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Speaker 1: Hi, I'm Britney Saunders and welcome to Big Business, the

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Speaker 1: place where business is far from boring.

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Speaker 2: And today I'm recording on gaddigul Land.

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Speaker 1: Now I somehow manage to build an empire from the

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Speaker 1: garage underneath my house, and I'm here to share it

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Speaker 1: all with you, from the winds, the mistakes, the challenging

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Speaker 1: times and the funny moments in between. So, whether you're

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Speaker 1: in business already, perhaps you're not in the game at all,

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Speaker 1: Maybe you're just looking for some inspo, or you simply

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Speaker 1: just want to hear the.

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Speaker 2: Tea, this is the podcast for you.

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Speaker 1: Coming up on today's episode, I am joined by Daniel

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Speaker 1: from Funday Lollies and you know what I love when

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Speaker 1: I get someone on the pod as a guest, when

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Speaker 1: I'm a genuine customer of the brand.

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Speaker 2: I can't begin to tell you how many.

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Speaker 1: Packets of fun Day I have bought, specifically at the

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Speaker 1: Twin Servos when I'm on my way down to Sydney

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Speaker 1: to record the pod. Daniel has turned a simple idea

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Speaker 1: into a household name after seeing a gap in the

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Speaker 1: market for lollies that were actually better for you with

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Speaker 1: no added sugar and no artificial nasties. He set out

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Speaker 1: to reimagine everyone's favorite treat. Fast forward to today and

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Speaker 1: his brand, Funday Lollies, is stocked nationwide, has built a

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Speaker 1: cult following, and is proving that lollies can be fun

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Speaker 1: and functional. Today, we're diving into how he took an

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Speaker 1: idea from concept to supermarket, shelves, the challenges of creating

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Speaker 1: a product people would genuinely love, and what it takes

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Speaker 1: to disrupt an industry as traditional as confectionery.

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Speaker 2: Daniel, Welcome to big business.

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Speaker 3: Thanks for having me, Brett.

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Speaker 2: Thanks for coming on. I love when we get founders

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Speaker 2: on that.

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Speaker 1: I'm actually like a customer and fan of I have

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Speaker 1: been buying your lollies for quite a long time. I

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Speaker 1: will say, I think the first time I the first

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Speaker 1: time I bought them, I think was online and I

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Speaker 1: bought like the big box of the strawberries and cream.

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Speaker 1: And then I think your team saw my name and

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Speaker 1: they gave me like a note and lots of extra goodies.

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Speaker 1: But I'm absolutely obsessed with fun day and that's what

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Speaker 1: we're going to be chatting about today.

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Speaker 2: And it's just super cool.

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Speaker 1: When like I genuinely love and support and then we

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Speaker 1: get the founders on and I'm like, this is a

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Speaker 1: match made in heaven. So talk to us about fun day.

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Speaker 1: Why did you get into lollies in particular, and was

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Speaker 1: that always the dream? How did it all come to be?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, well, first of all, like what a glowing intro.

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Speaker 3: Thank you, and so yeah, it feels awesome to know that,

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Speaker 3: like you know, you're buying it in a genuine time.

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Speaker 1: I'm at the server, I'm like, oh, yep, yep, I'm

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Speaker 1: always getting my strawberries and creams.

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Speaker 2: They're my favorite.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, no, thank you. I really appreciate that. The short

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Speaker 3: answer is I didn't really like grew up thinking I

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Speaker 3: was going to run like a confectionery business. I grew

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Speaker 3: up wanting to be in business, and I have a

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Speaker 3: huge passion for food, particularly sweets. Ye, and I guess

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Speaker 3: the idea of Funday didn't happen in a vacuum. It

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Speaker 3: started many years ago. Like at school, I was overweight

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Speaker 3: for most of my life and just used to eat

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Speaker 3: lots of lollies and lots of chocolates and all that.

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Speaker 3: And after school I realized, you know, being overweight was

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Speaker 3: not such a great thing and I need to start

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Speaker 3: taking care of myself. So I cut out all sugar

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Speaker 3: from my diet. I started exercising, I lost tons of weight,

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Speaker 3: felt the best that I ever felt. Went to UNI,

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Speaker 3: started working in a range of sort of different businesses.

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Speaker 3: I had this burning desire to still create my own business,

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Speaker 3: and I didn't know what it was like. I was

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Speaker 3: trying to force ideas all the time, and I was like,

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Speaker 3: is this it? I go home and speak to my

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Speaker 3: girlfriend and my wife now and be like, what do

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Speaker 3: you think about this?

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Speaker 2: What are some other ideas that you had back in

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Speaker 2: the day.

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Speaker 3: Oh, like I kin't even remember, like shocked, just shocking ideas,

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Speaker 3: like I just come home, like I drive and they'll

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Speaker 3: be like a pothole in the road. I was like,

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Speaker 3: I've got an idea, like I'm going to go sell

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Speaker 3: to counsels a way to quickly feel like just really

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Speaker 3: silly stuff, which who knows, may have become a.

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Speaker 2: Business, been a billion dollar idea and you'd let it go.

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Speaker 3: Yeah exactly. So over that time I sort of quitting

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Speaker 3: sugar and working professionally. I wasn't really eating lollies at all.

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Speaker 3: I dabbled in sugar free confectionery.

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Speaker 2: Which I feel like has like a bit of a

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Speaker 2: bad rep.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, sugar free lollies absolutely, chemist lollies.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, you're going to need to go to the toilet.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, And that's what happened to me. And I was like,

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Speaker 3: this is they taste good, but I'm feeling sick. This

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Speaker 3: is not a great solve for full sugar. So I

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Speaker 3: sort of set out on a bit of a mission

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Speaker 3: to figure out are there better ways to do it?

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Speaker 3: Can you replace the sugar and these sugar alcohols that

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Speaker 3: are in these sugar free products? And I realized that

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Speaker 3: you could, and you could sort of replace the sugar

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Speaker 3: alcohols with plant based fiber, like we use tapiocre and

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Speaker 3: chicory root fiber, which are rich in fiber, but they're

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Speaker 3: also like a little bit sweet as well, and they

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Speaker 3: set a gummy pretty close to a normal gummy too.

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Speaker 3: And so I started playing around in the kitchen, came

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Speaker 3: up and realized this, I actually have something.

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Speaker 1: This is revolutionary, like trialing it out at home to

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Speaker 1: can I make this myself?

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Speaker 3: Yep? Yeah?

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Speaker 2: Wow?

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Speaker 3: Like I love I did chemistry in year twelve. Like

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Speaker 3: I'm a FOODI like, I just like I don't consider

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Speaker 3: myself like super nerdy, but I love that aspect of

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Speaker 3: like food science, and I think it's the passion of

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Speaker 3: sort of having that scientific, analytical brain but also loving food.

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Speaker 3: And then that was it. Like I was all in

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Speaker 3: and I tried the first samples and I was like,

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Speaker 3: I'm quitting and I've had a great job. I was

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Speaker 3: getting paid tons, and I was like, I'm out. I'm

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Speaker 3: focusing on what was your role at the last role

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Speaker 3: that you had head of sales and marketing for a

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Speaker 3: vitamin and supplement business that was owned by the world's

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Speaker 3: largest vitamin and supplement company. And it was a great job,

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Speaker 3: great pay, had lots of control. But I was coming

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Speaker 3: home and I was like, this is just not fulfilling,

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Speaker 3: like there's something missing. And the day I made that switch,

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Speaker 3: like my stress levels went up, but I just was

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Speaker 3: still so happy.

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Speaker 2: Yeah. Wow, so you just quit your job and absolutely

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Speaker 2: went for it.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, well, I quit and then we went on honeymoon

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Speaker 3: for like two months, so that was really nice. But

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Speaker 3: while we're on honeymoon, I was like texting ingredients suppliers

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Speaker 3: and emailing and they're like, who are you. I was like,

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Speaker 3: just this random guy from Melbourne.

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Speaker 1: I my own Yeah, that's amazing, and so like what

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Speaker 1: did the launch of fun Day look like? Like how

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Speaker 1: many products did you have? You know, like were you

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Speaker 1: hiring a team in that process? Like what did the

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Speaker 1: business look like when it first launched?

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Speaker 3: So we first launched into launched online in March twenty one,

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Speaker 3: and then in April twenty one through chemist Warehouse.

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Speaker 2: Wow, that's really fast.

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Speaker 3: It was fast. I mean the online's not fast because

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Speaker 3: like it can happen. You can build a website quite quickly,

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Speaker 3: but like the chemist ware House thing was probably a

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Speaker 3: year in the making, and I would go there and

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Speaker 3: be like, you know, hypothetically, if I brought this concept

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Speaker 3: and it looked like this and it tasted like this,

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Speaker 3: would you be interested? And they were like, in theory,

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Speaker 3: sounds like a good idea, but like, prove to us

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Speaker 3: that you can make it taste, Like you're saying that

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Speaker 3: you can make it taste.

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Speaker 1: So it's like when you think of Chemist Warehouse, you

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Speaker 1: don't automatically think lollies, and if you do, it's like

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Speaker 1: the sugar free ones that make you go.

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Speaker 3: To the toy Yeah, but I think that was part

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Speaker 3: of the idea. People are used to buying those lollies there,

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Speaker 3: So let's provide a better option in that same setting,

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Speaker 3: just as fate would have it, no pun intended, like

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Speaker 3: we COVID happened within it was that that point really

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Speaker 3: and people were only going into pharmacy, so true. So

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Speaker 3: that was like a lot of luck on our side

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Speaker 3: in terms of like the channel that we aim to

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Speaker 3: go for. But because it would have been a year

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Speaker 3: in the making, like clear they didn't know about COVID,

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Speaker 3: like when I started doing it all and speaking in

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Speaker 3: a chemist ware house, but by the time it launched,

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Speaker 3: people were having outings to Chemists Warehouse because they You're like,

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Speaker 3: I'm need to go buy stuff because I can't go

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Speaker 3: anywhere else.

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Speaker 1: People were getting free money off the government, like I

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Speaker 1: could only go to the chemist and chemists warehouse is

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Speaker 1: that place that kind of has everything correct, So I

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Speaker 1: feel like that was like so I don't want to

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Speaker 1: say lucky.

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Speaker 3: For you, but I felt like it was lucky.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, Like that like what great timing totally for you

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Speaker 1: to be launching a new kind of not new category

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Speaker 1: but like disrupting the Lolly's category in chemist warehouse at

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Speaker 1: a time where that's where people.

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Speaker 3: Were going to hang out totally. But in answer to

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Speaker 3: your question like it was me. I'd hired about six

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Speaker 3: months before that point, a graphic designer from Melbourne and

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Speaker 3: I had like no money, so I put out an

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Speaker 3: ad on the UNI like message board or whatever it was.

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Speaker 3: I think it was like swim Burn or Deacon. I

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Speaker 3: can't remember. She'll kill me because she's still like our

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Speaker 3: head of creative. Now that's basically saying like I've got

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Speaker 3: no money, but like, can you want to do a

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Speaker 3: three month unpaid internship? It's like I sold the dream

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Speaker 3: and she was like, okay, I got nothing to lose.

