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What if your company culture wasn’t just an HR buzzword but the secret weapon to scaling your business?
Welcome to Kan Talk Kulture, the podcast that dives deep into how remarkable company cultures are intentionally built and how they can transform your team, your business, and your bottom line.
Hosted by Kylie Anne Neal, founder of Kan Kulture and a passionate expert in people, culture, and leadership, this show is designed for business owners, CEOs, HR professionals, and anyone who believes that empowered people are the key to long-term success.
Each episode features real conversations with inspiring CEOs, business leaders, and culture champions who share how they’ve shaped their team environments alongside case studies, practical tips, and bold questions that challenge the status quo.
Whether you're looking to boost employee engagement, create a high-performance team, or align your people with your vision, this podcast will help you connect the dots between culture and growth.
At Kan Kulture, we believe in Kindness, Understanding, Learning, Trust, Uniqueness, Respect, and Evolving, and this podcast brings those values to life.
If you're ready to turn your team into your biggest brand ambassadors and create a workplace people love, this is the podcast for you.
Find out more at www.kankulture.com
Hi, I'm Kylie Anne Neal, founder of Kan Kulture, and welcome to Kan Talk Kulture. In this podcast, I sit down with some of Australia's most progressive founders and CEOs to explore the heart of their company cultures, what drives them, what they value, and what it's really like to work for the companies they lead.
You'll also find occasional episodes packed with practical HR insights to help you build safer, stronger, and more trusted workplaces. So whether you're a new team member getting to know your workplace, curious about creating remarkable company cultures, or just wanting to know more about implementing HR best practice, you're in the right place.
Let's dive in
Hello, and welcome to the Kan Talk Kulture podcast. I'm Kylie Anne Neal, your host, and today I have a very special guest who I've known for a few years now, and h- I have watched her journey from day one turn into something incredible. I have the lovely Jade Howcroft with me from Synergy Boards. Welcome, Jade.
Thank you, Kylie. Such an honor to be here. Yay. It's so
lovely to have you on. I'm very excited. I've been waiting for this day. Waiting for this day. Mm-hmm. So Jade, r- before, before we get into things, give the audience an introduction of who is Jade?
Um, so yes, my name is Jade Howcroft. I am the founder of an organization called Synergy Boards, which is an organization that provides advisory boards for business owners.
Um, been running boards for 11 years. Eight years for a competitor in Sydney, um, so was doing this as a career before, as an employee, and then went out three and a half years ago when I met Kylie in my f- first early days of starting. Um, so now three and a half years doing it for myself.
Yeah. Mm. Fantastic.
Thanks, Jade.
Mm.
Um, and I d- I do just wanna go back, 'cause I, I remember very, very fr- fondly- ... of when we first met.
Mm.
We were, um, sitting ar- sitting around a table at a networking event, and, uh, Jade had just, uh, was just joining the group. And, you know, there's absolute dynamite. But, um, I was, um, tasked with looking after you and introducing you to people for the day.
Mm. So, you know, from that moment it was- a real honor to
watch you and what, what Synergy Boards has turned into today.
Yeah. Thank you. I know, it's so nice, isn't it? Especially, like, as I'm sure you know yourself as a founder, like, at the start it's so lonely and you wonder- Yes ... if what I'm doing is ever even gonna take off, and you really appreciate, well, I definitely do, the ones that were there from the very early days- Mm
and championed you from then.
Yes.
Everyone can get around you when they see your name around for a couple of years, and they see the brand growing, but at the very, very start when I'm just trying to build a network- Yes ... and try and get to know people on the Gold Coast where it was like, "What am I doing?"
You really appreciate the ones that were your backbone then, that just championed you early, early on, which is why you build your best and most, you know, powerful relationships and friendships out of it. Yes. So it's so nice to now fast-forward three and a bit years and sit here and go, "Oh, we survived."
Yeah. "We survived and got here."
Yeah. Yeah. Amazing. Well, you know, I hadn't long been into Kan Kulture either, so it was, like, business was very new for me at that time- Yeah ... as well. So, um, you know, it is, it is so great to sit here, you know, kinda three years on and- Mm ... to be having this conversation with both of us having, like, established really great businesses- Yeah
and been on such a, such a ride. A journey.
Could say that. 100%.
Such a ride. Um, so why don't you, uh, tell us a bit about that ride, you know? Tell us about, um, Synergy, and I'm really interested to hear how you, um, this is not a test, but- ... how you really articulate what the essence of Synergy was when you started it, and the things that have been really important for you to anchor onto over the last three years or so.
Yeah, so I guess I'll share my journey and story, um, and then hopefully it will land and resonate with people listening and watching, is I was working for an advisory board company for eight and a half years. I knew nothing about boards. I'd never owned a business. I just happened to fall into a particular role.
Um, I was commuting to Sydney for eight years at that role and traveling all around the country. And long story short, um, that business would have 20x in the journey that I was there. So I saw a huge growth, and I saw what works and what doesn't work in boards. Mm. And I saw growing teams, and I saw national markets.
And a lot of reasons why people go out in business is you learn what works and what you enjoy, and then where you see opportunity and gaps. I'm 35, so in my journey with m- the previous role, I was in my 20s. So you're also learning yourself, who you are, and what's important to you as a person at that stage of life, and I didn't really know the answer to that.
Um, I was in that journey whilst working for that job. And then, um, I also have a three-year-old little girl, so coincided starting the business with a newborn. Which on reflection is crazy. But anyway, um, so it has definitely been a journey. Um, and I would say every decision, which I probably didn't realise myself until I, one, became a mom, and two, started my own business, was everything I do is feeling led.
Absolutely everything. From the moment of when I was first holding Amelia, and I made the decision and the call. So obviously, contextually, I was on a 12 month maternity leave. Um, and I was trying to decide what my next move was. And you never get time to sit in your thoughts, you know? Where being on maternity leave forced that upon me.
Yes.
And I soon realised I love to work. Like, Amelia was only three months old, and I'm like, "I'm desperate to get back to work."
Yeah.
So then I learned a lot of my identity is actually through my work.
Yeah.
And then I started thinking about my identity and what that looked like, and who am I as a person, and who do I wanna be aligned to, where I've never really had them conversations with myself.
Yes. Because I'd never had the opportunity or time to sit in that. And then, um, I realised that my identity wasn't attached to that previous business. It wasn't. I was not aligned with them in so many different ways. And I was sitting at Tallebudgera Creek- And I made the decision in that moment that I was gonna start my own.
Mm-hmm.
So even from the very moment that I made the decision to start my own business, I promised myself that I would never lose the feeling of that moment. So I took a photo of me in that moment and the view of Tallebudgera Creek, and I gave that to a brand designer, and that's where the colors of Synergie was born from.
So that just shows from the very start, when it was just a logo, without even a meaning yet, that everything came from what I wanted it to feel like. So every decision from the very, very start to where it is today has gone purely based on how it feels to me and what feels right and wrong, so it's impactful to not just me and my purpose, but then everyone around me as well.
So- Mm ... really, really importantly and realised that I didn't have that in an eight-year career. Nothing was purpose-driven. It wasn't impact-driven. Yeah. It was just commercially driven.
Yeah.
And I'm just not led that way, and I just learnt that in my tenure of my career, and then in my journey with Synergie.
So 100% from day one, everything I do is built on how does that feel to me in my tummy, and what's the feeling connected to it? And as soon as the feeling's off, I, I'm not aligned to it.
