By Design with Matt Curle

Davie Mach built Box Advisory Services from the ground up into a multi-million dollar business with more than 40 team members.

But the most interesting part of his story isn't how big the business has become. It's how his definition of success has changed along the way.

Davie's parents came to Australia as refugees from Vietnam. Growing up in Bankstown, he watched his family struggle financially and says they were carrying around $800,000 in debt. At 17, he started his accounting career earning $25,000 a year with one goal in mind: create a better life for his family.

That drive eventually led him to start his own accounting firm at 26.

In this conversation, Davie opens up about what happened next.

We talk about reinvesting almost everything back into growth, building one of Australia's most recognisable accounting brands through YouTube, hiring mistakes, losing staff, getting pricing wrong, the difference between being self-employed and actually building a business, and why your employees may eventually become more important to your business than your clients.

Davie also breaks down his approach to building wealth: create a cash-generating activity, diversify the profits into assets, use leverage carefully and ultimately build enough passive income that work becomes optional.

We also get into AI and the future of accounting, bucket companies, property, tax structures and why he believes the accounting profession is about to change dramatically.

But one of my favourite parts of the conversation comes when Davie explains that he believes he could aggressively grow Box towards $10 million by working 60 to 80 hours a week, spending heavily and pushing growth harder.

He doesn't want to.

Because after becoming a father, success started to mean something different.

This conversation is about business, money and investing, but more importantly, it's about figuring out what you're actually building it all for.

We cover:

• Davie's upbringing in Bankstown and his parents' journey from Vietnam
• The financial pressure that created his drive
• Starting his accounting career on $25,000 a year
• Launching Box Advisory at 26
• Reinvesting profits into staff and marketing
• Growing to 40+ team members
• How YouTube helped transform the business
• Why hiring before you're desperate matters
• The mistakes Davie made while scaling
• Why pricing nearly became a growth problem
• Customers vs employees
• Davie's three-stage framework for building wealth
• Property, leverage and investing business profits
• Bucket companies and business structures
• AI and the future of accounting
• Why rapid growth isn't always the right goal
• Fatherhood, family and redefining success

If you're building a business, investing for the future or trying to work out what financial success actually looks like, there's a lot in this conversation.

Steve Palise didn’t build Palise Property from a comfortable Sydney office. He spent its early years working from 4am while travelling through 20 countries across Europe.

What initially looked like a risky decision became one of the greatest advantages in his business. Distance forced Steve to hire capable people earlier, develop systems that didn’t depend on him and use education and content to build trust at scale. Today, Palise Property has been involved in more than 2,000 property acquisitions.

In this conversation, Steve shares the full journey from walking away from engineering and taking a significant pay cut to becoming the first employee at Rethink Investing, launching his own business overseas and eventually learning how to step back from the day-to-day operation and become a genuine leader.

We explore the personal experiences that gave him the urgency to change his life, the realities of scaling a team, why giving away his best knowledge helped the business grow and why he believes too many founders build companies that ultimately trap them.

Steve also opens up about his personal property journey. After building a substantial residential portfolio, he found that his net worth was rising while his happiness was not. That realisation led him to sell down, shift into commercial property and redefine wealth around passive income, family, freedom and the ability to live life on his own terms.

We also discuss travel, fatherhood, risk, leadership, commercial property, buying a family home, expanding internationally and why Steve believes the best businesses are built through patience, consistency and genuine value.

This is far more than a conversation about property. It’s an honest look at ambition, success and designing a business that supports the life you actually want.

Kerrod Holland’s journey to the NRL wasn’t a straight line.

After not making it in rugby league as a teenager, Kerrod went down a different path and completed his electrical trade.

But at 21, he made a decision that would completely change the direction of his life: give footy one more proper crack and go all in.

That decision eventually took him from working as an electrician to playing 71 NRL games for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.

In Episode 2 of By Design, Kerrod shares what it took to back himself when there were no guarantees, the reality of professional sport, and what happened when that chapter eventually came to an end.

