The Mentor With Mark Bouris

Irene Deutsch is the managing director and co-owner of Australia's oldest jewellry house, Fairfax & Roberts. After spending 25-years in banking and sales at Macquarie, Goldman Sachs, and ANZ, Irene was ready for a change of scenery, landing her at the 160-year-old jeweller at the start of 2020. Fairfax & Roberts first opened their doors back in 1858 and continue to hand-craft their signature pieces at their Sydney showroom. It's a business that serves and survives on love and emotion.I ask Irene about her experience and skills she's gained working with high investment clients and how she's transferred her understanding of customer emotions and motivations to her role at Fairfax & Roberts.Join the Facebook Group.Follow Mark Bouris on Instagram, LinkedIn & YouTube. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Oscar McMahon is one of the Co-Founders of Sydney brewery Young Henrys, whose mission is to create a beer company that’s in touch with the people drinking the beer, showcasing Australian hops and malts without all the bells and whistles. The business was started in 2012 by founders who shared a love of beer and music, and the view that the Australian beer scene should be more innovative and adventurous.With their combined experience in brewing and hospitality, they started Young Henry’s in a warehouse in Sydney’s Newtown, with 8 employees producing a few dozen kegs each week. They now have more than 60 staff and distribute 1500 kegs of beer a week to over 2000 bars, pubs and bottle shops around Australia, and they’re on track to sell 9 million litres of beer this financial year. I ask Oscar about the rise of the local Newtown Brewery to becoming one of the largest Independent Breweries in Australia and their role in supporting live music.Join the Facebook Group.Follow Mark Bouris on Instagram, LinkedIn & 

Jonathan Moody is the Founder and CEO of Physio Inq, a physiotherapy business that takes people through simple changes that have profound effects on athletic performance and pain relief. Physio Inq started as a bricks and mortar clinic in 2006 in Western Sydney, and the business now has 14 clinics and 300 staff across Australia, with a new arm of mobile and in-home care for disability & aged care. In the last year, Physio Inq’s commitment to their clients went into overdrive, and the business looked at telehealth offerings and how they could use technology not just as an alternative, but as potentially a superior option to face-to-face treatments. I ask Jonathan how the business has leveraged technology in its offering and why the relationship between the different sciences is so important to his business.Join the Facebook Group.Follow Mark Bouris on Instagram, LinkedIn & YouTube. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Morgan Coleman was working in a corporate career when a chance encounter at the vet with his dog got him thinking about how he could make the process more efficient and painless than traditional vet visits. He saw the opportunity to disrupt the pet care industry with a service that was more convenient for pet owners and less stressful for their pets, so he started his business Vets on Call; a mobile app that delivers high-quality veterinary care right to your door.The business grew rapidly throughout 2020 with people looking elsewhere for services, and their average monthly revenue grew by 600% from July 2020 to January 2021. I ask Morgan about the discipline required to start a business in a field you know nothing about and how he continually pushes for improvement across customer usage and innovation.Join the Facebook Group.Follow Mark Bouris on Instagram, LinkedIn & YouTube. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sean Satha is the Founder of Local Supply - a sustainable, zero-waste eyewear label that is revolutionising the production of glasses. Local Supply uses a plant-based resin to produce their frames, resulting in 50% less carbon emissions than traditional eyewear. In 2020, Local Supply saw online sales surge by over 50% and are set to keep growing.Covid gave the business a chance to completely pause all manufacturing and switch processes and materials to make everything more sustainable, with all of their packaging to be made from recycled or biodegradable materials by the end of 2021. I ask Sean how he’s grown the business, the importance of social media to the brand and how he continually pushes for improvement across sustainability, design and innovation.Join the Facebook Group.Follow Mark Bouris on Instagram, LinkedIn & YouTube. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Joanne Howarth went from being a waste offender in a previous business, to a sustainability crusader after seeing the effect polystyrene was having in her own business. Joanne is the founder of Planet Protector Packaging, who produce sustainable recyclable and biodegradable insulated packaging made from sheep wool waste. They’re on a mission to eliminate polystyrene and become the market leader in sustainable thermal packaging.Since launching in 2016, Planet Protector Packaging has removed 6.5 million polystyrene boxes from supply chains and stopped it from ending up in our oceans. In 2020, the business grew by 50% with increased revenue to farmers and 3500 tonnes of waste wool diverted away from landfill, commercialised, and given a new life. I ask Jo how she’s grown the business so rapidly and the importance of sustainability to her business proposition.Join the Facebook Group.Follow Mark Bouris on Instagram, LinkedIn & YouTube. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/list

