Lawyer turned funtrepreneur
Sarah Holloway - Lawyer turned funtrepreneur
Sarah is the brain behind one of the biggest tea brands in Australia, Matcha Maiden. After working as a mergers and acquisitions lawyer, Sarah jumped ship to focus full time on Matcha Maiden, and later, Matcha Mylkbar.
Sarah shares her infectious energy through her podcast Seize the Yay, and her Instagram, Spoonful of Sarah, chatting about all things farshun, fitspo, frolicking and funtrepreneurship.
Verbatim from the transcripts — each quote links to the moment.
“I always say I've gone from having like a 5-year plan or a 50-year plan to not even a 5-minute plan, which I kind of like.”
“Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will, and done is better than perfect.”
“Um, I think I— that's part of what keeps me driven is being hard on myself.”
How do you overcome overthinking and actually start a new creative project?
Rip the band-aid off rather than overthinking; commit early (e.g., booking a first guest) to force yourself to follow through, and treat the first version as a minimum viable product rather than waiting for perfection.
How do you tell friends and family about a risky career change without causing alarm?
Build proof of concept quietly first (e.g., keep your job while the business grows) so that by the time you announce a change, it's clearly already working; also frame new projects as 'just a hobby' early on to lower the stakes for yourself and others.
How should you handle watching competitors in your industry?
Stop following or engage with competitors if it distracts or tempts you to copy them; focus energy only on what you control, since perception of others' success is often misleading ('smoke and mirrors').
Is imposter syndrome a sign something is wrong?
Treat self-doubt and imposter syndrome as proof you're stepping outside your comfort zone and learning, not as a reason to stop; its absence may mean you've become too comfortable or stopped growing.
Sarah describes practising corporate law, initially feeling grateful and stimulated by the steep learning curve, but gradually realising her creative 'arty farty' side had disappeared. A chance discovery of matcha (tied to an illness) led her to start Matcha Maiden, and the contrast with legal work made clear she wasn't meant to stay in law.
Sarah trademarked 'Seize the Yay' 18 months before launching her podcast. A company later put up a Melbourne Central billboard using the phrase, which a community member flagged thinking it was an official collaboration; Sarah had it removed.
Sarah studied and sat all her law exams in French during an exchange in Europe, expecting a fun, party-filled exchange but instead spending the whole time studying and crying.
Sarah, who was adopted from South Korea as an infant, describes visiting the country for the first time in 17 years with Nick, noting she felt like a tourist rather than experiencing an emotional homecoming.
Drawn from the episode transcripts.
She says law felt fine but not exciting — a lot of paper-pushing rather than the glamorous 'Suits' lifestyle she expected. She only recognised how much she'd suppressed her creative side once an accidental discovery of matcha gave her a contrasting feeling of being her 'true self', prompting her to eventually transition to business full time.
From episode 453→She trademarked the phrase 18 months before starting her podcast, wanting a philosophy centred on joy and fulfilment rather than productivity or achievement. She later had to get a billboard removed from Melbourne Central after a company used the phrase without permission.
From episode 453→She advises waiting until the side business and the job become mutually exclusive — i.e., when you have to start turning down business opportunities because you literally have no more hours left. Until then, keeping the job provides cash flow that helps the business grow.
From episode 453→Every episode featuring Sarah Holloway on The Daily Talk Show.
