Building a successful ecommerce or SaaS business is no small feat – it requires grit, determination, and a strategic mindset. But once you’ve scaled your business, how do you maximise profitability and maintain that upward growth trajectory?G’day, Jason Andrew here, and you’re listening to Stark Naked Numbers. This episode is for all the ecommerce or SaaS founders out there, deep in the trenches, who know the blood, sweat and tears it takes to build something remarkable.Today I’m joined by Carla Penn-Kahn, a true powerhouse in the ecommerce industry. She’s scaled and exited several brands from $3 million to $30 million without any external funding. Now, she’s the brains behind Profit Peak, a SaaS company designed to help other ecommerce owners optimise their operations using first-party data.In this episode, Carla shares her journey, profitability tactics and operations advice. We get very tactical in this episode which I simply love.Enjoy the show.Links:Follow Carla on LinkedIn or head to Profit Peak’s website.If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to Stark Naked Numbers on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you get your pods.  Want the secrets the other accountants won’t give you? Follow Jason Andrew on LinkedIn.To learn more about uncovering your financials and unlocking your cash, visit starknakednumbers.com.Show Notes:(01:08) - An introduction to Carla Penn-Kahn (02:22) - The early days: Carla’s first e-commerce business(05:20) - The next venture: Everton(07:06) - Building VS Buying a business(08:41) - How Carla perfected the fundamentals at Everton(12:22) - Game-changing strategies to differentiate your e-commerce brand(18:03) - Carla’s number one piece of advice for running an efficient operation(22:15) - Key metrics of a high-performing e-commerce business(29:26) - Creating cohesion between inventory and marketing teams(31:40) - How Profit Peak came to life(36:30) - Shifting from an e-commerce model to a SaaS business(40:50) - The biggest opportunities in e-commerce today(45:23) - Jason pitches Carla an idea(53:29) - The truth about revenue growth

Ever received a cold email that actually made an impact? Today’s guest did just that. Hi, Jason Andrew here, and this is Stark Naked Numbers – the podcast that strips down the numbers of business, investing, and wealth creation to help you become a better entrepreneur and investor, and ultimately build your net worth.Today, I’m joined live in the studio by Simon Plummer, someone who shares a career trajectory similar to mine: an accountant-turned-business owner with a passion for helping other aspiring business owners.Simon is honestly one of the most exceptional people I’ve met. We talk about building his operating and leadership chops at Johns Lyng Group, a $billion insurance building company he helped scale; to starting a tech startup, through to acquiring a boring brick tool manufacturing business.In this chat we unpack the art of cold emailing, creative ways to generate deal flow for business acquisitions, lessons learned from starting and operating businesses, and key insights for anyone considering buying into a small business.Alrighty, let’s get started.Links:To keep up with Simon, follow him on LinkedIn.If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to Stark Naked Numbers on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you get your pods.  Want the secrets the other accountants won’t give you? Follow Jason Andrew on LinkedIn.To learn more about uncovering your financials, unlocking your cash and unleashing your cash, visit starknakednumbers.com.Show Notes:(01:22) - Simon’s ‘killer’ cold email(06:53) - Inside Johns Lyng Group (JLG)(14:33) - Equity incentives and subsidiary ownership at JLG(21:42) - Simon’s investment in JLG at just 25(24:35) - The biggest learning curve of Simon’s career(35:56) - Exit and transition to a new business idea (41:33) - How Simon cherry picked his dream business(59:08) - What’s next for Simon(01:01:09) - Simon’s key takeaways for aspiring entrepreneurs

