Troubleshooters Podcast: Recent Episodes
Oasis Partners
We aim to put you in touch with real life business lessons that may help you save valuable time rather than trying to figure it all out on your own.
Each month Mike McGrath delves deep into the lives and careers of business owners, entrepreneurs and leaders that have spent time in the tough school of hard knocks.
Intimate and deep dialogue aimed at really getting to the heart of the stories, behind the gloss and successes. So why not jump-in and take a listen to the brightest and best leaders sharing the good, the bad and the ugly!
Sheree Sullivan, an entrepreneur since age 19, discussed her journey from cheese making to hospitality and electro-enhanced beer. She highlighted her parents' entrepreneurial influence and the challenges of starting a business. Sheree transitioned from a goat dairy to a cheese factory, eventually selling 90% to a Japanese trade buyer. She then scaled Grunthal Brew, a hospitality venue, and introduced eBEER, a low-carb, high-flavour beer with unique brewing techniques. Sheree emphasised the importance of financial sustainability, leveraging products over time, and the value of fun in business.
The post Sheree Sullivan, Turning Grit into Gold first appeared on Oasis Partners.
Tom is an experienced CEO and entrepreneur. He has demonstrated a history of scaling businesses both organically and through acquisitions.
The post Tom Hardwick, From Suits To Start Ups first appeared on Oasis Partners.
Tom Waterhouse is an experienced investor and businessman, hailing from the illustrious Waterhouse family.
The post Tom Waterhouse, Betting on Legacy first appeared on Oasis Partners.
Hortense is a successful author and executive coach. She unpacks her take on leadership, including the importance of making peace with the past.
Brendan Green has been running his company for 18 years, and along with these two directors has built GCG into one of the leading independent health, safety, and hygiene companies in Australia and they are not done yet. This growing business is reinventing the way the industry delivers its services through tech enabled innovation. GCG is a great example of what happens when talented people get together and play the long game.
Episode Description:Mark Holloway is a working class guy from Birmingham in England, who is not just football crazy, but is himself a very decent centre-forward. His life changes direction when Sydney Croatia spots him and bring him to Australia to play semi-professional football. At that point, this cryogenics engineer switches to sales and becomes a very effective troubleshooter, nicknamed Mr. EBIT, for his consistent ability to make profit! He then gets to work on building a very successful eyewear company. He is currently the owner and director of Shades of Pale-sourcing antiques for over 20 years in France, Belgium, Sweden & beyond.About Mark:Mark Holloway is the owner and director of Shades of Pale- Sourcing antiques for over 20 years in France, Belgium, Sweden & beyond.They specialise in French antiques, homewares, interiors, architectural & garden pieces. Follow them @shadesofpalestore on Instagram.Contact Mark: markholloway@shadesofpale.com.auPoints of interest:Life journey from football to eyewear entrepreneurship. (0:10)Upbringing, sports, and business success. (1:21)Career progression from engineering to sales management to business ownership. (3:16)Leadership and company issues. (7:43)Liquidation and survival in the fashion industry. (11:50)Overcoming business challenges in the eyewear industry. (16:35)Selling a business to a supplier. (21:13)Business ownership and sale. (25:37)Selling a business and transitioning to a new role. (31:17)Turnarounds, brands, and entrepreneurship. (36:33)
Episode Description:Mat Stillone started his first business Protein Supplies in his garage! So successful was it, that it eventually took over the whole house. This bold startup initiative, in the ‘better for you food’ sector, followed a period of deep reflection by Mat, who had suffered from anxiety in his late teens and early 20s. Mat felt he needed to express himself and do more of what mattered to him. Since then, he has started three more companies, all of which have become successful. Listen to this inspiring story of how Mat overcame adversity, built strong resilience, and found what really matters in life.About Mat:Mat is the Managing Director of Integrity Food Co, Protein Supplies Australia, Botanika Blends & Flexible Foods.He was the Business News Australia’s Young Entrepreneur Awards Winner - Manufacturing, Wholesale & Distribution in 2021!Contact Mat: LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/mathew-stillone-b4797a41/Points of Interest:The “AHA” moment for Mat. (0:30)Food industry, entrepreneurship, and product quality. (3:35)Starting and growing a supplement business, quality control issues, and manufacturing products. (7:38)Starting a contract manufacturing business and creating a brand. (12:09)Entrepreneurship, innovation, and plant-based nutrition. (16:36)Managing stress and purpose in business ownership. (23:29)Entrepreneurship, resilience, and relationships. (31:52)
