The Kismet Podcast

Carina Waye
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Welcome to The Kismet Podcast - honest conversations about careers, growth, and the unexpected paths that shape our lives. Hosted by Carina Waye, each episode shares real stories from the people behind Kismet; exploring career pivots, ambition, personal goals, and the moments of fate that quietly change everything. These conversations go beyond job titles, diving into the human side of work, values, and the lessons learned along the way. If you’re navigating your career, building something of your own, or curious about how great people think, grow, and take leaps, you’re in the right place.

  1. 1d ago

    Lauren Grimes | A Little Bit Of Magic

    Lauren Grimes is the co-founder and Experience Manager at Kismet. Mark came up with an idea one day and she said sure, let's go. That is still, she says, essentially how it works. Lauren talks about a decade in mobile development, what it means to build technology that is genuinely inclusive rather than just saying it is, and why she thinks AI is the most exciting thing to happen for women in tech in her lifetime. She also played the bassoon in the Queensland Youth Orchestra, almost failed uni because of World of Warcraft, went to the same high school in Japan as Kismet's Kristy ten years apart, loves CrossFit in the way that only someone who describes it as a cult can, and wants to retire and study astrophysics. This one goes everywhere. In the best possible way. CHAPTERS 00:00  Introduction 00:51  Lauren'srole at Kismet 01:14  Co-founderand day zero 01:56  Mobiledev, software engineering and ten years in tech 03:29  Xplor:walking in on day one as 15 people, one row of desks 03:49  Alsostarted CrossFit and turned 30 that same week 04:28  Techlead, head of engineering and partnering with Mat Ellis 06:22  Mum'sadvice: get into tech, you'll never be out of a job 07:32  Whyshe cares so much about inclusion and accessibility in tech 09:30  CodeLike a Girl and the sisterhood 11:47  AIlevelling the playing field 14:45  Theproduct has to be built for people 16:15  Theheadphones story and what unreasonable hospitality actually looks like 17:56  UnreasonableHospitality the book and why it became part of Kismet's soul 19:21  CrossFit:the cult, the community, the suffering together 21:25  Theonly way out is through 22:38  Inclusiveby design: scale options, no mirrors, John in his 70s doing the same workout 26:29  Japantrip: second time there, student exchange story and running into Abby 30:35  Bestmeal: $8 dry ramen in a basement in Kanazawa 31:22  Vintageshopping and the handbag 32:19  Unreasonablehospitality in Japanese culture 35:30  Travelnext: Brazil and London 37:05  Goals:short term yes, long term no. Curiosity drives everything 39:21  Luck:hard work people don't see, plus right people right place right time 43:06  Alittle bit of magic in the world: Rachel Dratch, woo and astrophysics 44:29  Retiringto study astrophysics and the comfort of the cosmos 45:00  TheCarina Nebula and Neil deGrasse Tyson 47:15  Thebassoon: scholarship, Queensland Youth Orchestra and $15,000 second hand 51:33  Linedancing, F1, anime and the World of Warcraft addiction that almost failed heruni 52:39  80thbirthday: good memories, good impact, cool things together 53:21  Whatwould you tell little Lauren? It's okay not to know. Just do you.   Follow us! Instagram: @kismethealthy LinkedIn: @kismethealthcare YouTube: @Kismethealthcare Apple Podcasts Kismet   Contact us 📥 carina@kismet.healthcare

  2. Aug 11

    Mariesa Ferraro | London Calling

    Mariesa Ferraro went to London for a six-month working holiday. She stayed for nearly twenty years. In between: a Kensington salon full of Aussies, London Fashion Week, a global beauty education role, an O-1 visa that required six months of paperwork, a 3am green room with Kris Kardashian, a one-bedroom apartment two streets behind Oxford Circus, a Facebook comment that led to meeting her now-husband Lee, a New Year's Eve wedding, a daughter born on Christmas Eve, and COVID making the decision to come home feel both terrifying and inevitable. Mariesa is now the Community Manager at Kismet and describes the timing of finding this role as exactly what she means when she talks about stars aligning. Mariesa is warm, funny and very honest about some delicate and difficult chapters.  In this episode they cover: 00:00  Introduction 01:00  Mariesa's role at Kismet 02:00  Growing up in Adelaide and the London obsession 04:00  Fashion shows in the hallway 05:00  Year 11, flower shops and a hairdressing apprenticeship 07:00  Tony and Guy: Melbourne then London 10:00  Colour education and Saturdays off 12:00  London Fashion Week 14:00  New York: the O-1 visa and being Carrie Bradshaw 17:00  QVC at 3am 20:00  Moving back to London and meeting Lee 23:00  The Facebook comment that changed everything 26:00  New Year's Eve wedding, Christmas Eve baby 28:00  COVID and deciding to come home 32:00  IVF, loss and finding Kismet 38:00  Startmate and Stefan's LinkedIn message 41:00  Goals: always had them, just called them focuses 43:00  Luck, stars aligning and back yourself 47:00  Charlotte at eight: style, opinions and Moana 51:00  Raising a child with family in two countries 55:00  80th birthday: always there, always real 56:00  What would you tell little Mariesa? Follow us! Instagram: @kismethealthy LinkedIn: @kismethealthcare YouTube: @Kismethealthcare Apple Podcasts Kismet   Contact us 📥 carina@kismet.healthcare

