind is an extension of our business Gambit Collective - Australia’s first pay-as-you-go agency for founders and brands ready to be known, respected and experienced. Don’t forget to rate, subscribe, and review – it helps the podcast grow, brings in incredible guests, and unlocks more conversations to help you grow and scale your brand. Follow along on your preferred channels: Balmee on IG: https://www.instagram.com/balmeebeauty/  Ali Beeck on IG: https://www.instagram.com/alibeeck/  Ali Beeck on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@alibeeck  Ali Beeck on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alibeeck/  Top of Mind on IG: https://www.instagram.com/topofmind.pod/ Top of Mind on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@topofmind.pod Gambit Collective on IG: https://www.instagram.com/gambit.collective Hayley on IG: https://www.instagram.com/hayleywestoby/ Hayley on LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hayleywestoby/ Hayley on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hayleywestoby

July 6, 202646 min

Grace Miller: Why Founders Who Fear Personal Brands Are Already Losing

What does it actually take to build a culture where failure is a strategy? Grace Miller is Head of Experimentation and Failure at Flight Story, the studio behind Stephen Bartlett and the world's second-biggest podcast. She's spent years at the intersection of bold creative risk and measurable growth - and she's here to share exactly what that's taught her. In this episode, Hayley and Grace get into the real mechanics of failing well: why founders are already the biggest risk-takers in the room, why "building in public" is mostly performative, and why playing it safe might actually be the most dangerous move your business can make. If you've ever wondered what it looks like inside one of the world's top podcast studios - and what working with Stephen Bartlett is actually like off-camera - this one's for you. Here’s what we cover in this episode: The three types of failure (basic, complex, and intelligent) - and how to tell which one you're in Flight Story's experiment framework - and how to run one experiment a week as a solo founder with no team Why safe is the new risky - what happens to your business when a competitor is testing and you're not The employee personal brand debate - why founders who fear their team building a profile are already losing Paid media red flags - what to ask any agency before you sign, and why a high ROAS guarantee is a reason to run Stephen Bartlett, unfiltered - what Grace learned about her own value from working at the top, and the truth about what he's actually like If you have a question you want answered: 🎙️ Leave us a voice note → speakpipe.com/TopOfMindPodcast 📩 DM us → @topofmind.pod 💌 Email → hello@topofmindpod.com 🎧 Or drop a question in the Spotify Q&A box Sign up to our emails and get the ideas, events, and tools that’ll keep you inspired, confident, and showing up like the brand you know you can be: https://www.gambitcollective.com.au/lets-chat Top of Mind is an extension of our business Gambit Collective - Australia’s first pay-as-you-go agency for founders and brands ready to be known, respected and experienced. Don’t forget to rate, subscribe, and review – it helps the podcast grow, brings in incredible guests, and unlocks more conversations to help you grow and scale your brand. Follow along on your preferred channels: Grace Miller on IG: https://www.instagram.com/graceexperiments Grace Miller on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/grace-miller-linked-in/ Top of Mind on IG: https://www.instagram.com/topofmind.pod/ Top of Mind on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@topofmind.pod Gambit Collective on IG: https://www.instagram.com/gambit.collective Hayley on IG: https://www.instagram.com/hayleywestoby/ Hayley on LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hayleywestoby/ Hayley on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hayleywestoby

June 17, 202636 min

Grace Miller: F1, Personal Brand, and One Thing She's Never Shared Before!

