Janey Martino is a serial founder who has built and exited businesses across media, fintech, and wellness.She’s founded two businesses that were acquired, co-founded mindfulness app Smiling Mind, which has reached over nine million Australians and last year, she stepped into the CEO seat at KIC - the company that has evolved from a fitness app into a full wellness ecosystem.We sat down with Janey for our latest In Conversation episode. She shared her biggest wins in business, the advice she wished she had at 25, and her vision for KIC wellness.

You've had a broad range of roles in your career - which role, present or past, are you most proud of?

I think if you're asking me the role that's brought me the most joy and satisfaction overall, it would absolutely be co-founding and chairing Smiling Mind. Perhaps in the technical terms of success, it hasn't necessarily shot the lights out. But in terms of satisfaction, knowing that something that, James and I created and had a crazy idea about has actually, reached as many people... nine million, but also is in a quarter of schools and is actually influencing young people's emotional literacy and their mental fitness and resilience skills - that has to take out the win.

What's something that you wish you could tell yourself back then that you didn't know?
A lot of people ask me now about imposter syndrome and how I coped with that back then, and the irony is, like, I just didn't have it.

And if anything, I probably have more of it now. Like, as I've gone on in my career, the more I've learnt and the more I realise I don't know, the more imposter syndrome I have... but a learning would be about the power of who you surround yourself with that I would have underestimated or not noticed as much back then.

If you could look back in five years, if you're hopefully still at KIC as well, what would be a success for the KIC business??

To be the number one wellness brand in Australia, and potentially the world. I think it's the brand that is a go-to brand for people that care about their health and wellbeing from all aspects, like whole of self, from within.

And that's why KIC Studio having the element of somatics is so important, because it's really focusing on and grounding in how you feel, rather than what you look like or what you should do but being led by that.

So, I think it's a new way for wellness. It's so exciting, and the community that sits in and around Steph and Laura are proof that there's a huge market for it, where people are looking at whole of self-wellness, and really focusing on the things they do to feel and be well.

If you weren't leading KIC, what's a job that you'd secretly (or not so secretly) love to try?

I would love to be a florist and I will one day, I'm sure. I always did also want to be on Play School, but potentially that ship has sailed. Maybe that's my grandparent era.

But I love flowers and I feel like flowers also from a wellbeing perspective is very important. It's something I always see as probably more potentially a hobby, but something I'd love to do if I wasn't CEO.