High Agency Women

In this episode of High Agency Women, Tash sits down with Astrid founder Lisa Nguyen following the sale of her medicinal cannabis business to Chemist Warehouse - a landmark moment for Australian female founders, and one of the most significant exits in a frontier category still shaped by stigma and misunderstanding.Lisa shares what it took to build Astrid from the ground up, the realities of scaling a business in a highly regulated and often misunderstood industry, and why Chemist Warehouse felt like the right home for the next chapter of the company.In a deeply honest conversation, Lisa also opens up about the emotional terrain behind the headlines: ambition, resilience, grief, growth, the acquisition process — and the beautiful news that after multiple failed rounds of IVF, she and her husband Hansen are now 12 weeks pregnant with twins (!!). This is a convo about building something brave (because we need that right now), backing yourself in an emerging category, and the very human story behind one of Australia’s most exciting founder journeys. We know we say this about every episode, but it's a must listen!Sponsored by Blackbird. 

Welcome back to High Agency Women, and this is a very exciting episode because it's the first time we've had repeat guests!Yep, the Clutch co-founders Annabel and Lucy Hay are back in the studio for Yeah, But How? to take us through how exactly Annabel spearheaded Clutch's $2 million pre-seed capital raise and deal close process with Australian VC firm Blackbird (one of the biggest rounds for a fast-moving consumer goods company globally, no biggie), how Lucy managed the specialist to generalist transition moving from working daily as a copywriter in ad agencies in collaborative environments to "doing it all" (albeit with her sister) as a business co-owner, and an exploration of the rise of "dupe culture" in the online retail world.The Hay sisters have put four years of thought and intention into creating and patenting the Clutch product (a sweat-resistant and water soluble glue that holds your clothes in place – hellllo strapless dresses staying up all night), the unique Clutch brand, and their audience. So you can imagine their shock when they started seeing a wave of copycats cropped up online selling ... well, not Clutch.Once the high of the Shark Tank pitch and capital raise wears off, the beautiful, sometimes messy reality of building sets in. And in this episode, the Hay sisters generously share how they've learned to navigate the random hazards that come with startup territory."Clutch looks lovely and shiny on the outside, and people will say: 'you guys are doing the coolest stuff!', and I'm like yes, it does look cool. But day to day - it can be crazy," Lucy says. "But then I'm like... is anyone more powerful than the two of us? A problem comes up, and we always figure it out."Strap in. This is a good one.Sponsored by Blackbird.

New year, new goals - but how do you sustain them without burning out?!In this episode of High Agency Women (our first for the year!) host Natasha Gillezeau sits down with psychologist Rashida Dungarwalla and founders Phoebe Saintilan-Stocks and Alicia Vrajlal for an honest conversation about ambition, boundaries, and wellbeing in the startup world. From vision boards and New Year’s resolutions to the pressure to always say yes, the trio unpack how being a founder can blur the line between work and identity - and why learning to step back is essential for long-term success. Rashida (also the founder of everyone's favourite Flow State Space) shares why having interests outside of work and “switching hats” is critical for balance, while Phoebe reflects on people-pleasing, setting firmer boundaries and how rest has made her more creative. Alicia also opens up about the expectations that come with visibility, chronic health challenges and the hidden cost of overcommitment (that often founders know all too well!). Together, they explore a shared truth: doing everything isn’t sustainable - and boundaries aren’t a failure, but a leadership skill. Our High Agency Women series is proudly sponsored by Blackbird.

When Centennial World founder Lauren Meisner saw traditional media dismissing internet culture and the creator economy, she didn’t just tweet about it – she quit her job, put in $5K of her own money, and launched a world-first Gen Z–focused internet culture brand… three months later.In this Yeah, But How mini-series episode of High Agency Women, host Natasha Gillezeau sits down with Lauren to unpack the very un-glam and real side of building a new media company from scratch: bootstrapping vs taking on a bank loan, surviving the chaos of COVID, ad budgets, navigating a co-founder exit, and evolving from a classic “.com” publisher into a personality-led podcast network.Lauren is brutally honest about what it actually takes to grow as a founder – especially when your strengths (for her, editorial instincts) can become a hiding place from the parts of the business you’re less confident in. She shares how she’s learning to confront those weak spots head on, why 2026 will be her “year of no scaling”, and the mindset shift that came with deciding Centennial World needed to be bigger than just her face and voice.You’ll hear Lauren and Tash dive into:How Lauren spotted (and moved fast on) a global gap in the market for serious coverage of internet cultureWhat really happened behind the scenes of bootstrapping Centennial World, from the first MAC Cosmetics deal to taking a bank loan in 2024Navigating a co-founder breakup while staying friends – and keeping the business aliveWhy she killed off Meta and deprioritised the website, and went all-in on podcastingBuilding a personality-led media brand that sits across both media and influencer budgetsLearning to trust your instincts in business when you don’t feel like a “numbers” personThe power of shamelessly asking for help (including the story of emailing Anna Wintour – and getting a reply)If you’re a creatively-driven founder, aspiring media entrepreneur, or just ~chronically online~ and curious about what it takes to turn that obsession into a business, we can guarantee that conversation will hit home (and follow Centennial World while you're at it!!).Sponsored by Blackbird. 

