Lisa Messenger: ‘My idea was so crazy, but I just buckled in for the ride'

Imagine having Richard Branson as your business advice go-to. Well that's a reality for game-changing creator of the Collective Hub, Lisa Messenger, and even a freezing cold Sydney morning couldn’t keep me away from a chat with inspirational entrepreneur.

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Looking ultra-glam as to be expected, Lisa admits she took a huge leap of faith when launching her idea for a fresh platform focusing on business up-and-comers.

“I just wanted to do something for entrepreneurs that was the story behind the story and that actually told not just the glossy, shiny, outward image, but what was really going on,” explains Lisa.

Lisa kept her idea quiet because she knew if she spoke to anyone about it, they’d tell her there’s no way she would be able to make it work.

And lucky she did, with the Collective Hub magazine now distributed in over 37 countries around the world.

“The idea was so big and so crazy,” says Lisa. “I knew it was crazy, I truly had no idea what I was doing. I just had to buckle in and go for the ride.”

That ride’s taken her to some amazing places, including Richard Branson’s Necker Island.

There’s not many people who can lay claim to getting incredible business advice from the billionaire businessman while chilling out with the 150 flamingos on the island – but Lisa can.

And the small town girl from Coolah in NSW, admits there was one experience she did during a course years ago which really helped her go for her dreams.

“We had to get into black cars and drive to a cemetery and get out and find a gravestone and go and lie down beside it for an hour.

That experience completely flipped my entire life because you had to imagine if you were dead, what would people be saying about you?

At the time, I was thinking, ‘They’re saying she’s a loser, she’s done nothing with her life.’ And I was like, well f**k that s**t.”

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