Business is an incredibly powerful force – how do you use it for good?  How do you balance ambitious social impact targets with the realities of day-to-day operations?  For Adam McCurdie, co-founder of social enterprise ticketing platform Humanitix, creating social impact was the priority from day one. How was he going to change the world? By starting a software company with a difference: one where he and his co-founder have no exit plan, and the profits go to charities around the world.   But that’s not the only way to do well and do good. For Tristan Harris, the co-CEO of ..read more

What will you need to know – or know how to do – to succeed in business over the next ten years?   A decade ago, the answer would have been to up-skill in tech. According to Lee Hickin, the AI Technology and Policy Lead for Microsoft in Australia, the advances we've seen in the last decade mean that “technology is not this thing that happens as a segment of a business, it’s actually how a business runs today.”  And mitigating the risks and impact of climate change is the new frontier. Penny Joseph, the Head of Climate Resilience at electricity distributor Ausgrid, believes more ..read more

Artificial intelligence becomes more powerful by the day – which means the dangers that come with it are growing too. If you’re using AI tools in your business, you need to know how to use them safely and responsibly.  So where do you start? Dr Catriona Wallace, a world-leading AI expert and Adjunct Professor at AGSM, shares a framework for using AI ethically, and explains why that responsibility falls on the shoulders of leaders and not just tech teams.  Stela Solar, Director of the CSIRO’s National Artificial Intelligence Centre, thinks leaders using AI ‘the right way’ are already ..read more

So, you want to start a business.    And no matter how big your ambitions are, chances are you’re going to start small as one of the 99.8% of businesses in Australia that operate as small-to-medium enterprises – or SMEs.      Associate Professor Kristle Romero Cortés teaches people how to make confident financial decisions for themselves and their organisations every day at the University of New South Wales School of Banking and Finance. She’s going to help you unpack key concepts as you’re starting with your SME finances.   Once you’ve mastere ..read more

Katrina McPhee is in the superannuation industry for the long haul now, but that wasn’t always the case.   She’s currently the Chief of Staff at Aware Super, one of Australia’s largest superannuation funds, but when she first entered the industry, she wasn’t interested in sticking around in a field not exactly known for its desire to shake things up.  But that all changed after a Royal Commission investigated misconduct in the banking, superannuation and finance sectors, and sparked a renewed focus on members and their needs.   Kat describes this industry-wide transfor ..read more

Tech start-ups have been the darlings of business media in recent years, and for good reason: new technology is exciting and flashy, and tech entrepreneurs tend to share pithy catchphrases about grinding, hustling, or “moving fast and breaking things.”   But what happens when a start-up needs to slow down?   In the case of the investment app Pearler, speed was never the ultimate goal. Co-founder Hayden Smith thinks veering away from that traditional startup mentality has been key to building relationships with Pearler customers who now trust the company to manage approximat ..read more

In their first few years of operation, Humanitix didn’t spend a cent on traditional marketing. Despite this, they managed to build up a client list that includes Google, TED, Red Bull, Canva and Facebook, and gave millions to charity in the process. How did they do it?  Adam McCurdie is the co-founder and CEO of Humanitix, the new contender disrupting the fiercely competitive ticketing industry for all the right reasons. After making a pact with his close friend and co-founder, Adam left the corporate world in search of more meaningful work – and that relentless pursuit of purpose is the ..read more

How do you market your business when consumers pay not to see your ads? How do you make your name stand out when the internet is overrun with marketing? And how do you build trust and make your name sticks when everything’s moving so fast?   Dee Madigan is an advertising expert, a founding panelist on ABC’s The Gruen Transfer and the creative director and owner of ad agency Campaign Edge. Dee breaks down one of branding’s most powerful tools – sponsorship.   She explains to host Dr Juliet Bourke how sponsorships work in today’s digital marketing landscape, why they’re so effecti ..read more

What makes a great marketer? Maybe a good eye for product design, a deep understanding of market dynamics, excellent communication skills and the ability to give customers what they want. But what about a fierce devotion to ethics?   Wendy Mak is the Chief Marketing Officer at Link Group, a global financial services company driven by digital and data technology. Wendy’s excited about the potential productivity gains promised by brand-new technology like generative AI, but she’s not all-in - yet.   As a marketer, everything Wendy does needs to build trust with consumers and clien ..read more

“In future, I expect that everybody will have climate resilience and climate mitigation as part of their roles.”  Penny Joseph is the Head of Climate Resilience at major Australian electricity provider Ausgrid, but when she began her career, this type of role didn’t exist.   As the climate heats up and more industries are feeling the effects of changing weather, Penny explains to The Business Of host Dr Juliet Bourke that roles like hers will become the norm.  How are the leaders of tomorrow learning the necessary skills to thrive in a climate-changed world - like keeping a ..read more