The Dion Guagliardo Podcast

In this episode, I interview Colleen Callander - former CEO of Sportsgirl and Sussan and Founder of Mentor Me Women. Over a 30-year career in Australian retail, Colleen led major fashion brands through periods of significant growth and transformation, including a decade-long turnaround at the labels where she served as CEO.

Colleen discusses how she got her start in fashion at just 16, the leadership lessons she’s learned over time, and the role of self-awareness and empathy in effective management. She also speaks candidly about burnout, and how it shaped her views on work-life balance and sustainable le...

In this episode, I interview Steve Baxter - Co-Founder of TEN13 and Founder of Beaten Zone Venture Partners. Steve launched his first tech startup in 1994 and went on to sell his second, PIPE Networks for $373 million in 2009. He has become one of Australia’s leading investors in start-ups and tech.  

Throughout the conversation, Steve talks about the process of scaling his first start-ups within a competitive telecommunications market. He also shares his early experience as a soldier and its influence on his current investments in the Australian sovereign defence technology sector. 

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In this episode, I interview Ben Thompson - Co-founder and CEO of Employment Hero. With a valuation of almost $2 billion, Ben has scaled the company to be one of the world’s leading HR, payroll, and recruitment software businesses. Employment Hero is used by over 400,000 businesses and 3 million employees globally.

Throughout the episode, Ben highlights the ambition of Employment Hero to assist people who are disadvantaged around the world and connect them to remote work opportunities. He also discusses capital raising and the potential for AI innovation in business recruitment. Ben talks about the traits that make a...

In this episode, I interview Amanda Rettig - Founder of Mimco and A-ESQUE. As a design leader in the fashion industry, Amanda grew Mimco into a fashion powerhouse and sold the accessories brand for $45 million in 2007. Now, she continues her creative success into luxury handbags and goods at A-ESQUE. 

Amanda shares her approach to building a retail brand, and scaling her business and exit with Mimco. She also talked about how her definition of success in business and life has changed over the years.

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In this episode, I interview Angela Ferguson - Creative and Managing Director of Futurespace. As a business leader in workplace strategy and design for over 25 years, she has worked with global clients to transform their workplace environment through her innovative projects.

Throughout the conversation, Angela highlights her ability to navigate the changing business landscape and implement her future-focused vision to strengthen workplace culture. She also provides great insight into her current PhD work, drawing from her experience in design techniques and thought leadership.

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In this episode, I interview David McGrath – Chief Executive Officer of myPlates and TasPlates. With a distinguished career as a technology and media executive, David has driven business success through his expertise in product innovation and strategic leadership.

Throughout the episode, David shares his experiences navigating the evolving business landscape across different media and technology sectors. He also discusses the influence of technology and AI integration on his business endeavours and how he has optimised current consumer trends to increase business success.

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In this episode, I interview Alan Jones – Managing Partner of M8 Ventures. With a career that evolved through roles at Microsoft and Yahoo during the height of the dot-com boom, Alan has become one of the country’s most experienced and respected angel investors.

Throughout the conversation, Alan shares how his early curiosity and self-taught tech skills shaped his journey from journalism to venture capital. He also reflects on the unpredictable nature of wealth, the ethics of venture capital, and the enduring value of investing in people, not just products. 

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In this episode, I interview Cassandra Kelly - Co-Founder of Pottinger — a multi-award-winning financial and strategic global advisory firm. In 2019, Cassandra was awarded an Order of Australia in recognition of her transformative contributions to business through executive roles and as an advocate for equity and inclusion.

Throughout the episode, Cassandra, based in New York, shares insights on how her destination-led strategies have led clients to embrace disruption, uncertainty, and complexity. She also discusses her career journey, highlighting that ethical business practices and integrity are paramount to successful leadership.  

