The crowd is spilling out of a Bob Geldof event, but one wily ex-reporter has tapped into her performing arts know-how to get backstage. Armed with nothing but a business card and a tiny handwritten message, she’s trying to get her name to rockstar Bono and his new venture, PRODUCT (RED).  

It might sound ludicrous. And it kind of was. Greta Thomas was a marketing professional in Sydney, Australia. She had no connection to U2’s frontman Bono and she didn’t know anyone working on his PRODUCT (RED) campaign. But when Greta’s determined to make something happen, she doesn’t take the first no. “You don’t even take the tenth no. If you’re really passionate about something, there’s more than one way to get from A to B.” 

And the winding path is her speciality. A trained ballet dancer, Greta Thomas didn’t finish high school or take on under-graduate studies at university. And yet her career has taken her from dance, to journalism and PR, to marketing roles at eBay and the Sydney Opera House, and now to a role advising and mentoring innovation companies with her company Full Potential Labs.

Greta and her business partner Claire Hatton host the podcast Don’t Stop Us Now.

+++ 

Curveball is a production of Deadset Studios. Leaders unpack their darkest moments and share tips on how to deal with challenging times. 

Keep up to date with Curveball by following @_deadsetstudios on Twitter and @deadsetstudios on instagram.  

Want more from your leadership journey? To get more wisdom and life lessons from top leaders delivered to you directly, sign up to Curveball’s LinkedIn newsletter!  And please do suggest a guest by visiting www.curveballshow.com

This was episode was produced and edited by Liam Riordan with sound design by Justin Rouillon. The executive producers are Rachel Fountain and Kellie Riordan. 

We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the land on which this show was made. 



Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The crowd is spilling out of a Bob Geldof event, but one wily ex-reporter has tapped into her performing arts know-how to get backstage. Armed with nothing but a business card and a tiny handwritten message, she’s trying to get her name to rockstar Bono and his new venture, PRODUCT (RED).  It might sound ludicrous. And it kind of was. Greta Thomas was a marketing professional in Sydney, Australia. She had no connection to U2’s frontman Bono and she didn’t know anyone working on his PRODUCT (RED) campaign. But when Greta’s determined to make something happen, she doesn’t take the first no. “You don’t even take the tenth no. If you’re really passionate about something, there’s more than one way to get from A to B.” And the winding path is her speciality. A trained ballet dancer, Greta Thomas didn’t finish high school or take on under-graduate studies at university. And yet her career has taken her from dance, to journalism and PR, to marketing roles at eBay and the Sydney Opera House, and now to a role advising and mentoring innovation companies with her company F<a href="http://www.fullpotentiallabs.com/">ull Potential Labs.</a>  Greta and her business partner Claire Hatton host the podcast <a href="https://dontstopusnow.co/">Don’t Stop Us Now.</a> +++ Curveball is a production of <a href="https://www.deadsetstudios.com/">Deadset Studios</a>. Leaders unpack their darkest moments and share tips on how to deal with challenging times. Keep up to date with Curveball by following @_deadsetstudios on <a href="https://twitter.com/_deadsetstudios">Twitter</a> and @deadsetstudios on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/deadsetstudios/">instagram</a>.  Want more from your leadership journey? To get more wisdom and life lessons from top leaders delivered to you directly, sign up to <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/curveball-6745938675223425024/">Curveball’s LinkedIn newsletter</a>!  And please do suggest a guest by visiting <a href="http://www.curveballshow.com/">www.curveballshow.com</a>   This was episode was produced and edited by Liam Riordan with sound design by Justin Rouillon. The executive producers are Rachel Fountain and Kellie Riordan. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the land on which this show was made.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>

The human experience is all about adapting. Whether it’s a CEO trying to ride out an international travel crisis, a surfer struggling against a monster wave while his floatation vest fails, or a media star whose whole life changes in an instant, rarely do you get to glimpse what’s really going on during a someone's darkest hour.

In these revealing, personal conversations with a range of successful people, Curveball host Kellie Riordan gets the lowdown on how people grow in extraordinary times. 

Keep up to date with Curveball by following @_deadsetstudios.com on Twitter and @deadsetsetstudios on Instagram. Find out more about the show or suggest a guest by going to www.curveballshow.com

Curveball is also now a LinkedIn newsletter! It's a weekly top-up of the best advice our guests have to help set you on the right path. Subscribing is totally free.

Curveball

“You don’t even take the tenth no. If you’re really passionate about something, there’s more than one way to get from A to B.”  Greta Thomas is the master of reinvention and taking the non-conventional path. She shares her journey from ballet dance to Bono-hunter to start-up advisor.

Advertisement