Make AI Work for You

Emily Pyke spent 13 years in the Royal Australian Navy wearing uniforms and equipment that weren’t designed for women’s bodies. Underneath it all was a safety gap: everyday bras weren’t made for the dangerous environments women were working in.Her response was to co-found UndaTech, developing fire-resistant protective undergarments for women in defence, emergency services and other high-risk industries. But building the business meant working around her Navy job, investing her own salary and eventually leaving a secure career — sometimes going without pay to keep her team paidNow Westpac’s Female Founder of the Year, Emily joins Sylvia Jeffreys alongside Paul Fowler, Westpac’s Chief Executive of Business and Wealth, for a frank conversation about what it costs to back yourself, and what it takes to turn an idea into a viable business.They discuss: The leap from employee to founder: Building a business while still working, leaving a reliable salary and learning to pay yourself. The funding challenge: Pitching a physical product during an AI investment boom, and the barriers women face when raising capital. Surviving the wait for a big customer: Why a promising product and successful trials don’t automatically translate into contracts. Making growth financially sustainable: How supply costs, cash flow and the right manufacturing partner can shape your business’s future. Getting ready to seek funding: What lenders look for, why your business plan matters and where founders can find support. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Verity Tuck spent years building towards a business sale. When it finally happened, she was too burnt out to feel much at all. The LVLY co-founder joins Sylvia Jeffreys to talk about the money, relationships and difficult decisions behind building a business — from nearly walking away before the pandemic to managing extraordinary growth. Now building No More Sausages, Verity shares what she’s doing differently, and why school fundraising is ready for a rethink. In this episode: The salary-sharing arrangement that helped keep her partnership fair. Why selling LVLY brought financial freedom, but an unexpectedly fleeting high. What led her to put mental-load startup Goldee on pause. How she’s changed the way she works to avoid burning out again. Why understanding the numbers makes difficult business decisions easier. How a school merchandise range raised $35,000 — and sparked her next business. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Could AI take something off your to-do list? Data scientist, mum of four and AI Herway founder Nici Sweaney joins Sylvia Jeffreys to explain how she uses it to help run her business and household. From meal planning and school notes to better prompts, Nici shares practical starting points, the privacy questions worth asking and why women need a say in AI’s future.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What makes you walk away from the business you spent years building? Samantha Wills did exactly that, closing her global jewellery brand rather than selling her name.  She joins Sylvia Jeffreys to share the personal cost of constant hustle, why a two-week social media break became six months, and how she found space to create again. Plus, her book Dopamining and a simple 15-minute practice to help break the scrolling cycle.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Property prices are falling, but higher interest rates are squeezing borrowing power. So, should you buy now or wait? Westpac’s latest Home Ownership Report reveals buyers are holding back, waiting for rates to settle or prices to fall further. But how do you weigh that uncertainty against your own circumstances? Sylvia Jeffreys is joined by Westpac’s Chief Executive, Consumer, Carolyn McCann to discuss what the bank is seeing from buyers and borrowers — and the options available whether you’re saving for your first home or trying to keep up with repayments. In this episode: Why first-home buyers are holding back — and whether you can time the market What negative equity means if you’ve bought with a small deposit How to ask your bank for a better rate and access mortgage support Where Westpac’s economists expect property prices to head next See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Women make up two in three beginner investors. But as investing gets more advanced, that representation starts to fall away. Global X portfolio manager Jessica Leung thinks confidence is a big part of the problem — and she knows what it’s like to feel out of place in finance, having spent much of her early career as the only woman on her team. Jessica joins Sylvia to strip investing back to basics: how ETFs actually work, what to look for when choosing one, the fees that can eat into your returns and why a boring, long-term strategy might be a good thing. Plus, they unpack the AI investment boom — including why the opportunity extends well beyond the big tech names to data centres, infrastructure and even copper — and the biggest mistake Jessica sees new investors making. This episode contains general information only and does not constitute personal financial advice.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why does a strong CV disappear into a recruitment black hole? Former recruiter and Project Roar founder Catherine Harris joins Sylvia Jeffreys to explain how hiring has changed, what can stop your application reaching a person, and why spending hours on job boards may be getting you nowhere.  They cover: How to make your CV easier for recruitment software and recruiters to read What to do if you’re worried your age is counting against you How to explain a career break, including time spent caring for children How to use conversations and referrals to find opportunities Catherine also shares what employers could gain by hiring more workers in their fifties and sixties.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australia is one week out from the RBA’s next interest rate decision — and the possibility of another rate hike is firmly in focus. So what is the Reserve Bank actually watching? RBA Chief Economist and Assistant Governor Sarah Hunter joins Sylvia Jeffreys to take us inside how the bank thinks about interest rates, inflation and the Australian economy — and bust some of the biggest economic myths along the way.In this episode: What the RBA is weighing up ahead of its next rates decision Why interest rates affect far more than just mortgage holders Whether higher interest rates really push up rents Whether migration is adding to inflation How government spending factors into the RBA’s thinking What’s behind Australia’s housing downturn — and where prices could go from here Whether Australian households are showing signs of mortgage stress Why the RBA remains concerned about inflation Plus, Sarah explains what happens behind the scenes before every interest rate decision — from the economic data her team analyses to the papers that land in front of the Monetary Policy Board.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

SportsGrad founder Reuben Williams quit his own company — then figured out how to buy it back. But that’s only part of his story. Reuben has gone from landing his dream job at Cricket Australia, to redundancy, entrepreneurship and almost losing the business he built. He’s helped close to 850 people find jobs in sport, travelled the world chasing some of its biggest events, and rebuilt SportsGrad after a buyback deal left him under enormous financial pressure. At the same time, Reuben spent six years navigating the legal system after taking a former colleague to court over a sexual assault. The experience led him to speak publicly about what happened and become an advocate for survivors. Reuben joins Sylvia Jeffreys on The Pay Off for a wide-ranging conversation about ambition, resilience, work and what happens when life doesn’t follow the path you expected. In this episode: The CV mistakes that could be holding jobseekers back Why AI is changing the entry-level jobs market What his experience taught him about the barriers facing sexual assault survivors The four values shaping how he lives and works See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Phoebe Saintilan-Stocks has built her career around a question: who gets heard — and who gets a seat at the table? After working inside Parliament House, she founded Missing Perspectives to give young women a bigger voice in media. What started as a Squarespace blog has grown into a global media platform, backed by major brands and amplified by the likes of Reese Witherspoon.  Now, her new book The Right Hand takes her inside another world of influence: the chiefs of staff behind some of the world’s most powerful leaders.In this episode, Phoebe talks about: Why working in Canberra changed the way she thought about power and representation How a cold LinkedIn message helped launch Missing Perspectives Why she turned down early investment — and later quit her job to go all-in What traditional media gets wrong about reaching younger audiences What the people closest to Tony Blair, Jacinda Ardern and Justin Trudeau revealed about leadership behind closed doors The surprising role empathy, trust and difficult conversations play at the highest levels of power Why sometimes the hardest part of building something is simply getting started See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.