DAYZERO

This week on DAY ZERO, Angus sits down with John O'Brien, Geelong's newest FOUNDIT partner and shareholder following the brand's first merger and acquisition, to talk billboards, blue and white loyalty, and four generations of change in one coastal city.

John takes us through Geelong's evolution from a wool and port town on the brink of becoming a rust belt city, to an education and health economy built on Deakin University and a wave of Melbourne relocators, unpacking why knowing which pocket of Newtown or Belmont you're buying into matters just as much as the suburb itself. Before real estate, John spent two decades as an entrepreneur across hospitality, pubs and even a stint as a touring country folk singer in Texas, and he explains why that breadth of experience, not a real estate background, is what makes a great buyer's advocate.

He also unpacks why "boots on the ground" beats buying blind from interstate, how a four-hour research report changed a client's mind about the value of data, and why after years running his own business solo, tapping into a national team has been the most exciting part of joining FOUNDIT.

This week on DAY ZERO, Angus sits down with George Goldsworthy, incoming partner for Sydney's eastern suburbs and one of the most recognised buyer's agents in the country. A Rising Star Excellence Award finalist who has purchased everything from $1 million first homes to $50 million trophy estates, George traces her path from modelling in Melbourne and London to becoming a shareholder in FOUNDIT.

George shares how a Bachelor of Commerce and a double Master's in Entrepreneurship & MBA led her nowhere near real estate until she stumbled into buyer advocacy eight years ago and knew instantly it was the job she'd been looking for. She unpacks what it took to negotiate a $50 million deal from a cold door knock, why she once negotiated a 2% deposit at the eleventh hour, and why she believes buyer's agents are as much counselors and confidence coaches as they are negotiators.

She also opens up about the pull of Sydney over her native Melbourne and why culture matters more than technology when scaling a business.

This week on DAY ZERO, Gus sits down with Michelle Valentic, FOUNDIT's newly appointed Head of Operations for Buyer Agent Services, to trace a career built on a simple instinct: if something doesn't sit right, change it.

Michelle shares how a moment of discomfort in financial planning led her to the buyers' agency world at a time when there were barely four companies doing it in Melbourne. She unpacks what separates a great buyer's advocate from the rest, and why the properties you reject define you as much as the ones you secure

She also explains what two decades of building systems, processes and teams across buyers' agency, property management and strata has taught her about what a truly great operation looks like and also shares why, when given the chance to become a buyer's agent herself, she walked out of the pitch thinking only about how to improve the paperwork, and never looked back.

This week on DAY ZERO, Angus sits down with Tracey Macmillan, FOUNDIT's newest partner alongside husband Andrew, covering Melbourne's Stonnington, Boroondara, Yarra and the Mornington Peninsula, to hear a story that goes well beyond real estate.

Tracy traces a journey from emergency nursing at St Vincent's to building her own medical devices business from scratch with a toddler at home, and how two decades of high-pressure, high-stakes decision-making shaped the calm and data-driven approach she now brings to her clients. She opens up about what genuinely excites her about buyer advocacy (spoiler: it's the people, not the properties) and how her family's experience with epilepsy has driven a long commitment to charity work that remains central to her sense of purpose. And she explains why, after 35 years of marriage, going into business with Andrew at FOUNDIT made far more sense than going it alone.

This week on DAY ZERO, Angus sits down with Andrew Macmillan, one of Australia's most recognised real estate identities and FOUNDIT's newest partner covering Melbourne's Stonnington, Bayside and Boroondara, to trace a 45-year journey from collecting cash rents in Richmond to negotiating multimillion dollar deals at the top end of Melbourne's prestige market.

Andrew shares what the Wild West of 1980s real estate taught him about people, why his father's advice at 18 has kept him out of trouble for four decades, and why 40 years on the sell side gives him an edge in the buyer advocacy space that simply can't be learned overnight. He also unpacks why most people can't negotiate, what it really means to read the room after a passed-in auction, and why celebrating your wins matters just as much as chasing the next deal.

Content warning: This episode contains discussion of child sexual exploitation and human trafficking. Listener discretion is advised.

This week on DAY ZERO, Gus sits down with Matt Whittaker from Destiny Rescue, an Australian charity that, over 25 years, has rescued more than 26,000 individuals, including over 16,000 children, from sexual exploitation and human trafficking.

Matt shares the origin story of founder Tony, who gave up everything to move his family to Thailand after overhearing a conversation that changed his life. He walks through the extraordinary story of Chelsea, a three-year-old girl found by a former New Zealand detective through two years of relentless online investigation, and 1,000 hours on Google Street View trying to find a single green gate. He also unpacks why this issue is far closer to home than most Australians realise, and what people can do to help.

A confronting but important listen. To donate, follow this link: https://walk-to-arec-2026.raiselysite.com/t/foundit

Learn more about Destiny Rescue: https://www.destinyrescue.org.au/ 

This week on DAYZERO, Ben sits down with Mark Amos - FOUNDIT's newest buyer's agent covering Sydney's Eastern Suburbs, Lower North Shore and Inner West - to trace a journey from building houses on the Gold Coast and surfing the world, to becoming one of Sydney's most quietly formidable negotiators.

Mark unpacks how studying urban and regional town planning and time on the sell side handed him the complete playbook of the agents he now negotiates against, why emotional intelligence is the single biggest difference between a good and a great buyer's agent, and what it really means to be relentless in one of Australia's most competitive property markets. Plus the client wins that remind him exactly why he does it.

This week on DAYZERO, Gus sits down with Chris Gray — property investor, buyer's agent, and longtime Sky News host of Property Empire — to unpack a philosophy built not on complexity, but on deliberately choosing the simplest path to freedom.

Chris traces his journey from a broke backpacker in Australia who vowed to come back with money, to a $20+ million portfolio built on one stubborn idea: no supply, lots of demand. He explains why he retired from Deloitte at 31, why the smartest people in the room are often the worst property investors, and why his boutique five-person buyer's agency was always a means to an end rather than an empire to build. Along the way he shares how he bought 14 cars during COVID, and how he ended up driving a fully branded 1953 "tank" through Bondi Junction.

This week on DAY ZERO, Gus sits down with Rhys Rogers — co-founder and CEO of Before You Buy — to trace the journey from an insolvency accountant watching a building inspector walk through a Woollahra mansion, to running Australia's largest marketplace for building and pest inspections with 500 inspectors, 70,000 listings a year, and the country's most powerful buyer intent data.

Rhys shares how being made redundant with a business plan already on his computer was the best thing that ever happened to him, and how spending consecutive Christmases manually closing reports until 10:30pm finally taught him to let go. He unpacks the discipline of building leaders within a business rather than bottlenecking every decision through the founders, and what growing up the youngest of eight kids taught him about reading people regardless of age, title, or seniority. And for anyone thinking about starting something, Rhys leaves it simple: make sure you're very comfortable with failure before you begin.

This week on DAYZERO, Ben and Angus sit down with Scott Nowell - co-founder of The Monkeys, Australia's most awarded creative agency - to trace the journey from three guys working with a shared internet cable to a landmark acquisition by one of the world's largest consulting firms.

Scott unpacks what it really takes to build a creative culture from scratch, why a great batting average matters more than a one-hit wonder, and how a scrappy start-up ended up turning down Saatchi & Saatchi.

He reflects on what made Accenture the right partner when every traditional holding group left them cold, and why preserving a renegade culture is harder than it sounds. He also shares where AI is taking the industry - and why the best creative thinking will never be replaced, only the tools used to deliver it.