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In this episode, I interview David Fastuca - Co-Founder of Locomote and CEO & Co-Founder Growth Forum. Founded in 2012, David grew Locomote into $150 million sales pipeline in less than 18 months, culminating in over $30 million in exits. He now focuses his time scaling Growth Forum, a sales learning platform providing solutions for high-growth companies.

Throughout the episode, David talks about his early days as an entrepreneur, and his journey as a business owner, investor and mentor. He also speaks about how the positioning of a business and distribution of a product are essential for success. David is also the...

In this episode, I interview Tom Cawley - Executive Chair of MaxMine — an innovative technology company revolutionizing open-pit mining operations since its founding in 2015. Under Tom’s leadership, MaxMine has grown from a bootstrapped startup into an industry leader backed by private equity, all while maintaining a strong focus on values and reputation to successfully break into a competitive market.

Tom shares insights into scaling a tech-driven business, and how MaxMine is harnessing AI and other emerging technologies to deliver more effective outcomes for their clients.

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In this episode, I interview Tom Cawley - Executive Chair of MaxMine — an innovative technology company revolutionizing open-pit mining operations since its founding in 2015. Under Tom’s leadership, MaxMine has grown from a bootstrapped startup into an industry leader backed by private equity, all while maintaining a strong focus on values and reputation to successfully break into a competitive market.

Tom shares insights into scaling a tech-driven business, and how MaxMine is harnessing AI and other emerging technologies to deliver more effective outcomes for their clients.

If you enjoy this episode, feel free to leave a 5...

In this episode, I interview Jason T Smith. Jason was CEO of Back In Motion Health Group. Founded in 1999, Back In Motion grew into one of Australia’s largest physiotherapy networks, eventually becoming an ASX-listed company and setting a record for one of the sector’s biggest transactions.

Throughout the episode, Jason shares how he built his business from humble beginnings in his garage, scaling it to over 140 locations across Australia and New Zealand with a team of more than 700 professionals. He also opens up about the challenges he faced when scaling and how he maintained strong conn...

In this episode, I interview Andrea and Ian Gardiner. Andrea is the founder of Jelix Ventures, an early-stage venture capital manager dedicated to supporting startups across Australia and New Zealand. Ian is the co-founder of Innovation Bay, Australia’s leading and longest running startup community. Together, Andrea and Ian have become major pillars in the startup scene, investing in over 45 companies and supporting hundreds more.

Throughout the episode, Andrea and Ian talk in-depth about what distinguishes great founders from the rest and the traits they carry that convince investors to fund their companies. Furthermore, they exp...

In this episode, I sit down with Steve Grace, Founder and CEO of The Nudge Group. Since launching in 2019, The Nudge Group has redefined the role of recruitment agencies, helping startups scale by connecting them with top talent and a trusted ecosystem for growth.

Steve shares his journey as a natural entrepreneur, including how he built and sold two successful businesses before founding The Nudge Group. He also reflects on navigating major global challenges like the GFC and the COVID-19 pandemic, reflecting the lessons he’s learned along the way. If you enjoy this episode, feel free to...

In this episode, I interview Greg Taylor - Founder of Step One Underwear. Founded in 2017, Step One has become one of Australia’s most popular underwear brands, growing to become an ASX-listed company, with a market capitalisation of around $250 million and operates internationally.

Throughout the episode, Greg talks about his early days in rowing and how competing for Australia taught him the teamwork and resilience needed for business success. He also speaks about how courage and self-belief led him to continue in the tough times.

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In this episode, I interview Paul House - CEO of Imdex, an ASX-listed mining-tech company with a market capitalisation of $1.2 billion. Paul has helped the company grow to now employ over 800 staff globally and earn $445 million in annual revenue.

Throughout the episode, Paul emphasises the importance of staying innovative and the power of seeking inspiration from different industries to identify new ways to solve problems. Paul also talks about his experiences working all around the world and how a focus on culture is a common trait strong teams have globally.