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Speaker 3: She's in her final three months, and she said if

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Speaker 3: it works out after three months and we both like it,

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Speaker 3: can I get paid? And I was like yes, obviously. Wow.

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Speaker 3: And she was unbelievable. And so when you see a

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Speaker 3: funda packet, when you see a billboard, when you see

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Speaker 3: any out of home creative, like, it's all her. It's

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Speaker 3: the girl that came out of UNI amazing five and

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Speaker 3: a half years later. Wow.

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Speaker 1: I love her great career story like that, and it

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Speaker 1: just shows like you know, if you take a chance

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Speaker 1: on something, you never know like what might come of it?

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Speaker 3: One hundred percent?

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Speaker 1: Were there any massive lessons in those early days too many. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: I feel like that's actually a very hard question to

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Speaker 1: ask founders because everything is a lesson.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, it's probably the hardest. Like I've got two kids

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Speaker 3: now and I've got third on the way, and those

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Speaker 3: that first year of Funday is probably the most stressful

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Speaker 3: year I've ever had in my life, Like more so

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Speaker 3: than having children suddenly, you know, come into your lives

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Speaker 3: and things like that. I just think the product pressure

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Speaker 3: you've got now got customers buying product, paying money, so

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Speaker 3: they have expectations, rightfully so about what the product should

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Speaker 3: look like, taste like, feel like, consistency, et cetera. You've

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Speaker 3: got financial pressures because we were not making any genuine

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Speaker 3: profit in your one. In fact, we lost money in

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Speaker 3: you one, which I.

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Speaker 1: Think is a lot of things that founders might be

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Speaker 1: faced within those early days because especially you know, on

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Speaker 1: social media and everything, it all looks glitz and glam

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Speaker 1: and amazing and whatever, but like the reality of it,

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Speaker 1: it's like, you're gonna have no money.

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Speaker 3: One hundred. I don't know anyone that started a business,

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Speaker 3: successful or unsuccessful, that have made any profit in ye

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Speaker 3: one and have been able to pay themselves. Like it

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Speaker 3: just doesn't typically work that way. You have to invest

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Speaker 3: every dollar back into the business to grow the business.

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Speaker 3: Like you've got that you need that capital to buy

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Speaker 3: more stock, or you need the capital to go and

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Speaker 3: buy more Facebook ads or whatever it is. Like you

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Speaker 3: always cash is king, and so that sort of pressure

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Speaker 3: like led to a lot of sleepless nights. And I

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Speaker 3: think in year one, you have no track records. So

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Speaker 3: I was speaking to like all the banks, and I

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Speaker 3: was speaking to even second tier lenders, and they were saying, yeah,

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Speaker 3: like we can give you some money, but it's going

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Speaker 3: to be like twenty percent interest. And I was like,

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Speaker 3: I'm going to go out of business if I take

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Speaker 3: this deal. So I was lucky enough that I could

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Speaker 3: sort of raise a little bit of cash from like

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Speaker 3: friends and family to help through year one, and then

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Speaker 3: the beginning of year two, we actually got one of

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Speaker 3: the major banks to help us in basically buy stock

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Speaker 3: in advance. There was a bit of a facility that said,

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Speaker 3: we know that you've now got these good contracts, you

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Speaker 3: need to buy stock. Otherwise, if you don't know the

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Speaker 3: stuck you can't make the sale sort of chicken and

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Speaker 3: egg scenario. And that then enabled us to actually buy

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Speaker 3: the stock, say yes to customers who wanted to place orders.

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Speaker 3: The financial pressure didn't go away like it actually just

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Speaker 3: increased because you now got more on the line. And

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Speaker 3: my house, like with my wife and I had bought

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Speaker 3: was security. So if the business went to shit, like

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Speaker 3: we lost the house. So there's a lot of like that.

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Speaker 3: And then you're growing a team slowly, like one or

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Speaker 3: two people come on and you know, they've got lives

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Speaker 3: and they've got expectations and they need money and so

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Speaker 3: just you know, like every founder's been through that, and

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Speaker 3: it's really tricky.

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Speaker 2: It's a lot.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, what would you say was one of the biggest

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Speaker 1: drivers in getting sales in the early days because I

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Speaker 1: always say it's one thing to have a great product,

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Speaker 1: but what would you say is like sorry, what would

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Speaker 1: you say was one of the driving forces behind like.

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Speaker 2: Getting fun day off the ground? Was it ads? Was

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Speaker 2: it paid ads?

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Speaker 1: Was it being in chemist where us and being visible

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Speaker 1: to people or did you dabble in influencer marketing?

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Speaker 2: Was it a mix of everything?

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Speaker 3: It's a good question. I think it was a mix

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Speaker 3: of everything. So online was obviously the best place to

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Speaker 3: start because in such an early stage of business, when

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Speaker 3: you don't have national retail footprint like we have now,

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Speaker 3: accessibility of your product is the biggest challenge for customers.

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Speaker 3: Like they're walking down the street, they go past ten supermarkets,

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Speaker 3: you're not there, they pick up something else. So having

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Speaker 3: online allows you instantly to have national reach, So it's

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Speaker 3: a no brainer. And then on the back of that

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Speaker 3: you can do like awareness ads. You can obviously run

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Speaker 3: conversion ads. I remember in our first month we did

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Speaker 3: like three or four thousand dollars in the month, and

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Speaker 3: I thought that was like unbelievable.

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Speaker 2: So it is where you just get to see it is, but.

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Speaker 3: It's all relative, and I think that's part of the journey.

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Speaker 3: When you look at back to when you started, your

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Speaker 3: measure of success just changes over time. Like every month

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Speaker 3: it's like, oh, we's had a record month, and then

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Speaker 3: that becomes the norm, and then the next month, if

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Speaker 3: you don't hit that, you think you're a failure, but

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Speaker 3: actually you're yeah, so and then obviously retail unlocks a

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Speaker 3: lot Like retail I think is the secret source for

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Speaker 3: a lot of brands product led businesses because eighty ninety

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Speaker 3: percent of customers are buying in our case, confectionery in retail,

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Speaker 3: So if you're not there eighty ninety percent of the time,

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Speaker 3: you're missing out an eighty ninety percent of the opportunity

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Speaker 3: to sell to that customer. So unlocking retail in combination

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Speaker 3: with online was I think the recipe that works, and

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Speaker 3: I've seen a lot of other businesses and brands, particularly

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Speaker 3: consumer try to do that, and definitely the ones in

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Speaker 3: retail work out better. In saying that, there are challenges,

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Speaker 3: like there were pricing challenges, There are like you know,

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Speaker 3: reasons why You've got to answer the question for the

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Speaker 3: customer like why would you buy online versus in store?

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Speaker 3: If a retailer might be on promotion, like what value

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Speaker 3: are you going to add? So you have to really

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Speaker 3: dig deep and think about the customer and really ask

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Speaker 3: them like why are you buying from us? Like what's

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Speaker 3: the value to you? And making sure you're delivering on that.

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Speaker 3: And then the influencer stuff was it's how we launched

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Speaker 3: and how we still do most of our marketing. To

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Speaker 3: be honest, what kind.

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Speaker 2: Of influences are you working with?

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Speaker 3: Why At the time when I started, it was anyone

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Speaker 3: that would respond because it was just myself on Instagram

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Speaker 3: with like people, well, yeah, and I figured, like I

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Speaker 3: changed my name to Danny like da and I and

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Speaker 3: I thought maybe people respond to me differently if I'm female.

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Speaker 3: I don't know.

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Speaker 2: We've had quite a.

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Speaker 1: Few people on it and they say that like they

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Speaker 1: would all create like a second email, tend to be

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Speaker 1: someone else on the team.

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Speaker 3: I've set up like PR at Funday Sweets before because

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Speaker 3: we've got a PR department. Like I set up finance

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Speaker 3: when there was no one in finance, but it was

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Speaker 3: just I would get it all and signed off it.

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Speaker 2: You just fake it, do you make it?

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Speaker 1: Yeah?

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Speaker 3: Actually the best story was we were going out to

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Speaker 3: find suppliers and I had to feel like we were

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Speaker 3: or make it seem like we're a genuine business. So

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Speaker 3: I went to go get a po box. But a

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Speaker 3: po box is not very bougie like it's it's like

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Speaker 3: you don't have an address. So for thirty dollars for

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Speaker 3: the year, you could call it a sweet. So I

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Speaker 3: paid the thirty dollars. Now we're like Sweet in brand,

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Speaker 3: but it's just people go there, and it's just that

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Speaker 3: I was post with the po box. Now we have

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Speaker 3: an office, but still like people still go there. So

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Speaker 3: you just got to be really creative in the way

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Speaker 3: that you do that. But I think the influencer stuff

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Speaker 3: like anyone that would respond. My wife and I, she

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Speaker 3: was probably six months pregnant at the time. We were

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Speaker 3: on the floor packing influencer boxes, breaking our fingers like

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Speaker 3: folding the cardboard boxes. But it was always really important

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Speaker 3: to us that whatever we sent out was great, Like

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Speaker 3: it wasn't a second tier shitty effort just slaps some

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Speaker 3: stuff together. It was a handwritten card, genuine thought. We

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Speaker 3: bought nice stuff because we figured all these influencers, they're

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Speaker 3: receiving stuff all the time, how do we separate ourselves. Yes,

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Speaker 3: lollies is like pretty good thing to receive, but what

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Speaker 3: else are we going to do to elevate the experience?

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Speaker 3: That same mentality continues on to today and we work

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Speaker 3: withs of influencers every month. All of our merchs top tier.

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Speaker 3: Like if we're going to do what, we do it properly.

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Speaker 3: But it wasn't always We've dabbled in like shitty stuff

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Speaker 3: to see if we could cut costs, but it just

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Speaker 3: doesn't work.

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Speaker 2: Quality is key, people.

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Speaker 1: What would be your advice to anyone out there who

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Speaker 1: is wanting to step into influence and marketing for the

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Speaker 1: first time, and maybe they just have no idea what

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Speaker 1: to do.

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Speaker 3: I feel like you're a better place to answer, But

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Speaker 3: what do you think about that?

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Speaker 1: Yeah, my advice on that not that this is my

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Speaker 1: episode or anything. Okay. I like your comment about, you know,

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Speaker 1: making it personal or adding a little touch, because you know,

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Speaker 1: there are so many influencers out there now who are

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Speaker 1: working with so many brands, you know, every week, and

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Speaker 1: they're getting those parcels every single day.

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Speaker 2: How can you make yourself stand out?

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Speaker 1: And I also think it's important to build relationships with

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Speaker 1: the influencers that you're wanting to work with.

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Speaker 2: You know, back in my day, it.

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Speaker 1: Was you know, you'd work with the brand, they'd send

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Speaker 1: you a parcelor, you do the sponsored post, and that

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Speaker 1: was it, and like you do that all the time.

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Speaker 1: But I think as businesses and brands and founders, if

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Speaker 1: we can take time to like establish good relationships with

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Speaker 1: influencers and have it be more than just paying them

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Speaker 1: once or giving them free product for that one post,

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Speaker 1: I think that's going to go a really long way.

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Speaker 1: And I also think my advice to founders out there

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Speaker 1: would be align yourself with creators who genuinely fit your brand.

