New podcast ‘Bold Ideas’ gives voice to the realities of Australian small business founders
Bold Ideas, hosted by award-winning lawyer and Legalite founder Marianne Marchesi, explores the untold struggles and triumphs of Australian entrepreneurs navigating burnout, mental health challenges, and resilience.
The announcement:
As small business owners face rising costs, stagnant revenues, and growing mental health challenges, a new podcast is amplifying the voices of those who’ve walked through the fire and kept going. Bold Ideas, hosted by multi-award-winning lawyer and Legalite founder Marianne Marchesi, spotlights the real stories behind bold Australian businesses — the kind that are often celebrated in headlines, but rarely understood in full.
With over 40% of small business owners experiencing a mental health condition in the past year, and burnout now a leading concern across the sector, Bold Ideas offers something that’s in short supply: honesty. The kind of raw, vulnerable storytelling that helps founders feel less alone.
“This is not just the highlight reel,” says Marchesi. “It’s an honest account of what it takes to back yourself, even when it’s unpopular, impractical, or unprofitable. Especially then.”
Each episode features a founder or leader who has taken a different path, often at personal cost. From purpose-led exits and postpartum hotel closures to medical diagnoses and art-world risks, the stories reveal what it means to build something when the system wasn’t built for you.
Season one guests include:
- Emma Stallworthy of Your Reformer
- Chloe Walker of Pirk
- Tobi Skovron of CreativeCubes.Co
- Susan Toft of The Laundry Lady
- And more
One of the season’s most vulnerable moments comes from Larissa Leone, who opened Homb, a postpartum stay for mothers and their families, after her own battle with postnatal depression, only to close it within two years. “We understood what mothers needed before they knew what they needed themselves,” she says. “But trying to break into the healthcare system when you’re doing something new, even necessary, is a battle few people see.”
“Every founder I know has had a ‘what am I doing?’ moment,” Marchesi adds. “This podcast is for that moment, for the point where you almost gave up, and for the moments where you need a dose of solidarity.”
The podcast is available now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Source: Odette and Co
