Archives For What I Learned From..

What I learned from Ben Trinh (Founder at Life Ready Physio & Pilates) and Demi Markogiannaki (Founder at WeTeachMe)

Camille Monce —  September 12, 2020 — Leave a comment

“I need to create space in my life for self-actualisation, to: (1) reflect; (2) define my core values; and (3) define the boundaries where I play.” – Ben Trinh

“Your values are what you believe about the world. Your values are the boundaries and the ethical convictions that you consider true in your world. They are not going to be true for everyone and don’t expect them to be as such; they are just true for you. These are the lines you won’t cross no matter how big your business gets.” – Ben Trinh

“What are the relationships immediately around you? Who do you bounce off and get energy from? Who do you share your problems with and do they deeply listen? These people are good first employees. They’re good for your first five employees because these people are the early doctors in your business. Our bookkeeper is a great example. When she came in through our doors she had never been a bookkeeper; she was a restaurant manager. But she said to me that she connected with our values, and wanted to be our bookkeeper. She was so clear in her vision that we hired her because you can train competencies but you cannot train character. Well.. you can.. it’s just a lot harder.” – Ben Trinh

“You will need hope and vision because you will need both resilience and grit when things get tough. It will give meaning to those moments when you feel like giving up and so I’d encourage you to piece together and deeply understand your vision, your passion, and your strengths. Have a tangible, descriptive picture of what the world looks like when the problem you’re solving is solved. It should be inspiring. It should be something that gets you out of bed every day. This is what will get you through the tough times.” – Ben Trinh

“Your business is your team; your clients; the people you surround with. A person by themselves do not make a business. Create a team around you that is based on your values and principles. When you say thank-you to the members of your team, anchor it in your values.” – Demi Markogiannaki

“Listen. Always listen. Identify what are the actual problems are that people have. Draw on their feedback and create a solution that will solve their issue. When we did that at WeTeachMe, I knew we were on the right path because people were willing to give money for the solution that I created.” – Demi Markogiannaki

“It’s never a good time and it’s never the right time. A lot of people approach me and tell me that they have an idea. Everyone has an idea. However, the person that wins is the person that executes the idea. In contrast, the person who over analyzes will one day turn 50 and they will still be analysing.” – Demi Markogiannaki

“It doesn’t matter how many books you read, or how much you think, or how many notebooks you fill with bullet points about the things you plan to do. The important thing is that you actually do something.” – Demi Markogiannaki

“In business, suffering is actually good. It’s what brings out the gems, it’s what builds character, it’s where you get your learnings, and it’s the way you humble yourself. So, I’d say in addition to hope, it’s about reframing our thinking around suffering.” – Ben Trinh

“I love what Demi said about listening and being an active listener. How can I listen better so that I draw out the key insights? And how do I fail and get through this as fast as I can, so that I can get the learning gems?” – Ben Trinh

“Jess and I were new graduates when we started the business and as new graduates, you know nothing. You have no shame asking for help because you come from a university environment where everyone needs to help each other so we had no shame asking for help and really latching on to feedback. We spent a lot of time reflecting and deepening our sense of self-awareness. You need the humility to be open-minded to other things and you also need to be an action person. It’s all great to be a philosopher and sit there and learn about the world, and how you’re terrible person or how you can be better, but if you don’t make your reflections a a tangibility in your life, then you’re not going be on that journey towards self-actualization.”  – Ben Trinh

With thanks to

Ben Trinh is the founder of Life Ready Physio & Pilates. Fresh out of university, Ben realised there was a fundamental problem in the physiotherapist’s business model. His solution has grown to 30 locations and over 300 employees in less than a decade.

Demi Markogiannaki is one of the founders of WeTeachMe. Demi worked with her co-founders to create a solution to help teachers find their students – but that wasn’t the solution they were looking for. After listening to their customers, WeTeachMe grew to become the go-to marketplace offering hundreds of classes to thousands of students.

About Masters Series by WeTeachMe

Masters Series is a show about inspiring entrepreneurs, creative thinkers, and visionary dreamers, and the stories behind how they built their companies.

Subscribe to show

Show brought to you by

Masters Series is presented by WeTeachMe.

Our strategic alliance partners: MYOB, SitePoint, and Entrepreneur’s Organization.

Our media partners: Startup Victoria and Digital Marketers Australia.

Our content partners: Written & Recorded.

The views expressed by the contributors on this show are linked websites that are not necessarily endorsed by the publisher.

