The myth-busts, hot takes, explainers, and tools worth keeping.
❝Story· 7
❝Story04:00
The Family Absence Behind Saunders' Drive
Saunders says she is proud of what she has built but still feels the absence of her parents at important moments. She believes having little support pushed her to become self-reliant and may have fuelled a desire to prove herself, while also leaving a lasting sense of loss.
Saunders says neither parent has shared much of her business journey
She attributes some of her self-reliance and drive to having to figure life out alone
She presents that history as both a source of motivation and an emotional cost
Support from strangers can highlight the parental support she feels she missed
“I also think it's me trying to prove something to them”
“I figured it out on my own”
#family#motivation#self-reliance
❝Story14:00
Years of YouTube Consistency Built the First Audience
Saunders began making simple webcam videos in high school before Australian creator careers were established. She kept posting through criticism, used YouTube to direct viewers to Instagram, and says four to five weekly videos later helped grow her channel from about 80,000 to one million subscribers over three years.
Her earliest videos were playful experiments made with basic equipment
School criticism did not stop her from uploading
She deliberately invited YouTube viewers to follow her new Instagram account
She describes the later audience growth as a three-year grind rather than an overnight result
“it was just years of consistent uploading”
“It just happened over 3 years. So, it wasn't overnight.”
#youtube#audience#consistency#creator
❝Story16:30
Twenty Jobs and Several Side Hustles Revealed a Pattern
Between 14 and 21, Saunders says she worked in more than 20 jobs and left quickly when a role did not suit her. Alongside employment, she ran small spray-tanning, makeup, and body-scrub ventures that she considered hobbies at the time but later recognised as early businesses.
She tried roles across fast food, retail, hospitality, administration, and other work
A home spray-tanning service became busy despite its basic setup
She also sold makeup services and homemade coffee scrubs
In hindsight, repeated small ventures signalled that she preferred building her own work
“From the ages of 14 to 21 I worked in over 20 jobs.”
“now reflecting back they were businesses”
#career#side-hustles#entrepreneurship
❝Story32:30
Creator Income Led to a Six-Figure Tax Debt
Saunders says rapidly rising creator income arrived in irregular large payments while she had no accountant, company structure, or separate business account. The Australian Taxation Office later told her she owed about $110,000; because she had retained substantial savings, she says she paid the debt quickly and then formalised the business finances.
Employment had previously handled tax before income reached her account
Creator payments varied sharply from month to month
She says the absence of financial guidance contributed to several years of inaction
Savings gave her the ability to settle the debt in large instalments
She then engaged an accountant, formed a company, and opened a business account
“I had nothing set up in the back end financially to support that”
“you owe $110,000 to the tax man”
#tax#creator-income#financial-systems
❝Story42:30
A Successful Swim Drop Created Fate's First Subbrand
Saunders says Staple Swim emerged after a Fate swimwear collection received a strong response. The campaign used models with varied body shapes, sizes, and skin tones at a time when she felt that presentation was uncommon; later, activewear demand led to Form, and the separate labels eventually moved onto Fate's main website as subbrands.
The first swim collection used simple black-and-white products
Broad model representation differentiated the campaign in Saunders' view
Strong customer response prompted a separate Staple Swim label
Activewear market growth later contributed to the creation of Form
The brands eventually consolidated onto one commerce site
“the response to it was just phenomenal”
“We've got another brand here.”
#product-expansion#swimwear#activewear#branding
❝Story44:00
A Trademark Dispute Put Staple Swim on Hold
Saunders says another company challenged her effort to register the Staple Swim trademark in late 2023. Facing the possibility that losing could require destruction of branded stock, she stopped producing new swim collections while lawyers continued the dispute; the account reflects her understanding of an unresolved legal matter, not a legal conclusion.
The challenge arrived on the team's final workday before the 2023 Christmas break
Saunders says the other company had owned a trademark involving the word Staple since 2009
Her lawyers remained confident, but the dispute was still unresolved during the interview
She paused new production to limit inventory exposure if the case went against her
“I've been in my first ever legal battle”
“I'm just going to put a hold on this”
#trademark#legal-risk#inventory#staple-swim
❝Story48:30
A Content Studio Evolved into a Coffee Shop and Store
Fate's need for a local photography space led Saunders and AJ to build a Newcastle content studio and add a coffee shop to the long commercial unit. When external studio rentals created too much administration for the hourly revenue, they stopped taking bookings and later moved Fate's Newcastle boutique into the space beside the coffee shop.
Regular Sydney shoot travel created a local operating problem
The original model combined internal studio use with paid external bookings
Rules and administration gradually reduced the appeal of rentals
The former studio became Fate's Newcastle retail location
Saunders says the neighbouring boutique and coffee shop now complement each other
“why don't we build our own content studio?”
“this isn't even worth it because it's so much admin”
#content-studio#coffee-shop#retail#business-model
✦Tool· 1
✦Tool1:05:00
A Peer Walkthrough Replaced an Opaque Ad Agency
Saunders says she dropped an advertising agency because its technical reports left her unable to understand what was happening in the account. A roughly half-hour screen-share with Anita from Hero Packaging helped her understand the interface, after which she began managing Fate's Meta ads herself and testing budget increases gradually.
Agency reporting felt too technical for Saunders to evaluate confidently
She chose direct understanding over continued dependence on the agency
A short practical screen-share unlocked the unfamiliar Ads Manager interface
She says she now raises budgets incrementally and watches the results
The spending and return figures in the interview are Saunders' own reported figures
“I don't like that I don't know what they're doing”
“I've been doing it by myself ever since”
#meta-ads#peer-learning#agency#paid-media
▲Takeaway· 2
▲Takeaway37:00
Fate's Community Grew from a Long-Running Personal Brand
Saunders credits years of making candid YouTube content with teaching her how to hold attention and build a community before launching Fate. She says openness, self-deprecating humour, and continuity in her personality helped followers connect with the brand, while rejecting the idea that she deliberately manipulated the audience into buying.
Creator experience gave her transferable attention and entertainment skills
She describes Fate's community growth as organic rather than a scripted strategy
Being willing to look foolish made her content more approachable
Long-term followers tell her that she still feels like the same person
Saunders Says Paid Ad Results Depend on the Whole Brand
Saunders reports spending about $150,000 per month on ads and says Fate's return figures are strong, while Nathan Chan cautions that margins and full business numbers matter. Both argue that the ads do not operate alone: strong creative, organic reach, brand recognition, and an existing community contribute to the reported Meta performance.
Saunders reports increasing budgets in small tests rather than all at once
She reports much higher attributed returns on product-drop days than regular days
Chan notes that return figures cannot be judged properly without margins and other numbers
They attribute performance partly to creative quality and established organic demand
The episode does not independently verify the spend or return figures
“our ads perform so well because 1 08 00 our content is so strong”
“It's not just like that the ads are good. It's everything.”