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Laura Craig started her career selling ice cream door to door in Sydney. She went on to manage major hair care brands at L'Oreal, oversee a $9 million marketing spend at Carlton & United Breweries, and eventually walk away from all of it to build something different.

VIVO Marketing is now 10 years old with over 350 clients. Laura built it as the deliberate opposite of the traditional agency model - no big office, no juniors doing the work of experienced marketers, just senior talent plugging directly into businesses that need real marketing capability without the overhead.

In this episode, Matt and Laura get into what's actually changing in marketing right now - and what isn't. Laura shares why AI is producing genuinely credible output in some areas while automation still falls short in others, and what that means for junior marketers trying to build careers in an increasingly automated landscape.

They also dig into what business owners consistently get wrong when they engage a marketer, why reducing the entire function to lead generation is such a common and costly mistake, and how to think about the fundamentals that need to be in place before any marketing strategy will actually land.

Laura also shares how she built the AI Marketing Summit in six weeks using AI - and what that experience taught her about where the technology is genuinely useful versus where the hype is still outrunning the reality.

If you're a founder trying to figure out how to resource your marketing function properly, or just wondering what good marketing strategy actually looks like in 2026, this one's worth your time.

scalr sagecast is proudly brought to you by scalr, a talent advisory business headquartered in Melbourne, Australia.

If you're a founder or operator thinking about your next hire, building out a TA function, or just not sure where your hiring process is letting you down - reach out to Matt directly at matt@scalr.com.au or find him on LinkedIn.

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Peter Solway set out to be a professional tennis player. When that didn't pan out, he found himself thrown into a sales role at a startup with no training, no playbook, and no idea what cold calling even was - so he just started dialling. Turns out he was good at it.

That accidental start eventually led Pete to found Founder Sales Solution, built around a problem he kept seeing repeat itself: B2B founders doing between $500k and $5 million in revenue who were ready to make their first sales hire but had no idea how to set that person up to succeed. In Australia, 48% of first sales hires don't work out. Pete's mission is to fix that number.

In this episode, Matt and Pete dig into exactly what it takes to get a first salesperson from zero to one. Pete walks through his four-step sales hire success framework, explains why giving a new salesperson the right "kindling" is often the difference between success and failure, and breaks down how to know when the timing is actually right to bring that role into your business.

They also get into BANT - what it is, why it matters, and why it's still a solid starting point for any founder trying to build a repeatable sales process.

If you're a founder still doing all the selling yourself and wondering what comes next, this one's essential listening.

scalr sagecast is proudly brought to you by scalr, a talent advisory business headquartered in Melbourne, Australia.

If you're a founder or operator thinking about your next hire, building out a TA function, or just not sure where your hiring process is letting you down - reach out to Matt directly at matt@scalr.com.au or find him on LinkedIn.

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Holly Smith has been an entrepreneur since she was 18. During COVID, she built a multiple six-figure online coaching business from her mum's kitchen table -- and hasn't stopped since.

In 2022, she published 30 Days to Happiness, a practical guide built around 30 habits designed to reconstruct how you experience your day. She's since founded The One Hour Workday, a program that has helped over 10,000 people reclaim 10 to 20 hours a week by focusing on what actually moves the needle.

In this episode, Matt and Holly dig into why busy work feels productive but rarely is, and what it actually takes to change that. Holly breaks down the philosophy behind the One Hour Workday - one focused hour per day on revenue-generating activities, built around energy audits, Most Important Tasks, and the kind of discipline that creates real momentum rather than the illusion of it.

They also get into micro habits versus bigger behavioural shifts, why task avoidance and shiny object syndrome are so common in founders, and how Holly went from fitness coaching to mental health to productivity - and why that journey makes complete sense when you hear her tell it.

If you're a founder who ends every day feeling busy but not quite sure what you actually achieved, this one's for you.

scalr sagecast is proudly brought to you by scalr, a talent advisory business headquartered in Melbourne, Australia.

If you're a founder or operator thinking about your next hire, building out a TA function, or just not sure where your hiring process is letting you down - reach out to Matt directly at matt@scalr.com.au or find him on LinkedIn.

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Francis Yim has spent over 23 years in video production - from creating trailers for Disney Channel Asia to producing organisational culture content for multinationals across Singapore and Australia - before founding Fantestimonial, a business built around one core belief: the testimonial video should be your first marketing video, not your last.

In this episode, Matt and Francis explore what actually makes a testimonial land - and why most businesses are using them wrong.

They cover the sliding doors moment that pointed Francis toward video instead of physics, how he's built creative processes that deliver content across 160 languages, and why authenticity beats production polish every time when it comes to driving a real emotional response.

