The Business Game
The Business Game The Business Game is not another highlight reel of overnight success. It is a structured, honest breakdown of what it really takes to build, scale, and sustain a business at every level. We built The Business Game around a simple truth: business changes as revenue changes. The problems at $500K are not the problems at $5M. The mindset at $5M is not the mindset at $50M. That is why every conversation is grounded in our 10-Level framework, from Level 1 Startup and Survival through to Level 10 Legacy and Exit. If you are: • Trying to get your first consistent revenue • Building your first real team • Breaking through the messy middle • Scaling toward eight or nine figures • Or preparing for exit There is an episode that meets you where you are. Hosted by Steve Plummer and Kalena Stano, who speak to founders operating at every stage of the game. No gatekeeping. No hype. No recycled advice. Just real numbers, real mistakes, real strategy, and real decisions that moved the needle. Each week, we publish two episodes every Monday and Thursday at 6pm AEST, featuring global founders, operators, and investors who break down what actually works at their level and what does not. The Business Game exists to give you clarity. To help you identify your current level. To show you the moves required to reach the next one. Because scaling is not random. It is a game. And every level has different rules. Find your level. Play it properly. Then level up. Watch video episodes on YouTube and explore more at thebusinessgamegroup.com
Episodes
LEVEL TWO: $1M to $5M
FIRST TEAMS, FIRST SYSTEMS STAGE
On today’s episode of The Business Game, we’re sitting down with Robyn Anderson, Founder of JAM AI and creator of Club JAM. One of the fastest-growing AI communities helping small business owners actually understand and implement AI into their day-to-day operations.
After building 17 different AI courses around tools that quickly became...
LEVEL 3: $3M – $8M
DELEGATION & EARLY LEADERSHIP STAGE
On today’s episode of The Business Game, we’re sitting down with Chad G. Bauer, owner of SR&B Advertising, a second-generation agency leader navigating the pressure of modernising a 60-year family business without losing the legacy that built it.
After stepping into the company founded by his father, Chad real...
LEVEL 1: $0 – $1M
STARTUP & SURVIVAL STAGE
On today’s episode of The Business Game, we’re sitting down with Laura Campbell, Founder of Hip Surfer, the Australian baby product brand transforming how parents carry their children.
What started as a side hustle during maternity leave quickly became something much bigger. After struggling with chronic pain and finding existing ba...
LEVEL 1: $0 – $1MSTARTUP & SURVIVAL STAGE
On today’s episode of The Business Game, we’re sitting down with Ian Stephens, one of Australia’s leading sales psychologists, speaker, author, and performance coach who has worked with businesses in 29 countries around the world
Before becoming an internationally recognised sales expert, Ian spent years fighting to keep his business alive — b...
LEVEL 2: $1M – $3M
FIRST TEAM, FIRST SYSTEMS STAGE
On today’s episode of The Business Game, we’re sitting down with Dustin Snyder, Founder and Chief Advisor of WayForward, the company helping organisations uncover the hidden behavioural systems driving turnover, disengagement, low performance, and leadership problems inside teams.
After leading a 600-person manufacturing turnaround, D...
LEVEL THREE: $3M to $8M:
DELEGATION AND EARLY LEADERSHIP
On today’s episode of The Business Game, we’re sitting down with Melanie Warner, founder and CEO of Defining Moments Press.
After rebuilding from $3.6 million in debt to multi-millions in just 18 months, Melanie has turned personal adversity into a scalable business model that helps entrepreneurs turn books into client acquisition s...
LEVEL FOUR: $8M to $20M
GROWING PAINS & OPERATIONAL COMPLEXITY
On today’s episode of The Business Game, we’re sitting down with Melissa Drew, Founder and CEO of InSite BUILD, a construction management firm delivering complex government and institutional projects across the Mid-Atlantic.
After a 20-year career leading large-scale construction projects for national contractors, Melissa la...
LEVEL TWO: $1M to $3M:
FIRST TEAMS, FIRST SYSTEMS, FOUNDER LED
In today’s episode of The Business Game, we’re sitting down with Mark Story, construction consultant, turnaround specialist, and founder of Commercial Construction Services LLC.
For nearly 40 years, Mark has worked on high-stakes construction projects across government infrastructure, stadiums, data centres, and large-scale co...
