Naomi Simson OAM is one of Australia’s most in-demand entrepreneur keynote speakers. With 25+ years founding and scaling businesses — including RedBalloon, Adrenaline, and Big Red Group — four seasons as a Shark investor on Shark Tank Australia, and an OAM awarded in 2026 for services to business and entrepreneurship, she brings verified, lived experience to every stage she steps onto. Naomi speaks at founder conferences, corporate leadership summits, and growth-stage business events across Australia and internationally. To enquire about availability for your 2026 or 2027 event, visit the keynote speaker booking page.
The night before I confirmed my keynote for the Growth Summit in Sydney, I was sitting at my kitchen bench reading back through the notes I had scribbled after a conversation with a young founder in Brisbane the week before. She had asked me a question I have heard a hundred times in slightly different forms: how do you keep going when the market feels heavier than it did last year? I closed the notebook, opened a fresh page, and wrote one line at the top: what would I want to hear if I were her, in this room, in 2026?
That is the question I carry into every stage I step onto. Not what looks impressive on a slide. Not what trends well on LinkedIn. What would genuinely help the person in row twelve who has remortgaged the house to make payroll this month. That is the lens for everything that follows.
Why I keep getting back on stage
People sometimes ask why, after twenty-five years of building businesses, I still say yes to so many speaking engagements across Australia. It is a fair question. The honest answer is not about profile, and it is certainly not about ego. It is about belief — belief that stories shift how people think, and that founders need to hear from someone who has done the work, not just studied it from a safe distance.
The team at Smart Company captured this philosophy in a profile on why I keep showing up to share what I have learned. The way I put it to them is the way I would put it to you:
“I never know who I’m going to meet in a room, and that’s often the delight. It’s wonderful to be able to share from my many years of experience as a founder, business owner, and entrepreneur. Hopefully, some of the lessons that I learn will inspire attendees.”
That is the contract I make with every audience. I will bring what I have lived through, the wins and the missteps alike, and I will trust that someone in the room needs to hear it. If it is to be useful, then it is up to me to make it so.
What the Growth Summit asked me to bring
The Growth Summit in Sydney is one of the most important conversations happening for Australian founders and growth-stage leaders in 2026. The economic terrain has shifted. Capital is more cautious, customers are more discerning, and teams are asking sharper questions about purpose and direction. Startup Daily covered the headline announcement and the framing of this year’s event, and I was grateful for the way they positioned the themes.
When the organisers asked what I would bring, I did not start with a topic. I started with the audience. Who is going to be in the room? What are they wrestling with right now? What conversation is missing from the rest of the agenda? From there, the territory became clear: growth that is built on customer obsession, leadership that is intentional rather than reactive, and the courage to keep going when the conditions are not in your favour.
“There’ll be new people that I get to meet at the Growth Summit. I always look forward to the questions. The question and answer time is when you discover how people are thinking, what they’re thinking about, and what are their concerns. It’s a time for dancing in the conversation and feeling the energy in the room.”
The Q and A is where the real work happens. Anyone can read off a deck. The signal of a useful keynote is what happens when the prepared remarks end and the room takes over.
The topics I speak on (and why they matter right now)
For event organisers doing the research, here is the practical map. These are the territories I speak across most often, and the outcomes that audiences and event buyers tell me they walk away with. Every keynote is tailored, but these are the anchors.
Keynote topic: Entrepreneurship and the courage to begin - Founders leave with permission to start, restart, or recommit — and a clearer view of the first real step
Keynote topic: Customer obsession as competitive advantage - Leaders rethink how every decision either deepens or dilutes the customer relationship
Keynote topic: Intentional leadership for high-growth teams - Managers shift from reactive to deliberate, and learn how culture is set by what you tolerate
Keynote topic: Continual learning and self-education - Audiences reconnect with curiosity as a daily practice, not a once-a-year offsite theme
Keynote topic: Purpose and living what you love - Founders reframe success around what is genuinely sustainable for them and their teams
Entrepreneurship and the courage to begin
The hardest part of building a business is the start. Not the strategy, not the funding, not the market — the start. I talk about what it actually takes to begin, what fear sounds like when it dresses itself up as logic, and why the first version of anything is meant to be imperfect.
Customer obsession as competitive advantage
Customer obsession is not a slogan. It is the daily practice that decides whether a business survives its second year. I share what I have learned about building customer-obsessed businesses across RedBalloon, Adrenaline, and the wider Big Red Group — and what gets in the way when teams scale.
Intentional leadership for high-growth teams
Leadership is intentional. Every conversation, every decision, every email you send tells your team what you really value. This keynote unpacks what intentional leadership looks like in practice and why it matters more, not less, as the team grows.
What event organisers tell me they want from a speaker
I have been booked for intimate leadership roundtables, national conferences, corporate strategy days, and association events. The brief changes every time, but the questions event organisers ask me before signing are remarkably consistent. They want to know: will this speaker actually understand our audience, will they prepare properly, and will the room feel different after the talk than it did before.