What does it actually take to build a culture where failure is a strategy? Grace Miller is Head of Experimentation and Failure at Flight Story, the studio behind Stephen Bartlett and the world's second-biggest podcast. She's spent years at the intersection of bold creative risk and measurable growth - and she's here to share exactly what that's taught her. In this episode, Hayley and Grace get into the real mechanics of failing well: why founders are already the biggest risk-takers in the room, why "building in public" is mostly performative, and why playing it safe might actually be the most dangerous move your business can make. If you've ever wondered what it looks like inside one of the world's top podcast studios - and what working with Stephen Bartlett is actually like off-camera - this one's for you. Here’s what we cover in this episode: The three types of failure (basic, complex, and intelligent) - and how to tell which one you're in Flight Story's experiment framework - and how to run one experiment a week as a solo founder with no team Why safe is the new risky - what happens to your business when a competitor is testing and you're not The employee personal brand debate - why founders who fear their team building a profile are already losing Paid media red flags - what to ask any agency before you sign, and why a high ROAS guarantee is a reason to run Stephen Bartlett, unfiltered - what Grace learned about her own value from working at the top, and the truth about what he's actually like If you have a question you want answered: 🎙️ Leave us a voice note → speakpipe.com/TopOfMindPodcast 📩 DM us → @topofmind.pod 💌 Email → hello@topofmindpod.com 🎧 Or drop a question in the Spotify Q&A box Sign up to our emails and get the ideas, events, and tools that’ll keep you inspired, confident, and showing up like the brand you know you can be: https://www.gambitcollective.com.au/lets-chat Top of Mind is an extension of our business Gambit Collective - Australia’s first pay-as-you-go agency for founders and brands ready to be known, respected and experienced. Don’t forget to rate, subscribe, and review – it helps the podcast grow, brings in incredible guests, and unlocks more conversations to help you grow and scale your brand. Follow along on your preferred channels: Grace Miller on IG: https://www.instagram.com/graceexperiments Grace Miller on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/grace-miller-linked-in/ Top of Mind on IG: https://www.instagram.com/topofmind.pod/ Top of Mind on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@topofmind.pod Gambit Collective on IG: https://www.instagram.com/gambit.collective Hayley on IG: https://www.instagram.com/hayleywestoby/ Hayley on LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hayleywestoby/ Hayley on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hayleywestoby

May 26, 202639 min

Alexis Fernandez: The science of boredom & why you need to stop doing everything alone!

(Part 2) What does it actually take to understand your own brain? Alexis Fernandez is a neuroscientist, four-time author, sold-out live podcaster, and brand new mum of twins. But more than the credentials, she has this rare ability to take how the brain actually works and make it immediately useful. This is her second time on Top of Mind, making her our first ever repeat guest. And honestly? This one might be better than the first. We go deep on the dependency paradox and why being hyper-independent is quietly holding you back, what neuroscience actually says about mum brain (it's not what you think), why boredom is one of the most powerful tools you're probably not using, and the uncomfortable truth about confidence that most people aren't ready to hear. And she just submitted the manuscript for her fourth book. We got a sneak peek. This is a masterclass in understanding the brain you already have. In this episode we cover: The dependency paradox: why hyper-independence limits your freedom, and how healthy dependency actually creates more space in your life What really happens to your brain when you become a mum: the neuroscience behind mum brain, mum guilt, and why the changes make you more empathetic, not less capable The uncomfortable truth about confidence: it's momentum, not a personality trait, and everything you want is on the other side of cringe Why boredom might be the best thing you can do for your brain: and why filling every second is robbing you of your best thinking The Red Bull case study that changed how Alexis thinks about brand psychology: and how to build something that actually sticks A sneak peek at her fourth book: all about creating your own timing and breaking the myth of the perfect moment If you have a question you want answered: 🎙️ Leave us a voice note → speakpipe.com/TopOfMindPodcast 📩 DM us → @topofmind.pod 💌 Email → hello@topofmindpod.com 🎧 Or drop a question in the Spotify Q&A box Sign up to our emails and get the ideas, events, and tools that’ll keep you inspired, confident, and showing up like the brand you know you can be: https://www.gambitcollective.com.au/lets-chat Top of Mind is an extension of our business Gambit Collective - Australia’s first pay-as-you-go agency for founders and brands ready to be known, respected and experienced. Don’t forget to rate, subscribe, and review – it helps the podcast grow, brings in incredible guests, and unlocks more conversations to help you grow and scale your brand. Follow along on your preferred channels: DYFM Show on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6PBH5UKhZ4P8rtmwQ84Dfg?si=6e18bc8457034e44 Alexis on IG: https://www.instagram.com/alexisfernandezpreiksa/ DYFM on IG: https://www.instagram.com/doyoufckingmind/ Top of Mind on IG: https://www.instagram.com/topofmind.pod/ Top of Mind on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@topofmind.pod Gambit Collective on IG: https://www.instagram.com/gambit.collective Hayley on IG: https://www.instagram.com/hayleywestoby/ Hayley on LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hayleywestoby/ Hayley on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hayleywestoby

May 12, 202639 min

Alexis Fernandez: The neuroscience truth behind motherhood, confidence & creativity!