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In this episode, I interview Matt Jones, co-founder of Four Pillars - one of Australia’s most popular gin companies. Since founding in 2013, Matt and his co-founders have seen Four Pillars be named the worlds best gin producer three times, expand overseas and be acquired by drinks giant Lion for a reported $100 million.

Throughout the episode, Matt emphasises the importance of brand, storytelling and how a strong narrative empowers customers to fall in love with a company’s product. Matt goes against the usual lean startup trend and why it could be a mistake to launch an earl...

In this episode, I interview Phillip Di Bella - founder of Di Bella Coffee and more recently, the Coffee Commune. Founded in 2002, Phillip grew Di Bella coffee into one of Australia’s largest coffee roaster and supplier before eventually selling the business in 2014 for $47 million.

Throughout the episode, Phillip talks about the importance of entrepreneurship and creativity especially when you have limited resources. Starting with only $5000 and never taking on outside investment, Phillip explains how those constraints taught him to spend every dollar wisely - a skill he believes is undervalued today.

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In this episode, I interview Adam Schwab, co-founder of Luxury Escapes. Luxury Escapes is an online travel booking platform aimed at providing great travel packages at fair prices. Founded in 2013, Adam has grown the company to earn hundreds of millions in revenue, employ over 500 staff, and expand internationally.

Throughout the episode, Adam talks about his long history as an entrepreneur and how Luxury Escapes came about from many iterations, pivots and mergers. He also emphasises the importance of fostering talent long term and how empowering staff strongly contributes toward the longevity of the business.

If...

In this episode, I interview James Clarke, founder of Bolster Group. Founded in 2015, James has grown Bolster from a small team to now a multi-agency business, that employs 50 staff and helps orchestrate some of Australia’s biggest live events.

Throughout the episode, James emphasises how taking on risk is the most important step in achieving scale and growing Bolster to where it is today. James also highlights the importance of learning a process yourself before outsourcing it to gain deep insights into the process, including mergers and acquisitions.

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In this episode, I interview Leigh Jasper - co-founder of Aconex and Firmable. Aconex provided collaboration software technology for the construction, mining and oil sector. Over 18 years, Leigh grew the business to employ over 1000 people, list on the ASX before being acquired by Oracle for $1.6 billion in 2018.

Today, Leigh is working on his latest company, Firmable, which is a platform that helps businesses grow faster and improve their decision making. During the episode, Leigh explains the power of entrepreneurship in being able to control your own destiny, the importance of recognising your weaknesses and learning how to...

In this episode, I interview Frank Caruso, founder of Caruso’s Natural Health. Caruso’s Natural Health is one of Australia’s largest vitamin and supplements companies. Founded in 1982, Frank has grown the company to now earn tens of millions in annual revenue and have a catalogue of over 100 products.

Throughout the episode, Frank talks about how he become fascinated with learning all about natural health and starting businesses in the space. Frank also reveals his 10 principles to success, identifying the traits and behaviours that got him where he is today.

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In this episode, I interview Christian Beck - Founder of Leap Legal Software. Founded in 1992, Christian has grown Leap to be the largest legal software company in Australia, bringing in over $1 billion in annual revenue and now operate internationally.

Christian talks about his experiences as a founder and why he prefers to grow utilising debt instead of raising equity and the freedom that provides him as a founder. We also discuss the lessons business can apply to team and culture from his experience racing and last year finally winning the Sydney to Hobart yacht race.

...

In this episode, I interview Nick Greenhalgh, co-founder of PetO. PetO is one of Australia’s leading pet supply stores selling goods such as food, toys and equipment. Starting in 2006, Nick, alongside his brother, has grown the business to own 58 stores, around 1000 staff, and earn $200 million in annual revnue.

Throughout the episode, Nick talks about the importance of bold decision making and why backing yourself against all odds is a strong competitive advantage. Nick provides deep insights into the retail and pet market has changed over time, as he’s been operating in the space for nearly 20 year...

