Ep 17: Where Does Your Resilience Really Come From? || Sandra Juarez
What if the only thing stopping you from living the life you want is believing it's too late? At 53, Sandra is a mother of 4, a business owner, and someone who refuses to let age define what she's capable of. In this episode of Your Next Step, I sit down with Sandra, founder of Kalloza, for an honest conversation about resilience, motherhood, relationships, building a business and why life is simply too short to keep putting things off. From watching her immigrant parents build a life in Aust...
28 Sept 2026
Ep16: What If the Life You Worked For Isn’t the Life You Want? | Bridg Tran
What happens when you spend years building a life, only to realise it was never really yours? Bridg Tran spent years studying and working as a chiropractor, doing what she thought she was supposed to do. From the outside, she was high functioning. Internally, she felt disconnected, lost and increasingly burnt out. Eventually, she walked away. Today, Bridg is a breathwork practitioner helping high-performing women regulate their nervous systems, while building businesses that feel more aligned...
17 Sept 2026
Ep 15: My Dad Turned 60. I Asked Him What Really Matters in Life || Mehdi Rassafiani
What really matters after 60 years of life? In this special episode of Your Next Step, I sit down with my dad as he turns 60 to reflect on the experiences, challenges and lessons that have shaped his life. From losing his father at seven years old and leaving home for Tehran, to moving our family from Iran to Australia, navigating 30 years of marriage and becoming a father, we unpack what six decades of life have taught him about resilience, love, family and success. We talk about learning...
7 Sept 2026
EP 14: She Lost Her Dream Job. What Happened Next Changed Everything || Sophie Sherman
Losing your job can feel like everything is falling apart. But what if it’s actually the push you needed to build the life you’ve been thinking about? Sophie Sherman is the founder of Ourfit, a clothing hire platform designed to make accessing clothes as easy and normal as buying them. After almost five years in a career she loved, Sophie’s company unexpectedly went into liquidation, just weeks after she had written down that she wanted to work for herself. In this episode, Sophie and I tal...
23 Aug 2026
Ep 13: The Psychology of High Performers: Why Success Won’t Heal You || Max Stephens
Success is supposed to make you happy. But what if success is actually a coping mechanism? Max Stephens is a developmental philosopher, strategist and Amazon #1 bestselling author who has spent years studying the psychology behind high performance. He has delivered more than 7,000 executive coaching sessions to CEOs, founders and senior leaders, is a published researcher in developmental psychology and leadership, and is the creator of the Fracture → Strategy → Distortion (FSD) Framework. Gro...
2 Aug 2026
Ep 12: The Psychologist Who Forgot How to Cope || Ben Jepsen
Everyone knows the coping strategies. Ben Jepsen spent 6 years studying them, then forgot every single one when he burnt out. He's an organisational psychologist who completed 6 years of psychology training, hit a wall he didn't see coming, and only realised he was burnt out a month later when someone told him. Out of that funk came Blue Friend, a mental health card deck that started as a shoebox of fidget toys and resilience cards he made for himself, and has since reached 250+ people throug...
15 Jul 2026
Ep 11: The Finance Expert: Most People Shouldn't Start A Business! Do This Instead || Stephen Mitchell
Everyone talks about finding your passion. Stephen Mitchell built his career by ignoring that advice completely. He grew up in Western Sydney, opened one of the first small group training gyms in Surry Hills, built a genetic testing startup that ran out of money, then accidentally fell into car finance after losing it all. Now he runs Nexus Advisory, a boutique brokerage helping founders access the debt they need to scale. In this episode Stephen (founder of Nexus Advisory) and I talk about w...
29 Jun 2026
Ep 10: This Is What It Actually Takes To Go All In || Olly Williams
Everyone romanticises walking away from the safe path. Olly actually did it. director title, nice car, the income he chased since his twenties. Then he hit rock bottom, got sober, and gave it all up to bootstrap a health and wellness brand he knew nothing about. In this episode Olly (founder of Sunday Salt) and I talk about what success really means once money stops being the answer, the brutal reality of building sunday salt from ground zero, burning through 90k pre-revenue, and how document...
14 Jun 2026
Ep 9: Rewriting the Rules of the Beauty Industry || Sophie Sin Yu Auyeung
Sophie Sin Yu Auyeung is the founder of MYRRAR your AI-powered beauty bestie, the app helping every woman understand her skin, her undertone, and what actually works for her own unique face. But here's the thing... she's not technical. She pitched this idea in a room full of 70 tech bros. And she's had managing directors look her dead in the face and tell her Myrrar "isn't a real business." And instead of letting any of that break her... she used it. Every single NO became fuel. We got into t...
