Dr Philippa McCaffery started her entrepreneurial journey, almost by chance, after becoming just a little disillusioned working first as a GP, and then as a hospital administrator in the public & private health system in Sydney. Nonetheless that early career experience stood her in good stead when she pivoted from public medicine to buying one single suburban skincare clinic, one of the first in Sydney doing laser hair removal. That first clinic was so overwhelmed with women clients needing help with unwanted body hair, that she and her new business partner Alarna Longes, a young uni graduate who came on board initially to help boost marketing, built up their business  -  not only doing hair removal by laser, but also offering a non-surgical, non-oral drug treatment for adult female acne. It proved to be a game-changer.

After years of hard work, with a few missteps along the way, the result was many many happy clients. 45 clinics later, the pair had built something substantial, and in mid-2018 they sold their cosmetic skincare clinic business to large ASX-listed company, Australian Pharmaceutical Industries for a cool $127million.

Dr Philippa McCaffery started her entrepreneurial journey, almost by chance, after becoming just a little disillusioned working first as a GP, and then as a hospital administrator in the public &amp; private health system in Sydney. Nonetheless that early career experience stood her in good stead when she pivoted from public medicine to buying one single suburban skincare clinic, one of the first in Sydney doing laser hair removal. That first clinic was so overwhelmed with women clients needing help with unwanted body hair, that she and her new business partner Alarna Longes, a young uni graduate who came on board initially to help boost marketing, built up their business &nbsp;- &nbsp;not only doing hair removal by laser, but also offering a non-surgical, non-oral drug treatment for adult female acne. It proved to be a game-changer.
After years of hard work, with a few missteps along the way, the result was many many happy clients. 45 clinics later, the pair had built something substantial, and in mid-2018 they sold their cosmetic skincare clinic business to large ASX-listed company, Australian Pharmaceutical Industries for a cool $127million.

Candid interviews with successful Self-starters. On Build It. They'll Come, you'll hear from some amazing Australian entrepreneurs who bet big to build great businesses. Journalist Helen Dalley interviews business innovators and visionaries on how they turned their lightbulb idea into a viable, sustainable enterprise. 

This podcast is about the human face behind taking a simple idea and turning it into a business or movement. It's the beating heart behind what it takes to build an empire, from concept to execution, and how they actually achieve it. Fuelled by blind faith and hard slog, how they transform their dream idea into concrete reality.

Journalist Helen Dalley interviews business innovators and visionaries on how they turned their lightbulb idea into a viable, sustainable enterprise.

Build It. They'll Come.

Clear Skincare Clinics founder Dr Philippa McCaffery on how she jumped from a GP and hospital administrator career to backing herself & buying a small suburban beauty clinic she then built into a cosmetic skincare clinic empire

How do you revolutionise medicine, helping develop an entire new field of medical science in this country? Well, back when he was a young doctor Professor Gab Kovacs did just that. By starting small and taking 1 step at a time he helped change the practice of reproductive medicine, by pioneering IVF in this country – “test tube” babies they used to be called - as an option for infertile couples to have children in the late 1970’s. Professor Kovacs worked with the greats, lead by Dr Carl Wood and Alan Trounson, those doctors and scientists who researched, tested, achieved breakthroughs and broke down barriers, to change the way infertility was treated and managed.

This team was so successful, after years of hard work they built a thriving business that has enabled thousands of Australian women, and many more around the world, to have babies when their bodies’ biological doors seemed closed forever.

How do you revolutionise medicine, helping develop an entire new field of medical science in this country? Well, back when he was a young doctor Professor Gab Kovacs did just that. By starting small and taking 1 step at a time he helped change the practice of reproductive medicine, by pioneering IVF in this country – “test tube” babies they used to be called - as an option for infertile couples to have children in the late 1970’s. Professor Kovacs worked with the greats, lead by Dr Carl Wood and Alan Trounson, those doctors and scientists who researched, tested, achieved breakthroughs and broke down barriers, to change the way infertility was treated and managed.
This team was so successful, after years of hard work they built a thriving business that has enabled thousands of Australian women, and many more around the world, to have babies when their bodies’ biological doors seemed closed forever.

