How I Made It

Bill Beament put himself on the map by transforming a fledgling explorer, Northern Star, into one of the world's biggest gold miners.

After turning the 1¢ company into a multibillion-dollar giant, the West Australian decided to take a punt on a new solo venture.

Now the founder and chief executive of mining exploration company Develop Global, the king of Kalgoorlie is turning his attention to critical minerals.

When Bruna Papandrea arrived in New York, she had $200.

An avid storyteller, the South Australian began reading scripts for her friend, actor Anthony LaPaglia. But it was when she was offered a job working for legendary filmmakers Sydney Pollack and Anthony Minghella that her career transformed.

“I was 29, and I get chills telling the story because that is just a moment that you can't fathom how much it's going to change your...

When Craig Carracher first met his business partner, Stephen Gaitanos, he was somewhat reluctant to team up.

“He was only a young fellow. He's 15 years younger than me, and he put his hand up and said, ‘I'd like to come across as your junior,'" Carracher recalls. “And I said, ‘Look, I'm not going to pay you for five years. I'm not sure I like you... I owe you nothing.'" 

But Gaitanos was all...

Grace Brown had always enjoyed maths, science and music. Teamed with a “wild imagination”, her interest in patterns meant she was obsessed with all things magic.

When she took on an engineering design subject in high school, everything became clear.

“I wanted to spend the rest of my life working as an engineer because you could just imagine something and create it that didn't previously exist,”...

The former lawyer walked away from a top-tier legal career to risk his house on an ETF venture. It’s now the country’s second-largest exchange-traded funds provider.

"I was just totally convinced that you know I should just do it," says the Betashares founder.

On the first episode of the new season of How I Made It, host Lauren Sams sits down with the chief executive to found out how he turned his start-up into an indus...

Growing up, Janine Allis never thought about starting her own business. “I didn’t even know what an entrepreneur was,” she says.

But after spotting a gap in the market, there was no stopping the founder of a now-global smoothie company that’s worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

On the final episode of season five of How I Made It, Rich List editor Yolanda Redrup finds out how the Boost Juice owner became ...

Since she was a little girl, Flavia Tata Nardini was obsessed with space.

The Italian-born rocket scientist began her career at the European Space Agency but moved to Adelaide in her 20s, where she found herself confronted with a lack of industry.

Left with no other choice, she started her own business.

On this week's episode of How I Made It, Rich List editor Yolanda Redrup finds out how the CEO of Fleet Space Technologies reignit...

Vikas Rambal came to Australia from India on a prospective business trip in 2000. But the project he was looking into was not what it seemed.

It was a moment on his five-day trip that would prove to be pivotal.

On this week’s episode of How I Made It, Rich List editor Yolanda Redrup finds out how a scam and a chance encounter set about the Perdaman Group founder’s dream to build the country’s largest fertiliser pl...

Chris Lucas grew up in the world of hospitality, often spending time in his dad’s pub in Geelong.

But it wasn’t until his mid-30s that one of the country’s top restaurateurs entered the industry himself.

On this week’s episode of How I Made It, host Lauren Sams finds out how working at IBM as a sales and marketing executive inspired Lucas to become one of the biggest figures in the hospitality industry.

This...

Leading Australia’s largest airline is by all accounts a dream job. 

But in 2012, Bruce Buchanan – who was on track to become chief executive of Qantas – walked away from the national carrier. He now runs one of the world’s hottest tech companies: $7.2 billion e-commerce marketing tech firm Rokt.

This week on How I Made It, Rich List editor Yolanda Redrup pulls back the curtain to find out how this form...

Trinny Woodall first became a household name as one half of the dynamic duo, Trinny and Susannah.

Together the pair built a career issuing fashion advice to women on their long-running BBC series, What Not to Wear. But at the age of 53 Woodall decided it was time to step out on her own, launching eponymous beauty brand Trinny London.

On this week’s episode of How I Made It, fashion editor Lauren Sams finds out how the former ...

Growing up on a sheep farm, Matt Jensen has long had an appreciation for natural fibres.

But it was during a stint in London working as a banker that the budding entrepreneur spotted a gap in the menswear market.

On this week’s episode of How I Made It, fashion editor Lauren Sams finds out how the failure of one business led to the success of another – menswear giant MJ Bale.

This podcast was sponsored by Telstra.

S...

When the co-founder and former chief executive of The Big Group was 21, he had just $500 in his pocket.

Not afraid of risk, Bruce Keebaugh and his wife, Chyka Keebaugh, used it to champion the competitive world of catering and events.

This week on How I Made it, The Australian Financial Review’s Lauren Sams finds out how this hospitality guru came to dominate an industry.

This podcast was sponsored by Telstra.

See omnystudio.c...

From the start of high school, Rod Drury was captivated by computing. 

It was a fascination that would go on to create one of the largest ASX-listed tech companies, accounting software giant Xero.

In this week’s episode of How I Made It, The Australian Financial Review Rich List editor Yolanda Redrup finds out how a passion in high school became a $28 billion company.

This podcast was sponsored by Telstra.

See omnystudio....

Jose Bryce Smith came to Australia on holiday. Seven years later, she founded what would become one of the country’s biggest haircare brands.

With products stocked in more than 30,000 salons across 21 countries, Original & Mineral (O&M) is a dominant force in the hair industry.

In this week’s episode of the new season of How I Made It, The Australian Financial Review fashion editor Lauren Sams pulls back the cur...