That's really beautiful, Jade. Mm. Thank you for sharing that, because-
Mm. Yeah, not many people know that story.
Yeah, no, that's really beautiful.
And I say that because someone asked, um, me a couple of weeks back of what's the- really different thing that you feel from being an employee and to having your own business. And what my response was, was it's like an identity crisis. Mm. You know, if you've, if you've been an employee- ... for big brands and, you know, you've built a career with companies that people know, and you go to a barbecue and people say, "Where do you work?"
And you're like, "Oh, you know, I work here", or, "I work there", and they're, like there's that, um, there's that instant familiarization and like, oh, you know, okay, that's, that's great. That's a great company to work for, whatever it might be. But what you've just said is actually the complete opposite. Like your business is the crafting of your identity- Mm
and that's the uniqueness of it. So the feelings come in, but the feelings, the, the primary part of it is you bringing to life your own identity through your business.
Mm. Yeah.
That's really beautiful.
Yeah. And really, you, and you really realize when you say it like that, which is why it's so important to know what your identity of your business is from the very start.
Yes. I think some founders actually don't really know why they're doing it. So then when you start building teams or you're marketing your brand, if you don't know what your impact and feeling is of what you're trying to build as a purpose, how does anybody else, whether it's your customer or the p- team underneath you?
Yeah. Um, so it was just, I guess it, it was just, um, it's just in me that I am very intuitive and very purpose-led in every decision in my life, that it was a no-brainer for me to build a business based on purpose to me because it's my brand. Yes. It's my i- it's my thing. It's my passion that's gonna get me out of bed.
It's my thing that's gonna put a roof over Amelia's head for the rest of her life and give her the options in life. So if that's not built purely on my identity and what's important to me, then how is it ever gonna get anywhere- Yeah ... because it doesn't align to me from the start? Where it does, it does amaze me, just with the nature of my job, how many founders you meet with that don't re- probably couldn't even tell you their story as to why they do what they do and what that was built on, which I find quite fascinating- Yes
'cause that's just an, a no-brainer to me.
Yes. Yeah, yeah. That's beautiful. So with, uh, with Synergy, um, and it might be worth, you know, kind of giving some context around what Synergy Boards actually is.
Yeah.
Um, so you create advisory boards. So you have five boards going on at the moment- Yep ... of, you know, between 10 to 14 people in each- Yep
um, that meet once a month. So you fundamentally have built an ecosystem of founders. What's important for you in those rooms?
Well, I guess one thing I noticed, and let's talk specifically the Gold Coast right now because we're local to here and the business was built and founded here. I always wanted to make sure I built the business space and what my customer wanted.
And I, I'm very clear to all of our board members when I meet them as a prospective meeting is I am not my avatar, you are. So what is it you're seeking and searching for? Because advice and an advisory board, um, is only as good as what you're seeking and as, uh, as good as the people you receive it from.
Anyone can give you advice. But what's the value and weight in it, and how is that gonna impact you, and what do you need to be learning right now? So- Mm What I soon identified on the Gold Coast was our ideal customer, um, who, which took me a year or two to really identify who that was first, um, was seeking more than networking.
They didn't want surface level. They wanted to be able to get deep, and that was based on my- Yeah ... customers saying that to me. They're like, "Jade, I'm craving challenge. I'm craving vulnerability. I wanna open up what's going on in my business with other people to challenge my ideas." They don't need business cards to get business from each other anymore.
It's- Mm ... "Hey, challenge my assumptions. Tell me what I need to hear as opposed to what I want to hear." Mm. Um, give me a different way of thinking. So when building a room, as you can imagine now that you kind of understand that, it's built on you have to have, one, the right industry around the table based on where and what they have challenges with so we can make sure we fill the gaps of expertise.
Um, and two, you have the right human beings. Mm. Because I really passionately, as I said from the start, I've built it on feeling. My hu- a huge personal pillar, a, a core value of myself is, um, trust and authenticity.
Mm.
So in order to build an authentic, a authentic, trusting brand, that needs to be with authentic, trusting humans.
Yes. And the only way that a board can really allow someone to be completely vulnerable and transparent, which is what we want to see in our rooms, you have to like the people. I don't care how many zeros that are under their revenue. If the human being isn't right in my gut, um, they don't come in, and the, otherwise the model just does not work.
Mm. And I know that from experience of doing it nationally at such a large scale, and I saw, you know, why are we churning here? But then this board can sit for eight years, and that was a really interesting psychological learning to figure out the jigsaw. So really, really important to understand the people that come and sit around our tables, what are they seeking.
Mm. Provide them with the gaps based on what they tell me as opposed to what I think, and allowing them a place that allows them to be completely vulnerable with people that they trust. So no ego, you know? They're not, what's the point- Yes ... of coming to a board meeting to say how well you're doing every month?
Yes. You're never gonna move the needle if you don't do that. Yes. You know? So I say that to everyone before they come in. If you're not willing to be challenged, if you're not willing to pull apart your numbers, if you're not willing to share everything that's going on under the hood of your business, this is not the model for you.
Yeah.
If you are, absolutely every bit of advice will come with a cuddle. I say that to everyone when I meet them. It's not a place of getting punched when you're down. It's going, "Hey, I need help," and we all get around you. Yeah. So then you can get through it and realize that you're not alone. Mm. So in order for people to share, they're only gonna do that with people that are just real humans that go, "Mate, I get it.
I've been there." As opposed to them all acting like, "No, I'm all doing good." Where, you know, traditionally in networking, of course- Yes ... because it's a lot more of a bigger capacity, the first thing everyone will always say is, "How's business?" Great. So the first answer to everyone, that's just not our model.
Yeah. And, uh, and that's based on the customers wanting more.
Yeah.
Um, so hopefully that answered the question of kind of who's around the table and how we build it.
Yeah. Yeah. And having experienced... I'm, I'm a member of one of the boards, and having sitting around the room, it does take a little... This is from my experience.
It does take a little bit to be able to be that vulnerable.
Mm.
Because, you know, you're right. Of course. You know, other networking events, it's like, "Oh, yeah, here's my card." Like, "I'm amazing because -" Yeah ... "you, you want me if you've got, like, any HR needs." But you go into that room, and you go into a- an advisory board setting, and, you know, the, the caliber of human beings, I won't even say the caliber of businesses, because that's, you know, that's kind of really secondary.
But the caliber of human beings that enable the conversation to go deep really quickly-
Mm ...
is v- very unique. It is very unique. And it is so needed, because any business owner that you speak to will say, "Oh, it's really lonely being a business owner. You can't have the conversations with your staff."
That's right.
"Your partner doesn't understand-" No ... "what's going on in your business." 100%. Um, unless they're, like, really in it with you. Um, and there's no space for the conversations where you can, like, really- Really give stead to what is actually going on for you.
100%, and it was really, um, even interesting for me as I was building Synergie.
Obviously I'd had a baby, and then I'd gone through a separation, and I was just at this really isolated phase of life where it was like- Mm ... who am I now as a mom? Who am I now- Mm ... I'm single after a 10-year relationship, and now I'm running a business with no team and no people around me. Oh. And I was like, but then it was- I hear it a lot
as much as it was like survival- Um, as much as it was complete survival, where I look back at it sometimes and think, "How the heck did I even get through that?" But I somehow did. The driver was actually this is why I need to build this business. Yeah. Because I personally was experiencing that too. It was like, who do I talk to?