What does it actually take to understand your own brain? Alexis Fernandez is a neuroscientist, four-time author, sold-out live podcaster, and brand new mum of twins. But more than the credentials, she has this rare ability to take how the brain actually works and make it immediately useful. This is her second time on Top of Mind, making her our first ever repeat guest. And honestly? This one might be better than the first. We go deep on the dependency paradox and why being hyper-independent is quietly holding you back, what neuroscience actually says about mum brain (it's not what you think), why boredom is one of the most powerful tools you're probably not using, and the uncomfortable truth about confidence that most people aren't ready to hear. And she just submitted the manuscript for her fourth book. We got a sneak peek. This is a masterclass in understanding the brain you already have. In this episode we cover: The dependency paradox: why hyper-independence limits your freedom, and how healthy dependency actually creates more space in your life What really happens to your brain when you become a mum: the neuroscience behind mum brain, mum guilt, and why the changes make you more empathetic, not less capable The uncomfortable truth about confidence: it's momentum, not a personality trait, and everything you want is on the other side of cringe Why boredom might be the best thing you can do for your brain: and why filling every second is robbing you of your best thinking The Red Bull case study that changed how Alexis thinks about brand psychology: and how to build something that actually sticks A sneak peek at her fourth book: all about creating your own timing and breaking the myth of the perfect moment If you have a question you want answered: 🎙️ Leave us a voice note → speakpipe.com/TopOfMindPodcast 📩 DM us → @topofmind.pod 💌 Email → hello@topofmindpod.com 🎧 Or drop a question in the Spotify Q&A box Sign up to our emails and get the ideas, events, and tools that’ll keep you inspired, confident, and showing up like the brand you know you can be: https://www.gambitcollective.com.au/lets-chat Top of Mind is an extension of our business Gambit Collective - Australia’s first pay-as-you-go agency for founders and brands ready to be known, respected and experienced. Don’t forget to rate, subscribe, and review – it helps the podcast grow, brings in incredible guests, and unlocks more conversations to help you grow and scale your brand. Follow along on your preferred channels: DYFM Show on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6PBH5UKhZ4P8rtmwQ84Dfg?si=6e18bc8457034e44 Alexis on IG: https://www.instagram.com/alexisfernandezpreiksa/ DYFM on IG: https://www.instagram.com/doyoufckingmind/ Top of Mind on IG: https://www.instagram.com/topofmind.pod/ Top of Mind on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@topofmind.pod Gambit Collective on IG: https://www.instagram.com/gambit.collective Hayley on IG: https://www.instagram.com/hayleywestoby/ Hayley on LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hayleywestoby/ Hayley on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hayleywestoby

April 30, 202643 min

Ryan Nelson: Google, Uber, Meta and Netflix Are His Clients. Why Refilled Still Doesn't Have a Marketing Budget (Part 2)

