Yeah, But How? Michelle Battersby on Building, Selling & Starting Again
In this week's episode of our new mini-series Yeah, But How?, Tash sits down with everyone's favourite founder, Michelle Battersby, for an unfiltered deep dive into the full Sunroom journey - from the spark of an idea, through raising investment, all the way to acquisition.Michelle shares why she and her co-founder Lucy Mort made the call to pursue an M&A path with their startup, what the process actually looked like behind the scenes, and the biggest roadblocks she and her team faced along the way. She reflects on where Sunroom got it right, what they learned about the creator economy, and why Fanfix was the right fit as an acquirer.We also explore some of the big questions: Could Sunroom have kept going? What lessons are worth passing on to the next wave of founders? And what’s next for Michelle as she enters her next chapter?Michelle also opens up about her experience of leadership and motherhood - and what it takes to make workplaces more supportive for women and mothers.This is a must-listen for anyone curious about the realities of startup life, the challenges of M&A, and the lessons Michelle has carried into what comes next. Sponsored by Blackbird.
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Stuck on success: How Annabel and Lucy Hay reinvented fashion tape
In this episode of High Agency Women, we sit down with sisters Annabel and Lucy Hay - the powerhouse duo behind Clutch, the startup redefining what it means to feel secure, and supported, in your clothes. What's not to love?Frustrated with the poor performance of traditional Hollywood tape, Annabel took matters into her own hands. While juggling a demanding full-time job in Hong Kong, she collaborated with a research chemist at UNSW to create a patented glue that actually sticks - even through sweat, movement, and long wear. Her breakthrough formulation marked the beginning of Clutch: a sustainable, long-lasting adhesive designed to keep everything from dresses to jewellery to shoe straps in place.Once the formula was finalised, Annabel turned to her formidable sister Lucy - a seasoned ad agency copywriter - to bring Clutch to life creatively. With Lucy’s strategic vision and storytelling skills, the brand quickly positioned itself as a stylish, solutions-focused disruptor for a global market.Together, the Hay sisters share with Tash how they turned a personal annoyance into a globally relevant innovation, the lessons learned navigating R&D and manufacturing, and what it’s like building a brand with your sibling.Clutch isn’t just a product — it’s a story of high agency, and female-led ingenuity.
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Robyn Denholm on bringing her business acumen to the WNBL
"I've always had this motto: you can't complain about something more than twice unless you're prepared to do something about it," Robyn Denholm tells Missing Perspectives, on her decision to purchase the Women's National Basketball League, as spurred on by her daughter Victoria Denholm.Business geeks and sport lovers alike, we're excited to introduce you to a shining example of a life well-lived: Robyn Denholm. In business, Robyn has walked through each and every door as opportunity has come knocking at companies as diverse as Sun Microsystems, Telstra, Blackbird Ventures, and Tesla. For her next challenge, she's pouring that acumen into her lifelong love of basketball, with big plans as the WNBL's newest owner to regenerate the league and bring the game to a whole new level of quality.This is a conversation not to be missed. A little heads up that this podcast was recorded live at Sunrise - so the quality is a little patchier than usual.
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Stripe’s Chief Revenue Officer Eileen O’Mara on how to thrive as an introverted leader in tech
Eileen O’Mara has a knack for picking winners - now the Chief Revenue Officer at fintech company Stripe, the Irish-American tech leader has forged a career working at some of the most dynamic, founder-led tech companies in the game including Oracle, Salesforce, and now Stripe. Reputationally, Stripe is known for their high standards, fast-moving pace, and obsessive and relentless focus on the needs of their users. In this insight dense episode, Eileen discusses how Stripe keeps user “asks and feedback” at the heart of what the company build, how to thrive as an introverted leader in tech, and her prediction that usage-based billing as a pricing model is set to unseat the dominance of the subscription-based billing era for AI and content companies in particular.
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Diana Reid on taking the publishing world by storm, and her new novel Signs of Damage
This week's guest is the incredible author Diana Reid, whose new novel Signs of Damage is coming out on March 4th 2025.Signs of Damage is Diana’s third novel published by Ultimo Press, and comes off the back of the success of her first two books Love & Virtue and Seeing Other People. The plot is inspired by the notion of “terrible things happening in beautiful places” (think White Lotus, The Beach), otherwise known as the genre “summer noir."Dialling in via Zoom from London, Diana breaks down her writing process, talks how to build a literary career after first getting published, and goes into what it means to get comfortable with the fact that embracing a creative career versus locking into corporate life means embracing a life path that is inherently non-linear.This was a special conversation for Tash, who remembers being at uni with Diana doing a skit show called Law Revue together, and being blown away by her writing chops all the way back in 2015.Here’s Diana Reid.
Welcome to High Agency Women, featuring weekly conversations with inspiring leaders about what they’re building, how they’re building it, and their unique approaches to commerce and creativity. Hosted by journalist, product manager and media strategist Natasha Gillezeau, brought to you by Missing Perspectives.
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