Like, I had my parents mean well, but I had them saying to me, "Go and get a job." Yes. "You've got a baby. Go and..." Yes. It's like th- that's not the advice you need to hear, and it's like, that's why I realized, like, this is why I will be successful and why the brand will succeed, is because people crave this. And I for myself was going, "I need my own board."
Yes. Like, how am I gonna get through it? So it is, and you, and you genuinely... I didn't know who to go to. Like, my girlfriends don't own businesses. I didn't have a partner. My family live in, overseas. Like, I, no one's in business around me. I ge- which is why- Yeah ... I started networking when we first- Yeah
crossed paths, was 'cause I was like, "I need my own business network." Yes. Because I've got no idea who to lean on.
Yes.
And I completely underestimated how isolating and lonely the journey really is, especially when you're building something different and a service offering to a marketplace that nobody was doing.
Mm. 'Cause no one understood it.
Mm.
So you go to a business event or something- ... and you'd say, "This is what I'm gonna look to build." And they just look at you like, "What?" What's that? And I was
thinking, "Fuck." Yeah.
Am I on the wrong path
here? But obviously not, because you're do- you're doing so well, and you've grown it. Mm. You, you've grown it, like, s- it's so incredible to see where you've got to- Mm ... in, like, really a, a small amount of time.
Yeah. Yeah, thank you. Yeah.
Um, so tell me about, you're in a bit of a transition stage at the moment.
Um, can you talk us through what that transition is? Yeah, of
course. Um, so first year of business, um, so, uh, don't worry, I'm not gonna share 20 years worth. I'm only three years in, so there's not gonna be a big, long story. First year of business, um, navigating being a n- a new mum, single mum to a new baby was a real juggle, because I couldn't get Amelia in kindy, all these types of things.
First year of business was very much a who is my customer, and what kind of model am I building? So if you ask our first board, who are all still with us, they've all met Amelia, because she came to everything- Yes ... in the pram- ... because I had no other choice. And I was just sitting with the market to understand, like, hey, this is what I'm looking to build.
If I was to build it, would you join it? And if you were to join it, what kind of people would you want around the table? So then I'd go, okay, next person. And then I would start finding them people, and I built my first board off that. Um- 'Cause then I could go back to them and say, "Hey, you said if I built da, da, da, da, da, then you would join it."
So first year was kind of a bit clunky, I would say, as I'm sure- Mm ... a lot of founders could relate to, is you're like- Yeah ... "Where's my market offering sit, sit? What is my offering and who's my customer?" I think the fortunate position I've been in is, as much as I've only been a business owner for three years, I have sat on boards for nearly nine.
Yeah Where a lot of business owners would never have been in that kinda capacity. So I had so much to learn prior to going out on my own, and the number one thing I remember always hearing in boards that would make someone, um, bite off more than they can chew, is when you try to be someone to everyone.
Mm. Be very clear. The ones who I saw really succeed and scale effectively w- had a very clear customer and a very clear offering. Mm. And they just knew who they spoke to. Mm. So I always knew that with Synergy, was just find a particular avatar that you wanna work with and just talk to that, as opposed to every single business owner on the Gold Coast.
Mm.
Um-
What did that avatar look like, just out of interest?
Um, so my customer, what I soon identified on the Coast was I didn't wanna work with the really small, early-stage startup customer. Mm. They were craving more networking. They needed business cards to get them more work. Completely fair enough. Our customer who wants to crave getting deep and understand the value of a board are managing people, they're managing teams, they're managing cashflow head noise, they're managing how do you raise capital to get to the next stage.
Mm. How do I break into Sydney? Mm. How do I break into national or global markets? Mm. Um, I've got business partners in the business that I now no longer want to have in. I'm now going through a divorce and I've got a business with 20 staff, and how do I navigate that? They don't need networking for that.
So our customer has head noise, I would say is probably who I say our customer is.
Mm-hmm.
And they want to be vulnerable.
Mm-hmm.
Um, and generally they sit around that 1 to $20 million in revenue. Mm. I find over the $20 million, 30, $40 million, depending on the industry, 'cause obviously you look at a builder, they can get to that revenue fairly quickly.
Yeah.
Um, generally managing team, um, been in business for a while with quite a bit of revenue, they get the most impact from our boards.
Yeah.
Because again, you wanna make sure- The makeup of the board, everyone can resonate and can relate, as you would know from sitting on our boards. Mm-hmm. Yep. If I was to put a startup who doesn't even know what a shareholder's agreement w- is-
Mm
with someone who's managing 500 staff and a cap table of 12 shareholders, they've got no synergy. Yep. And the reason I called the business Synergy in the first place was, in order for the boards to be powerful and for them to work, you must find the right synergy of experience, people, business cycle, and life cycle.
Yeah.
Get that right, and you nail the model. They stay with you, and that's what I learned from the experience of the last industry, uh, last role I was in. Like I said, there were some boards I was sitting on, and they weren't... They'd been sitting for eight years, and you couldn't pay them to leave.
Mm.
But then I sat on other boards where they were changing through members every six months, and I'd think, "Why?"
And it was because they weren't being selective of who they put around the table. They were putting the startups with the 500 staff and the this and a 60-year-old with a 25-year-old, and it was like no one can relate to that. So- Yeah ... uh, my first year of business was a, who is my customer? So I knew how to really identify who would take up my offering.
Um, and I built that base on the market, um, because the thing was, nobody on the Gold Coast does advisory boards other than myself. Yes. Where it's very competitive in Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney. Yeah. So I could meet with someone in Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney, and they were comparing me to three other companies because it was quite a competitive offering.
On the Gold Coast, I was like, "Why is no one doing it here, and who would take it up?" So I had to go to market to understand that first.
Mm.
And then my second year of business, Millie was a bit older. She was in kindy then four days a week and still is. And so it allowed me the opportunity to really start ramping up and having a bit of confidence that I, I just have to go all in.
Like, I'm, I've been, I've de- made a mental decision in my mind that this is going to work. I've got no plan B. And I gotta go all in. So then I sewed up all my assets other than my home, and it was like my all-in year. Wow. Which was my second year.
Yep.
And then the business started to double and grow, and now we...
Then we had people that had been with us for two years then, and they were referring people in. And I was like, "Oh, okay, this is momentum." And then the third year, I was in this mindset of like, what is scale to me? Because what I didn't want to do is scale. We always say the word scale, and what that means to different people is, again, I'm very impact led, and I wanna love my job and love what I do.
When I was with the previous company, I'm not bagging them, it's all the learnings that I took, was when I started with that business, we had two boards. When I left that business, we had over 100 boards. Wow. And I had a team of 35 under me. So you can imagine, I'd gone from being the business to running their national sales teams.
What I can say is that- a sales team under me and all these boards across the country, I hated my job. Where it was smaller it was, I loved my job. So I was in this in year three, and I'm only three years into business at this point, where I was like, "What is scale? Because what I don't want to be and do is just put boards all over the country again."
Mm. I just have to manage sales teams- Mm ... 'cause I don't enjoy that for me. Yeah. And this is my business, and I don't wanna do that as a job because I didn't like it. I like to sit directly with Kylie- In the room ... and know everything about Kylie and what she's- Yes ... doing, 'cause that gets me out of bed in the morning and knowing that we've made impact to you.
Yes.
Um, so I was in this weird, like What scale? How do I scale this brand? So it was like, okay, now I've got a business, I've got confidence, I've got customers. I'm too far in to not make it work. Um, I just didn't know what scale was. And then r- I'm, I'm a huge believer of trust in the universe and believing in just do the right things in life and good things come to you, and trust the gut and it will never let you down.