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Speaker 1: Don't just look at someone and be like, oh, they've

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Speaker 1: got two hundred thousand followers, I want to work with them.

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Speaker 1: Maybe it was fine for you back in the day,

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Speaker 1: you know, just work with whoever would get back to you.

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Speaker 1: But I think, especially now, like in twenty twenty five,

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Speaker 1: it's important to just align yourself with creators that suit

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Speaker 1: your brand.

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Speaker 2: There's like so much.

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Speaker 1: Stigma I think still around influencer marketing and people like

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Speaker 1: I hate ads, but I think if you can do

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Speaker 1: it in a really creative and fun way, it can

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Speaker 1: pay off, like massively. And my other piece of advice

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Speaker 1: would be trust that creators know what they're doing, because

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Speaker 1: because a lot of brands can have really tight like

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Speaker 1: briefs and brand guidelines, which of course we need to have,

403
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Speaker 1: but I think we need to try the authenticity. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: so that would be my other piece of advice. But

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Speaker 1: that was your question.

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Speaker 3: I agree with all that.

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Speaker 2: Nice.

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Speaker 1: Well, we're on the same page with that one.

409
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Speaker 2: Now.

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Speaker 1: I want to talk about your Red Frogs and the

411
00:18:26,200 --> 00:18:29,959
Speaker 1: sour limited edition because a little Birdie told me that

412
00:18:30,040 --> 00:18:33,240
Speaker 1: once upon a time you ordered way too many Red Frogs.

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Speaker 3: What happened, Yes, so running a product business, particularly food

414
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Speaker 3: that has a shelf life, is very difficult when the

415
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Speaker 3: business is scaling, like you know, particularly lee times. We

416
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Speaker 3: can have Lee times of between three and six months,

417
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Speaker 3: which means we need to know now in six months,

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Speaker 3: how many red frogs you need, and you're gaining accounts,

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Speaker 3: you're losing potentially accounts You're dont know, Like there is

420
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Speaker 3: a million things that can happen in six months. So

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Speaker 3: the forecasting of products and demand planning becomes a hugely

422
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Speaker 3: critical role.

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Speaker 2: How do you full cast that kind of stuff in

424
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Speaker 2: your industry?

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Speaker 3: Well, now it's really tricky because like we still make

426
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Speaker 3: mistakes all the time.

427
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Speaker 1: Me too, Yeah, I don't know it are enough Geenes?

428
00:19:20,040 --> 00:19:21,480
Speaker 1: I ordered too many of this top?

429
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Speaker 3: What's his fine balance between? You know? And I think

430
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Speaker 3: the benefit of not saying like Genes is easier, but

431
00:19:27,119 --> 00:19:30,560
Speaker 3: like Jeanes don't go off, but saying that the style,

432
00:19:30,680 --> 00:19:33,920
Speaker 3: the style, can you know, and like you've got arguably

433
00:19:33,960 --> 00:19:37,040
Speaker 3: more way more variants and sizes and so you know

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Speaker 3: the risk for like a fashion business is to hold

435
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Speaker 3: too much inventory because you've got so many SKUs. We've

436
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Speaker 3: got less than twenty, you probably have twenty in like

437
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Speaker 3: one style.

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Speaker 2: We got like eleven sizes.

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Speaker 3: So you've got your two SKUs. Your two products already

440
00:19:51,600 --> 00:19:52,199
Speaker 3: have more SKUs in.

441
00:19:52,160 --> 00:19:54,600
Speaker 2: Our entime business twenty that sounds really.

442
00:19:54,920 --> 00:19:57,760
Speaker 3: A dream, but our expire. So if we don't sell

443
00:19:57,800 --> 00:20:01,440
Speaker 3: it so true, dump it or discount it or so

444
00:20:01,760 --> 00:20:04,920
Speaker 3: there's no perfect scenario. And how do we do it?

445
00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:08,560
Speaker 3: We I hire like excellent people that know how to

446
00:20:08,560 --> 00:20:10,920
Speaker 3: do it far better than I do. We now the

447
00:20:10,960 --> 00:20:13,840
Speaker 3: business is at a stage. I know the questions about

448
00:20:13,840 --> 00:20:16,399
Speaker 3: the Red Frogs. I'm getting there. But like we you know,

449
00:20:16,440 --> 00:20:20,960
Speaker 3: we have sources like ice edi I sources with Coals

450
00:20:20,960 --> 00:20:24,080
Speaker 3: and Wolworths and businesses. We can actually track how many

451
00:20:24,119 --> 00:20:26,320
Speaker 3: sales are making on a daily basis of the promotion.

452
00:20:26,880 --> 00:20:28,719
Speaker 3: So you can sort of work out, based on your

453
00:20:28,760 --> 00:20:31,639
Speaker 3: promotional schedule, how many frogs are you going to go

454
00:20:31,640 --> 00:20:34,080
Speaker 3: through over the next six months. Yeah, like huge spreadsheets

455
00:20:34,080 --> 00:20:38,280
Speaker 3: sort of thing. But the Red Frogs was probably two

456
00:20:38,320 --> 00:20:41,560
Speaker 3: years ago now, the first time it happened, and I

457
00:20:41,600 --> 00:20:44,919
Speaker 3: think there was something like fifty thousand bags equivalent of

458
00:20:44,960 --> 00:20:48,720
Speaker 3: red frogs coming into the country and we didn't need them.

459
00:20:48,800 --> 00:20:51,119
Speaker 3: And if you don't need them, they're just kind of

460
00:20:51,200 --> 00:20:57,280
Speaker 3: go off like, so I decided that, like, rather than

461
00:20:57,400 --> 00:21:01,000
Speaker 3: dumping them, let's coat them in our sour coating, because

462
00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:02,560
Speaker 3: we have the sour for our peach Hearts at the

463
00:21:02,560 --> 00:21:05,119
Speaker 3: time and our sour Bears. I asked the manufacturers, like,

464
00:21:05,160 --> 00:21:07,600
Speaker 3: could we when they come off the line, could you

465
00:21:07,640 --> 00:21:10,119
Speaker 3: just put them in the other machine separate them? And

466
00:21:10,119 --> 00:21:11,960
Speaker 3: they're like, yeah, that's fine. They charged us a little

467
00:21:11,960 --> 00:21:13,760
Speaker 3: bit more and whatever, but they did it, and I

468
00:21:13,800 --> 00:21:15,200
Speaker 3: was like, cool, Now what I do with it?

469
00:21:15,520 --> 00:21:17,840
Speaker 1: Then make up like packaging for the sour one. Yeah,

470
00:21:17,960 --> 00:21:20,520
Speaker 1: then if you lose the packaging that you may, well you.

471
00:21:20,480 --> 00:21:22,640
Speaker 3: Can use the same packaging for like the next run.

472
00:21:22,760 --> 00:21:24,240
Speaker 2: So true, you just held onto that.

473
00:21:24,320 --> 00:21:27,560
Speaker 3: Held on to that, went to a digital printer, and

474
00:21:27,600 --> 00:21:33,520
Speaker 3: they printed us a limited edition Sour Frogs packet and

475
00:21:33,600 --> 00:21:35,560
Speaker 3: I was like great. I was in I should have

476
00:21:35,600 --> 00:21:38,399
Speaker 3: explained that, Like I was thinking, how we're going to

477
00:21:38,440 --> 00:21:41,280
Speaker 3: sell these, Let's make limited edition often does quite well.

478
00:21:41,320 --> 00:21:44,280
Speaker 3: There's a lot of novelty, it's exciting. So we got

479
00:21:44,280 --> 00:21:48,119
Speaker 3: the film done, launched it as like this genius limited edition.

480
00:21:49,040 --> 00:21:51,520
Speaker 3: I think we sold like thirty thousand bags in the

481
00:21:51,560 --> 00:21:54,960
Speaker 3: first like six weeks, and so by the end of

482
00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:59,159
Speaker 3: it all. I think we just recovered the money but

483
00:21:59,240 --> 00:22:02,640
Speaker 3: didn't lose anything. But the interesting thing was that over

484
00:22:02,680 --> 00:22:04,240
Speaker 3: the course of the last couple of years, when that

485
00:22:04,400 --> 00:22:07,400
Speaker 3: sold out, a lot of our socials people like, bring

486
00:22:07,400 --> 00:22:09,720
Speaker 3: back this our frogs, bring back this our frogs. So

487
00:22:09,760 --> 00:22:12,800
Speaker 3: we've just re released it. But we did it because

488
00:22:12,840 --> 00:22:15,159
Speaker 3: we also over ordered a little bit too much and

489
00:22:15,280 --> 00:22:17,680
Speaker 3: so done. We're just done it again.

490
00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:22,359
Speaker 2: Again, this famous Sala frogs. I definitely didn't fuck up.

491
00:22:23,400 --> 00:22:26,440
Speaker 3: And actually, like I don't know if it's widely known,

492
00:22:26,480 --> 00:22:28,000
Speaker 3: but I did the same thing, or we did the

493
00:22:28,040 --> 00:22:30,760
Speaker 3: same thing with our fruity bears back in the day.

494
00:22:31,040 --> 00:22:33,760
Speaker 3: They don't exist anymore, but freeze drying was like a

495
00:22:33,760 --> 00:22:36,160
Speaker 3: big thing yeap of candy. It still is a bit,

496
00:22:36,200 --> 00:22:37,880
Speaker 3: but on TikTok one night I was leaving in about

497
00:22:37,920 --> 00:22:39,520
Speaker 3: math was like midnight, was like, I don't know what

498
00:22:39,560 --> 00:22:42,840
Speaker 3: I'm going to do with all these products, And I

499
00:22:42,880 --> 00:22:46,040
Speaker 3: went on LinkedIn. I found a freeze drying business in

500
00:22:46,080 --> 00:22:48,480
Speaker 3: Australia and I said like, can I send you some

501
00:22:48,600 --> 00:22:50,280
Speaker 3: and you can do it freeze drive and then send

502
00:22:50,320 --> 00:22:52,439
Speaker 3: it back and if it's good, I can give you some.

503
00:22:52,920 --> 00:22:54,560
Speaker 3: And he sent it back in all these like crunchy

504
00:22:54,600 --> 00:22:57,119
Speaker 3: gummy bears and they were like pretty good. So I

505
00:22:57,200 --> 00:23:00,200
Speaker 3: ended up launching a limited edition freeze dried tell me

506
00:23:00,280 --> 00:23:02,920
Speaker 3: as first five health star rated you know, freestride product

507
00:23:02,960 --> 00:23:06,920
Speaker 3: ever in the world. It was okay, I won't do

508
00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:07,320
Speaker 3: it again.

509
00:23:09,040 --> 00:23:09,600
Speaker 2: I love that.

510
00:23:09,920 --> 00:23:12,679
Speaker 1: I think that's like a testament to you because a

511
00:23:12,720 --> 00:23:15,880
Speaker 1: lot of people and like founders, they'll find themselves in

512
00:23:15,920 --> 00:23:19,720
Speaker 1: that kind of position many times over the years. And

513
00:23:19,760 --> 00:23:23,760
Speaker 1: I think as a founder you can absolutely let that,

514
00:23:24,080 --> 00:23:25,400
Speaker 1: you know, get you down and.

