Build It. They'll Come.

While working as a management consultant at McKinsey’s, advising large retailers and others on loyalty programs and customer engagement, Hugo Rourke had the bright idea that if he could use the same tricks and tactics to help those with serious, chronic health conditions who had a greater need to engage and comply with treatments, it could be more beneficial for society. He and a mate Scott Taylor created an app that rewards those who must manage chronic illnesses likes diabetes and heart disease on a daily basis. They reward them by better engaging those patients via an app, offering enticements like movie tickets and gift vouchers if aspects of their treatment plans are carried out. But Perx is not just any old health or wellness app. This entrepreneurial duo worked with the University of Sydney to put it to the test by conducting a randomised trial to see if it improves health outcomes, with published results in the British Medical Journal. To date, they’ve not only attracted financial backing from venture capital, but they’ve won over the interest of major health providers and insurers both in Australia and the US. Here’s how they’re building Perx Health.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Alex Badran’s startup digital platform, Spriggy, was the realisation of his dream to help children learn about better managing money and to help parents improve and streamline the pocketmoney routine inside households. But Spriggy’s success from the get-go meant that Alex and his co-founder had to deal with myriad challenges… including how not to go broke. In Part 2 of our chat he reveals how to avoid those treacherous pitfalls as a startup entrepreneur and just how he intends to expand and spend the roughly $50 million already raised from investors.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Alex Badran was doing his PhD, he turned down a guaranteed job in Silicon Valley with some of the world’s most innovative tech giants, to do his own thing back home in Oz. Who does that?  Well,  would-be entrepreneur Alex Badran for one. Sounds crazy, right? But Alex Badran did just that. Alex completed a fellowship in Silicon Valley California that basically involved him helping the likes of Netflix, Facebook, LinkedIn, Airbnb to solve their deep technical problems, meanwhile hanging out with their founders and senior execs scooping up whatever experience and learnings he could – but he turned his back on a guaranteed job over there with one of these global behemoths. Alex Badran always intended to return home to Sydney to realise his startup journey. He and a mate Mario Hasanakos had a dream to build something substantial from scratch. And Alex couldn’t let that go, even if it was Facebook calling. The pair founded technology company Spriggy in 2015 in Sydney, a platform they call a financial education tool. In short, it’s a pocket-money app for kids, all with parental supervision.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Investors Mutual co-founder Anton Tagliaferro reveals his take on the new higher interest rate landscape and what that means for investors, and he reveals the ASX-listed companies & sectors he likes, and those he steers away from. He’s also very candid about competition from passive funds and losing some big clients. But he also offers insights into how he survived some of the biggest financial crises of the past 2 decades; and why football in Australia and Malta are a big part of his life.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As an émigré from Malta via London 40 years ago, Anton Tagliaferro instantly fell in love with Sydney. He has spent the past 25 years building one of the most respected funds management firms in Australia, starting from scratch with just 1 or 2 employees. But through his shrewd, he would say “common sense”, conservative approach to investing other people’s money, Anton Tagliaferro built his Investors Mutual Ltd boutique funds management firm into now controlling over $5Billion in funds he manages and invests for other people in Australian shares. In the meantime cementing his reputation as one of the most astute, successful stock pickers in the country. So what’s his “secret sauce” and does he fervently stick to his investing strategy, now matter how volatile the market? Find out, happy listening, 1/2.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Serial entrepreneur & Lyre’s Spirit Co co-founder Carl Hartmann offers a Masterclass in the most important pitfalls to AVOID in any startup; what’s Return on EFFORT, and how to get it right; and how Lyre’s Spirit Co struggled through, but survived Covid lockdowns, shutdowns in hospitality & global supply chain dramas.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Noosa-based Carl Hartmann started cooking up entrepreneurial business ideas while at university in Queensland. His most recent startup, with his uni mate and co-founder Mark Livings, took shape first in the UK, and then exploded on the scene back home in Australia in mid 2019. The pair created Lyre’s Spirit Co, a brand and product line of alcohol-free spirits, like gin, bourbon, even tequila. They claim years of research & tinkering on their “liquids” gave them an edge – quality products that so closely mimic the original spirit but without the alcohol, so no hangover. Now Lyre’s Spirits are available in 75 countries around the world.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Here comes 2023 when Build It. They’ll Come returns! With more amazing Aussie entrepreneurs who start with a humble business idea, an itch that needs scratching, and build that startup idea into an empire, a movement or just a damn good sustainable business. Great guests are in store for you in upcoming episodes, candid interviews offering real insights and tips into how they turned their lightbulb moment into reality, including the considerable ups and downs. So stay tuned! Please subscribe, share with friends or your network, leave us a review. But mostly thank you for listening and coming along on the journey with some inspiring creatives who bet big to back themselves to build great businesses.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When founder duo Genevieve Hewson & Lauren Emerson went to their very first Trade Fair to sell Walter.g fabrics to the interiors trade, theirs was just a fledgling company, and they claim they had no idea about the business side – Genevieve admitting she phoned her dad in a panic to ask how to charge wholesale buyers GST!  But the pair quickly learned everything about the business of selling. Within their first year, they took the plunge into the massive, but scary and highly competitive US textiles market. In 2/2, they talk about managing the highs and lows of that scale-up, to ensure the US became integral to expansion of their fabrics empire. From India to NYC, with love! Here’s Genevieve Hewson and Lauren Emerson.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sydney-based high school besties Genevieve Hewson and Lauren Emerson say they are two peas in a pod, both cut from the same cloth, which is an apt, because when this pair fell head over heels in love with hand-blocked silks, cottons and linens, hand-printed by local village artisans in India, they followed their passion & created a startup. So obsessed with the look, feel & process of these hand-printed textiles, based on designs by the girls, but using centuries-old Indian craft techniques handed down from one generation of artisan to the next, that when the idea hit Genevieve and Lauren to turn their passion into a commercial business in Australia, this dynamic duo just went for it. No business plan, no market research! After living in Rajasthan India, learning all things hand-blocked fabric making, they started Walter.g Textiles in 2012. These days their fabrics grace such glamour interiors as the global Soho House hotel chain, among others.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.