I hugely believe that. It's like my driving force in life. And, um, there was a particular, uh, I'll share this story with you. Um, there was a particular lady who, about six years ago during COVID, I was, um... I bought a ticket to an event when I worked for the previous board company, and I was a guest at an event, and there was a guest speaker at the event.
And at that time I was feeling not valued in my workplace, and this particular speaker spoke about impact, and value, and the importance of her relationship with her husband and team. And I remember sitting and watching her on stage thinking, "I wish I worked for someone like that, that understood value."
Because when you feel valued in a workplace- Yes ... you love going to work. Yes. And I'm driven. Like, I would always wanna succeed, but I was growing this business for shareholders that didn't value me. Mm. And I never felt valued or appreciated.
Mm.
So then I, fast-forward a couple of years, I was pushing the shareholders of the last company to put boards on the Gold Coast.
And they were like, 'cause obviously I've lived on the Gold Coast contextually for 17 years, and I was commuting for work. And, um, they were like, "Nope." And, um, anyway, they finally allowed me an opportunity to present a business plan to them, that if I was to put boards on the Gold Coast, this is what I would do.
So this lady that was the guest speaker at the event, I put her name forward as a potential chair, along with four others. I said, "This is how I would commercialize it. This is how I would have the membership. This is who I see our customer to be." That, and I put the bus- I put the business proposition to them.
Um, and they basically, long story short, said no and laughed in my face and said, "We're a CBD product. We don't go to regional markets." And they tore it up.
Mm.
Fast-forward five years. I launch Synergy, and they then poach everyone I put forward on that business plan, and they put boards onto the Gold Coast to compete with me.
Um, interesting learning at that point, 'cause it was like I took that quite personally.
Mm.
Um, but then I also then flipped that to say, "I'm on the right path," because they obviously know what I can do.
Yes.
And they wouldn't come here if they didn't see opportunity.
Yes.
In that, so then we fast-forward then to my year three of business.
One, that particular lady who was the guest speaker at the event, she had never met me. She had no idea I put her name forward to that business. She had then started, and this is where I, I passionately believe, and I'll be saying to Amelia, is do good by people and be a good human. That will get you places in life.
And just say hi to everyone. Even now at her, at three, I say to her, "If we go to sushi or the coffee shop or anything, you use your words." Because you just don't know who you're crossing paths with and what, who they are. And I, um- So then, yeah, so then I, um, I got a phone call from this particular lady. She called Lauren.
Lauren rang me, um, and she had been chairing a board for the business I worked for for a year and a half. And she said, "I've been hearing really good things about you nationally. I can't stop hearing your name. I've been watching your brand from the sideline, and I just wondered if you would allow me to be a chair for you."
So she came to me from the business I used to work with, even though I put her forward. Again, she didn't know any of that. And then, um, I said, "Yeah, absolutely. Like, I would love to have a coffee with you, and let's just see if it's the right, the right synergy and the right fit," because I don't let any chair or board member in without me having a belly-to-belly coffee with them so I can get a bit of an energy check.
Mm-hmm.
Mm. And, um, you know, when you s- first sit with someone or anyone in life, and you just, the particular people you meet with and you're like, I just, like, you just gel with them differently? And I just, that was exactly what it was like with Lauren and I She's 20 years older than I am, exited out of five different companies.
Very different life cycles, but we just connected so well. And then, um, so she came on to chair a board with me, and then I started saying to her, "I don't know how to scale this business. Like, I don't know where I wanna... How, what does scale look like?" And then she started bouncing off where she saw gaps in terms of advisory boards from chairing with the previous business I used to work with.
So upon reflection when I look at it, I'm like, it was the biggest blessing that they poached her, because she wouldn't have seen gaps and opportunities and come to me had they not poached her. Mm. So at the time where I thought, "Oh my God, my world is falling apart," it was actually later on became the biggest blessing that could've happened to me.
Yeah.
Um, which is beautiful learning in itself. And then, um, we just started having Monday coffees. So she was chairing a board for me, and every Monday we'd have a coffee at the coffee club at Robina, and we'd just bounce ideas of business. And like, "Have you not thought about this?" And I'd be like, "Oh yeah, that's a great idea."
And, and then as the universe does, it always just gives you what you kinda need at particular times. She was about to be acquired from her company, and she wasn't really ready to retire yet at 55, and she was looking for her last legacy. And our business is very impact driven. It's very purposeful. It's very much how we improve Kylie's life, and Kylie as an individual and the business owner, and she loves that.
She's very that way inclined. She's very similar to me. She's so val- values driven, so families first, and, um, her team are her family. Like, it's just beautiful how she sees people. Um, but still very commercially minded and smart.
Mm.
Um, and then she put an opportunity to me mid last year, so in the month three when I was at this what is scale, um, where she said, "Let's merge and let's partner, and, um, I'd like to acquire Synergy and go into partnership with you and build something far greater."
As you can imagine, three years in, that was something that was never on the cards for me. I never thought I would get an opportunity to be acquired. Um, I didn't even really know what that looked like or meant. Um, so yeah, t- today as I sit here now, three and a half years later, we settled two months ago, and the business has now been acquired, and I'm now partnered with that lady that I was sat once as a guest speaker at an event for six years ago.
So it's just crazy really of when you look at the journeys of what comes, you know?
Yep. Yep. Amazing. Mm. And something that you would never have thought in your wildest dreams would- No ... actually happen.
No.
No.
But again, it's all tummy read, you know? Um- Of course, there comes fear flags and there comes all these things with partnerships when you've been a sole founder for so long- Yes
and you've had full control and it's yours- Yes ... and your baby that was built from the creek, and I'm very passionate about that. With an acquisition came a name change. It came different colors.
Yes.
So it was a lot of an emotional adjustment for me-
Yes ...
um, to let that stage and journey of what I felt like was letting it go.
But I've now just accepted that it's not let go, it's just a merging, and that's just what happens with brands. Yes. It's still there at its depth. Um, but it's gonna come with completely different learnings and challenges as we're now going to a partnership with a, you know, fairly large team from the get-go.
Yes. Um, but the opportunity for scale and impact of what we can do quicker and nationally, and the support of not wanting to do it alone anymore. Yeah. I was definitely at that phase of life where I was like, I actu- I bounce off people, as you know. Yes. Like, and anyone that knows me- Yeah ... knows.
Yeah.
I'm not good behind a computer.
Yeah. Put me in front of people and I bounce off energy. Yeah. I thrive around people. So for me to actually go into an office solo every day and do it alone, I was just, I don't love that. What I actually love now, going in in this team and what's everyone doing? And we can all bounce off each other and, um, yeah, and it just feels, it feels right.
Everything about it feels right. In my journey of Synergy, I had a few opportunities of people wanting to invest into the company, and I would meet with them and I'd look at different potential investment opportunities. But it didn't feel right in my gut.
Yeah.
Um, because I, and I said this to one of the investors actually.
I said to him like, "I appreciate the offer," and it, you know, you, some people at the stage of life I was at where I was selling all my assets to go all in, my dad was like, "You're silly not to take it." And it was like, well, my gut is saying it's not right. Um, because like I, and I said to this guy, "You can give me a million dollars.
I don't know what to do with it. I know what I'm good at and I know what I can do. I'm not exchanging my time for a dollar." Like, that's just not how I'm led. Mm-hmm. Like-
Mm ...