Question of the day

What was your favourite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

In Active Listening, Advice, Character, Energy, Execution, Growth, Hope, Motivation, Relationships, Self-Actualisation, Self-Awareness, Values, Visioning, What I Learned From.., Women in Business
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What I learned from Kristen Holden (Startup Manager at MYOB)

Camille Monce —  September 8, 2020 — Leave a comment

“People need to stop overthinking. People come to me and have this big 12-month project that they have been working on and I think, “Why not try the market with a scrappy version, or why not build a basic website so you can test the idea?” People just get caught up in this bullshit idea that it’s got to be perfect before the world sees it.” – Kristen Holden

“Just get out there and do something! Don’t think about it too much. Build small versions you can and test out, start a Meetup group, get 20 people to give you feedback. Just test something and learn something.” – Kristen Holden

“The most important lessons I’ve learned come from things I’ve screwed up.” – Kristen Holden

“Own up to your mistakes. Admit that you screwed up. Put your hand up and say, “That was me.” Don’t be depressed or down about it; people screw up; it happens. No matter how big the failure is, it doesn’t matter. Just tell someone and have someone to talk to about it like a mentor, your partner, or your parents to talk it through. You’re not alone.” – Kristen Holden

With thanks to

Kristen Holden is the Startup Manager at MYOB where he helps founders to skill-up before they scale-up. He cut his teeth in digital marketing in the late 1990s before spamming was frowned upon and the holder of the most domain names controlled web traffic. Kristen explains the mistakes he made in his early career and describes his hopes for a new wave of startups.

About Masters Series by WeTeachMe

Masters Series is a show about inspiring entrepreneurs, creative thinkers, and visionary dreamers, and the stories behind how they built their companies.

Subscribe to show

Show brought to you by

Masters Series is presented by WeTeachMe.

Our strategic alliance partners: MYOB, SitePoint, and Entrepreneur’s Organization.

Our media partners: Startup Victoria and Digital Marketers Australia.

Our content partners: Written & Recorded.

The views expressed by the contributors on this show are linked websites that are not necessarily endorsed by the publisher.

Question of the day

What was your favourite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

In Advice, Customer Development, Failure, Fear, Perspective, Reality, What I Learned From..
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What I learned from Francesco Nazarri (Founder at Rooftop Cinema) and Thin Neu (Co-Director at Cupcake Central)

Camille Monce —  August 20, 2020 — Leave a comment

“It’s very really important that you feel your business, that you have an understanding of [yourself], your community, and network, and that you create your own network. For me, I’m a media person and I come from an events background, and that’s why I talk about my promoting; it’s because I learned how to hustle doing events. And then whilst studying media I learned the value of an audience and of a community, and how to commercialise that.” – Francesco Nazzari

“[On decision making and the fear of the regret of making a wrong decision], we’re always going to have regrets; I have heaps! But the commitment to a decision, and the making of a decision in itself is really powerful. Whether the decision is right or wrong, to learn from the decision is what’s really important. Don’t sit and stew or get stuck. Make the decision.” – Francesco Nazzari

“I failed accounting twice in university, and now I am responsible for all the finance in the business. Numbers drive the business’ action and strategy. I look at the numbers every single day; it’s what I need to look at to determine how the business performs, and my job is to decipher the numbers so that it tells a story. For example: Your cost of goods are running at 35%; what does that tell you? There is an inefficiency somewhere and you then start to dig deeper into those problems to answer questions like: (1) where are the inefficiencies?; (2) what is happening here?; and (3) could it be a problem caused by a supplier? Numbers drive everything.” – Thin Neu

“Pay for good advice early on. Sometimes you cheap out on advice, and it costs you more mistakes and more money in the future. For example: If I didn’t have a good lawyer helping me at the very beginning (who happens to be my best mate now), I’d be paying 10-20% more on my leases, and I would not know about fit-out contributions (where shopping centres give you money to help you build stores). Other examples include: (1) how do you reduce bank guarantees; and (2) how do you get your employment contracts right. Get good advice early on even if you need to pay a little bit more for it because it will save you more in the long run.” – Thin Neu

“One of my biggest personal drivers was borrowing that money from my parents. Once I did this, there was no possibility of failure in my head because there was no way I was going to lose the money. If you have to wake up at 4 am to do your job, you go do it. If you have to find innovative ways to draw more markets into your business, you go do that. Work on that higher purpose; it helps motivates you to get out of bed every single day, helps you take that next step, and helps take away the fear.” – Thin Neu

“I spend a lot of time with staff. Having a business is challenging in so many areas, but you have to dedicate time to work with the people in your business. You have to sit down and invest your time in your people because they are the one who help you run your business. I spend a lot of time with my staff and finding out what it is that they want, and what it is that they want to achieve, and then I find a way to help them achieve their goals and dreams. Hopefully those goals and dreams align with Cupcake Central.” – Thin Neu

With thanks to

Francesco Nazzari is the founder of Rooftop Cinema on the top of Curtin House in Melbourne’s CBD. Since 2003 Rooftop has been showing movies under the stars with the best views in town. Frunch shudders when he thinks about the moment in his mid-twenties that he called the city council to get a permit to show movies on the roof.