28 May 2026
Ep 8: Storyteller. Poet. Healing, Connection, and the Courage to Live Fully || Andrew Riis
Most people spend their whole lives running from the dark. Andrew ran toward it. A poet, storyteller, and farm kid from Canada, Andrew has walked through grief, darkness, and seasons of life that would break most people. And instead of rushing past them, he learned to sit in them. Trust them. Let them change him. In this episode, he shares a philosophy rooted in nature, ancestry, and a radical refusal to live with a closed heart. The kind of conversation that makes you want to slow down, brea...
14 May 2026
Ep 7: She Left Everything. Twice. Here's What She Learned || Behnaz Sahaf
This one's personal. This week I sat down with the most requested guest amongst my friends - my mum (Behnaz). She grew up in a small town in Iran, lived through the Islamic Revolution and the Iran-Iraq War, became a doctor, raised two kids, and then immigrated to Australia with no job, limited English, and no family around her. She did it once. Then she went back to Iran and did it all over again. It took her eight years to get her fellowship as a GP in Australia. She started from scratch twi...
30 Apr 2026
Ep 6: Why Being ‘Weird’ Might Be Your Biggest Advantage || Braith Leung
Everyone says "be authentic." Very few actually show you what that looks like. In this episode I sit down with Braith who has built across startups, content, and music and one thing stands out - he doesn't wait. He follows curiosity, takes action, and isn't afraid to look a little "weird" doing it. This isn't about having it figured out. It's about trusting the process while you do. This isn’t a conversation about having it all figured out. It’s about trusting the process.&n...
12 Feb 2026
Ep 5: Modern Dating Is Broken — Here’s What We’re Missing || May Ku
In this episode, I sit down with May Ku, founder of Reev, a dating app built to bring depth and real conversation back into modern dating. We talk about her journey growing up in a highly competitive environment in Korea, struggling with identity, and how that shaped the woman and founder she is today. What I loved about this conversation is that it’s not just about building a tech product, it’s about understanding human connection. We dive into the realities of modern dating - rejectio...
29 Jan 2026
Ep 4: How She Built One of Australia’s Most Influential Communities || Vithyaa Thavapalan
In this episode, I sit down with Vithyaa Thavapalan to unpack the thinking and discipline behind her journey as an entrepreneur, fire investigator, community builder, and mother. We talk about leadership under pressure, building confidence when the stakes are high, and why boundaries are essential for sustainable growth. Vithyaa shares how motherhood reshaped her priorities and leadership style, forcing greater clarity around time, energy, and alignment. We also explore community, real influe...
15 Jan 2026
Ep 3: What Founders Get Wrong About Wealth & Success || Parth Gulati
In this conversation, I sit down with Parth Galati, co-founder of Gather Wealth, to unpack the journey, mindset, and decisions that shaped his path from India to Australia. We explore what long-term success really looks like - beyond revenue and titles - and how relationships, creative thinking, and multidisciplinary experience become a founder’s unfair advantage. Parth breaks down the thinking behind Gather Wealth and his mission to simplify financial management for families while keeping th...
29 Dec 2025
Ep 2: Why Productivity Almost Cost Me My Health || Jessica Martin
In this episode, I sit down with Jessica Martin for a real conversation about the parts of growth and entrepreneurship that rarely get spoken about. We talk about how her upbringing shaped a relentless work ethic, the pressure that came with it, and what happens when ambition starts to override emotional and physical health. Jessica shares her journey from a pre-med path into marketing, the financial challenges that forced her to ask for help, and what it actually takes to build a business wh...
9 Dec 2025
28 - The Year of Delusion & Execution
Summary In this reflective bonus episode, I share my thoughts on turning 28, the importance of self-reflection, and the life-changing decision I made two years ago to stop drinking. I talk about how choosing an alcohol-free lifestyle has transformed my mental health, social life, and personal growth, and I reflect on the wisdom from friends that has shaped me along the way. As I step into my next chapter, I’m moving with positivity, gratitude, trust, delusion, and unwavering execution. Takeaw...
2 Dec 2025
Ep 1: How One Brave Choice Became the Start of Everything || Stephanie Nguyen
In this conversation, Stephanie and I dive deep into the messy, magical journey of growth, both personal and professional. Stephanie talks about what it really feels like to back yourself, to step away from the safety of a corporate job, and to build something that feels true to who you are. We explore the courage it takes to choose authenticity over expectation, the fear that comes with being seen, and the power of having the right people in your corner. We unpack what it means to trust your...
14 Nov 2025
Your Next Step - The Journey Begins
In this debut episode of Your Next Step, Mahdieh Rassafiani opens up with honesty, vulnerability, and intention. She shares the story behind the podcast - a space built for founders, dreamers, and anyone navigating the messy middle of their journey. Mahdieh reflects on her upbringing in Iran, migrating to Australia, the cultural and educational challenges she overcame, and how each chapter shaped her identity and purpose. This episode lays the foundation for what Your Next Step will become: a...
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