Creating Synergy Podcast #88 - Simon Hackett, Founder of Internode, meeting Elon, and his secrets to insane business growth
Today on the show, we have Simon Hackett, an Australian technology entrepreneur, who co-founded Internode in 1991 , and after growing it to 450 staff, with 190,000 customers and an annual turnover of $180million, he sold it to iiNet for $105million in December 2011.
Simon Hackett is a man of many (unbelievable) firsts.
He was part of the team that first figured out how to bring the internet to Australia. He was the first person to connect a domestic appliance to the internet.
He also took delivery of Australia's first electric vehicle (he wasn't allowed to drive it on Australian roads mind you!) after a chance meeting with an ambitious young man by the name of Elon Musk. He founded Internode, one of Australia's most successful internet providers.
In this week's episode, we talk about all this… plus:
🎯his businesses near death experience
🎯the thing that took his business from 15 to 500 people
🎯why we should think about work life 'separation', rather than balance
🎯the thing that will lead to business failure more than anything else
🎯why he sold Internode
🎯his biggest fear and challenge right now
🎯 what his life looks like now
Get the insights of one of Australia's most successful entrepreneurs into your ears.
Books mentioned in this episode:
- Ringworld By: Larry Niven
- Exactly, How Precision Engineers Created the Modern World By: Simon Winchester
- Maverick The Success Story Behind the World's Most Unusual Workplace By: Ricardo Semler
Where to find Simon Hackett
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Access SynergyIQ Website to get to know more about us.
Say hello to our host Daniel Franco on LinkedIn.