I want someone to come in and see the impact that they also want to make. Mm-hmm. So with Lauren, it was very different. It wasn't a commercial exchange.
Mm.
She was so passionate about chairing boards herself. She'd been doing this for so long. She didn't come to me to exchange a dollar for a dollar. It was, or a dollar for time. It was a, we're in this together. I'm coming to the office every single day with you, and this is where I'm gonna fill the gaps.
Mm.
And you're gonna focus here, and we're gonna build this together. And that was music to my ears. It was like, that's what I'm craving. I don't need someone's money. It was about how we can put the right people together and just leverage from experience, because that's way more powerful and share, but we had the same end goal and the same values.
Um, so yeah.
So, so in that gap with what she's bringing to the table and what you're continuing to do, how does that grow? Like, what, what is the impact that was yesterday? Do, how is that different to the impact that will be tomorrow once you're, you know, kind of over this transition?
Yeah. So currently right now, Synergy Boards is positioned as an advisory board organisation.
Um, with the, the, the acquisition of Synergy to now form a brand called Master, Master is now a full ecosystem. So basically what that means is, let's say Kylie's on a board, and we understand that Kylie's on there because of particular challenges or head noise and wants help with a particular something, and a board will f- um, allow them the forum to identify that, that you may not even know yourself that you need help with until you get a board around you.
The issue Lauren and I found in our experiences was Kylie then leaves the room And she goes, "Well, how the heck do I do that?" Mm. The board have said to you, "Okay, go and raise some capital. I want you to adjust X, Y, and Z here. You need to implement tech. You need to do this. You need to streamline processes."
And then you go back to your business and you're, "Oh, I've got no idea how to do that," and you're so caught up in the business again.
Yes.
So Master is now a full ecosystem which also allows them the execution on that advice. So Kylie then leaves the br- board room and you go, "Okay, we know that you want to implement some technology into your business and wanna develop your own app or your own CRM or tech, and you're not a tech person, for example.
We can provide you a tech team that will plug into your business, and we offer you the solution. You need to raise some capital. We can put you in front of investors. You need to manage HR teams to manage your teams or people or whatever that may be. We can give you the talent arm." So we offer the whole solution, because there's...
Advisory is just one arm. Mm. We know that people need help. We know business is lonely.
Yeah.
But there's so much more that they want and need, and there's no one else nationally that does that right now.
Yeah.
There's lots of advisory board companies that can offer you a board, but then it's kind of up to you to then go and find the solution.
Mm.
Where if we can own that ecosystem, one, it comes from a credited place where you know it's vetted as well, 'cause all of our pillars that will come with the whole Master ecosystem are driven with the same values of pillars. We're not gonna put you in front of someone that we don't know ourself can deliver on them results.
Mm.
And then we have our own tech integration where we can track live metrics and live dashboarding to know that we plug in a marketing arm, we plug in X, that you can actually see the results that's popping out the other end. Where right now, y- again, you don't know that. We can say, "Yes, sales are dr- are improving," or whatever that may be, but you don't really know where or what that's coming from.
So I think owning that ecosystem and offering the solution, but also owning it in a capacity of a tech where we can actually ch- track live metrics by connecting to your Xero and your CRMs and everything, um, it allows the founder and an owner an opportunity to, one, give them a safe space so that they can allow themself full vulnerability, but really show them, "Hey, we're actually moving the needle for you, making an impact."
Yeah. So
everybody wins.
Yeah. Could
I have done that by myself? Do I know how to build tech and to do all, build that whole ecosystem? Absolutely not. Where you meet someone like Lauren, who is such a strategist. She's built tech businesses. She's built and sold out of five different companies now. She's just one of them gun wizard entrepreneurial people that it doesn't even matter what industry she looks at, she knows how to commercialize it, look at it differently.
Yeah.
Just see it strategically. Yeah. That is not me.
Yeah.
I am good at being the face, allowing the boards to work by putting the right people in the seat. So- And I'm sure you see it in the nature of your business, is for businesses to flourish and succeed is put the people in the right seats that are good at what they do and champion that- Yeah,
yeah
as opposed to making me spend half of my week doing bookkeeping or building a tech or something that I am not good at and I don't flourish in. Yes, yes. What a waste of my time and energy, and it's not even impactful for the business. So-
Yeah ...
that's why I decided to take the acquisition, because I knew what she could deliver and give is something I would never know how to do.
Yeah.
But we both had the same common goal, and vice versa. She says to me, "Jade, I could never do what you do. I have no energy to sit in front of people all day. I have no idea how you build the boards right like you do." Yeah. She's like, "You have actually got a superpower that I don't know how you've done that."
Yeah.
Um, so I think, I think it's the right one for that reason, because I can do my lane and what I'm good at, but just with the support of a full system and ecosystem underneath me that can be built by somebody else with the same out- you know, end goal. So that's where-
Yeah ...
that's where the brand is positioned now and will be positioned.
We're just in a bit of a interim phase.
Interim phase. Yeah. And in, uh, like, making that shift as a business owner, I want to, um, I wanna kind of poke in-
Mm ...
for a moment, and I would love to hear, like, what the challenges are, and for you personally. Like, where have that moment as you've gone from being a solo founder to having a business partner, to understanding what your lane is, what Lauren's lane is, and, you know, working through that.
It's a very, it's a very different approach when you start your own business and, you know, three years, you're still in that, "This is my baby." Mm. Like, you grow a, you, you grow a baby when you grow a business.
Yeah.
Um, what have been the things that have felt really icky and uncomfortable for you?
To be honest, I think the things that have just felt the most icky and uncomfortable for me is, has just been having to explain to other people why I do what I do.
Because for me, it's just been in me for 11 years. It's like, what do you mean? It's because that's just what you do. And they're like, "But help us make sense of that." And I was thinking, "Well, why?" But then it's like, but then I realized, but as a business, they need to understand that. She's like, "We can't build IP if it's in your head."
And I was like, "Fair." "This is why I need you." Um, so I think it's just me questioning, but when I get asked particular questions, I think, I don't under- it's like, what do you mean? Because that's what I do and let me just do it. Yeah. Yeah. Um, but I'm a salesperson by nature. Mm. So for me, my personality is, you know, if you talk DiSC profiling, for example, I'm such a high D.
Like, I'm just like, go, go, go. So what I'm, I get not caught up on the dot your I's cross your T's. Yes. So when they want to documen- document things or diarize this, or we should put that into a doc, I think, why? What's the point? Let's just go and do it. Yeah.
Yes.
Um, so and we're just out, we're realizing our personalities are different.
That's what we're learning at the moment. Like- Yeah ... um, and 'cause I think sometimes if I challenge a particular way- She won't like why I challenge it. And I'll say to her, and we laugh about it, it's not a challenge as in like a rah, rah. We, we actually both giggle. I'm like, "What? You're so, like, documented with everything.
I don't get it." And she's like, "But you need to learn to get it. That's why you partnership with me." Because you can't- Discipline,
Jay, discipline.
Yeah. And she's like, "You can't build a, the fundamentals of a business when it's all in your head." Mm-hmm. Now you need to make what's in your head as a business, a business.
So that needs to come with systems and documents and onboarding and, um, you know, h- we're in the phase soon where we're gonna be putting on another staff member, which will be a salesperson. I couldn't even tell you what my, how I find clients and what I do. Have I ever put that in a document? No. Because it's just been what I've done for so long.
Yes.