515
00:23:25,320 --> 00:23:28,160
Speaker 2: Go, I've fucked up, but this is it. Shut down.

516
00:23:28,280 --> 00:23:30,000
Speaker 1: You know, you have those moments, but I think you

517
00:23:30,160 --> 00:23:33,000
Speaker 1: need to be able to pivot in a moment like

518
00:23:33,040 --> 00:23:36,080
Speaker 1: that and just think outside the box. And I think

519
00:23:36,200 --> 00:23:40,000
Speaker 1: you just turning those into limited edition So red Frogs

520
00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:40,479
Speaker 1: is hilarious.

521
00:23:40,480 --> 00:23:43,520
Speaker 2: I'm on your website right now. Yeah, the banner red

522
00:23:43,560 --> 00:23:45,719
Speaker 2: Frogs are back in there undercover.

523
00:23:45,480 --> 00:23:47,200
Speaker 3: Should you say done? Your fucked up again?

524
00:23:48,200 --> 00:23:49,880
Speaker 1: And you know what, like that could be another thing

525
00:23:49,920 --> 00:23:52,639
Speaker 1: too in the future if it ever happens again. I

526
00:23:52,680 --> 00:23:56,160
Speaker 1: think your community would find that hilarious if you even

527
00:23:56,240 --> 00:23:59,120
Speaker 1: told them about your mistake, because like the mistakes I've

528
00:23:59,119 --> 00:24:00,880
Speaker 1: made over the years, and then we've made videos about

529
00:24:00,880 --> 00:24:04,280
Speaker 1: it and whatever, Like we screwed up some course at

530
00:24:04,440 --> 00:24:07,520
Speaker 1: top one tops one time and they arrived at the warehouse.

531
00:24:07,560 --> 00:24:09,280
Speaker 1: I was like, I can't sell these because like I

532
00:24:09,320 --> 00:24:12,240
Speaker 1: can't sell something if it's not like amazing, And so

533
00:24:12,280 --> 00:24:13,680
Speaker 1: I just made this video being.

534
00:24:13,520 --> 00:24:15,320
Speaker 2: Like I have fucked up these tops.

535
00:24:16,480 --> 00:24:18,720
Speaker 1: I'm just going to put them in orders, like if

536
00:24:18,720 --> 00:24:20,840
Speaker 1: someone's ordered another top, I'll just put it in there.

537
00:24:21,040 --> 00:24:22,160
Speaker 2: The video blew up.

538
00:24:22,200 --> 00:24:24,639
Speaker 1: Everyone wanted one of these free tops, and it turned

539
00:24:24,640 --> 00:24:27,360
Speaker 1: to this massive spite and people will also like, thank

540
00:24:27,400 --> 00:24:29,840
Speaker 1: you so much for being so honest and just showing

541
00:24:29,880 --> 00:24:32,640
Speaker 1: that reality of like not everything is perfect.

542
00:24:32,359 --> 00:24:34,280
Speaker 3: At all time. I think it's nice for customers to

543
00:24:34,320 --> 00:24:36,879
Speaker 3: see what happens inside of a business, like because I

544
00:24:36,920 --> 00:24:39,000
Speaker 3: know a lot of customers would think everything's perfect and

545
00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:41,360
Speaker 3: you're making all this money and everything is so wonderful,

546
00:24:41,359 --> 00:24:44,040
Speaker 3: but it's very rarely the case that's actually what's happening.

547
00:24:44,160 --> 00:24:45,840
Speaker 1: No, things are going wrong all the time, all the time.

548
00:24:47,040 --> 00:24:48,880
Speaker 1: I love getting other owners on here. I'm like, yeah,

549
00:24:48,920 --> 00:24:51,960
Speaker 1: you get what I'm talking about. How big is your team?

550
00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:56,919
Speaker 3: Now? We are twenty five now and you're in Melbourne.

551
00:24:57,040 --> 00:24:59,320
Speaker 3: In Melbourne we've got a couple of stuff between Sydney

552
00:24:59,600 --> 00:25:03,760
Speaker 3: and parts of Queensland. But I feel like we're had

553
00:25:03,760 --> 00:25:04,399
Speaker 3: a good size.

554
00:25:04,680 --> 00:25:07,800
Speaker 2: Yeah that sounds nice. Yeah, what are you seventy?

555
00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:12,320
Speaker 3: Yeah? Yeah? How many is head office first warehouse though in.

556
00:25:12,320 --> 00:25:14,920
Speaker 1: The head office I think there might be like thirteen, okay,

557
00:25:14,960 --> 00:25:18,800
Speaker 1: and then warehouse maybe fifteen to twenty.

558
00:25:19,040 --> 00:25:20,240
Speaker 2: And we've got casuals for the.

559
00:25:20,160 --> 00:25:23,920
Speaker 1: First time ever, you've got staff in retail, and retail

560
00:25:23,920 --> 00:25:26,000
Speaker 1: makes up the most, like because you've got to have

561
00:25:26,040 --> 00:25:28,920
Speaker 1: those teams and you've got to have the casuals and yeah,

562
00:25:28,960 --> 00:25:32,000
Speaker 1: so retail makes up like the majority of the team.

563
00:25:32,080 --> 00:25:35,359
Speaker 3: Yeah, so you're you've got a far more complicated HR

564
00:25:35,880 --> 00:25:38,840
Speaker 3: structure than we do, like ours are all essentially head

565
00:25:38,840 --> 00:25:44,159
Speaker 3: office based. Ye, but yeah, like we I think we

566
00:25:44,240 --> 00:25:47,720
Speaker 3: have an excellent team and an excellent team culture, and

567
00:25:47,760 --> 00:25:50,119
Speaker 3: it's really nice. I actually took the team. We had

568
00:25:50,119 --> 00:25:53,679
Speaker 3: a really great f I twenty five, and I didn't

569
00:25:53,720 --> 00:25:57,240
Speaker 3: know what to do to thank everyone because like everyone's

570
00:25:57,280 --> 00:26:01,480
Speaker 3: worked incredibly hard and ever since we started, and every

571
00:26:01,560 --> 00:26:03,960
Speaker 3: year you'd gradually get a few more staff. This thing

572
00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:08,800
Speaker 3: about like going somewhere to celebrate NUSA like always came

573
00:26:08,920 --> 00:26:12,560
Speaker 3: up as this like joke celebration. Yeah, and I don't

574
00:26:12,600 --> 00:26:15,639
Speaker 3: know why. So I booked everyone to go to NUSA,

575
00:26:15,800 --> 00:26:17,840
Speaker 3: Like there was twenty five of us. We jumped on

576
00:26:17,840 --> 00:26:20,760
Speaker 3: a plane, stayed at like a really nice hotel in News.

577
00:26:20,800 --> 00:26:23,600
Speaker 3: I went for dinners, went for walks like guided breathing

578
00:26:23,600 --> 00:26:26,480
Speaker 3: and meditation. It was actually so nice. It was yeah,

579
00:26:26,640 --> 00:26:29,679
Speaker 3: two nights, three days. Everyone left their families and their

580
00:26:29,760 --> 00:26:31,960
Speaker 3: kids and whatever, and everyone was just fully focused on

581
00:26:31,960 --> 00:26:34,800
Speaker 3: the team and it was just such a nice It's

582
00:26:34,800 --> 00:26:36,760
Speaker 3: probably my Fate, like probably my highlight.

583
00:26:36,800 --> 00:26:37,480
Speaker 2: Was that this year.

584
00:26:37,600 --> 00:26:42,760
Speaker 3: It was just yeah, July, how yeah, next time.

585
00:26:42,760 --> 00:26:45,840
Speaker 2: I'm an ambassador next time. I think that's really nice.

586
00:26:45,880 --> 00:26:48,760
Speaker 1: And I think I think that's like one of the

587
00:26:48,800 --> 00:26:51,879
Speaker 1: advantages of like being a small Earth business is like

588
00:26:51,960 --> 00:26:54,479
Speaker 1: being able to do things like that. And I remember,

589
00:26:54,720 --> 00:26:58,560
Speaker 1: you know, when Fate was kind of more around the

590
00:26:58,600 --> 00:27:01,119
Speaker 1: same size as you, for example, and like we maybe

591
00:27:01,119 --> 00:27:03,640
Speaker 1: only had like our one retail store. Like I got

592
00:27:03,680 --> 00:27:05,960
Speaker 1: to do things like that, like for our Christmas parties

593
00:27:05,960 --> 00:27:07,960
Speaker 1: because we were kind of small, like less than twenty

594
00:27:08,320 --> 00:27:09,040
Speaker 1: you know, like.

595
00:27:09,040 --> 00:27:11,119
Speaker 3: A couple of ubers and everyone somewhere around.

596
00:27:11,200 --> 00:27:14,080
Speaker 1: Yeah, and like we would you know, close down our

597
00:27:14,080 --> 00:27:15,720
Speaker 1: one store for the weekend because that was the only

598
00:27:15,760 --> 00:27:17,280
Speaker 1: store that we had kind of thing, and then we'd

599
00:27:17,320 --> 00:27:19,320
Speaker 1: bring everyone to Sydney and put everyone in a hotel

600
00:27:19,320 --> 00:27:21,479
Speaker 1: and then go out on a boat. But now like

601
00:27:21,560 --> 00:27:23,920
Speaker 1: the company's big and we've got people in all different states,

602
00:27:24,280 --> 00:27:25,560
Speaker 1: so now it's like, hey, you've got to do your

603
00:27:25,600 --> 00:27:26,440
Speaker 1: Christmas dinner.

604
00:27:26,240 --> 00:27:28,240
Speaker 2: Here, and you've got to do that activity there.

605
00:27:28,720 --> 00:27:31,120
Speaker 1: And then another really interesting part of it as well

606
00:27:31,240 --> 00:27:34,040
Speaker 1: is going from that team that's kind of all together

607
00:27:34,200 --> 00:27:37,280
Speaker 1: to then a broken up team. I then deal with like,

608
00:27:38,040 --> 00:27:40,000
Speaker 1: if we do this with the head office stuff, then

609
00:27:40,080 --> 00:27:41,879
Speaker 1: are the retail team canna be like, why didn't we

610
00:27:41,920 --> 00:27:44,560
Speaker 1: get to do that? So it's like another interesting challenge

611
00:27:44,560 --> 00:27:47,119
Speaker 1: more of like a mental challenge, and to be okay

612
00:27:47,200 --> 00:27:49,680
Speaker 1: with not everyone can do everything anymore.

613
00:27:49,680 --> 00:27:51,920
Speaker 2: When your business gets to that certain size, I ask

614
00:27:51,960 --> 00:27:53,080
Speaker 2: you a question, Yeah.

615
00:27:52,880 --> 00:27:56,160
Speaker 3: How do you then manage the culture between Like you've

616
00:27:56,160 --> 00:27:58,240
Speaker 3: obviously had this idea for the culture that you want

617
00:27:58,280 --> 00:28:00,920
Speaker 3: at Fate, and you obviously probably primarily do that in

618
00:28:00,960 --> 00:28:03,240
Speaker 3: the head office where you're based probably most of the time.

