Experience & Business Interests
I’ve founded and grown businesses from ideas, disrupted the status quo, mentored and advised many, bought and merged businesses, developed and refined operations, driven top line & bottom line growth, imported and distributed products and had a few ‘learning experiences’ along the way.
My core experience centres around building and running marketing, media, digital and technology businesses - and in many cases a blend of all of the above. Through this i’ve gained experience working across a wide range of sectors including retail, FMCG, automotive, technology, electronics, toys, luxury goods, life sciences, and more.
Here’s a summary of my current business interests and engagements.
Hey You (formerly Beat the Q)
I co-founded Hey You (then Beat the Q) in December 2010 with my best mate Adam Theobald. At the time it was a way for both of us to get our caffeine dose a little quicker. Later rebranded, Hey You has grown to over 1500 food and beverage outlets and over 500,000 Aussies ordering each month - helping food and beverage outlets drive more sales whilst creating deeper relationships with their customers.
Ordermentum
Whilst Hey You solves the ordering/payments/loyalty problem for retailers, we also saw an opportunity to improve the efficiency of the food and beverage industry overall: introducing Ordermentum. Today, over 18,000 cafes, bars, and restaurants order over $20,000,000 of produce from hundreds of food and beverage wholesalers every month. I am a non-exec director and shareholder of Ordermentum.
Whooshkaa
Today there's a podcast for everyone - and it's booming. So when wanting to get in on the action, who else to align with but Aussie born and bred, Whooshkaa. The brainchild of Rob Lowenthal, Whooshkaa is audio-technology company helping creators and brands produce, host, share, track and monetise content. I'm a shareholder and advisor to founder Rob Lowenthal.
Acquirely
For businesses looking to grow, new customer acquisition is of utmost importance: That's where Acquirely comes in.
Acquirely is a digital customer acquisition specialist, delivering engaging, relevant and personalised content to consumers to achieve high value, targeted and efficient acquisition. I am an investor, advisor and mentor to Founder, Hayden Ostrom Brown.
Interact Technology
myINTERACT is a technology platform that helps specialist healthcare professionals improve patient outcomes through better engagement with their work related communities - such as hospital departments, associations and the life science industry. Today I am an advisor to the Co-Founders on a range of elements centred around growth.
Recognition
Awards are not a motivating driver behind great work, however it’s nice recognition of producing great work or building leading businesses. Here’s a snapshot of awards and recognition received over the years.
Campaign Asia “40 under 40”
In 2017 I was extremely humbled to have been recognised across the Asia Pacific Media and Marketing landscape as one of Campaign Asia’s 40 under 40.
The Ansible Awards Trail
Across 2014-2016, Ansible was the worlds most awarded specialist mobile agency with over 70 local and global awards received. I’m extremely proud of the work we produced to international accolade across this period including “Most Innovative App” at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Ansible also won “Specialist Agency of the Year” across Adnews, BandT and Mumbrella as well as a string of awards including Spikes Asia, AIMIA, SAIMX, Global Festival of Media, App design awards and CLIO’s.
And many more including:
Best Managed Affiliate Program 2018, International Performance Marketing Awards (APD)
Sales Promotion of the Year - Australian Radio Awards (Austereo)
Sales Person of the Year (Austereo)
Heart of the Station Award (Austereo)
Formal Qualifications
MBA - Macquarie Graduate School of Management (MGSM) - 2005
The MBA was a challenging and rewarding course. It helped me develop a top down view of business to combine with my (at the time) middle level management experience. It also gave a good insight into various areas of businesses where I hadn't previously had experience. For example, practical application of statistical data in real world business decisions and the implication of sound financial management.
The course also helped further develop my understanding of group dynamics, negotiation tactics, looking at problems from differing points of view, and building confidence as a public speaker.Bachelor of Commerce/Marketing - Macquarie University - 2000
The Scots College, 1996