In this episode, I interview Taryn Williams - founder of Wink Models. Taryn talks about why she started the business as a 21 year old and why she was so determined to disrupt the fashion industry at such a young age. Today, Wink Models has become one of Australia’s leading agencies with over 600 models signed nation-wide. Taryns lastest project is #Gifted a shopify plugin enabling the worlds biggest brands to manage contra gifting at scale.

Taryn talks candidly about her business experiences across the multiple businesses that she's founded. Having built Wink Models where she retains full ow...

In this episode, I interview Michael Batko - CEO of Startmate. Startmate is one of Australia’s largest startup accelerator programs. Over the past decade, Michael has grown Startmate to have invested in and supported 250+ startups, with a collective portfolio value of over $3.5 billion.

Michael talks about the how Startmate has grown since 2011 when Niki Scevak founder of Blackbird Ventures and a several successful founders including Mike and Scott from Atlassian first set out to invest in the next generation of early stage founders and started building a community of successful founders to support them.

He...

In this episode, I interview Mike Wilson - founder of TinyMe. TinyMe is a manufacturing business specialised in making customisable kids toys and gifts. Founded in 2006, Mike has grown the business to now bring in around $10 million in annual revenue and have expanded internationally.

Throughout the episode, Mike talks about how the consumer and commerce landscape has changed since 2006, discussing landmark events such as mobile phones, social media and COVID. Mike also emphasises the importance of setting strong business values and how abiding to them leads to more cohesive teams and a higher quality customer experience.

In this episode, I interview AFL legend and Sydney Swans Premiership coach Paul Roos. Today, Paul is the founder of Performance by Design where he has successfully transposed the leadership and culture lessons he has driven through his sporting experiences and successfully delivered them to the corporate market.

Beginning as a 16-year-old at Fitzroy F.C., Paul would eventually finish his playing career at Sydney Swans where his love for high performance dialogue was instrumental to his coaching success. His revolutionary approach to player feedback and recognition was pivotal in building the much-revered ‘Bloods Culture’. In 2005, Paul coac...

In this episode, I interview Sophie Doyle, the founder of The Fable. The Fable is an e-commerce company specialising in women’s work fashion. Founded in 2015, Sophie has grown the brand into a multi million dollar business that operates internationally.

Throughout the episode, Sophie speaks about the challenges she’s faced within the business such as managing quality over a global supply chain, balancing being a mother, and how mastering digital marketing helped create a multi-million dollar shirt brand.

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In this episode, I interview Ilan Israelstam, Chief Commercial Officer and co-founder of Betashares. Betashares is one of Australia’s largest financial services companies known for their ETF products. Founded in 2009, Ilan has helped grow the business to now have over $40 billion assets under management, over 150 team members and more than 1m clients. Recently, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund Temasek has become a minority shareholder in the business, announcing they will invest up $300 million in the Firm.

Throughout the episode, Ilan talks about how the macro-trends in the industry played into the growth of th...

In this episode, I interview Nick Morgan, Founder of Vudoo. Vudoo is a software company that enables consumers to purchase products wherever they see them online such as a article or video, rather than having to go to the company’s store. Founded in 2016, Nick has grown the company to now have 35 employees, raised almost 20 million in funding and are now expanding internationally.

Throughout the episode, Nick talks about the evolution of commerce from brick and mortar, digital storefronts and where it’s going next. He also emphasises the importance of understanding your employee’s aspirations to help m...

In this episode, I interview Alex Naoumidis - co-founder of Mindset Health. Mindset Health is a Melbourne-based company that develop digital programs to help better manage chronic health conditions. Founded in 2018, Alex with his brother and cofounder Chris, now generate revenue of over $10 million annually with the company valued at $77 million dollars at their last capital raise.

Throughout the episode, Alex talks about raising capital from investors to their experience with large accelerators like Y Combinator. Alex also mentions how he’s learnt to become a leader by understanding what intrinsically motivates his employees and leveraging that to...