Episode Description:Straight from the ready fire aim to school of hard knocks, Mick Spencer started his first business at age 22. On-the-go, a sports branded apparel business started literally in his garage and became a multi-million-dollar business challenging the status quo in a traditional market. Just when he thought he cracked it, COVID appeared and put pay to his plans of world domination, rather painfully, Mick had to call in the liquidator. Yet, even after all that he managed to get back on the horse in true troubleshooter fashion and started his latest venture Gravity Seltzer, a company which is thriving.Points of Interest: Getting started at age 21 2:09The role of Tech 8:41Shark Tank 9:25Next steps & scaling up 11:47Covid ramifications 14:30Survival long term amid rising tensions 17:12Difficult but amazing long-term learnings 18:24Being a sole founder is lonely 23:49Writing a book-start before you’re ready 24:33Bouncing back 26:10Why I am not the CEO of Gravity Seltzer 30:00Taking a family break 36:00What’s next? 37:00About Mick:Mick Spencer is the Co-Founder & Chairman of high growth Seltzer brand Gravity Seltzer Co. He is also author of best seller Start Before You're Ready!Get in touch with Mick:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mickspencer247/Gravity Seltzer: https://www.gravityseltzer.com/
Mike sits down with Kelly Jamieson, the co- founder, and MD of Edible Blooms for a chat about their 18 yearlong success story alongside her sister Abbey. Their online gifting business that delivers delicious bouquets of chocolate, among other things to homes and offices (every 2 minutes) is the #1 gift delivery business in Australia.
Points of Interest: When your business partner is your sister 1:30 Country girl at heart-lessons from your mum! 2:40 An online business in 2005! 4:15 Start a business or buy a house? 6:00 Raising money as a startup 9:14 Making mistakes is gold! 10:42 Fast paced business world-trial and error 12:45 The Blackberry, iPhone, and Google 15:24 The Telstra Business Awards-there’s no way a little start up, 4 years in can win it? 18:00 Female entrepreneurs-the ups and downs of navigating business 19:30 Edible Blooms and Sustainability 24:00 The future of Edible Blooms 27:50
About Kelly: Kelly is the co-founder and Managing Director of Edible Blooms. She started the company with her sister in 2005 and they have won numerous awards including, 2022 Canstar #1 Online Gift Delivery Company for Australia, Telstra Business of the Year for Australia and SA Businesswoman of the Year!
Connect with Kelly: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-jamieson-871aa73/ Website: www.edibleblooms.com.au
Episode Description:The Deal Doer's Deal DoerMike sits down with John Willcox-Jones, founder of Oasis Europe for a chat about all things deal-doing. John has been responsible for literally hundreds of transactions, mainly acting for business owners seeking a successful exit from what is often their life's work.About John:John has worked in industry since 1972 holding management positions in sectors as diverse as building products, retail furnishing and horticultural machinery. During the early 1980s he was actively involved in the City advising companies on behalf of several stockbrokers and issuing houses in connection with stock market flotations and on the board of several public companies. He relinquished these appointments in 1984 to specialise in mergers and acquisitions work. He regularly lectures on Corporate Finance matters throughout the UK as well as in Europe and North America.Contact John- john@oasiseurope.comWebsite: www.oasiseurope.comPoints of Interest:Introduction to John’s story-0:10How to market to a wider audience-5:47How to sell your business-11:23Highs and lows of the process-16:03Be forthright and straight up with the advice-22:49The importance of diversity of interest in business-25:34John’s advice to other investors-37:00What do you like to do outside of work-44:00
