THIS IS MOXIE: Doone Roisin, Australian Young Achiever of the Year 2022.

Words by Genevieve Phelan.

What does it take to make a banging e-commerce business, and where can we look to the lived experiences of those who’ve achieved that feat? London-dwelling Australian Doone Roisin has the answers, through the diverse conversations she’s guided, enriched and harvested to immortalise in her debut book, Your Hype Girl. It’s a bound talisman of 51 talented women in the vast e-commerce space, pioneering the future for self-driven, self-made success and creativity. Your Hype Girl is designed to be a powerful resource, a great read, something to loan to a girlfriend, and a blueprint for business prowess. 

But wait, let’s rewind. In case you’re unfamiliar with the tale: a few years ago, Doone was building a direct-to-consumer brand and struggling to figure out the next steps, or what she should have been doing to grow. She started casually recording and uploading Female Startup Club - the now internationally-acclaimed series of female biz founder interviews - and has soared since then. Now, Doone has single-handedly interviewed more than 280 phenomenal founders to understand their business - from finances to creative and every facet of operations in between. You can find her hanging out in the top podcast charts globally, as well holding space in Australia’s top 20 list, just to name a few of MANY credentials. 

Naturally, someone who has spent the time to collate these momentous business resources for women (as told by other women) is someone we needed to enlist for This Is Moxie. Today, we’re having a cross-continental catchup with the one and only Doone to understand her career trajectory so far. How has she became an unstoppable force in the podcasting world, an e-commerce educator, and a stellar storyteller in print from? Let’s find out.

Welcome, Doone! We're so happy to have you here, fairly fresh off receiving a very distinguished award in London Town. Can you tell our Moxettes a bit about what it was and what went down?

Thank you so much! I’m super stoked about it. To give you some context, earlier this year I accepted the award for Australian Young Achiever of the Year at Australia House from the High Commissioner to Australia, in front of 250 people (250 people!) recognizing the work I’m doing for women and girl entrepreneurs around the world with Female Startup Club (FSC). And, I still can’t quite believe it!

⁣I received the award alongside two honorary Australians: Academy award winning film director Tom Hooper (he made The King's Speech, Les Mis and Cats to name just a few of the many many epic movies) and 50 Shades of Grey actor Jamie Dornan, for their work in connection to Australia, and Australian of the Year was given to Merryn Voysey; the lead scientist who was part of the team developing the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine. ⁣

One of the most truly special moments of my professional career was being celebrated in that room and realising the impact that you can have when you set your mind on something. Two years ago, FSC was just an idea being created from my bedroom floor. I would have never imagined that I could turn something that brought me so much joy into a business let alone impact so many women around the world. 

You've recently published a debut book, 'Your Hype Girl'. Bravo, because we all need a hype girl or two! How can we rely on you (and many fabulous female founders) to give us a pep when flicking through? 

I know I’m totally biased, but 'Your Hype Girl' is just so.damn.cool. It’s for current entrepreneurs, future entrepreneurs and anyone simply interested in the stories behind the brands we buy and love. I like to say it’s a modern guidebook for founders; open it to any page and you’ll get a dose of inspo and real life tactical information. It’s also the first of many! We want to do multiple books each year moving forward.

What was the most challenging part about writing a book, and how did you get over bouts of writer's block? Talk us through the journey of publishing.

Luckily I wasn’t affected too much by writer’s block. 'Your Hype Girl' is a collection of 51 of my favourite stories from the podcast distilled into key lessons and takeaways from that episode. My favourite founders had already shared their brain power, and it was just about distilling those into quick digestible chapters. 

I self-published (with the help of experts) through Amazon and it was such an easy process. I worked with consultants at every step of the way to ensure it was published professionally and achieve the goals I wanted (bestseller, tick!).

The most challenging part of the process was that you’re really playing the long game. Writing and publishing a book is a long, arduous process, and you keep having to check in with yourself and your end goals. It took me just over a year to bring it into the world. 

What does living and business-running with 'moxie' mean to you? 

It means daily happy vibes and joy. If you’re not enjoying your day-to-day journey, you’ve actually lost. We shouldn’t settle or get stuck in a state of inertia thinking that things can’t be better. Finding the thing that makes you sparkle is so important and I hope more women can pursue their goals this year and find their own moxie. There’s nothing better than being excited about waking up every morning to build and create whatever it is you’re dreaming about. Literally nothing!

When did you move to London, and how did this shape your career? Was the relocation challenging at first? 

I moved to London in May 2015. It's crazy to think that I've been seven years out of Australia this year! And, it was really a turning point for me in terms of the direction of my life. In 2016 I met my now husband and started working with him to build out the agency arm of his tech company - this experience it gave me the confidence to start launching my own things.

Tell us about a fellow female founder's story that has really resonated with you lately.

There are so many inspiring stories in the book and on the show. It’s hard to pick just one! One of my highlights was talking to Bethany Edwards - she’s the founder of a company called Lia Diagnostics. She spent nine years inventing the world’s first flushable pregnancy test. Women like this are changing the world and inspire me endlessly.

We have to ask, how does your period impact your insanely hectic day-to-day life? Is she lowkey or a bit of a menace? 

Total menace. I am so grateful that I get to work from home and can deal with my period in peace. i.e. stay in bed all day if I need to.

What are just a few soul-care things you make sure to do for yourself when work gets manic, or you're feeling low? 

Cuddles from my little puppy, Sweetie, are absolute magic. They are easily my favourite part of the day. You also can’t beat some phone free time with my husband, a slow morning, or a walk through the park with a takeaway coffee.

Also, a few years ago I stopped watching stories on Instagram and last June I stopped scrolling on Instagram altogether. I was desperate for a break but given that we grow entirely organically through social media and content marketing, I knew I would need to continue producing content but stop consuming content. It was the best decision for my mental health (and saving time!).

Any other resources (aside from Your Hype Girl) that you'd recommend to fledgling business founders?

Podcasts! (Surprise, surprise). My all time favorite show is 'How I Built This' with Guy Raz, and I also love 'Girls that invest' with Sim. She’s such a star and has done a great job at cultivating community and educating women around how to start investing. 

For more e-commerce focused resources; Nik Sharma is a genius in the DTC space. His newsletter is gold.

What's next for your top-rated podcast, Female Startup Club, and why should our Moxettes tune in if they haven't already?

My focus at the moment is on growing Female Startup Club’s podcast. Sooo many brilliant guests joining us and a few live events are on the cards. 

We have a small and mighty team working together now to help reach more ears and empower the women in our network to succeed and we have some pretty exciting things in the pipeline launching around the private community, 'Hype Club', so keep your eyes peeled!