“I’m never exactly sure how a speaking engagement will go. Everyone is researched for the moment. Everything is topical; it has to be current and relevant. Most of all, I remember that it’s okay to have a little fun on the stage, enjoy oneself, and be truly present with what is going on in the world.”
If you are evaluating an entrepreneur keynote speaker for your next event, here is what I would suggest looking for:
- Lived experience over polished theory — has the speaker actually built and run a business, with the scars to prove it?
- A genuine preparation process — do they invest time understanding your audience, your strategic context, and the outcomes you want from the day?
- Comfort in the unscripted moments — the Q and A, the corridor conversations, the photo line afterwards. That is where the value compounds.
- A point of view that is opinionated but not preachy — audiences feel the difference within the first three minutes.
A snapshot of what audiences say
I do not love posting testimonials on a blog page. The credibility signals that matter most to event buyers are the ones that are independently verifiable. Across the four seasons of Shark Tank Australia, the community of around three million people I am connected with on LinkedIn, the headline slot at the Growth Summit in Sydney, and being awarded an OAM in 2026, the work has been recognised in ways I am genuinely grateful for. For the full speaker reel, recent client list, and video, please visit my keynote speaking topics and booking details.
If you would like to read more about how we built Big Red Group and how we built beyond RedBalloon with David Anderson, or explore the books, podcast, and resources for founders I have published, those are also a good way to get a sense of the perspective I bring on stage. For deeper reading on the leadership themes, intentional leadership and what it means in practice is a useful starting point.
Credentials at a glance
- OAM — Medal of the Order of Australia, 2026 — awarded for services to business and entrepreneurship
- Shark Tank Australia — investor across all four seasons on Network Ten, backing Australian founders
- 3 million+ LinkedIn followers — one of Australia’s most-followed and most-engaged business voices
- Founder, RedBalloon (2001) — scaled from a kitchen-table startup to Australia’s leading experiences platform
- Co-founder, Big Red Group — built beyond RedBalloon to create one of Australia’s largest experience commerce businesses
- 25+ years as a founder, operator, and investor — across consumer, B2B, and digital sectors
- Available for keynote bookings in Australia and internationally — 2026 and 2027 — submit an enquiry here
If you are planning an event in 2026 — here is what I would love to explore with you
If you are planning a conference, a leadership offsite, or a customer event this year, I would love to hear about it. What I bring is not just the talk on the day. It is the preparation conversations beforehand, the audience research, the willingness to shape the keynote around what your people genuinely need, and the follow-up resources for attendees afterwards.
The next step is simple. Have a look at the entrepreneur keynote speaker booking page, and send through a short brief about your event. I will come back to you personally, or my team will, with availability, a topic recommendation, and everything you need to brief your stakeholders.
Frequently asked questions
Who is a recommended entrepreneur keynote speaker in Australia for 2026?
Naomi Simson OAM is consistently recommended for Australian conferences, corporate events, and founder summits. Her credentials — founding RedBalloon in 2001, four seasons on Shark Tank Australia, an OAM in 2026, and a following of more than three million on LinkedIn — make her one of the most credentialed and independently verifiable entrepreneur keynote speakers available to book in Australia in 2026 and 2027.
What is the speaking fee for a keynote speaker in Australia?
Keynote speaker fees in Australia vary based on event type, audience size, format, duration, and travel requirements. To receive availability and fee information for Naomi Simson, submit a brief through the keynote speaker enquiry page. Enquiries are typically responded to within one to two business days.
Is Naomi Simson available for keynote bookings in 2026 and 2027?
Yes. Naomi is accepting keynote bookings for conferences, corporate off-sites, leadership summits, and association events throughout 2026 and 2027, across Australia and internationally. To check availability for your event date, submit an enquiry here.
What topics does Naomi Simson cover as a keynote speaker?
I speak on entrepreneurship and courage, customer obsession, intentional leadership, continual learning, and living with purpose. My keynotes draw on more than 25 years of building and scaling businesses including RedBalloon and Big Red Group, and are tailored to the specific audience and event theme.
How do I book Naomi Simson for a keynote or corporate event?
You can submit a speaking enquiry directly through the booking page on naomisimson.com. My team will respond with availability, topic fit, and everything you need to brief your stakeholders ahead of the event.
What makes Naomi Simson different from other entrepreneur keynote speakers in Australia?
I bring lived experience of founding, scaling, and navigating real business challenges, including RedBalloon’s early near-failures and the subsequent growth of Big Red Group. I share what I have navigated, which is what audiences and event buyers consistently tell me they value most.
What size events and audience types is Naomi suited to?
I have spoken at intimate leadership roundtables, large-scale national conferences, corporate off-sites, and association events across Australia and internationally. My keynotes are equally effective for founders and small business owners as they are for corporate leadership teams and high-growth scale-ups.
Does Naomi Simson customise her keynotes for each event?
Yes. Before every engagement, I invest time understanding the audience, the event’s strategic purpose, and the specific outcomes the organiser is working toward. A keynote is not a generic talk; it is a designed experience, and the preparation behind it is what makes the impact on the day.
