In this episode, Gav sits down with CJ (Craig Josic), a lifelong connector, entrepreneur and ecosystem builder, to unpack a journey that starts with homelessness at 16 and evolves into building thriving founder communities across Australia and beyond.

CJ shares how connection, community, and a “give first” mindset became the foundation of everything he does - from launching Silicon Coast to now building an innovation powerhouse aimed at creating 100 companies worth $100 million each.

Expect a candid, behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to launch a B2B SaaS company from scratch - completely bootstrapped.

Got questions or topics you want us to cover? Email us at journey@sixsides.co

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a 5-star rating and a review on your favourite podcast app. It really helps us reach more people!

In this episode, we cover:

• CJ’s early life and becoming homeless at 16
• The role of mentorship and surrounding yourself with the right people
• Why connection and community are the real unfair advantage
• The “give first” philosophy and how it compounds over time
• Lessons from building and losing a business
• Why founders shouldn’t go it alone
• The importance of signal vs noise in decision making
• Building Silicon Coast and creating a startup ecosystem
• The evolution into Innovation Powerhouse
• AI, community, and the future of human connection
• Procurement opportunities and scaling Australian businesses
• Raising the next generation of entrepreneurs
• Legacy, family, and building generational impact
• Why collaboration is the new competition

Founder Collective: https://founderscollective.com.au/founders-collective
FC's Newsletter: https://founderscollectivecommunity.substack.com/
Gavin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gavintye/

CJ's links

Craig Josic: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigjosic/
Innovation Powerhouse: https://www.innovationpowerhouse.org
Global Entrepreneurship Network: https://www.genglobal.org/
Queensland AI Hub: https://www.qldaihub.com/
FWDFest: www.fwdfest.co

In this episode, Gav sits down with Wayne Gerard to unpack his ongoing founder journey - from army officer to building RedEye, one of Australia’s early enterprise SaaS companies, through to becoming an active investor and launching new ventures like My Planner and Cetana.

This is not a story about what was - Wayne is still very much in the journey, continuing to build, evolve and back other founders while navigating the realities of business and life.

Expect a candid, behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to launch a B2B SaaS company from scratch, the pressure it entails and how it can impact your health if you're not careful.

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a 5-star rating and a review on your favourite podcast app. It really helps us reach more people!

In this episode, we cover:

• Why Wayne is still in the journey - evolving from founder to investor while continuing to build
• Wayne’s early career in the army and transition into tech
• The moment he decided to take the leap into entrepreneurship
• Early business failures and lessons on timing and co-founder alignment
• The origin story of RedEye and identifying a real market gap
• What it was like building enterprise SaaS before cloud was widely adopted
• The reality of founder pressure, burnout and panic attacks
• Raising capital and the hidden toll it takes
• Why founders must stop being the product to scale
• Building a repeatable sales engine in enterprise SaaS
• The difference between a demand problem and a sales problem
• How to think about risk and make better decisions as a founder
• The importance of deep customer relationships
• Lessons on leadership, delegation and letting people grow
• Why most startups are just apps - not real businesses
• The transition from founder to investor and what changes
• What makes a great founder in today’s environment
• How AI is reshaping SaaS and enterprise sales
• The importance of balancing health, wealth and longevity
• What keeps Wayne motivated across multiple ventures

Wayne Gerard:

• PRTNR (investment company): https://prtnr.au
• My Planner: https://myplanner.au
• Cetana: https://cetana.au
• Email: wg@prtnr.au

John Webster joins Gavin Tye on The Leap to unpack the less-glamorous truth of founder life - the long timelines, the constant pivots, and the pressure that never really disappears, it just changes shape.

John takes us back to his corporate life inside a high-stress NASDAQ-listed business, and the gut-punch moment that made him walk away - not because he didn’t like the work, but because he couldn’t stand the system: watching a team bust their hump and then being forced to rank them on a bell curve.

That was the line in the sand.

From there, he shares how his first startup idea (born from his wife’s life as a shift-working nurse) turned into CoRoster - and then evolved into a broader planning engine used for massive, complex events, including back-of-house workforce planning at COP28 in Dubai.

Along the way, John gets real about “innovation theatre”, the danger of startup romance, why most things take 10 times longer than you expect, and how a solid support network at home can make or break the whole journey.

You’ll also hear John’s practical take on building an ecosystem of products through Launchkey Lab, what he’s learned about selling when you’re not a “natural salesperson”, and why growth and learning matter more than the money.

Links:

• John on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/websterjohn/
• Launchkey Lab website: https://launchkeylab.com
• CoRoster website: https://www.coroster.com
• I’m In Health website: https://iminhealth.com

Founders Collective and our businesses:

• Founder Collective: https://founderscollective.com.au
• FC's Newsletter: https://founderscollectivecommunity.substack.com/

Gavin Tye is a sales strategist and the creator of Sales Market Fit (SMF) - a game-changing framework that helps B2B startups unlock predictable, scalable growth. With over 20 years of experience in high-value SaaS sales, Gavin has cracked the code on why businesses struggle to close deals and how they can transform their approach. Sales Market Fit aligns positioning, go-to-market strategies, and sales execution into a repeatable process that wins more clients with less friction. Learn how to stop relying on hope and start winning with a deliberate, proven sales strategy at salesmarketfit.co.

Connect with us:

• Roman Galkov on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/romangalikov/
• Gavin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gavintye/