What happens when you have the ‘perfect’ corporate job at a top-tier firm with a clear path to partnership, but deep down, you feel a pull towards something else? For Alex Marks, the founder of New York’s cult-favourite ‘Sushi Counter’, that pull wasn’t just a distraction - it was the catalyst for trading a high-flying legal career for a world of total uncertainty.

Before she was serving thousands of rolls a day, Alex was a successful M&A lawyer at the top-tier firm Herbert Smith Freehills. She loved the late nights, the adrenaline, and the "in the trenches" camaraderie. But a dream transfer to New York became the catalyst for her pivot when she faced an immediate culture clash. Realising the US corporate world was an "individual sport" she didn't want to play, Alex was faced with a choice: Stay in a job that wasn't a fit, or risk it all.

She chose risk. Pouring her entire $100,000 USD life savings into an idea, she quit her job and, a week later, signed a lease for a tiny shop to sell the Australian-style sushi she couldn't find anywhere in the city.

In this episode of Pivot Club, Sarah Davidson speaks with Alex about this massive industry leap. They unpack the "messy middle" of her entire journey: From the "primitive" Excel model that convinced her to take the leap, to the humbling reality of hand-filling 50,000 soy sauce fish with a syringe in her living room. Alex shares the unfiltered story of how she navigated intense online backlash just one week after opening and how she scaled from a team of one (plus a supportive boyfriend) to a staff of 30.

Join us for a raw and practical lesson in naive optimism, a look into the grit required to build a business from the ground up and a powerful reminder that sometimes, the fear of regret is far scarier than the fear of failure.

THE END BITS:

Want more from Sarah Davidson? Check out her podcast Seize The Yay.

Discover more Mamamia podcasts here.

Feedback: podcast@mamamia.com.au

Share your story, feedback, or dilemma! Send us a voice message, and one of our Podcast Producers will get back to you ASAP.

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CREDITS:

Guest: Alex Marks

Host: Sarah Davidson

Executive Producer: Courtney Ammenhauser

Senior Producer: Sally Best

Audio Producer: Thom Lion

This show was brought to you in partnership with Charles Sturt University. Australia's largest and most experienced online uni. Take the next step. Search Charles Sturt University online.

Complete our short survey about education for for a chance to win a $1,000 gift voucher in our quarterly draw! https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/8467038/Ch

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

Become a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribe

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What happens when you're not just climbing the ladder, but standing at the very top? For Lize Ratliff, that meant achieving her dream job as Head of Podcasts at Mamamia, after 10 years hustling to get there.

Lize’s journey is a masterclass in pure tenacity. She started at 19 as an intern from a small country town, so determined to work for Mia Freedman that she "literally didn't leave”. Over the next decade, she climbed the ladder through nine different titles - from intern to Mia's EA, to the first-ever producer of No Filter - eventually becoming the woman running the entire 29-show operation.

For Lize, the birth of her first child was the catalyst for an enormous change. Realising the demands of the job were incompatible with the life she wanted as a mother, she and her husband came to a terrifying realisation: they needed to ‘blow up their life.’

In a move that left many stunned, they both quit their high-profile Sydney jobs, moved to Newcastle, and Lize enrolled in a Master's degree to pursue a completely new career: As a high school English teacher.

This is a raw and candid look at what it means to walk away from the top. We cover the creative job application that got her hired, the moment she crashed her boss's car (and kept her job), and the overwhelming "what have I done?" feeling that hits after you trade a high-prestige career for a student ID.

Get ready to learn why sometimes, you have to "just jump.”

THE END BITS:

Want more from Sarah Davidson? Check out her podcast Seize The Yay.

Discover more Mamamia podcasts here.

Feedback: podcast@mamamia.com.au

Share your story, feedback, or dilemma! Send us a voice message, and one of our Podcast Producers will get back to you ASAP.

Rate or review us on Apple by clicking on the three dots in the top right-hand corner, click Go To Show then scroll down to the bottom of the page, click on the stars at the bottom and write a review.

CREDITS:

Guest: Lize Ratliff

Host: Sarah Davidson

Executive Producer: Courtney Ammenhauser

Senior Producer: Sally Best

This show was brought to you in partnership with Charles Sturt University. Australia's largest and most experienced online uni. Take the next step. Search Charles Sturt University online.

Complete our short survey about education for for a chance to win a $1,000 gift voucher in our quarterly draw! https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/8467038/Ch

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

Become a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribe

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What happens when you decide to take the leap with a dream you’ve been sitting on for years? For Lyndi Cohen, that dream meant pivoting into an industry she knew nothing about, long after she’d built her own successful empire.

Lyndi’s first journey began after a decade-long battle with binge eating, leading her to build an anti-diet media brand from the ground up. She shortly evolved into who we now know as ‘The Nude Nutritionist’, becoming a renowned TV expert, author and app founder, helping thousands heal their relationships with food and body image.

But one niggling idea wouldn’t go away...And now, Lyndi is making her most dramatic pivot of all. Leaping from the world of nutrition and landing herself straight into her very own fashion debut: launching a swimwear brand, Fearless.

In this episode of Pivot Club, Sarah Davidson speaks with Lyndi about this massive industry leap. They unpack the "messy middle" of her entire career: graduating with no job prospects and using "SEO hacks to manifest a media career", to the $180,000 investment that was required to build a swimwear line from scratch. Lyndi shares her core belief that "the key to success is embarrassment" and why it's been essential for this new fashion venture.

Join us for a raw and practical lesson in constant evolution, a deep dive into the strategy of scaling an idea and a powerful reminder that all the dots (even a high school fashion class) eventually connect, proving that you have to "do it terrified”.

THE END BITS:

Want more from Sarah Davidson? Check out her podcast Seize The Yay.

Discover Fearless website and Fearless on Instagram.

Discover more Mamamia podcasts here.

Feedback: podcast@mamamia.com.au

Share your story, feedback, or dilemma! Send us a voice message, and one of our Podcast Producers will get back to you ASAP.

Rate or review us on Apple by clicking on the three dots in the top right-hand corner, click Go To Show then scroll down to the bottom of the page, click on the stars at the bottom and write a review.

CREDITS:

Guest: Lyndi Cohen, aka The Nude Nutritionist

Host: Sarah Davidson

Executive Producer: Courtney Ammenhauser

Senior Producer: Sally Best

This show was brought to you in partnership with Charles Sturt University. Australia's largest and most experienced online uni. Take the next step. Search Charles Sturt University online.

Complete our short survey about education for for a chance to win a $1,000 gift voucher in our quarterly draw! https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/8467038/Ch

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

Become a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribe

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.