619
00:28:03,600 --> 00:28:06,680
Speaker 3: How do you ensure that that culture of your Fate

620
00:28:07,280 --> 00:28:12,160
Speaker 3: exists across everywhere that you're located, because we've also started

621
00:28:12,520 --> 00:28:14,520
Speaker 3: getting people in Sydney and people in Brisbane and we

622
00:28:14,600 --> 00:28:17,199
Speaker 3: fly at them down but like they may need their

623
00:28:17,240 --> 00:28:18,600
Speaker 3: own events at some time.

624
00:28:18,840 --> 00:28:19,280
Speaker 2: Exactly.

625
00:28:19,400 --> 00:28:23,600
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's really tricky and I think as your company

626
00:28:23,640 --> 00:28:26,040
Speaker 1: gets bigger, like it's you know, I've had a similar

627
00:28:26,119 --> 00:28:28,200
Speaker 1: journey to you. It started off with me and one

628
00:28:28,240 --> 00:28:31,119
Speaker 1: girl working in my house and AJ helping us, and

629
00:28:31,160 --> 00:28:33,199
Speaker 1: then it was another and another and another, and then

630
00:28:33,200 --> 00:28:34,919
Speaker 1: I had, you know, always less than twenty so we

631
00:28:34,920 --> 00:28:38,640
Speaker 1: could do everything together. And like when we first opened

632
00:28:38,680 --> 00:28:41,240
Speaker 1: our first retail store, it was in Newcastle, so like

633
00:28:41,280 --> 00:28:44,000
Speaker 1: our Christmas party would be everyone all together, and like

634
00:28:44,080 --> 00:28:46,920
Speaker 1: our Newcastle store team would come to all of the things.

635
00:28:47,200 --> 00:28:49,200
Speaker 1: And then as we open more and more stores, it

636
00:28:49,320 --> 00:28:52,800
Speaker 1: started to become more separate, and like I could feel

637
00:28:52,840 --> 00:28:55,080
Speaker 1: that it was becoming separate. And it's just something that

638
00:28:55,120 --> 00:28:58,320
Speaker 1: I guess you never expect or even think about as

639
00:28:58,360 --> 00:29:01,480
Speaker 1: you're going your business, because of course, like you want

640
00:29:01,520 --> 00:29:04,239
Speaker 1: to keep that culture strong through the whole company, but

641
00:29:04,480 --> 00:29:07,480
Speaker 1: how do you manage that when they're in Melbourne and

642
00:29:07,520 --> 00:29:08,680
Speaker 1: we are in Newcastle.

643
00:29:09,120 --> 00:29:10,200
Speaker 2: I think it comes.

644
00:29:09,960 --> 00:29:13,800
Speaker 1: Down to having amazing training, you know, in place for

645
00:29:13,920 --> 00:29:16,320
Speaker 1: when you're opening a new store or bringing people on

646
00:29:16,360 --> 00:29:18,920
Speaker 1: board that are in a different city and having strong

647
00:29:19,040 --> 00:29:24,160
Speaker 1: leaders who can really drive that, you know, company culture.

648
00:29:24,960 --> 00:29:26,840
Speaker 2: I think it's unrealistic to.

649
00:29:27,360 --> 00:29:31,000
Speaker 1: Expect that it's going to be perfect everywhere at all times,

650
00:29:31,160 --> 00:29:34,360
Speaker 1: and we've definitely figured out like how to have that balance.

651
00:29:34,600 --> 00:29:37,520
Speaker 1: And you know, whilst we can't have the whole company

652
00:29:37,560 --> 00:29:39,920
Speaker 1: go on our Christmas party because we've got stores in

653
00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:43,880
Speaker 1: Queensland and Melbourne and Sydney and Newcastle, it's ensuring, you know,

654
00:29:44,120 --> 00:29:48,000
Speaker 1: they all have their own individual Christmas party and someone

655
00:29:48,040 --> 00:29:50,920
Speaker 1: from head office is going to be there with them.

656
00:29:51,080 --> 00:29:54,440
Speaker 1: You know. Every year we bring our retail store managers

657
00:29:54,440 --> 00:29:56,840
Speaker 1: and assistant store managers to Newcastle and we put them

658
00:29:56,880 --> 00:29:58,640
Speaker 1: up in a nice hotel and we do like a

659
00:29:58,800 --> 00:30:01,880
Speaker 1: yearly conference kind of thing. So it's just like doing

660
00:30:01,960 --> 00:30:05,120
Speaker 1: those small things to bring everyone back together, but also

661
00:30:05,280 --> 00:30:08,959
Speaker 1: just being realistic and knowing, like, you know, people working

662
00:30:09,040 --> 00:30:11,520
Speaker 1: in our Hawthorne store in Melbourne are gonna have a

663
00:30:11,520 --> 00:30:14,080
Speaker 1: bit of a different experience to those working by my

664
00:30:14,160 --> 00:30:17,040
Speaker 1: side in head office every day, and like it's okay,

665
00:30:17,120 --> 00:30:18,840
Speaker 1: you know, to have those moments of like fuck, I

666
00:30:18,840 --> 00:30:20,280
Speaker 1: feel like some people are going to miss out on this,

667
00:30:20,400 --> 00:30:22,440
Speaker 1: or they're going to see us having cupcakes in the

668
00:30:22,440 --> 00:30:24,000
Speaker 1: office and go with cakes.

669
00:30:24,160 --> 00:30:27,200
Speaker 2: You know, we do lots of like wellness Wednesdays and

670
00:30:27,240 --> 00:30:27,880
Speaker 2: all these things.

671
00:30:27,760 --> 00:30:30,320
Speaker 1: In all of our stores, just those little things that

672
00:30:30,600 --> 00:30:33,640
Speaker 1: we hope will like impact the overall culture. And then

673
00:30:33,720 --> 00:30:37,240
Speaker 1: yet having strong people and culture people at head office

674
00:30:37,680 --> 00:30:41,000
Speaker 1: that just like bring everyone together. And yeah, we use

675
00:30:41,040 --> 00:30:42,280
Speaker 1: this new app that we got.

676
00:30:42,280 --> 00:30:44,800
Speaker 2: It's called connect Team. Have you heard of it?

677
00:30:45,680 --> 00:30:48,880
Speaker 1: So it's basically shout out we need to get and

678
00:30:48,920 --> 00:30:54,160
Speaker 1: to sponsor the podcand We got this new app called

679
00:30:54,200 --> 00:30:59,680
Speaker 1: connect Team, and it's basically like Facebook but for your workplace.

680
00:30:59,840 --> 00:31:02,400
Speaker 1: And it's really good if you have a company where

681
00:31:02,440 --> 00:31:04,880
Speaker 1: everyone is everywhere, and it's like you can use it

682
00:31:04,920 --> 00:31:06,640
Speaker 1: on your desktop. But I've got like the connect team

683
00:31:06,680 --> 00:31:09,280
Speaker 1: app on my phone because like back in the day,

684
00:31:09,320 --> 00:31:12,480
Speaker 1: we started like everyone was on Facebook Messenger and we'd

685
00:31:12,520 --> 00:31:13,240
Speaker 1: all chat on there.

686
00:31:13,360 --> 00:31:15,520
Speaker 2: Then we moved to WhatsApp.

687
00:31:14,960 --> 00:31:19,400
Speaker 1: And like it's like message and dms, Like I don't know,

688
00:31:20,040 --> 00:31:22,240
Speaker 1: so connect Team. I can show you it. But it's

689
00:31:22,240 --> 00:31:24,880
Speaker 1: got like all your group chats in there. You can

690
00:31:24,920 --> 00:31:28,440
Speaker 1: store all files in there, and then you can do

691
00:31:28,760 --> 00:31:31,160
Speaker 1: like all sorts of stuff in there, but it's basically

692
00:31:31,200 --> 00:31:32,800
Speaker 1: like you can open the app on your phone and

693
00:31:32,800 --> 00:31:35,640
Speaker 1: it's like a Facebook news feed, So then like you

694
00:31:35,680 --> 00:31:37,880
Speaker 1: can post in there and the whole company can see it,

695
00:31:38,040 --> 00:31:39,600
Speaker 1: or you can have groups and be like I want

696
00:31:39,600 --> 00:31:41,560
Speaker 1: all the retail team to see this. So it's like

697
00:31:41,600 --> 00:31:45,880
Speaker 1: a really cool tool that we use to like keep

698
00:31:45,960 --> 00:31:48,200
Speaker 1: up to date with one another, and it's just awesome.

699
00:31:48,240 --> 00:31:50,200
Speaker 1: Like if I want to post a photo of something

700
00:31:50,240 --> 00:31:51,960
Speaker 1: that happened in the warehouse that day and give a

701
00:31:51,960 --> 00:31:53,680
Speaker 1: shout out to everyone, like I can just check it

702
00:31:53,720 --> 00:31:55,240
Speaker 1: on Yeah, I can just chuck it in the news

703
00:31:55,280 --> 00:31:57,160
Speaker 1: feed on Connect team and be like, look at this

704
00:31:57,280 --> 00:31:59,520
Speaker 1: in the warehouse, Go Warehouse team, and then like everyone

705
00:31:59,520 --> 00:32:01,600
Speaker 1: can see it react in comments. So it's like a

706
00:32:01,640 --> 00:32:04,800
Speaker 1: social media platform but for your team. And that's been

707
00:32:04,840 --> 00:32:07,200
Speaker 1: like a really awesome thing that we've implemented this year.

708
00:32:07,320 --> 00:32:07,640
Speaker 3: Love that.

709
00:32:07,880 --> 00:32:10,000
Speaker 2: Yeah, any other questions.

710
00:32:09,600 --> 00:32:11,959
Speaker 3: No, I've probably probably been my own podcast and just

711
00:32:12,120 --> 00:32:13,600
Speaker 3: bring you on and I can ask you a question

712
00:32:14,320 --> 00:32:14,760
Speaker 3: next year.

713
00:32:15,360 --> 00:32:16,040
Speaker 2: I love it.

714
00:32:16,480 --> 00:32:18,560
Speaker 1: Well, I'm going to throw it back to you. How

715
00:32:18,600 --> 00:32:22,040
Speaker 1: have you managed to balance your team culture whilst scaling,

716
00:32:22,080 --> 00:32:25,760
Speaker 1: because that's so hard to do. And I think from

717
00:32:25,760 --> 00:32:28,560
Speaker 1: my experience, you'll have people on your team that one

718
00:32:28,680 --> 00:32:32,440
Speaker 1: hundred percent understand that and people that have no understanding

719
00:32:32,440 --> 00:32:33,200
Speaker 1: of that whatsoever.

720
00:32:33,520 --> 00:32:37,600
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's really challenging. So we've been around four essentially

721
00:32:37,640 --> 00:32:40,720
Speaker 3: four and a half years. In the last twelve months,

722
00:32:40,720 --> 00:32:44,760
Speaker 3: we've probably hired about ten people. Doesn't sound like that many,

723
00:32:44,840 --> 00:32:46,440
Speaker 3: but that's basically doubling the team.

724
00:32:46,640 --> 00:32:48,080
Speaker 2: Yes, especially in a year.