(Part 2) Refiled is three years old, and Ryan Nelson is taking on a category that hasn’t really evolved in 50 years. Ryan is a Blue Mountains kid who spent a decade in SaaS, had an idea post gym and built the first prototype in his garage with duct tape and zip ties - and now counts Google, Uber, Meta, Netflix, Atlassian and JP Morgan among his clients. In this episode Ryan gets brutally honest about what it actually takes to build a hardware startup from scratch - the $50K bet he made, working until 4AM in garages with his co-founder, losing equity in a previous business, pitching the wrong investors for six months, and why he tells his team exactly how much cash runway they have left. If you've ever wondered what it looks like inside a fast-growing hardware startup before the shiny success story, this is it. In This Episode We Cover: The gym moment that sparked the idea for Refill - and why nothing like it existed despite a $900 billion global beverage industry How he raised $500K off a duct-tape prototype that wasn't food grade, then $1.9M after building his first 10 machines in a garage The radical transparency he leads with - including telling his team exactly how many months of runway they have left Why he resisted the co-founder model for years (including being kicked out of his last business), and what finally changed his mind His exact cold-calling philosophy for landing enterprise clients like Google and Atlassian Why 'choose your hard' is the mantra he lives by - and what it means for anyone building something from nothing If you have a question you want answered: 🎙️ Leave us a voice note → speakpipe.com/TopOfMindPodcast 📩 DM us → @topofmind.pod 💌 Email → hello@topofmindpod.com 🎧 Or drop a question in the Spotify Q&A box Sign up to our emails and get the ideas, events, and tools that’ll keep you inspired, confident, and showing up like the brand you know you can be: https://www.gambitcollective.com.au/lets-chat Top of Mind is an extension of our business Gambit Collective - Australia’s first pay-as-you-go agency for founders and brands ready to be known, respected and experienced. Don’t forget to rate, subscribe, and review – it helps the podcast grow, brings in incredible guests, and unlocks more conversations to help you grow and scale your brand. Follow along on your preferred channels: Refilled on IG: https://www.instagram.com/refilled.official/ Ryan Nelson on IG: https://www.instagram.com/ryannelsonau/ Website: https://www.refilled.com.au Top of Mind on IG: https://www.instagram.com/topofmind.pod/ Top of Mind on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@topofmind.pod Gambit Collective on IG: https://www.instagram.com/gambit.collective Hayley on IG: https://www.instagram.com/hayleywestoby/ Hayley on LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hayleywestoby/ Hayley on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hayleywestoby

April 21, 202638 min

Ryan Nelson: Duct Tape, Zip Ties and a $500K Raise - How He Built Refilled From a Post Gym Problem (Part 1)

Refiled is three years old, and Ryan Nelson is taking on a category that hasn’t evolved in 50 years. Ryan is a Blue Mountains kid who spent a decade in SaaS, had an idea post gym and built the first prototype in his garage with duct tape and zip ties - and now counts Google, Uber, Meta, Netflix, Atlassian and JP Morgan among his clients. In this episode Ryan gets brutally honest about what it actually takes to build a hardware startup from scratch - the $50K bet he made, working until 4am in garages with his co-founder, losing equity in a previous business, pitching the wrong investors for six months, and why he tells his team exactly how much cash runway they have left. If you've ever wondered what it looks like inside a fast-growing hardware startup before the shiny success story, this is it. In This Episode We Cover: - The gym moment that sparked the idea for Refill - and why nothing like it existed despite a $900 billion global beverage industry - How he raised $500K off a duct-tape prototype that wasn't food grade, then $1.9M after building his first 10 machines in a garage - The radical transparency he leads with - including telling his team exactly how many months of runway they have left - Why he resisted the co-founder model for years (including being kicked out of his last business), and what finally changed his mind - His exact cold-calling philosophy for landing enterprise clients like Google and Atlassian - Why 'choose your hard' is the mantra he lives by - and what it means for anyone building something from nothing If you have a question you want answered: 📩 DM us → @topofmind.pod 💌 Email → hello@topofmindpod.com 🎧 Or drop a question in the Spotify Q&A box / YouTube comments Sign up to our emails and get the ideas, events, and tools that’ll keep you inspired, confident, and showing up like the brand you know you can be: https://www.gambitcollective.com.au/lets-chat Top of Mind is an extension of our business Gambit Collective - Australia’s first pay-as-you-go agency for founders and brands ready to be known, respected and experienced. Don’t forget to rate, subscribe, and review – it helps the podcast grow, brings in incredible guests, and unlocks more conversations to help you grow and scale your brand. Follow along on your preferred channels: Refilled on IG: https://www.instagram.com/refilled.official/ Ryan Nelson on IG: https://www.instagram.com/ryannelsonau/ Website: https://www.refilled.com.au Top of Mind on IG: https://www.instagram.com/topofmind.pod/ Top of Mind on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@topofmind.pod Gambit Collective on IG: https://www.instagram.com/gambit.collective Hayley on IG: https://www.instagram.com/hayleywestoby/ Hayley on LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hayleywestoby/ Hayley on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hayleywestoby

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The Modern Stock & Options Trading Show

The Modern Stock & Options Trading Show

Russ Mathews

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Business Creators Radio Show with Adam Hommey

Business

Business Creators Radio Show With Adam Hommey

Business