Bold Ideas

Almost 13 years ago, Tom Ormerod walked away from a lucrative 20-year real estate career after a blunt intervention forced him to admit he was miserable. In this episode of Bold Ideas, host Marianne Marchesi sits down with the serial entrepreneur and co-founder of Luxico and Staylonger. Alongside his wife Alex, Tom pioneered Australia's first "home hotel" concept with Luxico - giving VIPs, families, and affluent travellers 24/7 concierge support and high-end local experiences. We dive into the chaos behind his hospitality empire, including how it became the unscripted Binge reality show Billion Dollar Playground. Tom shares the logistics of intense people management, handling demanding high-net-worth guests, and how reality TV propelled his team to global stardom. He also unpacks his latest venture, Staylonger, a flexible mid-term accommodation platform built to bridge the gap between Airbnb and traditional real estate - and how he's navigated tough capital raises with a former Airbnb chief as chairman. If you're sitting on a business concept but feel frozen by the barriers to entry, this is an essential guide to leveraging digital tools, ignoring naysayers, and testing your market fast. In this episode, we discuss: - The real estate intervention that ended Tom's corporate career - Spotting the home hotel gap after bizarre key-hunting experiences - Building a premium Sorrento network of celebrities and Grand Prix drivers - Behind Billion Dollar Playground: filming, pressure, and overnight stardom - How Staylonger maximises homeowner yields in the 30-day-plus market - Warm capital raising: relationships, MVP proof, and advisory networks - Building a rejection muscle and mining gold from investor "no"s - Going international via BBC success into Ibiza and London - Using tools like Replit to spin up MVPs before spending big - Avoiding founder traps like personal guarantees on leases Follow Luxico on Instagram at @luxico or www.luxico.com.au To get in touch, contact us via Instagram @boldideas_au This episode is brought to you by Legalite, where bold ideas thrive. Visit www.legalite.com.au to find out how we can help you.

In this episode of Bold Ideas, our host, Marianne Marchesi, sits down with Jemma Downey - global corporate leader turned specialised kinesiology practitioner, energetic well-being expert, and co-founder of Overe. After two decades leading massive commercial and marketing teams around the world for powerhouse brands like Apple and Asahi, Jemma experienced a profound personal shift that changed everything. Jemma shares what shaped her mission, why she walked away from a highly successful executive career, and what she’s building now to normalise energetic health and give it a well-deserved seat at the wellness table. We dive into the realities of the corporate world and the personal struggles that often go unspoken - from navigating reoccurring pregnancy loss to realising how subconscious patterns can actively block our goals. Jemma unpacks the concept of "signal artifacts" - the adaptive habits like overthinking or risk aversion that we mistake for personality traits, which are actually just old safety mechanisms our systems forgot to update. She also tackles the scepticism around energetic wellness, why we need to dismantle the "woo-woo" label, and how to build a strategic plan so you have a soft landing when backing your own bold idea. If you’ve ever felt like an invisible barrier is holding you back from your full potential, this conversation is equal parts permission slip and practical guidance, with a powerful final takeaway from Jemma on how to navigate the fear of regret. In this episode, we discuss: -The corporate red thread: Why numbers are fundamentally meaningless if you don’t take care of your people, and how senior leadership sets the cultural tone. -The trigger for transformation: Jemma’s raw and personal journey through pregnancy loss, and how kinesiology rewired her entire system for motherhood. -Signal artifacts vs. personality: How to identify overthinking and risk aversion as outdated protective mechanisms rather than permanent traits. -Energetic intelligence in the age of AI: The risk of outsourcing our cognitive load while neglecting our internal bodily signals and innate knowing. -Transitioning past the "healing paradigm": Why Overe focuses on active creation and stepping into your agency rather than staying stuck in endless loops of trying to be "fixed". -Dismantling the "woo-woo" bias: Respecting energetic wellness as a lifestyle choice grounded in physics and timeless, traditional sacred wisdom. -Building a global collective: How Jemma and her business partner, Zoe Bosco, scaled their ecosystem to support a global network of practitioners from corporate, legal, and medical backgrounds. -Tactical advice for bold ideas: How to pass the "regret test", assemble your personal board of directors, and strategically design a soft landing before leaping out of corporate life. Follow Overe on Instagram at @overe.co or visit https://www.overe.co To get in touch, contact us via Instagram @boldideas_au This episode is brought to you by Legalite, where bold ideas thrive. Visit https://www.legalite.com.au to find out how we can help you.