Pat Farmer the Ultra troubleshooter. Our first guest for the new season of the Troubleshooters Podcast is Pat Farmer. Pat is an Australian Legend - famous for his ultra running feats, including running from the North Pole to the South Pole in 2012. Pat is an inspiration and an Ultra Troubleshooter. Leaving school at 14, Pat became a household name as an ultra-marathon runner in the 1990s, setting a number of Australian and world records. He later became the federal member for Macarthur South, becoming the Junior Minister for Education, Science and Training. At age 60 Pat shows no signs of slowing down. He is about to embark on yet another endurance test – running around the continent to bring attention to the upcoming referendum on The Voice. Starting in April Pat will be running 80km per day for six months in an effort to raise awareness for the referendum to enshrine and Indigenous Voice to the Parliament in the Australian Constitution. Check out my conversation with him which talks about how he got started, how important service is to him, and what keeps him going. It is guaranteed to give you a lift.If you want to become a corporate sponsor to support Pat in his upcoming Event for The Voice-Email: pat.farmer@live.comThe Voice https://voice.niaa.gov.au/#Pat Farmer https://www.patfarmer.com/
Episode DescriptionThe Troubleshooters Podcast: Season 1 Wrap up! In this episode we have wrapped up Season 1 of the Troubleshooters Podcast with some highlights of each episode. Mikes only goal when he started this podcast was to bring you the insights from everyday heroes who have had a go, genuine business troubleshooters, who've overcome adversities and dealt with whatever life has thrown at them. It’s been his pleasure to interview our guests this season. 12 episodes of genuine troubleshooters each with their own unique stories. Listen to the Best bits by clicking above and if something resonates then find full episodes on the website or wherever you like to listen to your podcasts. In the meantime, lookout for Season 2 coming soon..About our guests:Please find below a list of guests this season in order of episodes & their LinkedIn profiles. More information about each guest is available in the full episode descriptions. Robert Silver-Tesserent https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertasilver/Stanislav Roth-Source Legal https://www.linkedin.com/in/stanislavroth/Stuart Edgedly-Emerald Planet https://www.linkedin.com/in/stuart-edgley/David Astone and Peter Gordon-Design to Production https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-astone-1891612a/https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-gordon-60807260/Richard Skarzynski- Coraggio https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardskarzynski/Keitah Matens-shaw B.OKideas https://www.linkedin.com/company/bokideas/Kunal Sawhney KALKINE https://www.linkedin.com/in/kunal-sawhney-6a63a346/Hannah Chipkin & Pippa jospeh Merch Girls https://www.linkedin.com/company/merchgirls/Jacinta McCombe Nectar Cold Pressed Juices https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacinta-mccombe-865b51a9/Luke Cook-Cuppa.tv https://www.linkedin.com/in/cookluke/Scott Fry-Loving Earth https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-fry-74813a34/John Florey- Loving Earth https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-florey-maicd-17271913/
Episode Description: In this episode Michael speaks to John Florey, CEO of Loving Earth; a bean-to-bar chocolate and functional food business based in Melbourne. In our last podcast, we spoke to Loving Earth’s co-founder, Scott Fry who alluded to an exciting future initiative, well John Florey the CEO joined us to talk more about the opportunity to invest. Listen & discover how you could own your very own chocolate factory-or at least part of one!
Watch the following video and if minded, be sure to register your interest using this link without obligation: https://www.birchal.com/company/lovingearth
- Always consider the general CSF risk warning and offer document before investing.
About John Florey: John Florey is the CEO of Loving Earth and joined the company recently. After running and managing many large food and beverage corporations, he was attracted to the brand because Loving Earth’s passion for the environment was REAL. He believes they have gone beyond sustainability and are now focused on being regenerative! John enjoys being involved in a company that are genuinely giving back to the planet.
Investment EOI campaign https://www.birchal.com/company/lovingearth * Always consider the general CSF risk warning and offer document before investing.
