Disciplinn by Tony Simmons

Gabby Leibovich came to Australia as an immigrant child and worked hard. He worked hard at school, he and his brother worked hard at the markets to make some money and he worked hard to build one of Australia's best known and loved online retail brands; Catch of The Day. Gabby is a great Australian success story and a font of wisdom and knowledge about retail sales, online sales, marketing, brand building, team building, money making, investing and, also importantly, knowing ones business...

Jim Penman started a part-time gardening business while earning his PhD in history at Latrobe University. He launched a full-time mowing business in 1982 with a $24 investment. He originally aimed only at taking on subcontractors, but his business grew and he gradually began to specialise in the building up and selling of lawn mowing rounds. By 1989 he franchised his business, and since then Jim’s Mowing has become the largest franchise chain in Australian and the largest and best-known lawn...

Throughout her career as a successful lawyer, Laura Keily felt a great need to address a common problem many people on the opposite end of the table were experiencing. She wanted to relieve her clients from the usual financial roadblocks that prevented them from getting what they deserved. In her determination to preserve business relationships, and clients from losing hope. Laura came up with the idea of integrating technology as an alternative to the already fragmented legal system. That...

Marathon swimming champion Chloë McCardel believes that we all have the potential to be great at one thing, but may not know what that is. For most of her early life, Chloe identified herself as the best in her class, desiring to swim her way to the Olympics. When things turned out to disappoint, it was here where Chloe got to learn what a breeding ground for excellence looks like. That failure along the way does not dictate the mindset. Fast-forward to 2020, Chloe beat the men's record for...

Many of us start off on the “wrong foot” or wind up in a seemingly dead-end job. The kind of place where our growth and need for creativity are limited. While a few of us stay, there are those who decided to take the plunge for little soul searching until we strike gold. Today’s guest, Larah Loutati — founder and CEO of her own company, Vitable Australia — grew up in the coastal town of Agadir, Morocco. Larah later moved to Europe to take a degree in communication and finance, and finally...

Navigating the pathway to success isn't a smooth ride. With the bumps and reroutes you may experience along the way, how can you achieve the goals you have in mind? Brendon Gale has had an amazing career. He is the current CEO of the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Before that, he played for the club from 1990 to 2001, became the CEO of the AFL Player's Association, and was a member of AFL's rules committee. Being one of the most influential people in the...

Where does one start to describe Dave Prior? You can start with strong-foundations; his vision, commitment and self-belief. What about his history? Simply track the incredible story of his family, his understanding of the power of brands, the dedication he has to himself, his craft and his team. Now look at the incredible products that this extraordinary entrepreneur has built and bought. Add these together and you get an incredible entrepreneur with an amazing story, and plenty left in the...

Everything Ben Ross has done in his working life is clearly top-shelf. And throughout his career, Ben has been in complete control of his own destiny, stepping into different roles and guises in different countries and levelling up his career every single step. Ben is self aware, well-rounded and poised, a risk-taker with a brilliant mind and deep understanding of product market fit and customer driven innovation. Ben believes that great businesses happen when customer driven innovations...

Gavin Appel has the trifecta for any tech entrepreneur: - Global Exit - Partner at preeminent Venture Capital firm - Scale up and tech advisor to scale ups and large corporates It really is a journey to marvel at. Gavin believes businesses need to be close to their customers, and solving real, large-scale, problems. And understands that founders must be razor focussed on their goals, whilst founders should obsessively become the subject matter experts in their domains. Importantly, Gavin has...

PR (Public Relations) is, for many of us in business, a black box, a dark art of achieving editorial over advertorial, of earned vs paid, of authenticity vs concoction; or as some call it, "SPIN". Lahra Carey is an ex-ABC journalist who was one of the forerunners in crossing over from media to media advisory. Her networks are significant, her entrepreneurial curiosity unbounded, and her depth of knowledge on both creating good PR, and dealing with crisis management is world-class. This...