LEVEL 6: $50M – $150M
GOVERNANCE, DATA & SERIOUS INFRASTRUCTURE
In today’s episode of The Business Game, we’re sitting down with Jesse Vidrine, Founder of Vidrine Pharmaceutical Group and President & Co-Owner of Boudreaux’s New Drug Store, a pharmacist-owned compounding pharmacy that has exploded from a small local operation into a national business licensed across 45+ U.S. states.&...
LEVEL 1: $0 – $1M
STARTUP & SURVIVAL STAGE
Andrew Whittle is the Co-Founder of Being Wear, a gender-free, sensory-friendly underwear brand inspired by his daughter’s experience with ASD and ADHD.
In this episode, Andrew shares how a personal family challenge turned into a startup, the lessons he’s learned building an early-stage brand, and the realities of trying to grow without massive re...
LEVEL 1: $0 – $1M
STARTUP & SURVIVAL STAGE
In today’s episode of The Business Game, we’re sitting down with Andrea Tortella, Founder and CEO of Thrad – the company building advertising infrastructure for AI, placing ads directly inside conversations with large language models.
After working at Perplexity and becoming obsessed with the shift from browsing to answers, Andrea r...
LEVEL ONE: $0 to $1M: STARTUP & SURVIVAL STAGE
In today’s episode of The Business Game, we’re sitting down with Lori Ana Valentin, analytical chemist, former forensic scientist... and Founder of Radiant Journey, where she helps scientists, engineers, and high-performing professionals navigate burnout, leadership pressure, and the hidden psychological cost of high-stress work.
After years wo...
LEVEL FIVE: ORGANISER$20M to $50M
On today’s episode of The Business Game, we’re sitting down with Tim Vipond, Co-Founder and CEO of Corporate Finance Institute, a global education platform training finance professionals in over 200 countries.
After building a $20M+ business off the back of SEO and digital distribution, Tim shares how he turned content into a global growth engine, and why scaling an ...
LEVEL SEVEN: GLOBAL LEADER$150M to $500M
On today’s episode of The Business Game, we’re sitting down with Jay Aldebert, Chief Growth Officer at International Services Inc, and a profit strategist who has analysed more than 80,000 privately held businesses over the past 25 years.
Having generated billions in consulting outcomes, Jay shares why most business owners don’t actually understand how t...
LEVEL FOUR: SCALE BUILDER
$8M to $20M
On today’s episode of The Business Game, we’re sitting down with Ben Gilliland, Founder of Future Proof Property Intelligence, a business tackling one of the biggest and fastest-growing threats facing homeowners today: the collision of climate risk and insurance.
With over 37 million homes already at extreme risk, and $22 trillion in real estate on ...
LEVEL TWO: $1M to $3M: EARLY BUILDER
In today’s episode of The Business Game, we’re sitting down with Sarah Forrai, Co-Founder of Contour Cube, the viral tool designed to make facial icing easy and accessible for everyone.
With organic endorsement from Kendall Jenner, over 1 billion views on social media, and features in GRAZIA and the Daily Mail, Sarah breaks down for us how she created ...
LEVEL FOUR: SCALE BUILDER
What does it actually take to build a business when capital is tight, competition is high, and every mistake gets amplified as you grow?
In today's episode of The Business Game, we're chatting with Justin Giuffrida, co-founder and CEO of Citizens, a rapidly growing Australian café brand redefining coffee culture in the United States.
In this conversation, we’re talking with Justin about ...
LEVEL TWO: EARLY BUILDER
What does it actually take to build a business where the biggest risk isn’t your product… but people?
In today’s episode of The Business Game, we’re talking to cybersecurity expert Robert Siciliano to break down what’s really happening as AI reshapes fraud, deception, and trust – and why most businesses are completely unprepared for it.
R...
LEVEL ONE: STARTUP & SURVIVAL
What does it actually take to build a business where execution isn’t the problem… but you are?
In this episode of The Business Game, Rachel Losser, founder of Losser Consulting Solutions, shares what it really takes to build a consulting firm focused on one thing most businesses struggle with: getting things done.
In this conversation, we're chatting with Rachel about abou...
LEVEL TWO: EARLY BUILDER
What happens when your business is growing… but your fundamentals are quietly breaking underneath you?
In this episode of The Business Game, Carla Penn-Kahn, co-founder of ProfitPeak, shares what it really takes to build and scale a company in one of the fastest-moving spaces in business, AI-driven and agentic commerce.
This isn’t just a conversation about growth; it's a conversati...
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