Um, so it's just things like that. It's just been a finding your lane-
Yes ...
and understanding that every lane is important. Yes. And me not get frustrated by the other lanes, because that's why I went into partnership. Yes. Because I only know my lane, and my lane I'm good at.
Yes.
But you need every single lane to get to the destination you want quicker and more effectively.
Um-
How are, how are you feeling about a salesperson coming on board?
Uh, complete control freak over here. So no one else can do it. Um, not very good. To the point where we've realized maybe it's a, like a, um, what would it be called, the role? A CSM, I think it is. Like a client success manager- Okay ... is what we called him or her, where they more nurture who we already have.
Right. So how's Kylie going? What does she need from us? Okay, you need some HR support, let me introduce you to X, Y, Z, da, da, da. And let me drive acquisition. Um, because, and also when I, again, I come back to my experience previously, and again we come back to our tummy about what our why is every day. What do I love to do?
I love acquisition.
Yep.
So let me just keep driving that whilst I can. I completely understand at a national scale there will need to be another me in Sydney and in Melbourne and Brisbane. Um, and I massively believe, and I saw the success of the previous company, is find someone that knows the markets and is networke- that networked well there, will make it way more successful.
I don't know Brisbane. I don't know where the opportunities and gaps are.
Mm.
Same as Sydney. Mm. So find someone that's embedded there. Mm. I've done well on the Gold Coast because I know the Gold Coast. Mm. I live and breathe it. I'm here every day. I see the opportunities. I know where the hubs are and the opportunities are.
I know the networks to get into. Um, so I do understand I have to let go of control eventually.
Yeah.
Um, it will be interesting.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And, uh, you know, you s- you speak about that being, you know, your super- superpower, and understanding who to put- Yeah ... who to put in the right room, and I've- I've heard you say that, like, many, many times.
And, you know, I think about with you building an ecosystem and putting the boards together, you do have that ability to know, and that's your skill set. You have the ability to know- Mm ... who will work well with each other. And if I relate that to what I do in HR, like, you know, if you look at recruitment and hiring, you have to know that that person is the right person for your business, and, you know, some people really just miss that.
Yes.
But when we look at- Are you building an ecosystem? Someone said to me very, very early on in my career that people are the most intangible assets. You can't control the conversations in the room. You can't control the relationships. Mm. You can just set it up as successfully as you can. Mm. And you do that very, very, very, very well.
So you actually mitigate any of the concerns that would happen in the room-
Mm ...
of, you know, personalities or egos- Yeah ... you know, becoming too big- Yeah ... which I'm sure you experienced in your previous workplace, where, you know, the bigger the ego, the less the vulnerability. So people show up very differently.
100%. And as, as we talk about, you know, and you can say, when you hear the saying of would you hire for skill or attitude, you can't train that. You can't- Yeah ... train that intuitive gut feel, which is where my... I'm not actually a control freak, but it's my fear of letting that go is because when people even say to me, or our board members say to me, or Lauren has said to me before, like, "How did you know that wasn't the right fit?
Like, you just nailed that." And I was like, "I can't explain how I know. It's a feeling." Like, I can't- Yes ... so it's a fear for me of going, how do I train that into someone in Sydney?
Yes.
And because I'm so passionate on our feeling as a brand- Yes ... I want it to feel a particular way, that starts from the salesperson, 'cause that's the first interaction.
Um, so I guess I just have to trust my intuitiveness- Yes ... um, of when I hire.
Yes.
Is when I sit with them knowing in my gut and make sure I'm 100% right on that hire first-
Yep ...
because that will help me, rather than how much experience they have- Yes ... or how much skill they have.
Yes.
Because skill isn't gonna get them to, to be successful in this business.
Yeah. It just doesn't.
And I... Look, I've, I've done a couple of pod- I'm, like, so into what the body tells us, and there's more and more research these days where gut, heart, head, it's all your thinking. It's not, you know... I think traditionally we're, we're very conditioned to think that our head is where our intellect sits.
Yes.
But you govern your intellect by your gut.
Yeah.
Like, that, that is, you know, call it intuition and, you know, I think sometimes we just don't have the words to say, "My intellect is governed by m- my gut." Yeah. Like, it's, it's, it's- That's exactly right ... a skill set. So it's kind of, you know, to you to get to this point in your career, you've, um- You've been led that way, so, uh, you know, I guess some of it is characteristic of your personality.
But if you think of the refinement of skills, you've refined your intuition-
Mm ...
along, along the way as well. Yeah. So, you know, it's not just this like, "Oh, you know, I was just, I was just born with this level of intuition." No. You've, you've actually like really purposefully honed into it- Yeah ... and that's what your superpower is.
Yeah, that's so true. I never really thought of it like that. I have. I've purposely sat with intention of going, "Why does this room feel different to the last room? Why does this interaction feel..." Yeah. And I've wanted, and I've wanted to understand it. Yes. So I think I'm actually really passionate of understanding why does a particular human over the coffee can make us feel such a different way to the next one?
Yes.
They can say the exact same thing, but the way it feels-
Yes ...
just doesn't land, or it really does.
Yes.
You know? Like, yeah, I'm sure you've had it in the nature of your business, or everyone listening to this would have had a interaction with someone where they can just go, "Hey, how are you?" Just them few words, and how it can feel and land so different-
Yes
from one mouth to an- to the next. Yes. And I've always found that so fascinating. So interesting. And I just go off what feels right. Because if it feels right to that person, and that, that synergy of our energy intertwines, and I put the same next energy with it, no wonder the model works. It's because everyone's wired in the same way.
We all want to be a... We're all intuitively led. I'd say even all of our board members. Yes. They also go off gut. Yes. They know too. Yeah. So they align with me, 'cause I'm very authentic, as you know. I don't sit with prospects or in a board meeting to try and be someone I'm not. I'm very authentic on the, from the very m- um, minute I built the business, and I tell everyone, prospective clients, chairs, everyone, that I, everything is built on feeling.
Yes. And if they relate to that-
Yes ...
they're right for it. Some will kind of look at you like you're a Muppet and it's a bit woo woo. It's like cool, like- ... you don't relate to it. Like it's just you don't relate to the brand, and that's okay. Like-
Yes ...
and I say that to them if there's a, you know, a corporate-like man or woman that are a bit more stuffy with love.
Yeah.
It's, and I, and, but they, they put the application in. I, I'll just say to them over coffee, "You're just not right for the model."
Yeah, yeah. "
It's not for you." And I have no fear in saying no- Yeah ... because one wrong no, and I put someone in a room, I potentially lose three because of one, because I ignored my gut.
But there's no value in that. Where I just, I find it fascinating when people don't follow their gut. Yeah. 'Cause how many times have we heard, "If I just listened to my gut, my gut knew." Yeah. "But as soon as I ignored it-"
Yeah,
yeah, yeah ... some shit hit the fan or something went wrong. Yeah. So now I'm always very, very, very, um, aware first, which is a good shout by you that you've noticed that, 'cause I probably didn't realize.
I've just mindfully always gone, "How did that feel? Does it-"
Yes ... "
Is it the right idea? Is it..." You know, even with my, um, acquisition with Lauren, I said to her, "I wanna have coffee with you every single week." But we t- we don't talk business. And I guess I wanted to know her as a human.
Mm.
Do I... Like, I'm gonna work with you every single day, 'cause everything we spoke was business, 'cause she's such a business woman.
Mm. Yeah.
I was like, "No, let's talk of people. Like, do we resonate as humans?" Mm. Mm. Mm. How does she talk about her kids and her family and hobbies and this and- Mm ... the weather and energy, everything. Um, and I said to... And I also, that was a bit of a test for me to see if she's aligned with understanding what feels right for me.
