How I Made It

Aaron Hornlimann bred guinea pigs to earn a buck as a kid. By his early 20s he was developing a text messaging system for Jetstar and now, at 35, the Young Rich Lister worth an estimated $34 million, is growing Elenium, a company making things easier for people to get in and out of airports. Background reading: ‘Sure, of course I can’: From uni dropout to young rich list Aaron Hornlimann, 35, is behind a company whose technology makes it easier for people to get in and out of airports. How I Made It website here. Email us at howimadeit@afr.com For more stories about success, subscribe to The Australian Financial Review here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Simon Beard and his wife Tah-nee started Culture Kings as a market stall at the Carrara Markets on the Gold Coast. Last year they cut a deal to sell their company for more than $600 million. Here’s how they did it. Background reading: From tight-arse teenager to the Rich List As a kid, Simon Beard saved every cent given to him, stashing it in a drawer. By the time he finished high school, he had a kitty of $4000 and made a bold move: he bet the lot on buying hands-free phone devices from someone he didn’t know in China. He turned up at Gold Coast’s Carrara Markets hoping to turn a profit. “My first day I was just a stuttering mess,” the founder of Culture Kings says. Want to be a Rich Lister? Get up at 4am, take an ice bath, meditate Simon Beard says being an entrepreneur is like trying to make it to the NBA. His days are literally planned to the minute.  How I Made It website here. Email us at howimadeit@afr.com For more stories about success, subscribe to The Australian Financial Review here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At 25, Robbie Ferguson is the youngest person to make the list since it began in 1983. He and his brother James have a combined wealth of $1billion thanks to the success of their crypto business Immutable.  Background reading: The Rich Lister tipping a crypto rebound Australia’s youngest Rich Lister used to frustrate his parents by devoting a lot of time to video games. Now he co-owns a company worth $3.5 billion. Rich list tips: don’t study law (unless you really want to) Budding founders should hire slowly, don’t study law, don’t get caught in the hype, and read. How I Made It website here. Email us at howimadeit@afr.com For more stories about success, subscribe to The Australian Financial Review here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sarina Russo failed high school English classes and was fired from her job as a legal secretary. She’s proof that determination and perseverance can triumph after joining the Financial Review Rich Women List earlier this year with an estimated $267 million fortune. Listen to how she did it. Background reading: She failed high school English. Now she’s worth $267m ‘Watch me’: Sarina Russo’s 8 lessons to turn failure into $267m How I Made It website here. Email us at howimadeit@afr.com For more stories about success, subscribe to The Australian Financial Review here.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After dropping out of uni and with starting out with $400, Tammy Hembrow has built online fitness app Tammy Fit and clothing brand Saksi Collection into businesses that's given her an estimated $38 million fortune. Background reading: 13 lessons to turn $400 into $38m How this 28-year-old built a $38m fortune How I Made It website here. Email us at howimadeit@afr.com For more stories about success, subscribe to The Australian Financial Review here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

David Tudehope quit working for CBA at 25 to start a company with big ambitions. Macquarie Telecom would take on Telstra. It’s been so successful he’s found his way onto the Financial Review Rich List. Tudehope shares his secrets for success, which includes something they’ve developed called the Noah’s Ark. Background reading: The key to the group’s 28-year-success in the fast-changing tech industry is an in-house process they invented to evaluate emerging trends. One of Tudehope’s favourite quotes is from former US president Calvin Coolidge. It's about persistence, and for about a decade, he kept that quote in his wallet. Here's what else he learnt along the way.  How I Made It website here. Email us at howimadeit@afr.com For more stories about success, subscribe to The Australian Financial Review here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Grant Petty was growing up in Shepparton in Victoria’s Goulburn Valley, his family didn't have much money so he took to 'rorting' the system to fund his early education in electronics. Petty went on to start Blackmagic Design, a company that designs cameras and editing systems for the entertainment industry that turned over ¾ of a billion dollars in 2021. How I Made It website here. Email us at howimadeit@afr.com Background reading Grant Petty doesn't play by traditional business rules: He mocks human resources departments who love to use psychometric testing. His accountants pull their hair out because he insists on paying more tax than he should. And, people probably thought that he was “pyscho” in the early days of building Blackmagic Design, a video equipment and software company that’s become so successful it made him a billionaire this year. 14 lessons for success: Founders need to “stop caring about how you look or what people think of you and focus”. Also, “be a little crazy”.  For more stories about success, subscribe to The Australian Financial Review here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australian Financial Review's Julie-anne Sprague takes you inside the world of the country’s top entrepreneurs. They'll share insights on what makes them tick, their business advice and how they overcame the odds to grace one of the AFR's Rich Lists. If you want to know how business empires are made, listen to How I Made It. Season two premieres Monday July 18.  Subscribe to the Australian Financial Review here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Michael Heine, 72 and his son Matt, 42, together run Netwealth, one of Australia’s fastest growing wealth management businesses. They come from a long line of entrepreneurs, never finished university and the family is now worth around $2.8 billion.They talk about taking on Australia's big banks, working with family, risking it all for a good idea and Dolly Parton. Background reading: The 150-year making of Netwealth How I Made It website here. For more stories about success, subscribe to The Australian Financial Review here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jessica Sepel, 32, went from working at Priceline after school to creating one of their fastest growing brands JS Health Vitamins. She’s a nutritionist and wellness blogger who quit her day job and is now worth an estimated $426 million. She talks about her struggle with food, getting scammed by manufacturers, how to deal with the social media haters, and one lesson she lives by: “Life is suffering.”   Background reading: Wellness couple fight back from failure to join Young Rich List https://www.afr.com/young-rich/wellness-couple-fight-back-from-failure-to-join-young-rich-list-20210913-p58r87See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.