The Creative Files with Remi and Bella from Ponnd: On Non-Linear Careers, Creative Courage, and the Future of Work
Welcome to The Creative Files, spotlighting the writers, photographers, community builders, and creative thinkers who are daring to shape their own path. These candid conversations spotlight the non-linear careers, the unexpected pivots, the side quests and passion projects — the kind most of us rarely see on LinkedIn. Discover which rituals and daily habits inspire their best work, what anchors their approach to creativity and where these women turn to for inspiration.
History is full of iconic duos. Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Salvador Dali and Coco Chanel. Kate Moss and Lucian Freud. Each pairing is unlikely, a collision of worlds that doesn’t make sense — until you realise that’s the point. This is where the best ideas are born.
On paper, Remi Dooley (a fashion lover and gaming marketer) and Bella Cipolla (a former ballerina and designer) couldn’t be more different. But the duo found common ground around a shared pain point: traditional CVs felt too static to capture the texture and shape of modern careers.
That’s where Ponnd was born: a single place to share your whole professional identity in its most authentic form. Think your work history, projects, writing and output, carefully curated into one beautifully designed profile.
In this edition of The Creative Files, we’re handing over the mic to two co-founders who are pioneering a fresh offering of professional tooling for the post CV era. Here, Remi and Bella share the discipline and structure they’ve cultivated from taking a non-linear career path, how they’re building for a generation of professionals directing their own destiny, and the daily rituals that fuel their best work.
Q. Tell us who you are and what you do, but skip the LinkedIn version. What's the real story of how you ended up here?
R: “I’m Remi, co-founder and CMO of Ponnd. I head up all the marketing side of Ponnd on a day-to-day basis. Honestly, my whole journey is a lot of just working it out.
I’ve always had a creative spirit. My first dream careers were fashion designer, journalist or specifically visual merchandiser, which I thought were peak career goals. I did a comms degree that I learnt nothing from. But during that time, I did A LOT of internships which landed me in PR agency land in Sydney.
After that, I did that for a couple of years working and dabbling in everything; consumer tech, homewares, video gaming and even a BBQ festival. I got pulled towards gaming, though, it was a world I had never been a part of, and the engaged community was so intriguing. I ended up working in the industry for 5 years on big titles. Towards the end of that time, I started working on Ponnd with Bell under the mission that modern careers need better tools, and that takes us to today!”
B: “Hello! My name is Bella. I am the co-founder and CEO of Ponnd, where we are building tools for the modern workforce. I touch all things product, design and innovation.
My career history had a huge part in informing Ponnd as I have tread an incredibly non-linear and self-authored path. I left school when I was 14 to train as a ballerina full-time here in Sydney. At 17, I took myself off to audition at Ballet schools across the US and ended up moving to NYC, calling it home for the next 4 years of my life.
COVID brought me back to Australia, which in retrospect I am quite happy about. The whole performing arts world shut down, and I made the decision to step away. Whilst working part-time in retail, I started making jewellery at my mum's kitchen table, then accidentally turned that into a business. I ran that for four years and ended up falling out of love with it.
So, I pivoted (again), took a break and went and dipped my toe in the world of men's tailoring. I enjoyed that (and really loved the clothes and the generous discount). But in the background, I was developing a design studio. I launched La Robe Club and found my niche in weddings and events. With one business under my belt, I walked in with a little more experience the second time around. It was an incredible outlet for my creativity. Some brides, though, are not for the faint of heart. Gird your MFing loins.”
Q. What does a creative day actually look like for you: the conditions, the rituals, the habits and the way you do your best thinking?
R: “Movement in the morning always switches my brain on, music in another language (I need lyrics, but not lyrics I can sing to and get distracted), and no meetings. For big brainstorm moments, I like the drama of a large piece of paper and pens on a wall. Something about the physicality makes me more creative than typing on a laptop.”
B: “At work, I have to have at least two days a week where I dedicate my time to product design and development. It surprised me how effortless the transition from graphic design to product design was and how it is possibly (for me) a far more satisfying process. Being able to play with what you are designing and see it respond to you in real time, yum. It is the perfect balance of the brain. Half creativity, half problem solving.
“The ritual: phone on DND. Music on. Typically classical or what my partner describes as dark and disturbing music (heavy techno), pending stress levels and time of day.” - Bella
In terms of best thinking, I am guilty of having little miss AI do a lot of my menial tasks and started to notice a slight decline in day-to-day cognitive ability (embarrassing). To combat this and save myself from a life of not being able to respond to an email without consulting Chatty, I charged up my iPad and started putting my raw thoughts onto a page. Revolutionary. It reminded me of old study days. I will be introducing more of this into my practice. PSA: All these answers were brought to you with no AI consultation.”
Q. What's something you've completely changed your mind about in the last year?
R: “I think previously I’ve always had a very Australian, quiet achiever mentality. That you should put your head down, do your best work and that gets rewarded. I’ve done a complete 180 on that in the last year.”
“You should shout about what you're good at and be your own biggest fan. Last year got me comfortable being online, this year I’m being loud and seen.” - Remi
B: “Over the last year, a lot of the tech world has been de-mystified for me. I came in with assumptions and a boatload of imposter syndrome. Reality is, everyone is figuring it out. Tune in to the juicy tell-all in 10 years' time.”
Q. As co-founders, your career paths before Ponnd couldn't look more different, but you ended up building the same thing together. What do you think the non-linear path actually taught you that a traditional one couldn't have?
R: “I think we actually have such a nice balance between structure and creativity in our workflow, and I think that’s due to most of our backgrounds. I'm self-described as chaotic but have the backing of traditional structure from bigger corps, and I would actually say Bell is the opposite: more structured but with the fresh perspective of having never worked inside a corporate machine. It allows us to be informed by traditional structures but charge past them in a way that works for us.”
B: “Remi said this perfectly. I love our dynamic. If I were to add anything, it would be that the non-linear path taught me structure, strangely. How to be disciplined when you have no one telling you what to do. There’s a lot of freedom in it.”
Q. You're building a platform for the future of careers, but what does your own relationship with work actually look like right now?
R: “Modern work to me is having autonomy over how you want to work. I’m passionate about empowering people to create their version of work that works FOR them. Personally, my relationship with work right now is quite all-consuming, but it’s the season I’m in, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
B: “I would say my personal relationship with work is monogamous and full-time, whilst trying to keep a fluid mindset. We are in a moment in history where I believe work as we knew it will no longer exist in the next two to five years. The modern career is emerging and hard to define. For me personally, it means more autonomy, more collaboration, more self-directed opportunity.”
Q. What are you obsessed with right now?
R: “Obsessed with Lena Dunham and her book like everyone else. Her press tour is the epitome of un-engineered authenticity. I can’t stop thinking about the evolution of reading as a status symbol in culture right now, from Dua Lipa’s book club to Miu Miu’s literary club at Milan Fashion week. No one’s actually offline, but we want to get online and say we are offline.
And maximalist dressing inspo/creators like Maggie Villamaria. This is who I am at my heart, but at some point in adulthood I toned it down??? Plotting to bring it back.”
B: “I am in the throes of Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh. Obsessed. I only read before bed, and it has me tucking in at 9:30 pm, which is uncharacteristically early for me.
I also can’t stop thinking about Damien Jalet’s choreography in the recent Yung Lean music video Storm. Just scratches an itch. This documentation is also gold.”