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Dans takes us on an epic journey working around the world, from urban planning to innovating here in SA. The perfect HAR guest a mixture of a deeply human worldview with tech at the centre of all his thinking. Dans has a philosophical take on technology, the environment and people, and how culture and urban design can either foster or hinder connection.

From L’Oréal Canada to San Remo, Adelaide, Justina brings an artistic, creative and worldly lens to defining brand. She leans into experimentation, learning fast and redirecting when needed, bringing a philosophical perspective to both business and life. In this episode, we pause to ask: what does brand and marketing actually mean in 2026, and how do businesses cut through and amplify? A big believer in community, Justina also gives her time to boards including Meals on Wheels, Impact 100 and Brink Productions, bringing a depth of human experience to the HAR mics.

Two founders. Zero filter. Eli Moulton started Plus One Dress Hire on maternity leave. What began as a practical idea became a movement - one built on sustainability, inclusion, and the belief that every woman deserves to feel extraordinary. Now she's building Em Body and redefining what it means to lead a brand with values at the centre. Justin James knew he wanted to be a chef at ten years old. From bussing tables in Michigan to Eleven Madison Park, Noma, and building Restaurant Botanic into one of Australia's most celebrated dining experiences - his career has been a masterclass in craft. Now he's doing the most ambitious thing yet: opening Restaurant Aptos, a 14-seat, 16-course, multiroom dining experience inside a 156-year-old converted church in the Adelaide Hills. They're also partners. Building three businesses and a family at the same time, under the same roof, with no real off switch. In this episode, they held nothing back - on what it actually takes to step out on your own, cultural shifts with fresh eyes and how you can build and be an entrepreneur while juggling a family.

AI and learning was deeply divisive when large language models first arrived. Many saw it as a threat to the entire education system. Rebecca Weber saw opportunity for teachers and for students. After nearly two decades in education, Rebecca is now helping lead one of the most ambitious AI rollouts in Australian schools, building tools that are already saving teachers thousands of hours and reshaping how students learn. In this conversation we unpack how South Australia became a global early adopter of AI in education, and how design thinking helped turn a real classroom problem into a tool now used across hundreds of schools. We explore what happens when teachers and students learn together using AI as a tool, why productive struggle still matters in learning, and why technology should amplify human capability, not replace it.

A real conversation about what it takes to manage scale at speed, empower teams to perform at their peak and juggle ambition with family life. We sit down with Adam Koch to unpack what leadership looks like beyond the title. Adam does not lead by having all the answers. He leads by getting great people in the room, asking better questions, setting clear direction and then stepping back so his team can thrive. From years spent working and travelling the world to grounding himself back in Adelaide, we explore the experiences that shaped his leadership philosophy and ultimately led him to Sweat. We trace the evolution of Sweat, from static PDF workout plans to one of the most respected fitness apps in the world, and the pressure, discipline and clarity required to scale without losing focus or values. This episode explores leadership without ego, growth through chaos and the work of building systems while scaling. It is a perfect example of how the path is rarely linear, but that’s all part of the magic.

This episode explores how LIV Golf Adelaide has become the benchmark for live sport experiences. Peta St Clair unpacks how LIV pushes the edge, builds unforgettable moments, and why Adelaide is central to the magic.

This episode is a deep dive into the 40 Under 40 program—what it means, why it matters, and why more young South Australians should back themselves and apply. Sam and journalist David Simmons (Solstice Media) break down what they look for as judges, from compelling storytelling to impact beyond revenue. They tackle the struggle many South Aussies have with talking themselves up (hello, tall poppy syndrome) and why Adelaide’s culture of underplaying success needs to shift. The conversation also swings into broader territory—how Adelaide stacks up on the global stage, why our food and drink scene deserves more credit, and the evolving state of journalism in an era of AI and media fragmentation. It’s a candid, thought-provoking chat about ambition, storytelling, and why putting yourself forward for opportunities like 40 Under 40 isn’t self-serving—it’s about building a stronger, more connected ecosystem. To apply for this years 40 under 40 head to - https://solsticemedia.com.au/40-under-40/nominations/nominate-someone/

In this episode, Sam chats with founder and educator Nicole Dyson. We always really enjoy chatting to Nicole and hearing about the ways she is challenging education systems, inspiring young people and building a new way of learning and adapting for kids in a world that is rapidly changing. We are now in a world where the average 12 year old will have 17 jobs in their career and 50% of jobs won't even exist at the point that young people leave school. Nicole is providing new ways for students to learn, to experiment and explore. Links: Nicole Dyson Future Anything The Art Of Gathering book by Priya Parker

This week Sam chats with entrepreneur, journalist and creator of Young Blood Men's Mental Health, Callum MacPherson. Young Blood is an amazing podcast all about men's mental health, challenging stigmas and striving for a world with less suicide. They chat about Callum's past in the media, how he is building his company, meeting amazing people and sharing life-changing stories. People's attitudes towards mental health has changed a lot over the past few years, Sam and Callum chat about what this means for workplaces, teams and how to create spaces where people can be open about issues. Links: Callum MacPherson Young Blood Mens Mental Health

Lauren is a Social Impact Specialist. She works for the Atlassian Foundation and was here in Adelaide to run a session at Southstart. Lauren works with dynamic, creative and purpose-driven teams and leaders. She had some great insight into companies that really live their values and encourage their teams, building aligned teams of people.

In this episode I chat with Ben Colley who works for Teamgage and founded the GOOD Product community here in Adelaide. I've been keen to have Ben on the podcast for a while, he has a really interesting background and has some great experience working with startups and building diverse teams - something I was really keen to chat about.

Purpose is a bit of a buzz word at the moment but it's something that is really important to people, and more and more it is essential to think about for customers. It's something I have been going back and fourth on for for a while, often it is assumed that to make an impact, your purpose needs to be huge - something that will change the world. I am trying to reframe this, I think we can approach it more simply with smaller goals that actually still create a big impact - to do meaningful work with your team, choosing partners who align with your goals and working in a way that can help our communities. Everything we do these days says something about us, where we buy our clothes, what food we eat and especially where we work. People want to be a part of something they believe in.

At Digital Noir, we work in a creative environment and industry so creativity is kind of a given but creativity is in everyone, and in all industries. Creativity is how we approach problems, how we look at things, how we work with different skillsets to get to a common goal. So many business practices can really stifle creativity - we need to allow the time and the space for new ideas, creativity and ambiguity.

Fear is something that affects people in all walks of life. In all jobs and industries. It's an extremely strong emotion and something that can really affect our ability to perform at our best. We discuss Fear with our guests and interestingly hear it described in so many ways - all of our guests had a different take on how it can manifest in situations and ways of confronting it.

This season, each episode is a mash up of different conversations centred around a theme. This week's subject is Diversity. It's something we've been thinking about and discussing on the podcast for a while. Not just integrating diversity at a "high" level in a company, but actually looking at practicalities and some real issues faced by current and new staff. All these conversations were recorded live at SouthStart. In this episode I speak with Sally-Ann Williams - CEO at Cicada Innovations, Lauren Capelin - Principal at Starmate, Katrina Dunn - Global MD Impact Capital - Catalize, Sarah Nolet - General Partner at Tenacious Ventures