John’s email: john.florey@lovingearth.net
Johns LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-florey-maicd-17271913/
Loving Earth Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/loving_earth/
Loving Earth Website: https://lovingearth.net/
This month Michael speaks with founder and co-owner of Loving Earth, Scott Fry. Loving Earth do things a little differently; namely they put the environment first and have a clear vision for supporting the communities that they work with. Scot speaks to Michael about the challenges he has faced building his business from scratch as well as what the future looks like for Loving Earth. It’s a fascinating story that I hope you will enjoy. Scott announces at the end of the episode that he and the other owner of Loving Earth, Martha Butler, are going to be doing a Crowd Source Funding exercise where they will be seeking investment from customers and others to help them further scale the business. Watch out for the announcement in early October 2022 and if you are minded, be sure to register your interest. Scott’s email: scottfry@lovingearth.net Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/loving_earth/ Website: https://lovingearth.net/ Crowd-Source-Funding Information: Available in next week’s "special" Episode Netflix documentary: Rotten/Season2/Bitter Chocolate: https://www.netflix.com/mo-en/title/80146284
This month, Michael speaks with entrepreneur Luke “Cookie” Cook. Together Michael and Luke discuss the challenges Luke faced with his previous business, FUNLOCKA, and how the ending of that business put him on to road to helping thousands of others through his new venture Cuppa.tv. Luke speaks candidly about his own mental health and the importance of wellbeing – an important lesson we can all learn.
In this month’s episode of the Troubleshooters Podcast, Michael speaks with Jacinta McCombe, the owner and founder of Nectar Cold Pressed. As a juice brand that was exposed mainly to the food service industry prior to the pandemic, Jacinta’s business was heavily impacted by the shutdowns in early 2020. Instead of succumbing to business challenges of the time, Jacinta and her team worked hard and found a way to survive when many around them couldn’t.
Michael McGrath speaks with co-founders of MerchGirls Pippa Joseph and Hannah Chipkin who Mike describes as the ‘dream team’. Listen to these founders share their inspiring story of how they came together to start their company (from a bedroom), and how they have developed their start-up into the successful merchandising company it is today servicing many large enterprises.
An inspiring episode with Michael McGrath who speaks with Kunal Sawhney, founder of equity research company, Kalkine.
In this month’s episode of the Troubleshooters Podcast I speak with the CEO and founder of B.Okideas, Kietah Martens-Shaw. Kietah shares with us her truly inspiring story of how overcoming cancer inspired her to start her own business. Resilience, passion, determination – Kietah is the epitome of an entrepreneur and troubleshooter.
This month we speak to Richard Skarzynski who is the CEO of Coraggio, a peer advisory board based in Australia. Richard has a fantastic story - the son of immigrants, he was a banker who turned his personal skills and love of music into his first business. The business went on to become one of the most successful construction finance companies in Australia, before the GFC came along and everything changed. Now Richard helps other entrepreneurs and business owners tackle their personal and business challenges through a peer to peer business mentoring company called Coraggio.
In this episode of the Troubleshooters Podcast we speak to David Astone and Peter Gordon of Design to Production. These guys are a dream team - Peter is an industrial designer and Dave is the manufacturing and operations guy. Together they have built a wonderful business that has managed to combined cutting edge design with cost efficient production. They have been at the forefront of digital signage solutions and have now moved well beyond signage supplying the likes of Wrigley with next generation vending solutions designed in Australia. Listen-in as they tell their stories, including how they got started and then navigated 90% revenue concentration to what they have achieved today which is an international and diversified business.
In this episode we speak to Stuart Edgley the Managing Director and founder of Emerald Planet. Stuart optimizes the entrepreneurial necessity to hustle and then combines that with the smarts to anticipate and pick opportunities at the right time like nobody else I know, and if that isn’t enough, he works tirelessly to improve our […]
In this episode we speak to Stanislav Roth the CEO of Source Legal. Stan is a disrupter because when he started his business over 10 years ago, he refused to play by established rules. In other words, even though lawyers have been selling us their time for 100 years, his firm do not sell their […]
In this episode we speak to Rob Silver the founder and CEO of Rivium, a data analytics and cyber security business. We explore Robs journey, including his various failures and set-backs – his first real venture of over 10 years failed. Robs tenacity and resilience allowed him to start over and eventually build a successful […]
We aim to put you in touch with real life business lessons that may help you save valuable time rather than trying to figure it all out on your own. Each month Mike McGrath delves deep into the lives and careers of business owners, entrepreneurs and leaders that have spent time in the tough school […]