We talk about identity, money, family, mindset and the transition from professional football into financial advice and building his own business, Tenex Wealth.

Kerrod also shares the philosophies he now carries into everyday life. A conversation about taking your shot, going all in and continuing to build when life takes you in a completely different direction.

At 30 years old, Luke Zeaiter was fit, healthy and preparing to travel through Europe when doctors discovered that all three of his major arteries were 99% blocked.

His cardiologist told him that if he left the hospital, he could be dead within two weeks.

Luke was rushed into emergency triple bypass surgery. But surviving the operation was only the beginning.

In this episode, Luke opens up about the fear of believing he may never see his family again, the physical pain of having his chest cut open, losing 14 kilograms, learning to walk and feed himself again, and reaching the darkest point of his life during recovery.

He also shares how he rebuilt himself one step at a time, eventually going from struggling to walk a few metres to running 10 kilometres just five months after surgery.

We discuss how nearly dying changed his relationship with money and success, and why he now values time, health and the people around him above everything else.

A raw conversation about resilliance, trauma, and rebuilding your life after almost losing it.

In this episode of The Property Mindset, I’m joined again by Julian Nicolitsis, co-founder of Prop Moves Australia, who has helped clients purchase more than $1 billion in residential real estate across the country.

This conversation lifts the curtain on what happens behind the scenes in both property acquisition and finance, and why experience, structure, and professional guidance can have such a significant impact on long-term outcomes.

We unpack the common misconceptions people have about property investing, borrowing capacity, and building wealth, and explain why clarity is often the missing piece that prevents people from taking action.

We also discuss several key ideas:

• The biggest barriers people think are holding them back from property investing

• Why strategy and education create confidence and reduce costly mistakes

• The advantages of working with specialists rather than navigating everything alone

• How lending strategy can influence future borrowing capacity and investment opportunities

• Why delegating the right tasks often leads to better outcomes and faster progress

The episode also explores how experienced professionals assess opportunities, identify risks, and help clients make informed decisions in an environment where most people only face these choices a handful of times in their lives.

By the end of the episode, the message is clear: successful property outcomes aren’t just about the property itself. They come from making informed decisions, having the right team around you, and building a strategy that supports your long-term goals.

Connect with me here: https://shorefinancial.com.au/matthewcurle or or https://property-mindset-navigator.lovable.app/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Something a little different in this episode. I’m joined by Theo Chambers, CEO and co-founder of Shore Financial, Australia’s number one independent brokerage, to unpack the journey of building a business from three people in North Sydney to more than 110 staff and over $300 million in monthly loan applications.

This conversation steps away from markets and investing strategies and instead focuses on what it actually takes to build, scale, and lead a high-performing business in a constantly changing industry.

We unpack Theo’s early days in banking, why he transitioned into mortgage broking, and how identifying gaps in customer experience and broker relationships became the foundation for Shore Financial’s growth.

We also discuss several key ideas:

• Why technology and customer experience became a competitive advantage early on

• The realities of scaling a business from startup to industry leader

• How culture, work ethic, and adaptability shape long-term success

• Why staying ahead of change matters more than reacting to it

• How market noise and uncertainty create opportunity for decisive people

The episode also explores the evolution of the mortgage broking industry, the impact of policy and market changes over the last decade, and how businesses need to continuously adapt to remain competitive.

By the end of the episode, the message is clear: long-term success, whether in business or investing, comes from consistency, adaptability, and taking action while others are stuck waiting for certainty.

Connect with me here: https://shorefinancial.com.au/matthewcurle or https://property-mindset-navigator.lovable.app/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of The Property Mindset, I’m joined by Theo Chambers, CEO and co-founder of Shore Financial, to unpack what these proposed tax changes actually mean for investors, business owners, and first home buyers.

This conversation breaks down the key announcements from the 2026 Federal Budget, including the proposed changes to negative gearing, capital gains tax, and discretionary trust distributions, and explores the real-world implications behind the headlines.