If she can't acknowledge that I'm feeling driven and I want it to feel right, and she's just do- rushing me to sign the bottom line, I know that wouldn't work.
Yep.
Um, but she was like, "Absolutely. Whatever makes you feel comfortable. Of course we can do that."
Yep.
So our part of that was all feeling driven too- Yeah
as opposed to just getting caught up on how quick I could scale this business and let's just sign the bottom.
Yes.
No, no, no. Let's just listen first. Like- Yeah ... I might've been a bit, not desperate, but, like, at a, at a stage of craving it- Mm ... that it could've easily looked like the shiny thing to sign. Mm. Mm.
But that took eight months. Yeah. She, she did that for me, with, with me every week for eight months. Yeah. I met with her staff members. I wanted to get reference checks on how they found working with her. Like, anything I wanted to do, um, and she allowed it. She was like, "Absolutely what makes you feel comfortable."
Fantastic. Because everything has to be like that, you know?
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Well done. Especially in business. It's like you're getting into a, like a marriage.
Yes.
You know? Yeah. Like, I'm, I'm about to commit to the next X amount of years of my life and build something with you, and give away X percentage of something that I've put everything into.
Yes.
And I can't believe how many people just jump into partnerships. Yes. And they're like, "I've known them two months," and it's like, what? And I've seen- Yes ... so many horror stories in our boards, as you can imagine, over the years, and it's because they don't follow that. Yes. They don't do the right due diligence.
Everyone's due diligence is all about the P&L.
Yep.
What about them as human beings?
Yep.
Yeah. What's their wives like?
Yeah.
What's their kids like? What do their friends say about them?
Yeah. Yeah.
I wanted to... I knew everything about Lauren- Yeah ... before I went... I've met her husband several times. I've been to her house for dinners.
Like, I've literally been around everyone- How- ... to get a feeling ...
how, how have you spoken about, um- How have you spoken about, like, when stress, stress shows up or when you get into a point of friction? Have you had those conversations to say, "This is what stress looks like for me. This is how you deal with me in those times," or, you know, "What happens commercially if we get into a point of friction?
How do we work through that?" Do you, uh, do you have those types of conversations?
We did it like the shareholders' agreement, um, moment, because I am a three-year-old business and so green-
Yeah ...
where she is such a affluent business owner that is, she could tell you any legal jargon and speaks the language where I think I've got no idea what you're talking about.
Um, when it came to a sharing, sharing the shareholders' agreement and signing that, I literally had to go through each line, 'cause they sp- as, as I don't know how much you find all this with legal jargon. I'm like, "What the heck does that mean?" Everything, I would just bring it back to what does that mean to me and Amelia?
Yep.
How do I protect me and Amelia? That's every line. I go, "So what's the risk to me and Amelia here? What does that mean for us?" Um, so in terms of a contract and agreement, and I got, um, one of our chairs on our boards, your chair, to come about, s- stand by my side through every bit of it. So I kind of have my own advisor that wasn't a lawyer- Mm-hmm
that was on Team Jay to help me, that was a bit more educated in it than I was. Yeah. To go, "What do I need to look out for to protect me and Amelia?" So in terms of a contract, we'd gone through that very, very thorough of, like, if it doesn't work out for the f- next first 12 months, like a probation period- Mm
how do I get out? What if this? If we don't come to an agreement, 'cause sometimes we're not, what does that mean?
Yeah.
Um, so we put all that into contracts. But the good thing was by doing a long due diligence period of getting to know each other, I think also that mitigates a lot of that. 'Cause you understand in that process something she wanted to do that she would bring out and would talk about, I will, I don't really align with that.
So you can iron out the increases of what you want from the very start-
Mm ...
too. Like, why do people get already into business to realize how differently you wanna go? Like, 'cause I w- you know, for example, I said to her, "You're 20 years older than me with adult children. I'm a single mom at 35 with a three-year-old.
Time with Amelia is important to me at the moment. How are you gonna find it if I leave at 2:00 because I'm just missing Amelia and I wanna go and get her from kindy? You're not going through that in your life right now."
Mm. "
How would that make you feel?" Mm. "Because that is something I'm going to do."
Mm.
Um, but work will get done.
And just under- like, them types of conversations, and I'm gonna want to base it on emotion 'cause that's how I am. Yes. You're very logical.
Yes.
How are you gonna, you know, manage that when I say it doesn't feel right for me? Um, so we spoke about all of that also very, very thorough. Like, to, to- Fantastic
every detail- Yeah ... before I signed the paperwork. And then it was all about paperwork. But don't get me wrong, there's like a, like a marriage, like anything. You're gonna have- Yes ... your moments. Yeah. But as long as you can talk it out and you know, like even with relationships, you know, for example, it's like what are their values?
What are their morals? What are their religious beliefs? What are their this? Because if you don't know all of that from the very start, and you're go- you're one's going left and one's going right- Yes ... and they wonder why their marriages break down. Yeah. It's like, just know where you're both aligned and, and you don't have to be the same.
We're not meant to be the same. We're all individual, but as long as we all know where we're going and appreciate each other's values and morals-
Mm ...
um, and I, I'm just very big on that in my life- Yeah ... even with my friends and anyone in my life. So I was just very, very, um, again, mindful to just share what was important to me at the stage of life I'm at, that I'm not there to just make squillions today.
S- right now, time is important for me, a flexibility to be a mom-
Yeah ...
to a three-year-old. Yeah. Very different me in three years when she's in school.
Yeah.
Um, very different me when she's 15. Like, we're all in different seasons, but just appreciating where you're at, and it's gonna come with different challenges because you're gonna go through different seasons too.
But how do we mitigate that to know that we've got the same values and morals and trust? Mm-hmm. Like, trust is a huge value piece for her and I-
Mm-hmm ...
to know that we're going to the same outcome. And there's gonna be a few little bumps and stuff along the way, but- As long as we know where we're going.
Where, as we did with the workshop the other day, it's amazing how many people don't know their own North Star, but also, like it's in partnerships, and you hear it in the boards where they'll say like, "Well, what does your partner want out of this business?" "I don't know."
Mm.
It's like, well, how... Well, but if you don't know that, you're all gonna go in different fields, and you g- no wonder you're gonna bang heads every now and then, 'cause you're not going to the same goal.
Yeah.
Um-
Yeah ...
so yeah, it's, um, we've... I went, I was very, very particular with lots of different things, and I made sure I had every little clause in there to protect Amelia and I first- Yeah ... in terms of a contract.
Yeah.
But just made sure I didn't just go yes because she was the new and shiny person that I looked up to-
Yeah
that I didn't lose my own self values of why I built this in the first place. Yeah. Just because... 'Cause that can be very easily done- Yeah ... for someone like myself, who probably is a little, still a little bit insecure, dealing with imposter syndrome of that this lady who was once on a stage that I sat in, in awe of, is now in partnership with me, and I look at her, and she's here, and I'm here.
And Dennis helped me realize that. He was like, "There's not anyone here or here. You're here."
Yeah. "
You're here together. Don't just nod because you think she's up there. You're both in the same. She's come to you for a reason. There's a lot you can give, too." 'Cause that came up for me a little bit, where I was like-
Yeah
"What do I know?" Like, I don't know. And he's like, "You do know. You know a lot. That's why she's come to you."
Yes.
Um, so just making sure I never lost that.
Yeah.