Monash IVF – Professor Gab Kovacs helped pioneer IVF, revolutionising reproductive medicine, enabling thousands of women to have babies

In late 2023 we brought you an interview with serially successful entrepreneur Mark Woodland, who co-created and built the Kismet platform to provide digital tools to help NDIS participants easily link up with approved providers, reducing fraud and overcharging & improving compliance along the way. Kismet only began life as a business in August 2022, after Mark had kept the idea in his bottom drawer for 13 years. Then in early 2023 Mark raised a whopping $4 million from venture capital veterans AirTree Ventures, Daniel Petre AO and others, an enormous tick of approval for Mark Woodland, a former soldier and proud product of a single mum household. Now the latest news in September 2024, is Kismet completed a successful $32.5 million seed funding round from venture capital investors. Wow. Not bad for just over 2 years in business! Then again, Mark had already built successful childcare business, xplor, to streamline the admin process for parents and childcare operators alike, which he sold in 2020 to US private equity, reportedly making xplor worth $100 million, and putting Mark onto the Financial Review Young Rich List.  Mark’s is such a remarkable startup journey, we thought we’d share it with you again. Enjoy.

In late 2023 we brought you an interview with serially successful entrepreneur Mark Woodland, who co-created and built the Kismet platform to provide digital tools to help NDIS participants easily link up with approved providers, reducing fraud and overcharging &amp; improving compliance along the way. Kismet only began life as a business in August 2022, after Mark had kept the idea in his bottom drawer for 13 years. Then in early 2023 Mark raised a whopping $4 million from venture capital veterans AirTree Ventures, Daniel Petre AO and others, an enormous tick of approval for Mark Woodland, a former soldier and proud product of a single mum household. Now the latest news in September 2024, is Kismet completed a successful $32.5 million seed funding round from venture capital investors. Wow. Not bad for just over 2 years in business! Then again, Mark had already built successful childcare business, xplor, to streamline the admin process for parents and childcare operators alike, which he sold in 2020 to US private equity, reportedly making xplor worth $100 million, and putting Mark onto the Financial Review Young Rich List.  Mark’s is such a remarkable startup journey, we thought we’d share it with you again. Enjoy.

2024 – Kismet – how Mark Woodland’s healthtech startup, NDIS platform Kismet just got $32 million richer, thanks to a successful funding round from investors. (From the archives!)

Babak Moini came to Australia with his family as an 8 year old, from Iran. He studied hard, went to university and became an actuary, earned good money. So far a fairly typical immigrant story. But Babak’s journey diverged considerably when he discovered retailing, of all things – his first foray was a small souvenir shop in Cairns -  and he fell in love with the world of business, buying and selling. He dumped his actuarial career and with a co-founder friend, they ended up building a non-invasive beauty treatment empire, in Laser Clinics Australia, with some 80-plus clinics.  What a wild ride it has been. Hope you enjoy Babak Moini.

Babak Moini came to Australia with his family as an 8 year old, from Iran. He studied hard, went to university and became an actuary, earned good money. So far a fairly typical immigrant story. But Babak’s journey diverged considerably when he discovered retailing, of all things – his first foray was a small souvenir shop in Cairns -  and he fell in love with the world of business, buying and selling. He dumped his actuarial career and with a co-founder friend, they ended up building a non-invasive beauty treatment empire, in Laser Clinics Australia, with some 80-plus clinics.  What a wild ride it has been. Hope you enjoy Babak Moini.

Clear Skincare Clinics founder Dr Philippa McCaffery on how she jumped from a GP and hospital administrator career to backing herself & buying a small suburban beauty clinic she then built into a cosmetic skincare clinic empire

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