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The best eCommerce Australia founder stories start with a problem nobody else has solved.
Amanda Phoenix moved from Vancouver to Melbourne with $3,000 to her name, had a motorcycle accident, and sewed her first product from a $5 polka-dot tablecloth she bought at Spotlight.
Today she runs Peak Moto - Australia's leading women's motorcycle gear retailer with stores in Melbourne and Brisbane and a fast-growing eCommerce store.
In this episode of the Ecommerce Australia Podcast, Ryan Martin sits down with Amanda to trace the full founder journey:
From living on a chicken farm in regional Victoria on a working holiday visa, to a presale campaign that flooded her Gmail with 200 orders in a single evening, to rage-quitting a marketing agency job and opening a 29-square-metre hole-in-the-wall with no running water and a four-hour daily limit imposed by the absence of a toilet.
Amanda shares hard-won lessons on eCommerce SEO, finding the right marketing agency, why she walked away from wholesale (B2B) to go all-in on direct-to-consumer, how she negotiated her first commercial lease to exit penalty-free, and why community, not advertising, has been the biggest driver of growth for Peak Moto.
If you're an Australian eCommerce founder, a product-based business owner, or thinking about opening a bricks-and-mortar store alongside your online store, this episode is essential listening.
What You'll Learn
• How Amanda bootstrapped Flying Solo Gear Company from zero - no money, no network,no plan
• Why a presale strategy turned a hobby into a real eCommerce business overnight
• The exact lease negotiation that let her exit her first store with 30 days notice and no penalty
• Why she dropped B2B wholesale and went D2C — and what it meant for margins
• How to build a community that sells for you without paid advertising
• What to look for (and watch out for) when hiring an eCommerce marketing agency in Australia
• Bricks-and-mortar lessons: why smaller is smarter when opening your first retail location
Episode Timestamps
00:00 Welcome — the full circle moment
02:00 Amanda's background: strength coach, national team, total burnout
04:30 Why Australia? Selling everything for $15K CAD and booking a one-way ticket
06:00 Chicken farm in regional Victoria — the working holiday visa reality
08:30 Moving to Melbourne: nearly run over by a tram on Day 1
10:00 The motorcycle accident that created Flying Solo
11:30 The $5 Spotlight tablecloth, a borrowed sewing machine, and the first bum bag
13:30 The Yarra Valley petrol station moment — what are you wearing?
15:00 Kill Switch Pack: carbon fibre, Kevlar, and the world's toughest bum bag
17:30 Flying Solo born in one day at the cafe downstairs
20:00 The presale that changed everything: 200 backpack orders in one evening
22:00 Word of mouth, Mailchimp, and growing without paid ads
24:00 Rage quit → first retail space → 29sqm with no toilet
27:30 Importing MotoGirl, Revit saying yes when everyone else said no
29:00 Why Flying Solo became Peak Moto
31:30 Founder advice: smaller MOQs, ditch B2B, test before you scale
36:00 How Peak Moto built a community that drives word-of-mouth sales
40:00 Bricks and mortar lessons: leases, location, lifestyle
44:00 How to find a good marketing agency — and the red flags to watch for
Links & Mentions
Guests
→ PeakMoto — Women's Motorcycle Gear (Melbourne & Brisbane)
→ Flying Solo Gear Company
→ Amanda Phoenix on Instagram
Mentioned in this episode
Revit Motorcycle Gear — peakmoto.com.au/brands/revitMotoGirl —
UK women's motorcycle gear brand
Pulp Digital — Meta ads agency (shoutout: Bella)