My guest today went from a career as a stressed-out corporate lawyer to a hugely successful self-made entrepreneur in a matter of years. Alyce Tran co-founded The Daily Edited (TDE) in 2011 as a fashion and lifestyle blog that quickly evolved into a personalised accessories line. Now The Daily Edited is the go-to destination for luxe lifestyle accessories that are affordable, specialising in monogram-able leather goods.TDE employs more than 150 staff and is available online and in stores across Australia, Singapore and the USA. 2020 was the first time the business didn’t experience growth, so Alyce pivoted the product range to focus on gifts for friends and family sent directly to their door. I ask Alyce how she’s grown the The Daily Edited so rapidly, the importance of social media to her brand and how Covid affected her product range.Join the Facebook Group.Follow Mark Bouris on Instagram, LinkedIn & YouTube. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inf

My guests today were studying at uni when they came up with the idea for their business, which is now Australia’s fastest growing quick service restaurant. Nathan Dalah and Nic Pestalozzi are two of the three founders of Fishbowl, the Japanese inspired salad bar on a mission to change the culture of fast food with their healthy salad bowls. They launched their first store in 2016 in the middle of winter, and by spring they were selling over 500 bowls a day.Now Fishbowl has expanded to 28 locations with 300 employees and they’re now expanding their hospitality venture with a new venue called Fish Shop - a fine-dining experience with a chef driven menu of sustainable seafood. I ask Nic and Nathan how they’ve scaled the Fishbowl empire so rapidly and why good company culture is so important to the success of the business.Join the Facebook Group.Follow Mark Bouris on Instagram, LinkedIn & YouTube. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hiam Sakakini is the Founder and CEO of The Culture Equation, a boutique management consultancy that specialised in creating high performing culture within organisations. Hiam grew up, studied and worked among vastly different cultures around the world, before working in the leadership team at Google for 10 years and seeing firsthand the importance of culture and good leadership in the workplace.2020 saw businesses trying to navigate the uncertainty of Covid, so Hiam’s team created a bespoke program to supercharge businesses by developing high performing cultures able to lead through any crisis. I ask Hiam how the last year has shown the importance of good leadership and motivating teams in uncertain times, why company culture is so important and what distinguishes good from great management.Join the Facebook Group.Follow Mark Bouris on Instagram, LinkedIn & YouTube. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Anthony Welsh has seen first-hand just how much the transportation landscape has changed over the last year. He is the Director of Popcar, a car-sharing service that operates across NSW, Victoria and the ACT. Anthony started PopCar in 2016 after seeing where trends in commuting were, to allow people to rent a communal car by the hour and only pay for the time used.Over the last year the business experienced a surge in bookings, with people looking for safe alternatives to avoid public transport. I ask Anthony why community support for the business has boomed and how he sees the future of PopCar evolving as Australians think differently about the value of sustainability and the sharing economy. Join the Facebook Group.Follow Mark Bouris on Instagram, LinkedIn & YouTube. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My guest today left his successful career in advertising to set up his business after realising his passion for the ethics and origin of food. Cameron Romeril is the Founder and CEO of Soda Press Co, who create organic soda, cocktail and mixer syrups that aren't made with artificial ingredients and full of sugar. Soda Press Co. has now spread beyond Australia to 19 countries and all their products are end-to-end plastic free, organic and manufactured right here in Australia. I ask Cameron where his passion for provenance and health based products came from, and how important sustainability is to the success of his Soda Press Co.Join the Facebook Group.Follow Mark Bouris on Instagram, LinkedIn & YouTube. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After working as a model and producer since the age of 15, Taryn Williams was frustrated by the inefficiencies in the industry, with late payment common practice and jobs few and far between. So at the age of 21, she founded WINK Models with the company policy to pay all models within seven days, and include diversity in the representation. The business was completely bootstrapped and WINK now has over 650 talent nationally.Taryn quickly realised how important technology was to directly connect creative talent with brands and agencies. So she created her second business – The Right Fit, a marketplace of over 9000 influencers, models, actors and photographers all in one place, to make booking a creative campaign easy and cost effective. I ask Taryn how both WINK and The Right Fit aim to revolutionise the creative industry, how this year has affected her businesses with an accelerated shift towards digital, and how they deliver value and convenience to both their creative talent and clients.Join the Facebook Gr

If this year has shown us anything, it’s that mobility, flexibility and understanding your customer are essential to any successful business. Customer loyalty is hard to win and you can’t get it by just offering a great product – you must create amazing experiences around your brand as well. So today I’m speaking to a guest who knows a lot about investing in customer care, establishing loyalty in your customer base and leveraging technology to redefine mobility, and that is Scott Thompson, CEO of Lexus Australia. I ask Scott how the Lexus brand thinks differently when it comes to creating consumer satisfaction in an ever-changing environment, how they're ahead of the curve in creating luxury experiences for their customers, and how you can apply these principles to your own business.Join the Facebook Group.Follow Mark Bouris on Instagram, LinkedIn & YouTube. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One industry that has boomed this year is horticulture, with people spending more time working on their garden, reaping the benefits of sustainable living and the ‘do it yourself’ ethos. Simon Holloway is the Marketing and Sales Director of Vegepod, a self-watering, portable garden bed company helping people grow their own food at home. Following their win on Shark Tank in 2016, Vegepod’s success has spread beyond Australia to 19 countries.Early on in the business, Simon lived out of the back of his van, driving across the country to introduce the product to garden centres. Fast-forward to operating during the pandemic and they’ve had their best year on record, with a 500% increase in sales. I ask Simon how Vegepod dealt with the challenge of not being able to keep up with that demand and why easy edible gardening has proven to be a favourite at-home activity.Join the Facebook Group.Follow Mark Bouris on Instagram, LinkedIn & YouTube. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/