Thin Neu is the Co-Director of Cupcake Central, building a business is a bit like following a recipe. His advice is to have the right people in place to help you and never cheap out on getting good advice.

About Masters Series by WeTeachMe

Masters Series is a show about inspiring entrepreneurs, creative thinkers, and visionary dreamers, and the stories behind how they built their companies.

Subscribe to show

Show brought to you by

Masters Series is presented by WeTeachMe.

Our strategic alliance partners: MYOB, SitePoint, and Entrepreneur’s Organization.

Our media partners: Startup Victoria and Digital Marketers Australia.

Our content partners: Written & Recorded.

The views expressed by the contributors on this show are linked websites that are not necessarily endorsed by the publisher.

Question of the day

What was your favourite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

In Advice, Data, Failure, Fear, Finance, Metrics, Motivation, Network, Numbers, People, Self-Awareness, Staff, What I Learned From..
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What I learned from Georgia Beattie (CEO at Bulla Park and Past CEO at Startup Victoria) and Penelope Sattler (General Manager at Barnbougle Golf)

Camille Monce —  August 14, 2020 — Leave a comment

“[Business] is about your learning curve–how quickly you can learn–[and it’s also about] how that data driven can you be. The fine art of bring an entrepreneur is waking up everyday and challenging your biases. You have your vision, your personal and life dreams, and hard data points on whether issues are red flag, yellow flag or green flag i.e. what the issues with your staff, product or service are. Being able to grow and move past them is critical. When I learned how to do that, I saw big changes in my business.” – Georgia Beattie

“Dad is really good with wine and with production but the stuff that I was expanding, such as the IP, was different and “out of his house”. So I spent a lot of time with the startup community and had great mentors. The thing about startups is that everyone shares. You ask an entrepreneur, “What did you do in this situation?” or, “Can I have a coffee; I’ve got a problem?” and they will say, “Yep!” and then they will just give a complete download of how they solved a situation that was similar.” – Georgia Beattie

“For me it was really about being close to, and being around, the person I find the most inspiring in business; [my father]. My father is my mentor. It means that I can be around someone every day that can teach me so much, and [someone] who willing to teach and not hold back. He knows that I am family and [that] it is worth me knowing [what he knows].” – Penelope Sattler

“All the achievement and all the success that comes [to family businesses], you share with your family. And that’s such a huge thing. They are people who are fully invested in what you’re doing, and what they’re doing, and so being able to celebrate together is wonderful.” – Penelope Sattler

“I would say things like, “We are doing this!” and, “I’m gonna say this!” and a lot of it was rash. Dad would be my check-in. He’s a little more conservative and he’ll suggest, in a really gentle way, things like, “How about this?” or, “Have you thought about this?” [His] ease and grace was a big learning for me.” – Georgia Beattie

“I like pitching things to people and when they give me a funny face, I’ll know that I need to slightly change the pitch. It’s about getting [the idea] out there. You will find someone that has [relevant] experience and you will be able to learn a little bit more.” – Georgia Beattie

“The deeper you get into the business, the clearer it will be what your point of difference is.” – Georgia Beattie

“Family businesses are such a special thing and not everyone can have a family business because not all families get along. In a family business there’s trust, you know what you need to do, and you communicate in [many] other ways. It is such an amazing and special thing and shouldn’t be taken for granted. Bring all your different loves and skillsets into the business to contribute to it rather than just conforming to its past. Make sure you bring your diversity and new-generation ideas into it.” – Georgia Beattie

“In terms of the finances of the company–such as where the money comes from, and how cash flow works–there are things where you think you have it under control because you have a degree and you learned about it. But real life, it’s different.” – Penelope Sattler

With thanks to

Penelope Sattler is the General Manager of her family’s golf course – Barnbougle Golf, which has been voted as the Best Australian Golf Resort. Penelope really likes her family and says business rewards are even sweeter when shared with them.

Georgia Beattie got her start in her dad’s winemaking business before studying entrepreneurship and taking on the CEO role at Startup Victoria a few years ago. She’s now running her own business which is bringing startup skills and mentality to big corporate players. Georgia says one of the key benefits of working with family is the transparency and trust in management.