  3. Aug 4

    Jess Careless | Type A All The Way

    Jess Careless is the Community Engagement and Relationship Manager at Kismet, the person with the bell at the Ready Set Connect events, and a Sarah J Maas fan who got Carina deep into Throne of Glass and has been carefully managing spoilers ever since. She also runs annual vision board nights with her girlfriends, has a colour-coded spreadsheet for basically everything, is learning how to celebrate her achievements, and has a very specific take on the word cringe that is actually completely correct. Plus: switching degrees one class from graduating, Gold Coast startup life, her introverted extrovert experience, and why everything happens for a reason even when you absolutely cannot see it yet. CHAPTERS 00:00  Introduction 01:00  Jess's role at Kismet 02:00  Law, nursing and criminology 04:00  Switching to social work one class from graduating 05:00  Why she loves the NDIS 07:00  Kynd: Gold Coast startup life 09:00  How she found Kismet 10:00  Startup vs large companies 14:00  Annual vision board night with the girlfriends 16:00  Theme of the year: balance 17:30  Touch grass: resetting and going nonverbal 18:30  The gym, the headphones and being Type-A 21:00  Habit stacking 23:00  Luck and goals from values 24:30  Enjoy the journey not the destination 26:00  Goals from desperation vs genuine alignment 27:00  Not celebrating and actively working on it 29:00  Throne of Glass: Assassin's Blade, Empire of Storms panic 33:00  Spoiler check: where is Carina in the series 38:00  ACOTAR, Crescent City and Feyre vs Nesta 44:00  Classic literature and the Bronte sisters 49:00  Book clubs and going through books too fast 52:00  80th birthday: she organised it herself, started in February 54:00  Always there for them, free of judgment 54:30  Everything happens for a reason Follow us! Instagram: @kismethealthy LinkedIn: @kismethealthcare YouTube: @Kismethealthcare Apple Podcasts Kismet   Contact us 📥 carina@kismet.healthcare

  4. Jul 28

    Zoe Cluff | Gelato Queen

    Zoe Cluff was 23 when she walked into a job interview for a director role. The centre had cockroaches in the garage and bricks holding up the desk. She thought: we can do better than this. 15 years later she left with a NSW Children's Week Advocacy Award, a finalist spot for the International Rudenberg Prize for Inclusion alongside Michael Phelps, Selena Gomez and Andrea Bocelli, and parent groups that still meet 20 years on. Then her dad got sick. COVID hit. She resigned, started a plan management company from scratch with her colleague Jan, never advertised once, grew to 20 staff in three years, and sold it to Kismet. She now helps other founders navigate the exact process she lived herself. Zoe is warm, funny, genuinely humble about achievements that are anything but small, and has very specific thoughts about bad luck in Japan. In this episode they cover: •  Coding in the 90s, architecture and teaching •  McDonald's management and the equivalent of a business degree she never claimed •  Learning sign language from a hearing-impaired babysitter at age seven •  15 years at Shaping Outcomes •  Finalist for the International Rudenberg Prize •  Starting SOJO with Jan: no advertising, 20 staff in three years, and knowing when it was time •  How Matty T won her over and why she came to Kismet •  Luck, Japan and getting bad fortune  🎧 Listen on YouTube and Apple Podcasts too. Follow us! Instagram: @kismethealthy LinkedIn: @kismethealthcare YouTube: @Kismethealthcare Apple Podcasts Kismet   Contact us 📥 carina@kismet.healthcare

  5. Jul 21

    Tahlya Sleep | In Her Kismet Era

    Content note: this episode discusses suicide and mental health. Please look after yourself while listening. If you or someone you know needs support, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 - they're available 24/7. https://www.lifeline.org.au/  Tahlya Sleep goes by a lot of names. Tahlya, Tals, T, Sleepy. She is the Community Engagement and Relationship Manager at Kismet, a former residential care officer, a field hockey player and coach, a devoted golf tragic, and one of the warmest people to sit in this studio. This episode covers a lot of ground. Growing up in South Africa with Christmases in Mozambique and cricket from when she could walk. Moving to Perth at 17, reconnecting with her now wife through Facebook, and eventually following her to Melbourne. Working in child protection houses in Perth, a wedding on a catamaran in Port Douglas where several guests were quietly seasick. And Tahlya's mum Carmel, who passed away in December, and what it feels like to figure out who you are without the person who was always the first one you would call. There is also a very long conversation about Taylor Swift, a hole in one, Nicole's dad's inexplicable luck at the pokies, and a very strong opinion about umpires that has gotten Tahlya into a consistent amount of trouble. In this episode they cover: •  The Eras Tour that neither of them got tickets to •  Growing up in South Africa •  Cricket with the boys plus a fake front tooth •  How Tahlya and Nicole found each other •  Hockey for Footscray, coaching and playing simultaneously, and the umpires who hear too much truth •  Grief then and grief now: two very different experiences and what each has taught her Follow us! Instagram: @kismethealthy LinkedIn: @kismethealthcare YouTube: @Kismethealthcare Apple Podcasts Kismet   Contact us 📥 carina@kismet.healthcare

