What’s next for Pixie Curtis after retirement?
She’s the pint-sized business titan who recently announced her retirement at the tender age of 11. James Weir asks: what’s next for Pixie Curtis?
Gina Rinehart, the Atlassian bros and James Packer have all been toppled by a new forward-thinking kajillionaire: Pixie Curtis.
Her name is synonymous with success, innovation and leadership. And after building a booming fidget empire, the 11-year-old daughter of former publicist Roxy Jacenko this week announced her semi-retirement from the high-stakes world of toy importation.
The tween launched hair accessories brand Pixie’s Bows in 2011 upon exiting her mother’s womb and swiftly scaled the business before pivoting to disrupt the notoriously brutal novelty toy market.
Her decision this week to move on from the fidget conglomerate that made her Australia’s wealthiest tween sent shockwaves through the upper echelons of the country’s corporate universe. Now, there’s only one question: what’s next?
Sources told this publication that Go-To skincare founder Zoe Foster-Blake held crisis meetings after rumours began circulating that Pixie was set to disrupt the cosmetics ecosystem with her own beauty range that would also feature humorously chatty descriptions on the labels.
As Pixie gets set to wind down from a life of wind-up toys, she found time in her busy schedule to sit down with news.com.au to discuss the high-highs and low-lows of her expansive career.
This is the first in a series of exclusive interviews where we pretend to talk to titans of industry and imagine their responses.
“Achieving success is one thing – it’s maintaining it that’s the challenge,” she said at Bennelong, the premium dining establishment housed within Sydney Opera House.
She personally requested it be shut down for the afternoon so she could indulge in a celebratory after-school snack.
“Make it a double pour,” she said to the waiter, who was filling her glass with frothy pink creaming soda. “It’s a Friday, after all.”
Q: Years of hard work have clearly not taken a toll. You look phenomenal – what’s your secret?
A: Unfortunately, there’s no magic pill. It’s a hard lesson we all have to learn. I make sure I get eight hours of sleep a night and drink a lot of water. Oh, also, I’m 11.
Q: What do you have to say about rumours your employee (Roxy) is trying to lodge work compensation claims against you for an RSI issue obtained from packing fidgets in what she describes as “sweatshop conditions”?
A: I don’t comment on rumours. Enquiries of that ilk can be sent to my lawyer, Sue Chrysanthou, SC.
Q: What keeps you up at night?
A: Right now, it’s Sudan – the political tensions compounded by the drought. I’m constantly workshopping solutions. And, really, that’s what the fidget biz is: it’s not a toy industry, it’s a solutions industry.
Q: How do you unwind?
A: Meditation. And crank calling Ros Packer.
Q: Most valuable lesson you’ve learnt?
A: Early in my career, there was a lot of burning the candle at both hands. It’s fine for a while – but you eventually wind up with really waxy hands. You can quote me on that.
Q: What do you say to the old adage that women can’t have it all?
A: Look around. I have everything.
Q: What’s your most overused phrase?
A: “I can buy and sell you ten times over.” It’s usually said to my assistant (Roxy) at bedtime.
Q: What’s the biggest misconception about the Jacenko dynasty?
A: That my mum’s Instagram persona is who she actually is in reality. All those cars she poses with? Mine. The house? Mine. She actually drives a Kia Picanto and lives in a sharehouse in Haymarket. Social media’s all about perception.
Q: Signature scent?
A: The smell of new iPad. I commissioned a perfumery in France to bottle the essence.
Q: What’s your secret to success?
A: A lot of Wizz Fizz. I’m just kidding. I’m a kidder. But seriously, for me, my success really transitioned to the next level when my parents evolved into paid employees. And that’s really the secret. You wanna rise through the familial ranks at a young age – surpassing your mum and dad’s income, toppling their authority and subverting the traditional roles so that they become your dependants. The aim isn’t to have a family. The aim is to have staff who just happen to share your DNA.
People always talk about challenging the gender roles – but I think it’s just as important to toggle that parent/child dynamic. Gender equality, pay parity, glass ceilings – blah blah blah. All that stuff is just keeping us tangled down in the weeds. Think bigger.
Q: It’s well-known that you’ve become somewhat of a Yoda to other titans of industry who frequently approach you for advice. What major decisions have you influenced recently?
A: Look, people always ask for my opinion – I answer quickly and decisively. Twiggy (mining magnate Andrew Forrest) sent me a text this week asking if he should buy that new Waldorf Astoria in Sydney. It’s a funny story, actually. My chauffeur (Roxy) was driving me between meetings and I was doing homework in the back of the Benz. The text came through: ‘thinking of buying new Waldorf Astoria. Yes or no? Twiggy’. I quickly glanced at the screen but it didn’t click immediately who ‘Twiggy’ was. So, I got Siri to reply with: “Who dis?” But the voice-to-text misheard me and wrote: “Oooh yes!” … Next minute, Twiggy drops half a billion on a random motel. It’s not exactly the advice I would’ve given. Oops.
Q: What’s next for you?
A: I operate from a place of curiosity. What’s keeping me curious right now? The billionaire space race. And chatty skincare.
Twitter, Facebook: @hellojamesweir
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