Welcome back to High Agency Women - and today, we’re diving into another Yeah, But How? episode, this time exploring what we’re calling the leap dilemma.We’re joined by two powerhouse founders who know exactly what it means to take the plunge: Camille Goldstone-Henry, Founder and CEO of Xylo Systems, and Grace Toombs, Founder of June Health. Together, they unpack the question every aspiring entrepreneur faces - how do you know when it’s the right time to take the leap and work on your startup full-time?What makes this conversation so compelling is that both Camille and Grace come from non-traditional business backgrounds. Camille began her career as a conservation scientist, while Grace was deep in the academic world of medicine before pivoting to build her own company. They’re both proud First Nations women, Startmate alumni, and leaders driven by purpose and impact.For Camille, that mission is protecting global biodiversity through tech innovation. For Grace, it’s redesigning women’s healthcare - restoring dignity, access, and agency from first period to final bleed.Camille has been recognised as a Women’s Weekly Women of the Future award-winner for her cloud-based platform connecting conservation projects worldwide, while Grace has been celebrated in Marie Claire as Changemaker of the Month for her bold reimagining of healthcare systems (just casually). It’s a rich, honest, and inspiring conversation about risk, timing, identity, and what it really means to back yourself - even when the path isn’t obvious.With pleasure, here’s Camille Goldstone-Henry and Grace Toombs. This episode was sponsored by Blackbird.

To thrive career-wise, great designers must also become excellent translators.That – amongst other gems – is one of the main lessons from today’s special episode of High Agency Women, where we had the pleasure of catching up with Stripe’s dynamic head of design Katie Dill at Stripe Tour in Sydney. Katie’s journey into the design world began growing up in New York with frequent family visits upstate to a small town called Speculator – where a young Katie would find herself solving problems around the house and even building an elaborate, fully-carpeted, light-installed dog-house aged 9.Today, the Silicon Valley-based executive is more likely to find herself sitting in board meetings advocating for Stripe’s user base from the “design” perspective – a more silent but critical aspect of how humans can delightfully (or not) navigate their way through their online and offline worlds alike. But the journey of any high agency woman isn’t just one of clocking wins. Katie also shares a valuable career lesson from her first month at Airbnb on how to earn your team’s trust at a new organisation when you’ve already achieved career success elsewhere.“I came into Airbnb, and it was evident that there were things that needed to improve with the design organisation and how the design team was working. I came in swinging like okay – let’s make these changes right away,” she recalls.“The design team were not thrilled. But that whole experience was extremely illuminating. In retrospect, it didn’t matter if my moves were the right ones – the way I handled it at the time was that I lost their trust and I tried to make changes too quickly. I learned [from this experience] how to do a better job of showing my process, what I'm learning and taking in, and how I'm using all of that to make a decision."She’s a top designer, a parent, and somehow also picked up her pilot licence in her spare time – with pleasure, here’s Katie Dill.

In this week’s episode of our new mini-series Yeah, But How?, we're delighted to welcome the incredible Chenelle Tanglao to High Agency Women.Chenelle Tanglao started her career in data analytics, before clocking the unique energy and dynamism of the Australian startup ecosystem in 2018. She felt the vibe, and wanted to spread her career wings in the tech sector. Becoming an investor wasn’t initially on her career bingo card, but after immersing herself in Startmate’s investor programs, and working with and shadowing the founders Rachael Neumann and Kylie Frazer at Flying Fox Ventures – she found herself in her current role: Investment Director for Female-Led Ventures at Trawalla Group. Trawalla is the Schwartz Family Office. Yes, Trawalla is commercially minded, but thanks to Carol Schwartz AO’s deep and enduring commitment to gender equity, the firm holds another key aim in mind: this question of how best to set up female investors, fund managers, founders, and business teams for ultimate success.In today's episode, Chenelle breaks down some of the key considerations for founders when taking on investment – from understanding the varying expectations and timelines of venture capitalists to family offices – to thinking of investors as not merely a source of money but as a valuable “resource” to tap into along your business journey. Chenelle says to think carefully about who the right investors are for you and what they bring to the table from both an expectations on return and values perspective, as (please indulge the incoming poetry) deep alignment is the fertile soil from which the best investor-founder relationships are sprung.Sponsored by Blackbird.

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. 

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.

"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.