Insights from Business and Beyond 2025
Thousands of enthused attendees gathered across Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne for Business and Beyond 2025, to hear from global tech CEO and Shark Tank star Robert Herjavec, founder of billion-dollar makeup business MCoBeauty Shelley Sullivan, and a lineup of other experts in their fields who collectively identified today's most effective strategies for business growth.
The topics offered something for everyone at any stage of business, ranging from how to innovate and scale successfully, to how any type of business can benefit from personal branding, to using AI to disrupt industries for transformative outcomes.
If you couldn’t be there this year, we've gathered a few of our favourite takeaways.
Robert Herjavic
"Money doesn’t change who you are, it simply amplifies who you are".
Multi-talented tech mogul, Shark Tank star and Emmy Award-winning Executive Producer Robert Herjavec drew the audience in with his incredible rags to riches journey.
After setting the scene of his immigrant beginnings, he explained how at just 20 years old, he entered the world of cybersecurity, recognising its potential long before it became mainstream. A tech enthusiast at heart, he went on to build and sell four companies: the first for $200,000, then $35 million, $500 million, and eventually $1 billion. Surprisingly, it was the $200,000 sale that had the greatest impact on his life. Back then, his only goal was to make $1,000 a year — more than his parents ever earned.
That modest win reshaped his entire outlook on success. He wants us to understand that the goal is not to get rich, the goal is to have complete ownership of your time.
Robert's business philosophy begins with purpose. Motivation comes from finding meaning, and people are driven by either pain or pleasure, with pain often being the stronger motivator. He sees confidence as the ability to move from one failure to another without giving up. Education, in his view, is more powerful than money because it forms the foundation of a growth mindset.
He emphasised the importance of time, discipline, faith, courage, and coaching. The less privilege someone starts with, the harder they have to work. Discipline begins with small habits, like waking up early - not something that came naturally to him, but instead something that he committed to becoming a habit. He also insists that real growth comes with guidance and coaching.
Robert's drive for success was fuelled by a deep desire to honour his parents’ sacrifices. He didn’t grow up around wealth — he didn’t even know what a Cadillac was — but he knew it meant something to his father. Years later, sitting in a white Cadillac he had bought for his father, he felt the weight of his journey lift. For him, that moment was proof that every sacrifice, and the purpose behind it, was worth it.
Shelley Sullivan
"Getting to 5M is easy; 5M to 50M is hugely challenging."
Having built and sold MCoBeauty for a 1 billion dollar exit, Australia's leading female entrepreneur Shelley Sullivan shared her journey from talent management to founder of a global beauty empire, and the scaling strategies that got her there.
It all started with an observation while working with models: a gap in the market for innovative beauty tools. This insight led to the creation of the first-ever heated eyelash curler, which quickly found its way onto the shelves of major retailers like Myer and David Jones, marking the start of her brand. The next innovation, 'tan in a can,' revolutionised the self-tanning market, proving that a unique product with a clear value proposition can transcend its category.
As her brand expanded, Shelley faced the challenge of competing in a saturated market. Her strategy was to offer "masstige" products — luxury formulas at an affordable price point. This approach was built on strong relationships with manufacturers and an unwavering focus on customer feedback. By listening closely to her audience and using their input to drive product development, she ensured that every product launch met a real need. This customer-centric approach, combined with a willingness to think outside the square for marketing campaigns (like hiring a Taylor Swift lookalike when Taylor was in town) allowed her brand to stand out from the crowd without a huge budget.
Shelley also emphasised the importance of a founder's personal brand - and how people respond to "founder-led" brands. In an age where authenticity is key, consumers want to know the person behind the brand. While she didn't initially seek the spotlight, she found that her profile grew with the company, and her willingness to be the brand's spokesperson built trust and human connection with her customers.
Finally, she offered critical advice on scaling a business. She stressed that while getting a business to $5 million is a huge achievement, the leap to $50 million requires a different approach. This involves moving away from a flat structure, focusing on your strengths, and hiring a strong management team to cover your weaknesses. She underscored the need for a strategic five-year business plan and a clear focus on the company's core mission to maintain innovation and growth.
Dr. Ariella Heffernan-Marks
"Create a unique solution for a global problem".
Switching to the health sector, Business & Beyond attendees received some thought-provoking insights from Dr. Ariella Heffernan-Marks, a medical professional turned founder of newly-launched AI women’s health app, Ovum. She highlighted the systemic limitations and underrepresentation of women in health research, which creates a significant data gap — reflected in the current inadequacies in patient treatment. Dr. Heffernan-Marks explained how Ovum's AI-driven approach is a solution to this problem, providing empowerment for women with personalised and accessible health information, particularly for those in regional and remote communities. The app's effectiveness is already being validated through a clinical trial with a major women’s hospital, showcasing the potential of AI to scale and create a greater positive impact.
When it came to building her company, Dr Ariella found that combining empathy with logical understanding was the key to bringing people into her dream and creating a strong brand that people follow. Creating a brand around the founder and a standout brand around the product are key for cut-through in a competitive market — as she discovered that the area of AI is already saturated. She found support in progressing her project by being able to clearly articulate her mission, and her vision for the future of the Ovum app.
Dr. Ariella spoke about her transition from medicine to entrepreneurship, revealing that every decision she made was centred around her intuition. She believes this intuition can be enhanced by actively managing stress and 'de-adrenalizing' yourself through practices like exercise, mirror work, and gratitude walks. Dr. Ariella also stressed the importance of a business coach in helping to distinguish between positive and negative stress. She recommended taking time to acknowledge and celebrate your achievements along the way, to relieve the constant pressure that many founders feel.
World-renowned Ultimate Performance Specialist Joseph McClendon III took to the stage twice, entertaining while educating the audience on how to train our brains and nervous systems to create abundance in our lives.
Also ading to the array of insights was global businessman and AI expert John Lee, who shared why "the best known beats the best" and how to leverage AI tools to make yourself the most visible brand in your category.
Rounding out the day, successful entrepreneur and investor JT Foxx demonstrated his personal branding superpowers which he brings to all kinds of businesses, built on the framework of how he went from having $974 (pre-pandemic) to 9 figures in 10 years.
If you want to benefit from game-changing business strategies like those shared at Business & Beyond, then be sure to get yourself a seat at next year's event.
To be in the room for one of our other upcoming events, check out the SR Australia Events page.
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