Kate Save CEO and Founder Be Fit Food shows us the science behind the weight loss problems that they are solving. This is a great interview to get yourself firing - health body, healthy mind. We also get into Kate’s entrepreneurial journey including obtaining investment from the Shark Tank. But don’t be fooled, as Kate will tell you, Shark Tank is all glamorised for TV, the reality is that behind the scenes, it is all hard work. No luck in it - just hard work. Kate had a bit of a tough...

Culture? What is it? How do you create a good one - how do you measure it and what do you do if you have a bad company culture? In this episode of Disciplinn, we chat with Barbara Hyman, CEO of AI software company, Predictive Hire. Barb has decades of understanding of what culture is and how to best create it. Because of her background (at BCG and REA Group), and her deep knowledge of values, she is perfectly placed to scale this AI business into a global powerhouse. Barb discussed exactly...

There's a bit of Richard Branson in Ryan Trainor; a cheekiness, a realist, self-deprecating, humble, yet energetic, inspirational and a very successful serial entrepreneur with several gold-standard exits under his belt. Ryan is self-aware, really knows his skill set and has a storytelling ability that energises those close to him. He brings them along on a journey and can do that because he is genuine, warm and human. In this Disciplinn interview, brought to you by Edison Partners, you’ll...

Justin Dry’s business career is very much like a good bottle of wine. The culmination of years of meticulously mastering a craft, and blending that knowledge into something that improves with age. In this episode of Disciplinn, Justin covers the highs, and numerous lows of getting to where he is now, CEO of Vinomofo, a great brand and a great showcase for how one business model can be brilliantly be adapted to dominate different verticals. This episode should be mandatory listening for any...

This week on Disciplinn, we release a "pre-covid" interview (from early March 2020) with the living legend Lee Simon. Lee is an absolute character, pioneer and much loved and vaunted figure of the radio industry. He has been inducted into the Australian Radio Hall of Fame, interviewed musical legends like Bruce Springsteen, Mick Jagger, Robert Plant and INXS (to name but a few). He has worked with industry legends like Molly Meldrum, Michael Gudinski and Eddie McGuire. Lee has provided the...

The life of Diony McPherson appears to be a rounded life of positive, perpetual, energy in motion. Far from being content having landed the dream job at Google, her and her husband Dean started Paperform. They've since met Google, and a range of industry giants, head on and have stood out above the crowd. If you listen closely to this episode of Disciplinn, you'll hear from a realist who cares deeply for her clients, who understands and thrives in business operation and someone who knows...

It’s no surprise that Mike Rhodes has built a Search Engine Marketing business of significant repute. If you looked at the timeline and events of Mike’s journey, you could possible argue that one couldn’t map things out better. He didn’t want to be an electrical engineer, so he moved into computers. He didn’t want to necessarily live in the UK, so he moved to Australia. When he came to Australia, he didn’t get a job at the pub, he got a job working at Ellerston, the country home of Kerry and...

Dr Michelle Perugini is not just a brilliant, she is a brilliant person. Michelle is a sharp academic, generous giver of time and dedicated and focussed business woman. With Presagen and The Life Whisperer Michelle is changing, sorry, making lives. With Artificial Intelligence, AI, The Life Whisperer is making IVF up to 30% more successful. What could be better in business than giving the gift of life. In this day and age, we all understand the importance and benefits of #medtech. Some...

For over 30 years Damien Mair has worked at the intersection and overlap of technology and design. Straight out of university he set up Fusion and landed his first client when he asked Apple Computers to use some of their computers - it was a massive sliding doors moment and a Lesson in “don’t ask and you don’t get”. Damien has incredibly deep views about both culture and customers and this led him to create their own hosting company so that they could provide better service to their clients...

Radek Sali always wanted to be an entrepreneur, and he personifies this crazy journey. In the mould of Sir Richard Branson, he has put himself "out there", been the spokesman and front-man of his company, gone high-profile, surrounded himself with brilliant and famous people, and taken all the spoils and falls that come with the name "entrepreneur". Radek Sali has tasted the sweet success of building a global brand and selling it at a great price as fierce tail-winds blew. He was original in...