Co-founder of Envato | Founder of Hey Tiger
Cyan Ta'eed is a serious business woman who launched her first startup from her parent's basement. She's the co-founder of Envato, an online marketplace and is amongst some of Australia's richest women. Apart from Envato, Cyan has also co-founded Milkshake and is the founder and CEO of Hey Tiger, the exclusively delicious and charitable chocolate brand.
She's got a brain for business and entrepreneurship and is an inspiration to us all!
Cyan on Instagram:
@cyantaeed
Cyan on LinkedIn:
Envato:
www.envato.com
Milkshake:
milkshake.app
Hey Tiger:
www.heytiger.com.au
Verbatim from the transcripts — each quote links to the moment.
“It's okay if you don't know everything. You can only be you and it's all right to have strengths and it's all right to have weaknesses.”
“We didn't take a salary for a couple of years. We just kind of really decided just to build it organically, which now, oh, I'm so happy we did that.”
“I think if you are buying chocolate which doesn't have some sort of certification attached to it, then you really need to consider the impact that your decisions are making.”
“You've got to do something useful with yourself, don't you? ... What's the purpose? You've gotta have a purpose which is beyond your enjoyment.”
“I've only got so many fucks to give.”
“And if it's not a fuck yeah, it's automatically a fuck no.”
“Every 6 months or so a business gets in touch and says, can we please use the same voice that you've used for Audio Jungle? Can you please put us in touch with her?”
Can you teach an employee to be autonomous or take initiative?
Autonomy and initiative largely come from a person's internal intention — if someone wants to achieve big things, you can coach them on how; but if they just want to do their job and go home, you can't instill ambition in them, and that's okay too.
How do you build confidence for high-pressure public situations like panels?
Get comfortable admitting what you don't know rather than panicking or bluffing; know your strengths and weaknesses clearly, and respond to unfamiliar topics with confidence by simply saying you don't have expertise there rather than trying to fake knowledge.
How do you decide whether to say yes or no to an opportunity or request?
Use a 'fuck yeah or fuck no' filter — if it's not an enthusiastic yes, treat it as a no, because you only have limited energy/capacity ('fucks to give') and overcommitting to things you feel obligated to do takes away from what you're actually passionate about.
How can you say no to requests (e.g. speaking engagements) without feeling guilty or burning bridges?
Rather than flatly declining, redirect the person to other capable people who can fulfill the need — e.g., providing a list of other women entrepreneurs for speaking requests — so everyone still gets a good outcome.
Cyan recalls depositing a cheque for Envato's original product 'Flash Den' and a bank teller assuming it was a porn site due to the name, prompting an awkward explanation and eventual rebrand to Active Den after Adobe's cease and desist.
Cyan describes being on a panel with CSIRO's CEO and Australia's chief scientist where she argued for concern over automation-driven job loss and the need for universal basic income, while the government-affiliated panelists dismissed her concerns.
Cyan reveals she personally recorded the 'Audio Jungle' audio watermark voice in Envato's early days because there was no one else to do it, and the brand never changed it due to audience attachment, leading to businesses occasionally requesting to use 'her voice.'
Drawn from the episode transcripts.
They used all their savings, did freelance work during the day and worked on the business nights and weekends, borrowed $15K from Collis's parents, maxed out credit cards, and lived in Cyan's parents' basement, eventually forgoing salaries for a couple of years to grow the business organically.
From episode 308→Hey Tiger is owned by a charitable trust called GiveTiger; Cyan is the director but cannot take money out personally, donates 50 cents per full bar and 25 cents per mini bar to the Hunger Project from the start (funded separately pre-profitability), and once profitable the business can declare dividends up to GiveTiger, which distributes funds to DGR-status charities like the Hunger Project in Burkina Faso/Ghana cocoa farming communities.
From episode 308→It is Cyan Ta'eed herself — in Envato's early startup days there was no one else available to record it, so she recorded herself saying 'Audio Jungle,' and the brand has kept her original recording ever since due to fan attachment.
From episode 308→Every episode featuring Cyan Ta’eed on The Daily Talk Show.