In this episode of Bold Ideas, we sit down with Verity Tuck, founder and entrepreneur behind one of Australia’s most loved gifting brand. Verity is best known as the co-founder of LVLY, the cheeky same-day flower and gifting business that started in a Melbourne co-working space and scaled into a nationally recognised brand before a successful exit following the pandemic. Now, she’s back with a new bold idea, Goldee, an AI-powered personal assistant designed to ease the mental load for busy families. In a candid and inspiring conversation, Verity shares the realities of building and scaling a business from scratch, navigating near-failure moments, leading through crisis, and balancing ambition with motherhood. Plus, listen to the end for a short season wrap from Marianne and a special Christmas announcement! 00:00 – Introduction: Verity Tuck’s journey from co-founding LVLY to launching Goldee 02:18 – The idea for LVLY is born: How frustration with unused ideas at an agency led to redefining modern gifting and same-day delivery. 05:25 – Quitting jobs and starting from the back of the house: The financial and emotional leap of going all in on LVLY. 08:00 – Hard conversations between co-founders: Navigating equity and fairness before it derailed the business 13:15 – COVID hits and everything changes: From near collapse to explosive growth. 14:50 – Scaling from 8 to 450 staff: How LVLY adapted operations, logistics, and leadership during lockdowns 18:00 – Leadership, burnout, and motherhood: Balancing a fast-growing business with raising young children and navigating mum guilt. 22:55 – The decision to exit LVLY: How growth, timing, and an unexpected introduction led to a successful acquisition. 25:45 – Introducing Goldee: Why Verity built an AI-powered assistant to help families manage the mental load of parenting. 28:15 – Building a tech business for the first time: Lessons from moving from physical products to AI and behaviour change. 33:40 – Advice for anyone with a bold idea: Why an honest advisory network matters more than cheerleaders. 36:20 – Season wrap and Bold Ideas: Journal announcement: Reflecting on season one and what’s coming next. Find Goldee on Instagram at @goldee.ai To get in touch, DM us via Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/boldideas_au/

Don Hett is the kind of founder who builds empires from garages. He co-founded Clean Kings in 2012, starting literally out of a garage servicing a handful of hospitality venues. Today, Clean Kings is a national integrated facility services company across Australia, with a team of more than 1,200 staff. Most recently, Don founded Earthy Tabs, a venture delivering powerful, commercial-grade cleaning solutions through one dissolvable tablet. This bold idea is cutting plastic waste and transport emissions while keeping cleaning performance "sky high". In this must-listen episode, host Marianne Marchesi chats with Don about his journey from a garage startup to a national market leader. [00:00:00] – Introduction: Meet Don Hett — founder of Clean Kings and Earthy Tabs, and the garage-to-national-scale entrepreneur [00:00:35] – The Journey Begins: Growing up in Sri Lanka, arriving in Australia with $2,500 and studying accounting at Deakin [00:03:35] – Entering Cleaning by Accident: Leaving corporate life, cleaning toilets during uni and learning the industry the hard way [00:05:31] – Starting Clean Kings: Launching from a garage and solving fragmentation in a saturated cleaning market [00:08:21] – Scaling Nationally: How Covid forced Clean Kings to diversify from hospitality into 13 industries [00:12:55] – People, Processes & Culture: Training, systems and why putting cleaners front-and-centre creates high performance [00:13:47] – Finding the Right Partners: Values, belief systems and Don’s hands-on approach to selection and training [00:18:29] – What Makes Clean Kings a Bold Idea: Looking at the market differently and delivering tailored, centralised solutions [00:21:08] – Sustainability Awakening: Growing up eco-minded and feeling responsible to improve business impact [00:22:51] – Enter Earthy Tabs: Why the chemical industry hasn’t changed in 100 years — and the moment dissolvable tablets clicked [00:26:07] – Testing, Failures & Breakthroughs: Domestic tablets, powder spills, sheet limitations and the search for true performance [00:29:44] – Measuring Impact: Building an impact calculator and uncovering 55,000 plastic cans used per year — in one business [00:31:46] – ESG & Real Results: Helping clients meet sustainability targets with measurable data across eight metrics [00:35:18] – 6Silo Philosophy: “We live outside the box” — the mindset driving all Don’s ventures [00:37:07] – Closing Thoughts: Problem-solving, courage and why bold ideas come from doing things differently Find CleanKings at https://cleankings.com.au/ and Earthy Tabs at https://www.earthytabs.com/ To get in touch, DM us via Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/boldideas_au/