We also discuss several key ideas:

• Why the proposed changes are being viewed as a broad tax grab rather than an affordability solution

• How limiting negative gearing to new builds impacts investors and first home buyers

• What the overhaul to capital gains tax could mean for long-term investing

• Why trust distribution changes disproportionately affect small business owners

• How investors may need to shift towards more cash flow focused strategies moving forward

The episode also explores the unintended consequences these policies could create, including reduced rental supply, tighter borrowing capacity, and investors holding property for longer periods rather than selling.

By the end of the episode, the message is clear: while tax rules and policy settings may evolve, successful investing still comes back to strategy, adaptability, and understanding how to position yourself long term rather than reacting to short-term headlines.

Connect with me here: https://shorefinancial.com.au/matthewcurle or https://property-mindset-navigator.lovable.app/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of The Property Mindset, I’m joined again by Julian Nikolitsis from Prop Moves Australia. Together, we break down how property investing inside super actually works, when it makes sense, and where most people go wrong.

We explore why more Australians are starting to look at SMSFs, from the desire for greater control and transparency to the ability to leverage property within super and accelerate long-term growth.

To break this down, we discuss several key ideas:

• Why SMSFs are becoming more popular and what’s driving the shift

• How leverage works inside super and why it can significantly amplify returns

• How SMSF lending sits separately from your personal borrowing capacity

• The real costs involved, including setup and ongoing fees

• The most common mistakes, particularly around poor asset selection

• The key rules and limitations that differ from investing in your personal name

We also unpack the practical realities, including why depreciation matters less inside super, why growth-focused assets are critical, and how SMSFs can be used alongside personal investing strategies rather than replacing them entirely.

By the end of the episode, the focus is on clarity. Understanding when an SMSF property strategy is appropriate, how it fits into your broader financial position, and why getting the right structure and advice matters far more than chasing the idea itself.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of The Property Mindset, I’m joined again by Julian Nicolitsis, co-founder of Prop Moves Australia, who has helped clients purchase more than $1 billion in residential real estate across the country.

This conversation breaks down how capital gains tax actually works, what changes are typically proposed, and why these headlines tend to create more fear than real impact.

We unpack how investors typically respond to policy changes, and why short-term reactions often differ from long-term outcomes.

We also discuss several key ideas:

• How capital gains tax currently works for investment properties

• Why proposed changes often create panic but rarely shift fundamentals

• What happens to investor behaviour under different CGT scenarios

• Why policy changes don’t solve supply and affordability issues

• How sophisticated investors adapt compared to everyday investors

The episode also explores the unintended consequences of tax changes, including how they can impact housing supply, rental markets, and long-term investment behaviour.

By the end of the episode, the message is clear: tax rules may change, but the fundamentals of property investing remain the same, and long-term, strategic decision-making will always matter more than short-term noise.

Connect with me here: https://shorefinancial.com.au/matthewcurle 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of The Property Mindset, I’m joined again by Julian Nicolitsis, co-founder of Prop Moves Australia, who has helped clients purchase more than $1 billion in residential real estate across the country.

This conversation takes a deep dive into rentvesting, renting where you want to live while investing in markets that better support your financial goals.

We unpack why this strategy still feels uncomfortable for many people, from social expectations through to the desire for stability, and how shifting your mindset can open up more flexible pathways forward.

We also discuss several key ideas:

• Why renting can sometimes be the more strategic financial decision

• How rentvesting can improve borrowing capacity and asset selection

• The importance of discipline and avoiding “half-committing” to the strategy

• When rentvesting makes sense (and when it doesn’t)

• Why alignment with your partner is critical for long-term success

The episode also explores the practical side of rentvesting, including how to think about timelines, cash flow, and the trade-offs between lifestyle and financial outcomes.

By the end of the episode, the message is clear: rentvesting isn’t about avoiding home ownership, it’s about choosing the right sequence to build momentum and create better options over time.

Connect with me here: https://shorefinancial.com.au/matthewcurle

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.