725
00:32:48,400 --> 00:32:50,320
Speaker 1: You know, I think bringing one new person into the

726
00:32:50,360 --> 00:32:53,680
Speaker 1: office can change everything and feel different. And I know,

727
00:32:54,120 --> 00:32:56,960
Speaker 1: again from my experience, like I'm one of those people

728
00:32:57,000 --> 00:32:59,440
Speaker 1: that thrives when things change, and I think when you're

729
00:32:59,440 --> 00:33:02,480
Speaker 1: a founder, you you have to embrace change, like you

730
00:33:02,520 --> 00:33:04,520
Speaker 1: have to be okay with it. But I know, like

731
00:33:04,600 --> 00:33:07,479
Speaker 1: a lot of team members don't like change. And then

732
00:33:07,520 --> 00:33:10,080
Speaker 1: if they're working in this business that's scaling and there's

733
00:33:10,080 --> 00:33:13,120
Speaker 1: like new people coming in and processes being implemented in we're.

734
00:33:13,120 --> 00:33:14,920
Speaker 2: Fully changing the way we do this, that.

735
00:33:14,920 --> 00:33:16,960
Speaker 1: And the other, they can be like, I don't like this,

736
00:33:17,360 --> 00:33:19,959
Speaker 1: and then how do we as founders manage that?

737
00:33:20,160 --> 00:33:22,320
Speaker 3: Yeah, well it's true. Like I think if you look

738
00:33:22,360 --> 00:33:27,400
Speaker 3: at back to your comment around Facebook, Messenger, to WhatsApp

739
00:33:27,640 --> 00:33:30,840
Speaker 3: to now like you know, connect to like this social

740
00:33:30,880 --> 00:33:34,400
Speaker 3: media sort of platform. Clearly, like even the communication has

741
00:33:34,440 --> 00:33:36,680
Speaker 3: evolved over time because.

742
00:33:36,400 --> 00:33:38,440
Speaker 1: You know, back in the day, I was then Okay,

743
00:33:38,440 --> 00:33:40,800
Speaker 1: I've got to add everyone on Facebook and then put

744
00:33:40,800 --> 00:33:42,720
Speaker 1: them in the group chat, and then if what someone

745
00:33:42,760 --> 00:33:44,880
Speaker 1: awkwardly leaves, then I've got you've got to lead this book,

746
00:33:44,960 --> 00:33:46,960
Speaker 1: like you've just got to create these boundaries. But when

747
00:33:46,960 --> 00:33:49,560
Speaker 1: you're starting so small, it's casual. It's like, yeah, you're

748
00:33:49,560 --> 00:33:51,640
Speaker 1: on Facebook and text you at not.

749
00:33:51,800 --> 00:33:54,000
Speaker 3: And the people that typically want to work for you

750
00:33:54,040 --> 00:33:57,600
Speaker 3: in those early stages, like the informality. They don't like

751
00:33:57,640 --> 00:34:00,360
Speaker 3: corporate structure, which is probably why they're there. So we

752
00:34:00,360 --> 00:34:03,200
Speaker 3: were similar, like we didn't do DMS, but we did WhatsApp,

753
00:34:03,480 --> 00:34:05,200
Speaker 3: and I thought that was normal right.

754
00:34:07,320 --> 00:34:08,239
Speaker 2: Up until this year.

755
00:34:08,520 --> 00:34:12,000
Speaker 3: Like it's a lot of people, but people like someone

756
00:34:12,080 --> 00:34:14,640
Speaker 3: joined about after about a month she said I really

757
00:34:14,719 --> 00:34:16,399
Speaker 3: need to talk to about something. I was like, oh gosh,

758
00:34:16,440 --> 00:34:18,480
Speaker 3: what have I done? And she's like, I think we

759
00:34:18,480 --> 00:34:21,040
Speaker 3: need to get off WhatsApp. It's a big deal. Like

760
00:34:21,080 --> 00:34:23,600
Speaker 3: I've never worked at a business that uses WhatsApp. I

761
00:34:23,640 --> 00:34:24,799
Speaker 3: was like, fair.

762
00:34:25,960 --> 00:34:28,359
Speaker 2: I was like, and you just create the group chat

763
00:34:28,400 --> 00:34:29,279
Speaker 2: and put the people in there.

764
00:34:29,880 --> 00:34:31,640
Speaker 3: Someone would leave and you'll be like this person has

765
00:34:31,719 --> 00:34:35,480
Speaker 3: left the growth, do you want.

766
00:34:35,280 --> 00:34:37,560
Speaker 2: Me to remove that person? Or like race, can you

767
00:34:37,640 --> 00:34:37,880
Speaker 2: do it?

768
00:34:38,800 --> 00:34:41,719
Speaker 3: Yeah, So it's all that sort of like awkwardness, and

769
00:34:42,000 --> 00:34:44,279
Speaker 3: I guess it's just part of the leading We use

770
00:34:44,320 --> 00:34:46,360
Speaker 3: teams now, which sort of seems a bit similar. But

771
00:34:47,040 --> 00:34:52,160
Speaker 3: I think the reality is often people that start in

772
00:34:52,200 --> 00:34:55,160
Speaker 3: the business do not end in the business, and it's

773
00:34:55,200 --> 00:34:58,440
Speaker 3: not because they're not good. It's because their idea of

774
00:34:58,440 --> 00:35:02,359
Speaker 3: what's enjoyable and meaningful changes, Like they are with you

775
00:35:03,000 --> 00:35:05,080
Speaker 3: and backing you in the business at a time that's

776
00:35:05,440 --> 00:35:11,120
Speaker 3: largely disorganized, it's chaotic stuff changing all the time. They

777
00:35:11,200 --> 00:35:13,719
Speaker 3: might like that a lot. A lot of the people

778
00:35:13,800 --> 00:35:18,879
Speaker 3: that also start are quite typically generalists, and they because

779
00:35:18,880 --> 00:35:20,360
Speaker 3: when you've got two people or three people in the

780
00:35:20,360 --> 00:35:22,400
Speaker 3: team and there's one hundred tasks, like everyone has to

781
00:35:22,440 --> 00:35:23,200
Speaker 3: wear many hats.

782
00:35:23,239 --> 00:35:25,239
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, that's like the beginning of fate for me too.

783
00:35:25,320 --> 00:35:28,440
Speaker 1: Like I hired my friends and family friends, and no

784
00:35:28,480 --> 00:35:30,359
Speaker 1: one really had a job title. It was we all

785
00:35:30,400 --> 00:35:31,840
Speaker 1: came in every day, we all packed the orders, we

786
00:35:31,880 --> 00:35:34,200
Speaker 1: all did the emails, we all worked in the little shop.

787
00:35:34,520 --> 00:35:37,759
Speaker 1: And then you were an all rounder, but that's not sustainable.

788
00:35:38,920 --> 00:35:41,839
Speaker 3: Like at some point the idea of bringing in people

789
00:35:41,920 --> 00:35:43,920
Speaker 3: around you that are better than you and specialists in

790
00:35:43,920 --> 00:35:47,880
Speaker 3: an area what changes the business, Like that's what allows

791
00:35:47,920 --> 00:35:50,799
Speaker 3: you to scale the business. So it's people. But like

792
00:35:51,080 --> 00:35:53,200
Speaker 3: so I think there were people for different stages of

793
00:35:53,239 --> 00:35:57,560
Speaker 3: the business. And you know our case, a few people

794
00:35:58,000 --> 00:36:00,680
Speaker 3: have gone right from day one night graphic design, who's

795
00:36:00,840 --> 00:36:05,200
Speaker 3: junior designer, senior designer, lead creative, head of creative. I

796
00:36:05,320 --> 00:36:07,200
Speaker 3: hired a friend of mine who was on Matt leave,

797
00:36:07,239 --> 00:36:10,359
Speaker 3: who I've known since literally I was zero in Perth,

798
00:36:10,400 --> 00:36:15,719
Speaker 3: where I was born, and she started organizing Christmas hampers.

799
00:36:15,760 --> 00:36:18,279
Speaker 3: Like I had a few businesses reach out and they're like,

800
00:36:18,280 --> 00:36:21,080
Speaker 3: can you put together like a funday Christmas back for

801
00:36:21,120 --> 00:36:23,560
Speaker 3: the staff. So I was like, hey, do you want

802
00:36:23,560 --> 00:36:25,839
Speaker 3: to come and see whether we have a business here?

803
00:36:26,320 --> 00:36:28,799
Speaker 3: And so she did that realized that was not going

804
00:36:28,880 --> 00:36:31,120
Speaker 3: to be like a part of the business that was worthwhile.

805
00:36:31,120 --> 00:36:33,760
Speaker 3: But she's now essentially like head of partnerships and events

806
00:36:33,760 --> 00:36:37,040
Speaker 3: and stuff like that. So people join, things change. Some

807
00:36:37,080 --> 00:36:38,719
Speaker 3: of those people will lask, some of them won't. Like

808
00:36:38,760 --> 00:36:41,640
Speaker 3: our attention is really strong. I think in the four

809
00:36:41,680 --> 00:36:44,000
Speaker 3: and a half years, like two people have left the business,

810
00:36:45,239 --> 00:36:46,880
Speaker 3: and I think it's because the culture is there, but

811
00:36:46,920 --> 00:36:51,799
Speaker 3: also just acknowledging and helping staff through these transitions, Like

812
00:36:51,840 --> 00:36:55,840
Speaker 3: I think it's important that even though you're scaling and growing,

813
00:36:56,160 --> 00:36:58,360
Speaker 3: the foundations and the values are still there, like it

814
00:36:58,400 --> 00:37:01,800
Speaker 3: doesn't change anything. And the idea of process and the

815
00:37:01,840 --> 00:37:04,800
Speaker 3: idea of implementing these sort of like more rigid rules

816
00:37:05,200 --> 00:37:07,799
Speaker 3: are around actually making it easier for people rather than

817
00:37:07,840 --> 00:37:10,480
Speaker 3: actually creating something that to a hassle. Yes, it might

818
00:37:10,520 --> 00:37:12,560
Speaker 3: be a bit more admin but in the end, like

819
00:37:12,640 --> 00:37:14,279
Speaker 3: you're going to do your job because we now have

820
00:37:14,440 --> 00:37:16,440
Speaker 3: so many things. It wasn't one thing that you've got

821
00:37:16,440 --> 00:37:19,160
Speaker 3: to do now managing like twenty projects. If we don't

822
00:37:19,200 --> 00:37:22,400
Speaker 3: have these measures and these clickup boards and assigning tasks

823
00:37:22,400 --> 00:37:24,160
Speaker 3: and all this sort of stuff, like we won't be

824
00:37:24,160 --> 00:37:25,080
Speaker 3: able to do what we're doing.

825
00:37:25,280 --> 00:37:27,400
Speaker 2: Yeah, and staff need to understand that.

826
00:37:27,760 --> 00:37:29,400
Speaker 1: Oh, I mean again, I can only speak from my

827
00:37:29,480 --> 00:37:32,600
Speaker 1: experience and maybe yours. Like everything that we're doing, even

828
00:37:32,640 --> 00:37:35,000
Speaker 1: if it feels like a lot of change and there's

829
00:37:35,040 --> 00:37:39,280
Speaker 1: policies being brought in and procedures and manuals and whatever

830
00:37:39,320 --> 00:37:42,319
Speaker 1: it may be updates to whatever in the handbook, Like

831
00:37:42,360 --> 00:37:44,440
Speaker 1: it's all just for the benefit of everyone and to

832
00:37:44,480 --> 00:37:47,759
Speaker 1: make the business move move more smoothly. But it can

833
00:37:47,800 --> 00:37:49,319
Speaker 1: feel like why are they doing all of this?