Hey, it’s Jason Andrew here.Today, I'm joined live in the studio by Mark Denning. He’s the owner and managing director of Fallon Solutions, a Brisbane-based home services business that provides trade services to customers in South East Queensland. I actually used their services myself, and let me tell you, it was one of the best customer experiences I’ve ever had with a tradesman. So, I made it my mission to track down the owner, and here we are.In this chat, I talk to Mark about the story behind Fallon Solutions, how he grew the business from $2M to $50M in revenue by investing in talent, customer experience and tech.Alright, let’s get into it.Links:To keep up with Mark, follow him on LinkedIn. If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to Stark Naked Numbers on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you get your pods.  Want the secrets the other accountants won’t give you? Follow Jason Andrew on LinkedIn.To learn more about uncovering your financials, unlocking your cash and unleashing your cash, visit starknakednumbers.com.Show Notes:(03:10) - Introduction to Fallon’s Services(04:50) - Mark’s career before Fallon’s(06:06) - The decision to buy (11:20) - 60% growth in year one: cash flow model of residential vs commercial(14:33) - Customer acquisition strategies(16:07) - Revenue growth: $2M to $50M in 20 years(18:17) - Capacity and staffing model(23:39) - Competitive difference and advertising strategy(25:50) - Attracting and retaining talent in a service-based business(32:49) - Capacity management software(35:16) - Private equity interest in the HVAC industry(40:03) - The future of Fallon’s(41:08) - Mark’s experience with private equity: US vs Australia (43:54) - The motivation behind building businesses

Ever wondered what it’s like to run a high-octane digital agency? If you’re knee-deep in the digital marketing world, you’re gonna dig this chat.Hey there, Jason Andrew here, and you’re listening to Stark Naked Numbers – the podcast that’s about stripping down the numbers behind business, investing, and wealth creation to help you become a better entrepreneur and investor, and ultimately build your net worth. Today I’m hanging out with serial entrepreneur and self-proclaimed industry disrupter, Nick Bell. This guy’s not your average Joe – he’s set up more than a dozen companies, including a digital advertising agency he started in 2008 with just $400 bucks. He then sold it ten years later for close to $40 million. Since then, Nick’s been on a roll, with a holding company sporting over 10 digital agencies and services business, from Outsourcey, an off-shore labour hire company, to his latest passion project, Super Young, a bio-hacking clinic promising to keep you spry and kicking till you hit the century mark. But I’ll let him tell you all about that.In this chat, I ask Nick about his rinse-and-repeat strategy for success, how he keeps his managers motivated, and how to control client experience and maintain quality as you grow. We also go deep on the numbers of running a high-flying agency.Links:To keep up with Nick Bell, follow him on LinkedIn.If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to Stark Naked Numbers on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you get your pods.  Want the secrets the other accountants won’t give you? Follow Jason Andrew on LinkedIn.To learn more about uncovering your financials, unlocking your cash and unleashing your cash, visit starknakednumbers.com.Show Notes:(02:29 ) - The early days of WME (13:10) - A new and improved digital agency formula(17:55) - Why outsourcing is a good industry to be in(23:10) - Incubating a service-based business(28:43) - Nick’s time allocation across his business portfolio(31:20) - Incentivising your GMs(33:51) - What the financials of a high performing agency look like(36:02) - Identifying a poorly run agency (44:53) - Scaling up your service-based business(47:30) - Nick on people management (being a ‘people person’)(50:29) - Controlling the client experience and maintaining quality as you grow(52:22) - Selling your agency: when an agency will sell for more(53:27) - Nick’s passion behind Super Young and ‘Biohacking’(01:03:43) - Nick’s advice for new business owners

Business valuations expert, Simon Cook, and host Jason Andrew discuss the nuances of valuing businesses, forecasting cash flow, and understanding valuation multiples. They explore the difference between price and value, investment risk, EBITDA impact on valuation, and strategies for maximizing value in acquisitions.

