The Dion Guagliardo Podcast

In this episode, I interview Dr Reuben Sim, cofounder of Dental Boutique. Dental Boutique was founded in 2013 along with his wife Dr May Chan and has grown from a single clinic in Melbourne to 140 clinicians across the country and a report value of $500m.

Throughout the episode, Reuben talks about the vision for Dental Boutique, to create a place where patients felt safe, understood and supported. He shares a story from Dr May's childhood that highlights just how much a smile matters. He emphasises the importance of empathy within the company's culture, and the challenges of maintaining their culture and values across locations as the company grows. He also discusses the opportunities for growth as well as the unique dynamic of his spouse being his cofounder and their views on work/life balance.

If you enjoy this episode, feel free to leave a review and share with family and friends.

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Fortress Family Office: https://www.fortressfamilyoffice.com/

Contact us: [email protected]

In this episode, I interview Jess Ruhfus, founder of Collabosaurus. Collabosaurus, a business matchmaking company, was founded in 2014 and was acquired by a client after 10 years of operation.

Throughout the episode, Jess talks about beginning as an English tutor and working in PR, to the origins of Collabosaurus and the lessons she learnt from each phase and how they're applied to her current business of No. 2 Co. She also discusses the differences in her approach to running No. 2 Co versus Collabosaurus and how her priorities have changed, as well as challenges with expansion overseas.

If you enjoy this episode, feel free to leave a review and share with family and friends.

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More on us!

Dion's Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hHg1ff

Our social media: https://linktr.ee/FortressFinancial

Fortress Family Office: https://www.fortressfamilyoffice.com/

Contact us: [email protected]

In this episode, I interview Anthony McNamara, co-founder of Digital Glue. Digital Glue, the developer of the digital voucher engine, was founded in 2007 and grew the business rapidly before being sold to Blackhawk Network Holdings.

Throughout the episode, Anthony talks about starting the company, and the initial idea of selling movie tickets on a mobile phone. He also discusses how the exit strategy came about naturally rather than planning for it and the importance of remaining involved while exiting. He also reflects on things he could've handled better during his time with the business, his philosophy on leadership and culture.

If you enjoy this episode, feel free to leave a review and share with family and friends.

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More on us!

Dion's Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hHg1ff

Our social media: https://linktr.ee/FortressFinancial

Fortress Family Office: https://www.fortressfamilyoffice.com/

Contact us: [email protected]

In this episode, I interview Barry Saad, founder of Truck Tech. Truck Tech, a heavy vehicle maintenance and repair company, was founded in 2007 and grew from just himself to 140 staff across Sydney, Newcastle, Melbourne and Brisbane.

Throughout the episode, Barry talks about the beginnings of Truck Tech starting out from the back of his ute and his early love of vehicles, his upbringing and how his parents shaped his work ethic, and scaling the business from a small shed to expanding across the east coast. He also discusses his philosophy on leadership and mentorship as well as the mission and the passion that comes with repairing trucks and buses.

If you enjoy this episode, feel free to leave a review and share with family and friends.

Share the episode: https://thedionguagliardopodcast.buzzsprout.com/share

More on us!

Dion's Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hHg1ff

Our social media: https://linktr.ee/FortressFinancial

Fortress Family Office: https://www.fortressfamilyoffice.com/

Contact us: [email protected]

In this episode, I interview Tristan White, founder of The Physio Co. The Physio Co, a physiotherapy company, was founded in 2004 and grew from just 1 person to 150 staff across Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide.

Throughout the episode, Tristan talks about his beginnings as a physio, his decision to start the business and focus on the demographic of older Australians, the evolution of his communication style, and the challenges of scaling the business. He also discusses the importance of workplace culture, bringing in a business partner and eventually buying them out, and challenges running the business in COVID.

If you enjoy this episode, feel free to leave a review and share with family and friends.

Share the episode: https://thedionguagliardopodcast.buzzsprout.com/share

More on us!