In this episode of Bold Ideas, I’m joined by Carla Groves, co-founder of GUESTPIX - the simple, no-app way to collect and share memories from any event. Carla’s bold idea is reinventing the photo guest book for the modern era, transforming the once-frustrating QR code into a frictionless, joyful experience that even the least tech-savvy guest can use. Carla shares how she and her husband Warwick took a scrappy MVP built from their kitchen table and turned it into a global platform trusted at over 150,000 events. You’ll hear about the moment they realised they had first-mover advantage, how they validated their early pricing and positioning without a playbook, and the relentless 24/7 hustle behind scaling a product across countries, languages and event types. Plus, stay tuned for the powerful discussion on self-belief — and the unshakeable confidence required to transform a bold idea into a worldwide business. [00:00:00] – Introduction: Meet Carla Groves, co-founder of GUESTPIX — bringing a new era of shared event memories [00:00:42] – The Spark: QR codes, post-Covid behaviours, and the timing that propelled GUESTPIX forward [00:02:10] – From Marketing + Tech to Events: How Carla and Warwick identified a market gap without prior event experience [00:04:55] – The Early MVP: A lean, scrappy build that validated the concept and shaped the future product [00:07:40] – Progress Over Perfection: Why going before you’re ready is essential for founders [00:10:12] – Listening to Customers: How community, candid feedback and real event behaviour shaped the product roadmap [00:13:00] – No-App by Design: The deliberate choice to remove barriers and avoid app fatigue [00:15:25] – The Vision From Day One: Knowing GUESTPIX could go global and choosing not to pigeonhole the product [00:17:50] – Short-Term Launch vs Long-Term Vision: Making decisions with a big-picture roadmap in mind [00:19:45] – Winning Strategies: AB testing, digital experimentation and finding their ideal customer [00:22:30] – The Challenges: 24/7 global support, hiring the right team and scaling sustainably [00:25:55] – Going Global: Cosmopolitan France recognition, 10 languages, compliance and supporting diverse event types [00:28:40] – The Bigger Vision: Revolutionising the guest experience and capturing life’s most meaningful (and sometimes hardest) moments [00:31:10] – Advice for Founders: The unshakeable self-belief required to bring a bold idea to life Find GUESTPIX at www.guestpix.com and on Instagram at @guestpix To get in touch, DM us via Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/boldideas_au/

In this episode of Bold Ideas, I’m joined by Susan Toft, the founder of The Laundry Lady - the world’s first online marketplace for laundry services. What began in her spare room while juggling new motherhood has grown into a national network empowering hundreds of “laundry ladies and lads” with flexible work, while lightening the mental load for families across Australia. You’ll hear how Susan left a corporate career, learned every job in the business, and documented those learnings into the playbook that enabled scale. We dive into why she chose a contractor model over franchising, how COVID became an inflection point, and the scrappy no-code beginnings that ultimately led to building her own platform, Time Boss. Susan also opens up about raising ~$1m through angels and government support, and why she recommends delaying capital until you truly need it. [00:00:00] – Introduction: Meet Susan Toft and The Laundry Lady’s origin story [00:05:20] – The early days: doing pickups, ironing, and building community at the doorstep [00:09:15] – Documenting everything: turning hands-on learning into a scalable knowledge base [00:12:25] – Why a contractor model (not franchising): lowering barriers and widening access to flexible work [00:16:40] – No-code scrappiness: stitching off-the-shelf tools to mimic “Uber for laundry” [00:20:30] – Life curveball: single motherhood, side-hustling, and keeping the spark alive [00:24:00] – COVID inflection: recommitting to the vision, expanding into Melbourne, and essential-service impact [00:29:45] – Building the product you wish existed: Time Boss and the 18-month “new startup” feeling [00:35:30] – Team, traction & recognition: scaling the HQ while staying values-led [00:38:40] – Capital with purpose: ~$1m raise (angels + grants), what changed, and what didn’t [00:44:10] – Going global: why Canada first, the UK next, and staying true to flexibility [00:48:20] – Grants, accelerators & practical pathways for founders [00:52:00] – Parting wisdom: don’t overthink - start, test, and build the next step Find The Laundry Lady at https://www.thelaundrylady.com.au or on Instagram @laundrylady_aus To get in touch, DM us via Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/boldideas_au/