In this episode, I interview Simon Bugeja, managing director of Lucia’s Group. Lucia’s started as Australia’s first Italian pizza bar founded by Simon’s grandparents ion 1957. Growing up in the family business, Simon found success by expanding into the retail sector and moved into producing and selling goods like pasta sauce, olive oil and pesto. Backed with the advice of his Nonna to “never cheat” on quality, Simon has successfully grown the business to now have over 50 employees and be scaling internationally.

Throughout the episode, Simon emphasises the importance of work ethic - a skill that h...

In this episode, I interview Saxon Wright - co-founder of Huskee and founder of Pablo & Rusty's coffee roasters. Coffee lovers will be familiar with the Pablo and Rusty's brand that Saxon started in 2003 and still owns today. Huskee was born out of an idea to eliminate single-use disposable coffee cups and now employ 30 people and recently merged with packaging company BioPack.

Throughout the episode, Saxon discusses the pros and cons of raising capital and how it has influenced each one of his businesses. He also explains how he has learnt to become a leader and when exactly...

In this episode, I interview Jordy Kay, co-founder of Great Wrap. Great Wrap is a material science company that has created Australia’s first compostable and environmentally friendly stretch wrap. Founded in 2019, Jordy and his co-founder Julia have grown the business to now have raised $30 million, employ 20 people, and are currently amidst expanding to the US.

Throughout the episode, Jordy discusses how the funding market for startups has become more difficult over time and that consumer incentive for sustainability has dropped as the cost of living increases. He also discusses the importance of building culture and the le...

In this episode, I interview Ben McHarg, co-founder of Life-Space Group. As the managing director of the family-owned business, Ben helped drive the strategic direction of the company to owning their own brands. This strategy ultimately led to the rapid growth that saw the business sold to supplement giant By-Health for $700 million in 2018.

Throughout the episode, Ben speaks about the importance of being ready to fully embrace opportunities when they arise. Ben takes us through the rapid growth of the company and how the business went to a whole new level. He also explains why grit and...

In this episode, I interview Simon Beard - co-founder of Culture Kings. Culture Kings is a premium streetwear company founded by Simon and his wife Tah-nee in 2008. Together, they grew the business from a market stall on the Gold Coast to a $600 million valuation and a listing on the New York Stock Exchange.

This was a wide ranging and insightful conversation with Simon. He talked about how developments in AI have changed not just retail, but every facet of business. He also talked about how important it is to learn how to sell in business and the...

Inventia is a science and technology company focused on building devices that can create advanced cell models that help accelerate drug discovery and biomedical research. Founded in 2013, Julio Ribeiro has grown the company to now have over 70 employees and scale internationally to the US, Europe and many more locations.

Throughout the episode, Julio explains that creative freedom is one of the most important aspects when building products and the techniques he uses to foster it at Inventia. He also explains the unique troubles that scientific firms face such as the need to constantly invent new solutions and...

In this episode, I interview Tim Levy, founder of Qoria. Qoria is a global technology company that is dedicated to keeping children safe in digital environments. Founded in 2014, Tim has grown the company to have over 500 employees and be listed on the ASX where it now has a market cap of around $500 million.

Throughout the episode, Tim talks about the complexity of today’s digital environments and their mission to provide parents and teachers with tools to protect children from harm online. He also discusses the importance of growing company culture in order to be most effective at...

In this episode, I interview Izhar Basha - founder of EHPLabs.

EHPLabs is a sports nutrition company that develops various supplement products. Founded in 2012, Izhar has grown the company globally with revenue forecast to reach $500 million in 2025.

Izhars’s story is fascinating. Coming from humble beginning as a refugee from Fiji at age 5 he talks in candid detail about the pivotal moments on his journey that changed his and his family’s lives forever. He explains his motivation to succeed and what drives him to create better products and build has business.

If you...