Don Robertson and Matilda Murray are the co-owners of STAX, a fashion-forward, premium activewear brand for all shapes and sizes. This year STAX had a surge of new business as people started to work - and work out - from home, and demand for comfortable clothing boomed. So much so that during lockdown, STAX released a collection of activewear that earned them $150,000 in just seven minutes.They had the right product for the right time and 2020 has been STAX best year to date, with 2000% growth. I ask Don and Matilda how they’ve created such a strong brand following, how their business has leveraged the visual impact of social media and what it's really like to be a couple running a business together.Join the Facebook Group.Follow Mark Bouris on Instagram, LinkedIn & YouTube. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today's guest is proof that a great product, the ability to adapt and evolve, and a strong community around you can really make a business thrive, even in challenging times. Ed West is the owner of Poho Flowers, a Sydney florist that offers a premium retail experience as well as an online store, and creates contemporary floral arrangements for weddings, offices and hotels.In March this year, when all event and corporate work evaporated, Ed focused on ramping up their online retail and reaching new customers who were looking for ways to brighten up their homes. I ask Ed how his business has leveraged the visual impact of social media to create brand recognition and why community support for the business has boomed with people looking for new ways to work together and support each other.Join the Facebook Group.Follow Mark Bouris on Instagram, LinkedIn & YouTube. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Simon Griffiths is the co-founder and CEO of Who Gives a Crap, a toilet paper subscription startup that builds toilets in the developing world. Simon launched the business in 2012 with a crowdfunding campaign where he live-streamed himself sitting on a toilet for 50 hours, which attracted global media attention and generated 2.5 million social media hits. Since launching, Who Gives A Crap has tripled in size year-on-year, largely relying on word-of-mouth to fuel its growth.This year they had an incredible 1000% spike in sales due to Covid-induced panic buying and have donated nearly $6 million to charities that provide access to clean water and sanitation in developing countries. I ask Simon how in many ways 2020 has been the perfect storm for Who Gives a Crap, in terms of the demand for the product, the fact that they’re a direct to consumer business and that the company was set up to allow the team to work remotely, and how he has democratised philanthropy through his business.Join the Facebook Group.Follow

Joe Darling is the Founder and owner of The Pottery Shed, a studio workshop with everything you need to create handmade pottery. Born and raised in California, Joe got interested in creating objects with clay while at school. He retrained as a Police officer with the US Army and was deployed to Europe, but maintained his pottery skills and in 2016 started The Pottery Shed.When restrictions came in around Covid19, Joe created an At-Home Pottery program for people to hire a kit of the materials and his team delivered supplies, collected and returned completed projects direct to people’s homes. I ask Joe how he adapted his offering to keep his business afloat, how the structure of military life has influenced his business and why the meditative process of creating with clay is something we could all use in our lives.Join the Facebook Group.Follow Mark Bouris on Instagram, LinkedIn & YouTube.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My guest this week has a career spanning over 30 years in the Australian food industry - dozens of awards, TV shows like MasterChef and My Restaurant Rules and best-selling cookbooks to his name, and owns some of Australia’s most celebrated restaurants and bars. Yep, it’s safe to say that Matt Moran is an Aussie food icon. Like all hospitality venues, Matt’s restaurants were hit hard by the restrictions around Covid19. So Matt quickly adapted to sell home-delivered boxes of fruit and veg, taking customers through the preparation and cooking process of his recipes via livestream, and capitalising on people’s time at home in the kitchen. I ask Matt how growing up on a farm taught him the discipline he needed to start his own business and what hard work and success mean to him.Join the Facebook Group.Follow Mark Bouris on Instagram, LinkedIn & YouTube. Got a question or comment for Mark? Send an email. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One thing that’s become clearer than ever this year is that brand authenticity and consistency as well as being able to adapt and evolve are essential in business. Someone who knows a lot about creating authenticity through brave design and innovation for the future is Ian Cartabiano, President of Toyota Europe Design Development, who is responsible for the progressive direction of Lexus vehicle design. When it comes to pushing boundaries in design to create highly technical and futuristic cars, Lexus are ahead of the curve. I ask Ian how the Lexus brand consistently appeals to their customers through design and craftsmanship, the importance of evolving into the future through innovation and how to apply these principles to any business.Join the Facebook Group.Follow Mark Bouris on Instagram, LinkedIn & YouTube. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.