Now, she’s bringing that experience to her new role as Brisbane’s Women in Business Ambassador. We talk to Cathie about the ideas exciting her now, how entrepreneurship has changed, the opportunities Brisbane businesses can seize on the road to 2032, and why she wants to help more women back themselves and their ambitions.

On business in Brisbane

You’ve built, scaled and exited businesses from Brisbane that have gone on to make an impact well beyond Australia. What has Brisbane given you as an entrepreneur?

One of the things I love most about doing business in Brisbane is how supportive the business community is. It’s a very warm and welcoming community, and in my experience people are always happy to help with connections, knowledge or expertise. So many people here have backed us along the way, and that generosity is something I’m really keen to pay forward.

You and your husband Stuart have spent much of your careers turning ambitious ideas into businesses. When you’re looking at a new idea now, what makes you think, ‘there’s something in this’?

The first question is whether there’s a real market need. Is the problem you’re solving a real problem, and does it matter enough to enough people that they’re prepared to pay for it?

It’s also about being really laser-focused on your core business model and your core audience. As founders, it’s very easy to get excited by new ideas and distracted by the latest shiny object. It’s important to remember that not every good opportunity needs to be yours, particularly if it distracts you from the goals you’ve set. That new idea might be a fantastic opportunity, but it might be someone else’s rather than yours. We’ve walked away from some genuinely good ideas over the years, some of them from people we really respect, because they would have pulled us away from what we were building. Saying no is never easy, but staying focused is what allowed us to build the businesses we did.

Technology has been a thread throughout your career, from healthcare through to cybersecurity. What technology or idea are you most excited about right now?

I’m simultaneously excited and terrified by AI.  The possibilities it creates are endless, but at the same time the potential for negative outcomes is also a huge threat.  There’s no industry that won’t be touched by AI, and the changes that it will create in the next few years will shape generations to come. For small business owners the opportunity is huge, but so is the need to understand where your data is going and which tools you can trust.

What feels different about being an entrepreneur today compared with when you started out?

One of the biggest differences today is the ease of starting out.  When we first started in business the initial investment was enormous.  You needed people, infrastructure, and equipment and you had to find a way to pay for that before the revenue started flowing.  Now the cost of getting started is significantly lower, with access to cloud-based systems, AI agents that can handle work that once needed a whole team, and an endless amount of knowledge accessible at the touch of a button or the sound of your voice.  You can spin something up so quickly and have a crack at seeing whether it’s hitting the mark or not without having to commit serious money to do so. What hasn’t changed is what it takes to scale. Starting is easier than ever, but growing still comes down to your people, your leadership and your willingness to let go.

You’re a board director of the Brisbane Lions. What has being involved in elite sport taught you about leadership?

Being on the board of the Brisbane Lions has shown me just how closely leadership in sport and leadership in business mirror each other.

At surface level they might seem completely different, but there’s so much that business can learn from sport and sport can learn from business. One of the most tangible lessons is the importance of everybody having clear visibility of their role, what’s required of them and how they need to deliver for their team.

Having experienced the Paris Games, what do you think Brisbane can learn as we look towards 2032? How can Brisbane businesses seize the moment and maximise the Olympic and Paralympic opportunity?

As Brisbane looks towards 2032, there are real learnings from how previous Olympic and Paralympic cities have made the most of the Games, and from those that perhaps haven’t maximised the opportunity. One of my favourite parts of the Paris Olympics was seeing those iconic monuments and landscapes, famous the world over, incorporated into the Games. Brisbane’s landscape is completely different, and clearly not yet as readily identifiable as Paris was before the Games, but that’s one of the things that’s so exciting. Those images will give the world a sense of familiarity with Brisbane, and create a desire for people to want to experience it in person. By virtue of being an Olympic and Paralympic city, Brisbane becomes a global name, and it’s really important that businesses think about what that opportunity looks like for them.

Whether you operate in a business directly related to the Games or not, there’s an opportunity to identify how having the eyes of the world on Brisbane can help you achieve more. Start thinking about it now, who’ll be visiting, what they’ll need and how your business could be part of their experience, because 2032 will come around faster than any of us expect.

You’re stepping into the role of Brisbane’s Women in Business Ambassador. What are you most excited about, and what do you hope to bring to the role?

I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have people share their experience with me and open doors when I needed it, and that’s what I want to do more of for other women. What I’m most excited about is expanding the connections between the women who are already doing great things here, connections that allow women-led businesses to grow, executives to connect with each other, and experienced leaders to connect with the founders coming through.

It’s about creating that flywheel effect that allows everybody to build on the momentum that’s already accelerating in the city, and helping more women back themselves and their ambitions along the way.

On a personal note

What’s the best business/professional advice you were ever given?

The best advice I was ever given came from Sir Richard Branson, and it was about the power of delegation.  He said that until you can get comfortable delegating, your growth will always be limited by your own personal capacity, and to someone with more than a few control freak tendencies it really hit home!

Best business book or podcast?

I really love the podcast Acquired, by Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal.  Each episode is crazy long, but they deep dive into the back stories behind some of the biggest businesses and brands in the world and I always learn something from every episode.

Favourite Brisbane bar or restaurant?

John Gambaro is a great friend of ours, so it’s always hard to go past one of his venues. Persone and Black Hide Queens Wharf always guarantee a delicious meal and great service.

Simon Gloftis’s James Street venues are family favourites too. Stuart and our son Sam are always up for a steak at SK, and a Greek meal at Hellenika never misses the mark either!