About Masters Series by WeTeachMe

Masters Series is a show about inspiring entrepreneurs, creative thinkers, and visionary dreamers, and the stories behind how they built their companies.

Subscribe to show

Show brought to you by

Masters Series is presented by WeTeachMe.

Our strategic alliance partners: MYOB, SitePoint, and Entrepreneur’s Organization.

Our media partners: Startup Victoria and Digital Marketers Australia.

Our content partners: Written & Recorded.

The views expressed by the contributors on this show are linked websites that are not necessarily endorsed by the publisher.

Question of the day

What was your favourite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

In Coaches, Contribution, Data, Differentiation, Family Business, Learning, Mentors, Metrics, Reality, Visioning, What I Learned From.., Women in Business
 permalink

What I learned from Ben Cohn (Co-Founder at TAXIBOX) and Ben Stickland (Founder at Alliance Software)

Camille Monce —  August 8, 2020 — Leave a comment

“Nothing in my last 7 years has been one major step. Everything has been tiny, tiny steps.” – Ben Cohn

“Starting a business with the view as to who will buy that business, or what industry is going to buy that business, is a really important point. This shapes the way you will to develop the business so that it eventually has a buyer.” – Ben Cohn

“The first-year and a half or two years were quite easy for me because I knew I only had to work really hard, and that it was just dependant on myself and my business partner. As the business grew, we got staff, we operated in 3 cities, and now we’ve got 49 full-time team members. People have things going on all the time in their lives, and you cannot carry all of that load. The interpersonal stuff that happens when dealing with people and work dynamics, I find it challenging.” – Ben Cohn

“As time goes on, the odds and the stakes are much, much higher. To be frank, I don’t find that it gets easier with time.” – Ben Cohn

“I’ve seen clients come in with a great idea and I desperately try to convince them to go and try to talk to their market. And they come back and say that they have talked to their market. And what they actually did was go to five people, who already like them, and said, “I’ve got a great idea. It’s going to be awesome. Do you like it?” and those people didn’t want to hurt their feelings and so the feedback they got was just rubbish. What the problem interview does is that it forces you to not show anything. It forces you to literally go to a group of people and just classify and prioritise the problem and just get a real sense of what is causing pain. If there is not pain in the market, it’s really hard to sell to.” – Ben Stickland

“Go and talk to people. Don’t just say, “I’ve got a great idea, I know my market, and I’m going to be determined.” That little phrase is highly correlated to losing lots of money. (Just on my experience and my observation.) Get out of the building. Talk to five customers with problem-solution interviews and in most cases, it will change your idea.” – Ben Stickland

“Really trust your gut instinct. We all have a very strong feeling in our gut as to who we really are and what we want to do in life. We get clouded by the expectation of what we should and shouldn’t do. Being in touch with your gut feeling as to what your calling is, and what you need to do, is a very powerful thing; it’s a very hard thing to do because there is so much noise around us.” – Ben Cohn

“I hire on culture; I do not hire on skill. In our business, we feel we can train anyone up. I hire for culture, and skill is secondary. There has to be an interpersonal connection.” – Ben Cohn

“The highest rate of success in tech startups is two people, not one, not three; and it’s people who have known each other for a lot of years, not people who have just met. Because when you know someone for years, you actually go into it knowing their faults and you don’t have unresolved expectations of them.” – Ben Stickland

With thanks to

Ben Cohn in a Co-Founder of TAXIBOX, the mobile self-storage solution that brings yellow cubes of joy to your front door. Ben did a lot of on-the-ground research to jumpstart his business. He explains his approach to making sure TAXIBOX customers always have a remarkable experience.

Ben Stickland is the Founder of Alliance Software and has spent a lot of time and money in the startup space. Ben says the first three years of business are like walking up a see-saw, then things start to level out and become a bit easier. He says he loves running experiments to see what’s going to work in his business.

About Masters Series by WeTeachMe

Masters Series is a show about inspiring entrepreneurs, creative thinkers, and visionary dreamers, and the stories behind how they built their companies.

Subscribe to show

Show brought to you by

Masters Series is presented by WeTeachMe.

Our strategic alliance partners: MYOB, SitePoint, and Entrepreneur’s Organization.

Our media partners: Startup Victoria and Digital Marketers Australia.

Our content partners: Written & Recorded.

The views expressed by the contributors on this show are linked websites that are not necessarily endorsed by the publisher.

Question of the day

What was your favourite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

In Business Partners, Culture, Customer Development, Exit Strategy, Failure, HR, Intuition, People, Resilience, Strategy, What I Learned From.., Work Ethic
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