He started Di Bella Coffee with $5,000. He sold it for $47 million. This is what that actually cost him.

Phil Di Bella built one of Australia's biggest coffee companies, then nearly lost himself doing it. 167kg. Blood pressure of 177. Nightmares for six months. In this first episode of The Founder's Fire he talks about the parts founders never say out loud, and the funeral that made him rethink what success was even for.

If you're building something, watch this before you burn yourself down building it.

0:00 The two stories every founder has4:44 Why he calls his pain "premium unleaded"12:25 "Be careful who you tell to f*** off"17:21 He started with $5,000 and one piece of advice21:15 The award win that broke him37:23 What 167kg and 177 blood pressure actually felt like48:17 The question he won't answer about his marriage51:15 The funeral that changed everything53:43 Why he walked away from the company with his name on it1:02:40 How do you refuel after you've already "made it"

Discover The Coffee Commune - https://www.coffeecommune.com.au/

Connect with Phil on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/phillip-di-bella-1556936b/

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See behind the scenes over at https://www.instagram.com/danmoussa_thirdwayadvisory/

Or Linked In - https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-moussa-thirdway/

And if you need help to find the hire that will completely change your business reach out over at https://www.thirdwayadvisory.com.au/

Hit follow wherever you're listening so you don't miss a single episode.

He signed the deal every startup dreams of: 5,000 jobs a week. Then COVID wiped it out overnight.

Rudy Crous arrived in Australia as a teenager with a backpack and not much else. He became an organisational psychologist, spent years studying how people behave under pressure, then co-founded Compono, an HR tech company backed by Shark Tank's Andrew Banks.

When his big deal collapsed in 2020 he rebuilt the business into the technology that now powers driver licensing across most of the country.

In this episode he's blunt about the restructures, the loneliness, the two pieces of advice he gives every founder (including the one about your partner nobody wants to hear), and the one thing he does that stops him quitting before lunch.

0:00 The founder behind licensing tech in 5 of 6 states

1:26 He landed in Australia with a backpack and nothing else

14:18 The deal that should have made them, then COVID hit

15:45 The pivot that turned a dead deal into national infrastructure

20:08 "I've wanted to quit before lunch. You just never do."

23:05 Why he'd pick the scrappy hire over the Harvard one every time

25:01 Laying off people he cares about, and how he carries it

36:15 Why every one of his staff sees the burn rate

37:45 The fundraising rule that keeps founders alive

39:53 "Never tell your partner everything."

51:09 His one rule for every founder: keep making decisions

Connect with Rudy https://www.linkedin.com/in/rudycrous/

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See behind the scenes over at https://www.instagram.com/danmoussa_thirdwayadvisory/

Or Linked In - https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-moussa-thirdway/

And if you need help to find the hire that will completely change your business reach out over at https://www.thirdwayadvisory.com.au/

Hit follow wherever you're listening so you don't miss a single episode.

Niamh Whiley quit her job with $2,000 in the bank, a brand new mortgage and no clients.

Under two years later she runs Aligned Allied Health with a team of 12, helping hundreds of people.

But the person who treats founders for a living turned out to be the worst at taking her own advice.

In this episode she's honest about the burnout, the self-doubt, the friends she lost, and the money mistakes nobody warns you about.

If you're building something and pretending you're fine, watch this one.

0:00 The therapist founders call when they're breaking

2:50 She lied to the bank and quit with $2,000

9:21 "I work in mental health and I struggled with it more than anyone"

16:51 "Who am I to charge people when I couldn't fix myself?"

21:15 The friends she lost building this

26:19 The $19,700 mistake she never clawed back

28:11 Why year two nearly finished her

39:38 The warning signs founders miss until it's too late

44:20 You built it on fear. What faith would do instead

51:21 What she'd tell herself with $2,000 and no clients

Connect with Niamh - https://au.linkedin.com/in/niamh-whiley-457a111aa

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See behind the scenes over at https://www.instagram.com/danmoussa_thirdwayadvisory/

Or Linked In - https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-moussa-thirdway/

And if you need help to find the hire that will completely change your business reach out over at https://www.thirdwayadvisory.com.au/

Hit follow wherever you're listening so you don't miss a single episode.

Every founder has two stories, the one on the stage and the one over a whiskey.

The Founder's Fire is the second one.

We sit down with founders to talk about the things we all go through, but no one talks about.

The pressure, the doubt, the times they nearly gave up and how they turned it all around.
If you're building something and want to hear what it actually takes, this is for you.

Make sure you hit follow because I can't guarantee you've never heard these stories before.

See behind the scenes over at https://www.instagram.com/danmoussa_thirdwayadvisory/

Connect on Linked In - https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-moussa-thirdway/

And if you need help to find the hire that will completely change your business reach out over at https://www.thirdwayadvisory.com.au/