We’ve talked about how to buy a business – but have you ever wondered what the first three to six months should look like for someone who’s just bought one? Hi. Jason Andrew here, and you’re listening to Stark Naked Numbers – the podcast that strips down the numbers of business, investing, and wealth creation to help you become a better entrepreneur and investor, and ultimately build your net worth.Today I’m joined by Nikita Gossain. She’s a chartered financial analyst, an entrepreneur, and a mergers and acquisitions pro. She’s also the director of Smokeshield, a commercial security and fire company that she purchased from a retired business owner.In this episode, Nikita shares her search fund journey, from the initial decision between buying versus starting a business, building that initial relationship, how to extract the business’ most valuable data, and the time it takes to seal the deal. Nikita’s insights are a ripper. Enjoy. Links:Follow Nikita Gossain on LinkedIn.Subscribe to Stark Naked Numbers on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you get your pods.  Want the secrets the other accountants won’t give you? Follow Jason Andrew on LinkedIn.To learn more about uncovering your financials, unlocking your cash and unleashing your cash, visit starknakednumbers.com.Show Notes:(02:40) - What’s a search fund anyway?(04:03) - The costs related to a search fund(05:19) - Nikita’s investor journey: From funded to self-funded   (09:02) - Educating Australian investors on the search fund model(14:07) - Nikita’s process: Proprietary outreach and relationship building(16:52) - The Search & Acquisition Phase  (20:06) - Insights into Smokeshield(22:15) - Key factors to consider in your search(26:44) - How to value a small business(30:38) - Nikita’s funding journey: From debt to equity  (37:39) - The first 3-6 months of business ownership(43:23) - The questions you should ask before going on a search fund journey

They say you should never meet your heroes, but that’s probably because they never met Dan Norris. Dan’s a serial entrepreneur, an award-winning content marketer, a best-selling author, and a genuine hero of mine.On this episode of the Stark Naked Numbers podcast, Dan tells us about how he developed his transparent approach to content marketing, why he left Black Hops Brewing, and why he’s putting it all on the line with his new business, East Coast Roast. Strap in. Show Notes:(02:12) Why Dan’s never been afraid of posting his revenue publicly (06:28) How Dan built and sold his first successful business, WP Curve (20:15) Why Dan got into craft beer with Black Hops Brewing (23:47) How hard is it to start a craft brewery, and why are so many struggling now? (31:00) Influencer-led products: Hit or shit? (36:00) Why Dan left Black Hops and bought a coffee roaster (50:34) The challenges of taking over an existing business (01:07:24) Why Dan will always sell a business when a good opportunity presents itself – and why I think he’s dead wrong Links:Keep up with Dan Norris here.Subscribe to Stark Naked Numbers on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you get your pods.  Want the secrets the other accountants won’t give you? Follow Jason Andrew on LinkedIn.To learn more about uncovering your financials, unlocking your cash and unleashing your cash, visit starknakednumbers.com.

This episode is all about roll-ups – and we’re not talking about the fruit snacks you had in your lunch box as a kid. No, we’re talking about rolling up SMBs. You know the playbook: Buy a bunch of small businesses, whack them together, take it public and make a tonne of money. I’ve been feeling the itch to do some rolling up myself. And this pod, I scratch that itch with the great Dr Glen Richards, Australia’s king of the roll-up. You know Glen. He’s the founder of Greencross Vets, a roll-up of vet clinics, and a chairman of Healthia, a health care roll-up. He’s also a director of a bunch of companies, which I’ll let him share with you. Glen’s also a Shark… yep, you might also recognise him from his time as a panelist and investor on Shark Tank.Roll-ups might sound easy (and delicious) – but as Glen explains this episode, getting it right is actually harder than you think.Alright, let’s get into it.Links:Keep up with Glen Richards on LinkedIn.Subscribe to Stark Naked Numbers on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you get your pods.  Want the secrets the other accountants won’t give you? Follow Jason Andrew on LinkedIn.To learn more about uncovering your financials, unlocking your cash and unleashing your cash, visit starknakednumbers.com.Show Notes:(00:52) - Glen’s business portfolio (02:14) - What does a successful roll-up look like?(07:44) - Why most Aussie businesses don’t have long term vision(13:20) - Creating value and de-risking through a roll-up (18:25) - Synergies: The cream on top of the ‘Roll-Up Cake’(25:16) - Glen’s learnings from the Petbarn and Greencross merge(33:34) - Roll-up succession plan (41:00) - Jason’s five key ingredients to a successful roll-up(44:07) - The Pitch: Jason’s perfect roll-up business – and The Shark weighs in.(50:30) - Glen’s dream roll-up businesses

