How I got here
I’ve had a very “squiggly” career (to put it lightly). Over the past 10+ years, I’ve launched Japanese retailer UNIQLO into the Australian market, led Retail Innovation at beauty powerhouse MECCA, co-founded an award-winning podcast called lady-brains, led the USA expansion of Aussie SPF brand Ultra Violette, grown my newsletter Anna Mack’s Stack to thousands of readers, and worked closely with Pre-Seed to Series A founders across Australia and the US to help them start, grow and scale their businesses globally.
Along the way, I’ve experienced my fair share of crazy highs and soul crushing failures. I’ve quit things that looked glamorous from the outside because they were eating me up inside. I’ve walked away from lucrative roles and opportunities without so much as a flimsy plan. I’ve poured my words and heart out on the internet despite not knowing where it would lead.
I've questioned many a life decision over the years but in 2023, something shifted. I finally decided to:
a) start listening to my intuition telling me to completely pivot my life, and
b) stop forcing my skills, talents and ambition into a job description or narrative that others could easily understand
Instead, I embraced my multifaceted, generalist identity and committed to building a portfolio career in public. I began thinking about my career not as a ladder, but as a web. As an ever-changing set of experiences, strengths, relationships and capabilities that intersect and overlap to create a structure that’s uniquely mine. One that ebbs and flows as my life moves, priorities change, interests evolve, and desires and hopes and dreams become clear.
This mental model - the Career Web™️ - is the driving force behind how I've monetised my unique value in different ways, at different times. It's changed everything about how I work, how I earn and how I think about identity, ambition and success.
It's also the framework that anchors my current portfolio career across startup consulting and advisory, mentoring, digital products and programs, writing, speaking and content creation.
My mission
My mission is to help ambitious, multidimensional, highly skilled professionals build financially resilient and joyful portfolio careers they are proud of.
It’s to build the world’s largest community and education platform for the builders, creators, movers, shakers, managers, leaders, ICs, artists and parents who are driven by a bigger vision for their lives.
For those want to design their work as a unique manifestation of their strengths, experience, knowledge, talents, passions and dreams. Those who seek to own their time, value and direction outright. Those destined to operate as diversified one person businesses and brands.
I believe that work can expand human potential, creativity and fulfilment and thus my idea is a big one: to change the way we (individuals, society, culture) structure our careers, own our value and see our success.