Francis breaks down why the best testimonials take a customer on a clear journey from problem to solution, how 'why' is the question that separates average from excellent, and why video is one of the most underused tools in employer brand and EVP work.

They also get into the ROI case for quality video, how to use targeted testimonials as a strategic multiplier rather than a nice-to-have, and - somehow - why creamy chicken pasta says everything you need to know about building trust with an audience.

If you're building a brand, hiring for your business, or just trying to connect more authentically with the people you want to reach, this one's worth your time.

scalr sagecast is proudly brought to you by scalr, a talent advisory business headquartered in Melbourne, Australia.

If you're a founder or operator thinking about your next hire, building out a TA function, or just not sure where your hiring process is letting you down - reach out to Matt directly at matt@scalr.com.au or find him on LinkedIn.

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Mark Palmer has had a career most people only dream about - working on aircraft across the globe, before landing at Shield AI as VP of Vision Systems, one of the most exciting defence tech companies operating today.

In this episode, Matt and Mark explore what happens when two businesses with a genuine meeting of minds come together - and why the Shield acquisition of Sentient felt like a natural fit from day one.

We cover a lot of ground in 30 minutes: what scaling businesses consistently get wrong, why culture becomes your most important asset the moment you start to grow, and how to hold onto and develop your best people through periods of rapid change.

Mark also shares his take on autonomy as the future of work, what it actually takes to move into defence tech, and why Australia is rapidly becoming a serious global player in the space - without needing to rely on government funding to get there.

If you're building a team, thinking about your next career move, or just fascinated by where defence tech is heading, this one's worth your time.

scalr sagecast is proudly brought to you by scalr, a talent advisory business headquartered in Melbourne, Australia.

If you're a founder or operator thinking about your next hire, building out a TA function, or just not sure where your hiring process is letting you down - reach out to Matt directly at matt@scalr.com.au or find him on LinkedIn.

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This week on scalr sagecast, I sat down with Sam Young, founder of SIID Labs.

Sam is a counsellor and psychotherapist with frontline experience in mental health and addiction - and he’s using both professional and lived experience to build something different.

SIID is a personalised, AI-powered micro-guidance companion designed to support people in the moments that matter most - those brief spikes of anxiety, overwhelm, rumination or task paralysis that can derail focus and momentum.

Many people either can’t access mental health systems, don’t engage with them, or don’t get support when they actually need it. SIID is designed to bridge that gap.

In this episode, we explore:

• What “micro moments” are and why they’re so important
• Why traditional support models often fail in real-time situations
• How AI and wearable tech can enable proactive, pre-emptive support
• The role of personalisation in improving outcomes
• And how Sam’s lived experience has shaped the product and its intent

A raw and honest conversation about mental health, technology, and building more human solutions.

scalr sagecast is proudly brought to you by scalr, a talent advisory business headquartered in Melbourne, Australia.

If you're a founder or operator thinking about your next hire, building out a TA function, or just not sure where your hiring process is letting you down - reach out to Matt directly at matt@scalr.com.au or find him on LinkedIn.

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Joining this week's scalr sagecast is Vanessa Raath - global sourcing expert, AI commentator and one of the most engaging speakers in the talent industry.

V’s career journey spans South Africa, London and Thailand, with a decade in tech consulting before building her current business and becoming a recognised voice on sourcing, AI and innovation.

In this episode, Matt and V explore:

• V’s unconventional path into tech and sourcing.
• Where TA and AI are truly converging.
• Why sourcing capability is back in demand.
• What stage we’re really at in the AI journey.

It’s a high-energy, wide-ranging conversation packed with insight on the future of talent acquisition.

scalr sagecast is proudly brought to you by scalr, a talent advisory business headquartered in Melbourne, Australia.

If you're a founder or operator thinking about your next hire, building out a TA function, or just not sure where your hiring process is letting you down - reach out to Matt directly at matt@scalr.com.au or find him on LinkedIn.

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Craig Harman has spent years leading within agency recruitment - and along the way, he noticed a persistent, expensive problem: organisations underutilising the strongest networks they already have.

In this episode, Craig shares why he built mployd, a platform focused on helping businesses create structured, effective referral programs that actually work.

We explore:

• Why referral hiring is one of the most cost-effective channels available
• How poor or informal referral approaches end up wasting money
• What a strong referral culture looks like in practice
• And simple ways leaders can get started without adding complexity

A practical conversation for anyone responsible for hiring, cost control, or building stronger internal networks.

scalr sagecast is proudly brought to you by scalr, a talent advisory business headquartered in Melbourne, Australia.

If you're a founder or operator thinking about your next hire, building out a TA function, or just not sure where your hiring process is letting you down - reach out to Matt directly at matt@scalr.com.au or find him on LinkedIn.