Today I’m joined live in the studio by Tobi Pearce, the brilliant mind behind the hugely popular Sweat fitness app. Tobi's journey is nothing short of remarkable. He bootstrapped Sweat to a peak of $100 million in annual revenue and eventually orchestrated a jaw-dropping $400 million sale. I’m Jason Andrew, and this is Stark Naked Numbers. It’s the podcast that strips down the numbers of business, investing and wealth creation to help you become a better entrepreneur and a better investor, and ultimately build your net worth. In this pod we go over the profits and numbers of Sweat, how he thinks about managing people and problem solving, his relationship with money, asset allocation and how he chooses to invest his hard-earned funds. Tobi one of the most impressive people I've met, and as you'll hear, one of the sharpest minds you’ll come across. Alright, let’s get into it.Links:Keep up with Tobi Pearce on LinkedIn or Instagram.Subscribe to Stark Naked Numbers on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you get your pods.  Want the secrets the other accountants won’t give you? Follow Jason Andrew on LinkedIn.To learn more about uncovering your financials, unlocking your cash and unleashing your cash, visit starknakednumbers.com.Show Notes:(01:43) - The evolution and success of Sweat(05:22) - The lucrative world of e-books(08:11) - Luck or opportunity spotting? (10:22) - The influencers’ ascent in fitness (12:16) - The creator economy: fad or forever?(17:11) - Sweat’s endurance test (19:25) - Tobi’s strategic exit (26:40) - Selling at the peak: Indicators of a ‘frothy’ market (35:26) - Market trends and entrepreneurial opportunities(47:07) - The pain points of business founders(48:45) - The making of a successful CEO(55:50) - Personal wealth for personal growth(58:05) - Tobi’s take on negative media coverage and public criticism  (59:23) - The fear of losing it all(01:04) - Tobi’s investment strategy 

We often hear stories about entrepreneurs making money, but how do you preserve it or more importantly, ensure your kids don’t waste it? As a parent, how do you ensure you don’t raise soft, entitled brats? Multi-generational wealth doesn’t just happen – and nobody knows more about how to keep your money in the family than today’s guest. I’m Jason Andrew, your host, and  here, and this is podcast that strips down the numbers of business, investing, and wealth creation to help you become a better entrepreneur and investor, and ultimately build your net worth.Today we’re joined by Mike Boyd. He’s the co-owner and CEO of the Vroom Group, a giant in the car rental space, and the founder of Prosura, a global insurance intermediary. But he’s also the man behind Mudbrick Capital, a family holding company that builds, buys and operates businesses, and the host of a podcast, The Business of Family, that breaks down how successful families hold onto their wealth across generations. In this episode, we discuss holding companies, long-term capital compounding, and strategies to manage intergenerational wealth. These are a few of my favorite things. It’s a ripper of a pod.Links:Subscribe to Stark Naked Numbers on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you get your pods.  Follow Mike Boyd on LinkedIn and at https://mikeboyd.com.au/.Want the secrets the other accountants won’t give you? Follow Jason Andrew on LinkedIn.To learn more about uncovering your financials, unlocking your cash and unleashing your cash, visit starknakednumbers.com.Show Notes:(06:28) - Finding your business niche.(09:03) - The business of spin-off businesses. (16:46) - Mike’s next disruptor.(21:07) - The importance of defensible, logical niches. (24:33) - Humble beginnings in business: Keg Hire Brisbane(30:18) - The story behind Mike’s Vroom, Vroom, Vroom ownership.(45:10) - Crafting a solid asset allocation strategy.(49:35) - Mike’s journey into generational wealth education.(01:00:00) - Mike’s take on family governance structures.(01:02:05) - The family business: Perspectives from different cultures.(01:07:19) - Navigating the silver spoon effect.(01:09:47) - The art of generational storytelling and raising well-rounded children.(01:13:12) - Mike’s take on giving kids pocket money. (01:15:39) - '18 summers': An appreciation for the finite time spent with your children.