In this episode of Bold Ideas, I’m joined by Tobi Skovron, the trailblazing founder and CEO of Creative Cubes - Australia’s most dynamic coworking ecosystem that puts people and purpose at the heart of work. Tobi’s bold idea was born from his experience as an entrepreneur in Los Angeles, where the power of community transformed his business - and his life. Determined to bring that same magic home, he created Creative Cubes: a thriving network of spaces designed to “enable success and deliver happiness.” In this episode, you’ll hear how Tobi built an ecosystem that champions connection over competition, what it really takes to create a winning culture, and how optimism, authenticity and a jelly-like mindset can carry you through the darkest days of entrepreneurship. Plus, he opens up about his new venture, Rise Network, and why the future of work is all about belonging. [00:00:00] – Introduction: Meet Tobi Skovron – founder of Creative Cubes and champion of community-driven entrepreneurship [00:02:15] – The Spark: From LA coworking to creating Australia’s most connected workspace [00:07:40] – Building Creative Cubes: How culture, community and “delivering happiness” became the mission [00:14:10] – Lessons in Leadership: Why ego kills culture and service drives success [00:21:30] – Scaling Up: The acquisition of Workspace365 and the birth of Cubes Co [00:28:45] – Corporate vs. Creative: Evolving the brand to meet different mindsets [00:35:00] – Rise Network: Going deeper into community and redefining connection for ambitious leaders [00:41:20] – The Future of Work: Flexibility, belonging and earning the commute [00:47:00] – Founder Mindset: Optimism vs. realism and how to “be jelly” when business throws curveballs [00:53:15] – Advice Corner: “Just do it” - Tobi’s no-nonsense take on turning ideas into action [00:56:50] – Legacy and Purpose: Building spaces - and lives - that enable success Find Cubes at www.cubes.co, or on Instagram at @creativecubesco To get in touch with us, DM us via Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/boldideas_au/

In this episode, I’m joined by Larissa Leone, the pioneering founder of Homb - Australia’s first postpartum hotel. Larissa’s bold idea was born from her own experience with postnatal depression and anxiety after the birth of her daughter. Determined to reimagine how we care for mothers and families after birth, she created Homb - a nurturing space designed to “mother the mother” and transform the postpartum experience. In this episode, you’ll hear about the darkness that sparked Larissa’s idea, the courage it took to build something entirely new in Australia’s healthcare landscape, and the reality of being ahead of your time. Plus, stay tuned until the end for our post-recording chat, where Larissa opens up about the emotional decision to close Homb and what comes next. [00:00:00] – Pre-Recording: The reality of disruption – Homb’s closure and Larissa’s courage to keep the conversation going [00:00:42] – Introduction: Meet Larissa Leone, founder of Australia’s first postpartum hotel [00:02:10] – The Spark: How postnatal depression inspired a vision to “mother the mother” [00:07:15] – Breaking the Silence: The unseen struggles of new motherhood [00:14:50] – From Pain to Purpose: Transforming personal experience into innovation [00:17:30] – Doing the Work: Market research, COVID challenges and testing demand [00:25:12] – Naming Homb: The meaning behind the “B” – from womb to Homb [00:28:25] – Creating a New Category: Council, insurance and breaking through systems [00:33:10] – Mothering the Mother: Why Western culture gets postpartum care wrong [00:37:00] – Inside Homb: The four-night stay that nurtures, nourishes and restores [00:45:50] – The Homb Trust: Making postpartum care accessible for every family [00:49:10] – Future Vision: Normalising postpartum care as part of our healthcare system [00:54:40] – Post-Recording: Larissa on closing Homb, community support and what’s next To get in touch, DM us via Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/boldideas_au/