  6. Jul 14

    Mat Ellis | Say Yes & Figure It Out

    Mat Ellis is the CTO and co-founder of Kismet. Mark called him with an idea. Mat said yes. That is still, he says, essentially how their relationship works. In this episode, Mat talks about his dream job at Lockheed Martin, riding motorbikes through Vietnam, a year in Shanghai where his favourite meal was Japanese, and how a niche coding language called Elixir ended up connecting him to Xplor. He also has a lot to say about how to build a team, why constraints make better products, what it means to be responsible for an outcome not just a piece of code, and why everything in life is luck - and that's a really good thing. In this episode they cover: •  Granddad's computer and the game Flight Simulator  •  The only subject he ever aced: the high school software course that changed his path •  Bad at maths, great at software: working backwards from the outcome •  Building a Mat-shaped engineering team •  Dream job at Lockheed Martin •  Small teams do more: the thesis Mat tested at Kismet •  Responsible for the outcome not just the code •  Constraints make better products: Steve Jobs and the independent theatre analogy •  Goals as identity: standards not finish lines •  CTO by accident: doing what you're good at until it stops working •  Remove the ceiling: Whiplash, Dr. Robbie and how leaders accidentally limit people •  Luck: everything is luck and that's why you can't be anything but humble Follow us! Instagram: @kismethealthy LinkedIn: @kismethealthcare YouTube: @Kismethealthcare Apple Podcasts Kismet   Contact us 📥 carina@kismet.healthcare

  7. Jul 7

    Lachlan Smale | Vest in Show

    Lachlan Smale is the Strategy and Investments Manager at Kismet. He is also, according to his colleagues, a mythical creature.  Lachie has been quietly one of the most interesting people in the building since he arrived, and this episode finally gets him in the room.  He talks about almost (my take, not his) making it as a professional soccer player, investment banking in London and the app idea that became The Brick before The Brick existed. He also shares three quotes he thinks about all the time. Plus: the vest incident in full, critical vitamin D levels, pickleball, padel courts he tried to invest in (the capex killed it), and a shout-out to Dr Lionel Lubitz of the Royal Children's Hospital.  In this episode they cover: •  Commerce, master's degree, consulting, Canberra and investment banking: the generalist path •  Soccer scouts •  Is finance complexity by design?  •  How to stand out when every resume looks the same •  Helping founders sell the businesses they spent their whole lives building •  Why five is his favourite number  •  The vest incident: how Lachie became a Kismet mythical creature •  Pickleball, padel courts and why the investment did not happen Follow us! Instagram: @kismethealthy LinkedIn: @kismethealthcare YouTube: @Kismethealthcare Apple Podcasts Kismet   Contact us 📥 carina@kismet.healthcare

  8. Jun 30

    Sam Armstrong | Fail Upwards

    Sam Armstrong is the co-founder and Chief Ecosystems Officer at Kismet.  He met Mark for the first time helping carry a very large tree up a lift in South Melbourne. He was the first person hired at Xplor. He was an electrician for 10 years before that, a personal trainer before that, and a removalist in London who moved Madonna, Jude Law and Ozzy Osbourne before that. This episode is warm, funny and full of stories. Sammy talks about going all in on LEDs in 2012 (too early, ended up in Macau getting crazy suits made), walking on hot coals at age five, pencilling arguments with his wife into the calendar, and investing in crypto purely based on how cool the logo looked - Stefan has not forgiven him. He also talks about what it means to build genuine relationships, how to hold someone's hand through one of the biggest decisions of their life, and why his still considers himself the shy kid. 🎧 Listen on YouTube and Apple Podcasts too. Follow us! Instagram: @kismethealthy LinkedIn: @kismethealthcare YouTube Apple Podcasts Kismet

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About

Welcome to The Kismet Podcast - honest conversations about careers, growth, and the unexpected paths that shape our lives. Hosted by Carina Waye, each episode shares real stories from the people behind Kismet; exploring career pivots, ambition, personal goals, and the moments of fate that quietly change everything. These conversations go beyond job titles, diving into the human side of work, values, and the lessons learned along the way. If you’re navigating your career, building something of your own, or curious about how great people think, grow, and take leaps, you’re in the right place.

Information

  • Creator
    Carina Waye
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    29
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Carina Waye
  • Show Website
    The Kismet Podcast