834
00:37:49,920 --> 00:37:53,200
Speaker 3: I remember I released the employee handbook after four and

835
00:37:53,239 --> 00:37:55,600
Speaker 3: a half years. It was like seventy pages. It was

836
00:37:55,640 --> 00:37:58,600
Speaker 3: everything from like leave to we have these things called

837
00:37:58,640 --> 00:38:02,120
Speaker 3: fundais where once a half you can take a day

838
00:38:02,680 --> 00:38:04,759
Speaker 3: go do something that you find fun or meaningful, and

839
00:38:04,800 --> 00:38:07,000
Speaker 3: the business will actually give you some money a hundred

840
00:38:07,000 --> 00:38:09,719
Speaker 3: bucks to go and do something fun. But it's a

841
00:38:09,719 --> 00:38:12,000
Speaker 3: great idea, really fun. It wasn't actually my ideal with

842
00:38:12,000 --> 00:38:15,120
Speaker 3: someone in the teams. But then it's like, well is

843
00:38:15,120 --> 00:38:18,040
Speaker 3: it applicable for casuals? Part times full time? What if

844
00:38:18,040 --> 00:38:19,240
Speaker 3: you're a mattleet, Like, so.

845
00:38:19,080 --> 00:38:20,920
Speaker 2: This is the thing you got to think of everyone.

846
00:38:21,000 --> 00:38:23,400
Speaker 3: You got to think of everyone, and so, yeah, you

847
00:38:23,400 --> 00:38:24,880
Speaker 3: don't get it right first time. You've got to keep

848
00:38:24,880 --> 00:38:27,839
Speaker 3: evolving and updating it and all this sort of stuff.

849
00:38:27,960 --> 00:38:30,360
Speaker 1: And I can get fine. That's when things change. Staff

850
00:38:30,400 --> 00:38:33,240
Speaker 1: can question why and think something's wrong. But like something

851
00:38:33,239 --> 00:38:35,560
Speaker 1: that you did when you had five staff might not

852
00:38:35,920 --> 00:38:37,560
Speaker 1: work as well when you have twenty.

853
00:38:38,040 --> 00:38:39,239
Speaker 2: Then you've got to change the way you.

854
00:38:39,200 --> 00:38:44,080
Speaker 3: Do things totally. I think the biggest thing around yeah,

855
00:38:44,239 --> 00:38:46,600
Speaker 3: is like what you said earlier, around getting leaders in

856
00:38:46,640 --> 00:38:49,680
Speaker 3: the business that can help facilitate that. Like if it's

857
00:38:49,800 --> 00:38:53,279
Speaker 3: just you telling everyone this is why, or but if

858
00:38:53,320 --> 00:38:55,839
Speaker 3: it's a leadership team or an executive team coming up

859
00:38:55,880 --> 00:38:58,000
Speaker 3: and all believing in what needs to be done and

860
00:38:58,000 --> 00:39:01,040
Speaker 3: communicating it for the benefit of everyone, I think it's

861
00:39:01,160 --> 00:39:04,320
Speaker 3: often delivered better and people will buy into it a

862
00:39:04,400 --> 00:39:08,880
Speaker 3: lot easier. But it certainly it's difficult. Like we're not

863
00:39:09,680 --> 00:39:12,440
Speaker 3: a big business by any means, but we still have

864
00:39:12,480 --> 00:39:18,239
Speaker 3: the same challenges and everyone's everyone's like typically face the

865
00:39:18,239 --> 00:39:21,000
Speaker 3: same sorts of challenges. You know, people want. Some people

866
00:39:21,080 --> 00:39:24,279
Speaker 3: want career progressions, some people want safety and don't want

867
00:39:24,280 --> 00:39:27,000
Speaker 3: to develop. Some people are there because they might be

868
00:39:27,400 --> 00:39:30,239
Speaker 3: they might have two children and I really want to

869
00:39:30,280 --> 00:39:33,920
Speaker 3: balance being at after school like ballet and soccer or

870
00:39:33,960 --> 00:39:36,360
Speaker 3: whatever it is, and so what's meaningful for them is

871
00:39:36,400 --> 00:39:39,200
Speaker 3: around flexibility. So I think as long as you know

872
00:39:39,600 --> 00:39:43,120
Speaker 3: the motivations behind people and what they're there for, typically

873
00:39:43,200 --> 00:39:46,760
Speaker 3: that's how I found it quite easy to grow and scale,

874
00:39:46,880 --> 00:39:49,520
Speaker 3: and like just knowing the intentions of people and making

875
00:39:49,560 --> 00:39:51,680
Speaker 3: sure that what they want and I want out of

876
00:39:52,000 --> 00:39:55,839
Speaker 3: a line. But yeah, I'm like genuinely I think about

877
00:39:55,840 --> 00:39:58,400
Speaker 3: it all the time, Like how lucky I am to

878
00:39:58,480 --> 00:40:02,200
Speaker 3: have the group of people around me because I might

879
00:40:02,239 --> 00:40:05,080
Speaker 3: come up with like an idea, but like I'm now

880
00:40:05,120 --> 00:40:10,440
Speaker 3: not executing if any at all, And so bringing in

881
00:40:10,520 --> 00:40:13,360
Speaker 3: like we've our product developers from Nesle, our head of

882
00:40:13,440 --> 00:40:16,880
Speaker 3: quality came from Coals. Like we're recruiting people that like

883
00:40:17,000 --> 00:40:20,280
Speaker 3: believe in what we're doing, who are a thousand times

884
00:40:20,280 --> 00:40:23,040
Speaker 3: smarter than me at their niche and their field. And

885
00:40:23,239 --> 00:40:25,520
Speaker 3: that's how we've scaled. Like if you scale and your

886
00:40:25,520 --> 00:40:29,160
Speaker 3: product is shared, it's done so like the product always

887
00:40:29,200 --> 00:40:33,239
Speaker 3: has to be the key focus the people genuinely make

888
00:40:33,320 --> 00:40:34,160
Speaker 3: or break of the business.

889
00:40:34,320 --> 00:40:35,520
Speaker 2: Oh I say that all the time.

890
00:40:35,560 --> 00:40:38,960
Speaker 3: It's just reality. Like you know, even AI like my

891
00:40:39,040 --> 00:40:43,240
Speaker 3: eyes fine to help you draft some copy or do something,

892
00:40:43,480 --> 00:40:45,960
Speaker 3: but like it's just it's will get you so far.

893
00:40:47,080 --> 00:40:48,919
Speaker 3: And I think the other thing is really just around

894
00:40:49,000 --> 00:40:52,760
Speaker 3: scaling is I call it sort of like people product

895
00:40:52,800 --> 00:40:55,120
Speaker 3: and profit. It's not really profit, it's not like how

896
00:40:55,160 --> 00:40:57,600
Speaker 3: much money you're making and profit, but it's actually like

897
00:40:57,719 --> 00:41:02,240
Speaker 3: financial So if you are business and your unit economics

898
00:41:02,280 --> 00:41:04,319
Speaker 3: are good, Like you're actually making money on a sale

899
00:41:04,360 --> 00:41:06,560
Speaker 3: and you can cover your costs, you can reinvest that

900
00:41:06,680 --> 00:41:08,839
Speaker 3: back into the business to scale. I think a lot

901
00:41:08,840 --> 00:41:10,960
Speaker 3: of times people just have this great idea for a

902
00:41:11,000 --> 00:41:14,000
Speaker 3: product or a service, forget that you actually need to

903
00:41:14,040 --> 00:41:17,320
Speaker 3: make money, and therefore they can't grow or they're on

904
00:41:17,440 --> 00:41:19,960
Speaker 3: a huge financial strain, and then they make poor decisions

905
00:41:19,960 --> 00:41:23,239
Speaker 3: because of that. So yeah, I think all those three

906
00:41:23,239 --> 00:41:25,520
Speaker 3: are sort of interrelated. And the more money you do make,

907
00:41:25,560 --> 00:41:27,560
Speaker 3: the better people you can hire, the more products you

908
00:41:27,560 --> 00:41:29,799
Speaker 3: can launch, the more stock in advance you can buy.

909
00:41:29,880 --> 00:41:32,520
Speaker 3: Like every dollar in Funday for the last five years

910
00:41:33,040 --> 00:41:35,080
Speaker 3: has been reinvested back into the business. Like I don't

911
00:41:35,080 --> 00:41:37,480
Speaker 3: take dividends. I pay myself a salary after like two

912
00:41:37,560 --> 00:41:38,280
Speaker 3: and a half years.

913
00:41:38,400 --> 00:41:39,120
Speaker 2: You're the same with me.

914
00:41:39,200 --> 00:41:41,360
Speaker 1: You're literally speaking my language saying with AJ and I,

915
00:41:41,400 --> 00:41:43,920
Speaker 1: we didn't I started paying AJ because he was an electrician.

916
00:41:43,960 --> 00:41:45,800
Speaker 1: Then he came into the business, so AJ was getting

917
00:41:45,800 --> 00:41:48,920
Speaker 1: paid by fate before I was. And yeah, we're exactly

918
00:41:48,920 --> 00:41:51,840
Speaker 1: the same. And you've got to be able to obviously

919
00:41:51,840 --> 00:41:54,000
Speaker 1: have money coming from somewhere else, which again can be

920
00:41:54,040 --> 00:41:56,320
Speaker 1: really difficult for people, especially if they're just wanting to

921
00:41:56,360 --> 00:41:58,319
Speaker 1: start a business and they're working full time and then

922
00:41:58,320 --> 00:42:00,759
Speaker 1: they're going home and they're starting the business at nine

923
00:42:00,840 --> 00:42:01,960
Speaker 1: packing orders on the weekend.

924
00:42:02,120 --> 00:42:05,960
Speaker 2: But like that's the I guess, the sacrifice.

925
00:42:05,400 --> 00:42:07,840
Speaker 1: That you have to make, and the business needs to

926
00:42:07,840 --> 00:42:09,640
Speaker 1: get to that point before you can even think about

927
00:42:09,680 --> 00:42:12,400
Speaker 1: paying yourself, which is fucked because like you want to

928
00:42:12,400 --> 00:42:13,879
Speaker 1: be able to earn a bit of money, Well, we've got.

929
00:42:13,840 --> 00:42:17,560
Speaker 3: All the risk essentially, yeah, sort of leaving yourself behind. Yeah,

930
00:42:17,719 --> 00:42:20,000
Speaker 3: even probably like less than twelve months ago, there was

931
00:42:20,040 --> 00:42:23,319
Speaker 3: a point where for whatever reason, we just didn't have

932
00:42:23,440 --> 00:42:26,280
Speaker 3: enough cash. Like I think it was a public holiday

933
00:42:26,280 --> 00:42:28,760
Speaker 3: and all the receivables were coming in the next week

934
00:42:28,920 --> 00:42:30,760
Speaker 3: and it would have been enough, but like the timing

935
00:42:30,840 --> 00:42:33,560
Speaker 3: just didn't work out, but it was payroll, so I

936
00:42:33,640 --> 00:42:36,560
Speaker 3: literally paid everyone but myself, and I was like, this

937
00:42:36,600 --> 00:42:40,160
Speaker 3: is crazy. After four years, I'm still like I will

938
00:42:40,160 --> 00:42:43,480
Speaker 3: get it next week, yeah, hopefully, but it's still happening.