Dion's Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hHg1ff

Our social media: https://linktr.ee/FortressFinancial

Fortress Family Office: https://www.fortressfamilyoffice.com/

Contact us: [email protected]

In this episode, I interview George Lucas, founder of Raiz Invest. Raiz, a fintech company, was founded in 2016 before listing on the ASX and reaching a market cap of $200m at its peak.

Throughout the episode, George talks about the early days at Raiz, and his work with Instreet and other business ventures. We discuss the challenges of stepping down from Raiz as well as the attributes of leaders and how his strengths and weaknesses impacted his business journey. He also talks about types of business people he admires and his advice for anyone in business today.

If you enjoy this episode, feel free to leave a revie and share with family and friends.

Share the episode: https://thedionguagliardopodcast.buzzsprout.com/share

More on us!

Dion's Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hHg1ff

Our social media: https://linktr.ee/FortressFinancial

Fortress Family Office: https://www.fortressfamilyoffice.com/

Contact us: [email protected]

In this episode, I interview Deborah Coram, CEO of Safetrac. Safetrac, a compliance training service, was founded in 1999 and grew from 25 to 65 people with revenue of over $20m pa.

Throughout the episode, Deborah talks about her background in law, how she came to buy Safetrac, the challenges of running the business during COVID and adapting to working from home, as well as her management style and the importance of culture for Safetrac. She also talks about the implementation of AI in the business, as well as her advice to people in business.

If you enjoy this episode, feel free to leave a review and share with family and friends.

Share the episode: https://thedionguagliardopodcast.buzzsprout.com/share

More on us!

Dion's Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hHg1ff

Our social media: https://linktr.ee/FortressFinancial

Fortress Family Office: https://www.fortressfamilyoffice.com/

Contact us: [email protected]

In this episode, I interview Jeremy Cabral, co-founder of Finder. Finder, a comparison website, was founded in 2006 growing to annual revenue of over $100m and a valuation of $680m.

Throughout the episode, Jeremy talks about his early interest in technology, his journey with finder, his work ethic, as well as his thoughts on the future of AI and the impact it will have on companies in the future. He also talks about the historic importance of adapting quickly to new technologies, as well as a look at his own personal projects.

If you enjoy this episode, feel free to leave a review and share with family and friends.

Share the episode: https://thedionguagliardopodcast.buzzsprout.com/share

More on us!

Dion's Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hHg1ff

Our social media: https://linktr.ee/FortressFinancial

Fortress Family Office: https://www.fortressfamilyoffice.com/

Contact us: [email protected]

In this episode, I interview Pan Koutlakis, co-founder and CEO of EatClub. Founded in 2017, EatClub is a dynamic pricing platform for restaurants and has grown to over 200 people following a raise of $27 million at a $200 million valuation.

Throughout the episode, Pan talks about the challenge of running a business in a two sided marketplace, the impact of COVID on the company, the process of expanding internationally, and the importance of having great investors in difficult times.

If you enjoy this episode, feel free to leave a review and share with family and friends.

Share the episode: https://thedionguagliardopodcast.buzzsprout.com/share

More on us!

Dion's Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hHg1ff

Our social media: https://linktr.ee/FortressFinancial

Fortress Family Office: https://www.fortressfamilyoffice.com/

Contact us: [email protected]

In this episode, I interview Kelly Drewett, managing director of Synechron and co-founder of Exposé. Exposé, an IT consulting company, was founded in 2016 growing to 70 people before being acquired by Synechron in March along with its sister company Chamonix.

Throughout the episode, Kelly discusses the acquisition and what it means for her role, as well as how her background in performing arts helped her to develop the soft skills to complement the technical skills required for working in IT. She also goes into detail about how she works to improve the experience for women in STEM, her start in the industry as well as the formation of Exposé.

If you enjoy this episode, feel free to leave a review and share with family and friends.

Share the episode: https://thedionguagliardopodcast.buzzsprout.com/share

More on us!

Dion's Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hHg1ff

Our social media: https://linktr.ee/FortressFinancial

Fortress Family Office: https://www.fortressfamilyoffice.com/

Contact us: [email protected]