Simson began her career in the corporate marketing field and gained experience with IBM, KPMG, Apple Computer Australia, and Ansett Australia. In 2001, she founded RedBalloon, an online experience gift retailer based in Australia. She began the company out of her house with a $25,000 personal investment and grew it to 46 employees by 2011. Simson was CEO of the company until 2011 when she took a step back from the operational side of the business. RedBalloon also launched the stand-alone small business reward platform Redii in 2016. In 2017, Simson formed Big Red Group, a company that became the parent company for RedBalloon. It also operates the companies Marketics, Redii, and Adrenaline. The group was formed with Dave Anderson who purchased a 50% stake in RedBalloon in 2017. In late 2014, Simson was named as one of five 'Sharks' on Network Ten's Shark Tank in Australia along with Andrew Banks, John McGrath, Steve Baxter, and Janine Allis. She has been a shark on the show since its launch in 2015. Simson has also been a guest host on Network Ten's Studio 10. Simson was a secret millionaire in the 2009 season of the reality television showThe Secret Millionaire – Australia. On the show, Simson volunteered for 10 days in different disadvantaged areas of Australia. Upon conclusion of the show, Simson reveals her true identity to others and donates money to a number of the causes and individuals she volunteered for during the show. She was one of five benefactors for the season who gave more than $750,000 to various individuals and organisations in the community. Simson is a blogger and owner of NaomiSimson.com, ranked number two in the 15 Top Business Blogs by SmartCompany.com as of 2016. Simson is the author of two books, Live What You Love and Ready to Soar. She was one of 13 authors who collaborated to write the 2008 book The Power of More Than One:Success Strategies from Australasia's Leading Business and Motivational Specialists and also wrote a preface for the 2013 book Appvertising – How Apps are Changing the World. In 2016 she released the book Ready to Soar: Turn Your Brilliant Idea into a Business You Love. Simson is also a philanthropist and joined the council of Voiceless to spread the word about the need for greater animal protection. She is also an advisor to Heads Over Heels and a governor for the Cerebral Palsy Alliance. It has been revealed by fairfax media in an investigation of 'Shark Tank', that Simson, despite being portrayed as an entrepreneur/investor, in fact did not make any financial investments at all in any shark tank businesses during the period of the investigation
Publications
Ready To Soar
Live What You Love
Awards and recognition
Simson has won numerous awards throughout her career including the 2005 Westpac NSW Entrepreneur of the Year. Additional awards and recognition include the National Telstra Business Women's Award for Innovation in 2008, and being a 2011 finalist in BRW's Entrepreneur of the Year. Simson was recognised by LinkedIn in 2012 as one of the World's Most Influential Thought Leaders, a recognition shared by only 150 people. She was one of only two from Australia with the other being Freelancer.com founder Matt Barrie. The recognition was part of LinkedIn's Influencer Campaign to share business knowledge, allowing Simson to author content to be shared with LinkedIn members. As of 2017, Simson is one of the 10 business executives in Australia, to hold a "Power Profile" on LinkedIn. In October 2018 Simson was named in The Australian Financial Review 100 Women of Influence awards in the Business and Entrepreneur category.