Of I have a voice, and have a voice from the start.
Yeah. Amazing. So if we, if we bring that back to the business founders and owners that sit on your boards, and you have a very, um, you know, you've explained a very specific sentiment of being intuitive and feeling driven.
You- you've got your nurs- North Star. Um, you have a shared North Star with Lauren. How do you make sure that when you're not sitting in the boardrooms, that that sentiment is still filtrating through your customers, through the people sitting on those boards?
I think that's a great question. And I think As long as I tell our prospective customers exactly that, and I'm very open from the start in terms of this is where we're taking the brand, this is how I'm going to build the boards, and I stay true to that and follow through on that-
Mm
and all of our people around the table, including our chairs, are bought into our why as a brand, um, it can't not bleed through, as long as the, the chairs and everyone's aligned with it. So for me, as the brand evolves, and, and that's a really great question actually, because it was also, um, a fear flag in me was the board members that we currently have, or had as Synergy, and we were then bringing them into Master and it was something new.
The thing that kept me awake at night wasn't about the partnership, it was what that meant to them, and what if they didn't wanna be on board with it and I lost them. Because I wouldn't have a business without them.
Mm.
But what it actually really showed me was how much everyone really was bought into me and the business and where it was going, and I'd done that well, because they were...
They're other founders. They're other business owners. So they just congratulated me on the opportunity to be acquired and merged because of what that can mean to them and what it means to me.
Yeah.
Which showed that I do have a good way of being able to explain to them the journey and the vision and where it's going, and making sure that I consistently do that with our chairs, with all of our board members, so everyone's aligned to our north star together.
Because I say to everyone that I meet, the ecosystem is only as successful as you all, and for you all to be. The whole point of the ecosystem, as I've even said to you before, is if anyone across our boards needs help with HR or culture, they're coming to you because you're in our boards. It's a self-fulfilling ecosystem where- Mm
everybody wins.
Mm.
It's not a we all win because a w- I win, and just I win. If I win, you all win.
Yeah.
So this is a bought in proc- process, and a bought in business where everyone needs to be bought into this. Which is why I say from the very start of the prospect coffee meeting, if you're not willing to share, and willing to open up, and willing to participate and turn up every month, this is not the model for you.
Yeah. There's no point wasting anyone's time.
Yeah.
I'd rather find someone that goes, "Jade, I am so on board for this. I can't wait to see where it goes. I can't wait for you to build out the whole ecosystem, and this is what I'm craving." And then they stay, 'cause they've all bought in. And then everyone knows, as long as the vision and the end goal is clear to all of our board members and all of our chairs, and I keep close to you all to ensure that you see and we deliver on that-
Mm
I don't see how it can't not. Yeah. You know, if I don't share that with people-
Yeah ...
and then no one really knows where it's going, and then all of a sudden we've gone from Synergy to Master, they're like, "The fuck? This just all changed." Yeah. Like, that, that was a process in itself of explaining to everyone and- Yeah
bringing them in on the journey and how it feels. Um, so yeah. And a- and as, as the model goes, and as you know is we have a chair that facilitates all the boards. It is just as crucially important for me to keep our chairs embedded into the brand.
Yeah.
They're not employees. They're contractors to the brand, but our- I want them to feel like they are part of the brand too, and they're an owner with me, so that they're just as passionate when they're out talking to people around.
I chair a board for Master because they've got their own oomph and why, and then that will flood into the, um, board members, which is something I'm very mindful of. I bring our chairs in together consistently. We go out for lunches and dinners together, and I, I get a huge buy-in from them. As humans, they become my friends.
I go to their kids' birthdays, and I do all that because I want ... And it's not because I'm trying to get any different outcome. They're genuinely people I want to be around- Yeah ... and vice versa.
Yeah.
That if everyone wants the brands to win and the business to win because they all will as well. Yeah. It's for, it's
The, the good thing is with, um, our business is- It's an, it is an impact business. We're there to make a difference in people's lives. It's not the type of thing where we're just selling a, a product or a particular service that's not really fulfilling them. We're, uh, allowing people a space and an opportunity that can move the needle for them, which allows them to move the needle in their lives.
So everyone wants to be in- involved. The right human, um, wants to be. The wrong human, it, they don't, and that's okay. So it's just really important for me and the next salesperson as the brand scales is all we're selling is our vision, and where it's going, and what we- impact we do. No one has any clue what an advisory board is.
Yeah. It's not my job to sell the word advisory board. That's not what- Yeah ... we should be doing.
Yeah.
Um, and that's been a really good learning for me as a business owner as opposed to an employee. Um, the first year or two when I was first out networking trying to build my network when you and I met, I remember thinking, "I've got no idea how to pitch what I do."
Mm. And it's like, it's not... You don't need to sell the word advisory board. They buy off people if they like you and they understand the pain points that you're trying to solve, and the vision that where you wanna take it, they'll come on board. Yeah. And if they don't, they're not the right people. They're not
the right people.
Yeah.
Yeah. Fantastic. Mm. Thank you, Jade. That's okay. Thank you. I'm so... I'm really looking forward to seeing where you and Lauren take the business now. Mm. Like, I think, you know, there's gonna be a really strong evolution over the next kinda 6, 12 months. Yeah. So maybe in 6 or 12 months we'll get you back again- Yeah, different
to talk about where you got to. Yeah, absolutely. Where you got to. Very exciting. Okay, I've got one more question that I ask all of my guests.
Okay.
Um, if... Let's go with Master. If Master were a song, what would it be and why?
The song I would say is Rise Up by Andra Day, um, because we are rising up, and it's a song that I think has really resonated with me a lot over the last few years of, like, personal, business, everything challenge, that anything that's becomes a challenge, you rise up above it.
Um, and I think we just really are at that... I'm just really grateful to be sitting in a stage now of knowing that I am currently rising up.
Yes.
Mm.
Well done. Yay. Yay. Congratulations.
Thank
you. Congratulations. And anyone listening, if there are any, uh, founders or business owners out there that have perhaps been thinking about joining an advisory board, highly recommend it, um, feel free to get in touch with myself through kanculture.com and I can get you in touch with Jade.
Or you can contact Jade directly by- Your website, email? Yeah, website-
What would you like, sure ... email, um, yeah, our website is Mastr, M-A-S-T-R, um, or jade@mastr.com.au, so it's Mastr without the E. Okay. M-A-S-T-R.
Fantastic. Thank you very much for joining me.
Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you. And thank you for listening, and if, um, any of this resonated with you, and if you know someone else that would perhaps like to a- join an advisory board or hear from another leader, the thing that really, uh, touched me with what Jade spoke about is that intuition and is that leading from feeling.
It's, um, it's quite a different perspective, and we thi- when we think about leadership, and we think about intuitive leadership, there is some real content in that that, you know, I could talk about forever because, you know, as I said to Jade, it's like our gut, our heart, and our head are all our la- are all our intellect.
Um, we really touch on those in, in very, very different ways with how we present ourselves to leaders. So I think, you know, what we've heard from Jade is that her leadership style and how she leads is a little different from the traditional view of leadership, and that's really something to embrace and celebrate.
So thank you, and we'll see you next time.
Thanks for joining me on Kan Talk Kulture. I'm Kylie Anne Neal.
I hope today's episode gave you a clearer view into the values driving your workplace or sparked new ideas about building a remarkable company culture. If you're a founder or CEO interested in sharing your culture story, or if you're looking to build a safer, stronger, and more trusted workplace, let's connect.
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