939
00:42:43,760 --> 00:42:47,479
Speaker 3: And it's like amazing how capital intensive businesses are because

940
00:42:47,480 --> 00:42:50,200
Speaker 3: you're just buying stock holding stock and you only get

941
00:42:50,239 --> 00:42:53,879
Speaker 3: paid Like we work with retail, like it can take

942
00:42:53,960 --> 00:42:56,719
Speaker 3: sixty ninety days to get money exactly back from when

943
00:42:56,719 --> 00:43:00,399
Speaker 3: you deliver a product. So it's so intensive, so many

944
00:43:00,400 --> 00:43:02,239
Speaker 3: things that you don't know, which is great because I

945
00:43:02,239 --> 00:43:03,680
Speaker 3: think if I would have known all the shit that

946
00:43:03,680 --> 00:43:05,680
Speaker 3: I've got to deal with now behind the scenes, I'm

947
00:43:05,680 --> 00:43:08,880
Speaker 3: not sure it's been worthwhile. I'm definitely more gray than

948
00:43:08,960 --> 00:43:10,239
Speaker 3: four and a half years ago.

949
00:43:10,880 --> 00:43:12,640
Speaker 2: That's what AJ says. Every week he's got I got

950
00:43:12,640 --> 00:43:15,319
Speaker 2: thirty more gray hairs this week. But it's all worth

951
00:43:15,320 --> 00:43:15,839
Speaker 2: it in the end.

952
00:43:16,400 --> 00:43:19,440
Speaker 1: But yeah, if we had known, you know, before we started,

953
00:43:19,640 --> 00:43:21,560
Speaker 1: like the stuff that we would be dealing with now,

954
00:43:21,719 --> 00:43:22,799
Speaker 1: would we have dove into it?

955
00:43:22,800 --> 00:43:23,279
Speaker 2: Probably not.

956
00:43:23,520 --> 00:43:25,680
Speaker 3: Ignorance is blissed, yes, genuinely.

957
00:43:25,239 --> 00:43:26,279
Speaker 2: True, exactly right.

958
00:43:26,480 --> 00:43:34,560
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think business is a very personal and spiritual journey.

959
00:43:34,640 --> 00:43:38,200
Speaker 1: I'm not like a woo woo person whatsoever. But I

960
00:43:38,280 --> 00:43:42,160
Speaker 1: know for me, in my journey, I've learned more about

961
00:43:42,200 --> 00:43:44,920
Speaker 1: myself than I think any job could have ever taught me,

962
00:43:44,960 --> 00:43:47,200
Speaker 1: because I just feel like business is holding up a

963
00:43:47,239 --> 00:43:50,560
Speaker 1: mirror and just looking at yourself and questioning what everyone

964
00:43:50,600 --> 00:43:53,640
Speaker 1: thinks of you at all given times. What have been

965
00:43:53,680 --> 00:43:57,920
Speaker 1: some of your more personal challenges with like starting and

966
00:43:57,960 --> 00:44:00,000
Speaker 1: scaling a business? And I know you have a family

967
00:44:00,080 --> 00:44:02,000
Speaker 1: as well, so how have you managed to balance all

968
00:44:02,040 --> 00:44:02,279
Speaker 1: of that.

969
00:44:02,560 --> 00:44:05,200
Speaker 3: Yeah, when I started Funday, I didn't have any children,

970
00:44:05,280 --> 00:44:08,520
Speaker 3: but like Funday was my first baby. My wife is

971
00:44:08,560 --> 00:44:12,920
Speaker 3: pregnant about I think. I said. We launched in chemist

972
00:44:12,920 --> 00:44:16,520
Speaker 3: way House in April. The willow was born in June,

973
00:44:17,040 --> 00:44:20,719
Speaker 3: so it was very close. They were like photos. Stupidly

974
00:44:20,800 --> 00:44:23,240
Speaker 3: ran an e commsale like three months into the business.

975
00:44:23,280 --> 00:44:24,600
Speaker 3: We just didn't need to. We didn't even have that

976
00:44:24,680 --> 00:44:26,200
Speaker 3: much stock. I was like, I just want to see

977
00:44:26,239 --> 00:44:28,680
Speaker 3: what happens. Yeah, I was like it was like ten

978
00:44:28,760 --> 00:44:31,680
Speaker 3: or fifteen percent, and I was like, holy shit, We've

979
00:44:31,680 --> 00:44:33,960
Speaker 3: got like five hundred orders to pack and we're at home.

980
00:44:34,360 --> 00:44:36,839
Speaker 3: So my wife is like pregnant, and then there's a photo.

981
00:44:36,960 --> 00:44:39,200
Speaker 3: Even after we ran another one, she's like got little

982
00:44:39,239 --> 00:44:41,680
Speaker 3: willows like literally four weeks old in like a little

983
00:44:41,680 --> 00:44:44,759
Speaker 3: cocoon and her packing orders and stuff like that. So

984
00:44:45,520 --> 00:44:48,000
Speaker 3: I think it's Yeah, for me, that's probably been the

985
00:44:48,000 --> 00:44:52,800
Speaker 3: most challenging part, but also the most fulfilling part as well,

986
00:44:53,080 --> 00:44:57,359
Speaker 3: And it's taught me a lot about myself and I

987
00:44:57,400 --> 00:45:03,360
Speaker 3: think I value my life significantly because I would probably

988
00:45:03,440 --> 00:45:07,239
Speaker 3: work till midnight every night because there is always so

989
00:45:07,360 --> 00:45:12,440
Speaker 3: much to do. But live who's very measured and very practical,

990
00:45:13,360 --> 00:45:16,480
Speaker 3: will be like, whatever you do tonight, you'll just do

991
00:45:16,520 --> 00:45:16,919
Speaker 3: in the morning.

992
00:45:17,080 --> 00:45:19,200
Speaker 1: I say to aj when he gets his lap because

993
00:45:19,200 --> 00:45:21,239
Speaker 1: he does all of our payroll and everything, and like

994
00:45:21,400 --> 00:45:23,960
Speaker 1: he does our pays on a Monday like today, but

995
00:45:24,040 --> 00:45:26,080
Speaker 1: every Sunday night he's getting out that laptops. I'm just

996
00:45:26,120 --> 00:45:29,080
Speaker 1: going to start a She's going to be there, and

997
00:45:29,120 --> 00:45:30,640
Speaker 1: he's kissing me off because it's ten o'clock on a

998
00:45:30,680 --> 00:45:31,319
Speaker 1: Sunday night.

999
00:45:32,600 --> 00:45:34,279
Speaker 3: I think that's so true to have a way.

1000
00:45:34,320 --> 00:45:37,600
Speaker 1: But I'm like that as well, like if your laptop's there,

1001
00:45:37,640 --> 00:45:38,960
Speaker 1: you may as well get started.

1002
00:45:39,080 --> 00:45:42,000
Speaker 3: Well, that's why I sort of feel that sort of

1003
00:45:42,120 --> 00:45:44,560
Speaker 3: guidance and advice has been really helpful for me because

1004
00:45:44,560 --> 00:45:46,839
Speaker 3: it means you can burn out really easily. Like I'm

1005
00:45:46,840 --> 00:45:49,000
Speaker 3: a sole founder. I own one hundred percent of Funday,

1006
00:45:49,400 --> 00:45:50,120
Speaker 3: like all of.

1007
00:45:50,080 --> 00:45:51,240
Speaker 2: It's writing on my person.

1008
00:45:52,160 --> 00:45:54,520
Speaker 3: So I think we are yeah, just different industry. Thanks.

1009
00:45:54,640 --> 00:45:56,840
Speaker 3: I don't really want to be up against your confectionery.

1010
00:45:57,880 --> 00:46:01,239
Speaker 2: Might be working on my own, Lovelyn. I don't know

1011
00:46:01,280 --> 00:46:02,759
Speaker 2: anything about food, I.

1012
00:46:02,760 --> 00:46:05,759
Speaker 3: Know anything about fashion. Bill, We're well fund at Funday tea.

1013
00:46:05,840 --> 00:46:09,799
Speaker 3: So look, I think the fact that you know and

1014
00:46:09,840 --> 00:46:13,080
Speaker 3: then so we've had Willow was born in June twenty one.

1015
00:46:13,600 --> 00:46:17,840
Speaker 3: Then we had usher last year in October. There's like

1016
00:46:17,840 --> 00:46:21,120
Speaker 3: a three year age gap. And then we've got another

1017
00:46:21,320 --> 00:46:24,360
Speaker 3: baby on the way due early March. So what I

1018
00:46:24,400 --> 00:46:28,000
Speaker 3: find really interesting in like less than five years, I've

1019
00:46:28,000 --> 00:46:31,400
Speaker 3: had fun day like I've bought a house, I started Funday.

1020
00:46:31,680 --> 00:46:34,720
Speaker 3: We have three kids. Well, there's a team of twenty five.

1021
00:46:34,840 --> 00:46:38,719
Speaker 3: And I think the way that I balance that is

1022
00:46:39,200 --> 00:46:42,160
Speaker 3: I'm home nine out of ten nights by five o'clock

1023
00:46:42,360 --> 00:46:45,000
Speaker 3: yep or close to and I always try my best

1024
00:46:45,040 --> 00:46:47,000
Speaker 3: to be there for like at least part of dinner

1025
00:46:47,120 --> 00:46:50,440
Speaker 3: or bath and bed, and then I will work at

1026
00:46:50,520 --> 00:46:52,959
Speaker 3: night if I have to. If things can wait until

1027
00:46:52,960 --> 00:46:55,520
Speaker 3: the morning, I will then wait till the morning. And

1028
00:46:55,600 --> 00:46:58,160
Speaker 3: I ninety nine point nine percent of the time do

1029
00:46:58,239 --> 00:47:00,520
Speaker 3: not open my laptop on a Saturday or Sunday at

1030
00:47:00,560 --> 00:47:04,840
Speaker 3: all because it's just full on family chaos for the weekend.

1031
00:47:05,440 --> 00:47:09,600
Speaker 3: And that's how I balance the challenge around like family,

1032
00:47:09,719 --> 00:47:13,320
Speaker 3: personal and business. But when I'm in Monday to Friday,

1033
00:47:13,400 --> 00:47:16,200
Speaker 3: like when I'm in work zone, I'm one hundred percent

1034
00:47:16,239 --> 00:47:19,080
Speaker 3: in work zone, But that challenge, it's like how do

1035
00:47:19,120 --> 00:47:22,680
Speaker 3: you be like a good husband? And so like what

1036
00:47:22,760 --> 00:47:24,560
Speaker 3: am I doing? And am I checking in on Live?

1037
00:47:24,640 --> 00:47:26,319
Speaker 3: Like she's pregnant now? Like have I asked her how

1038
00:47:26,360 --> 00:47:28,960
Speaker 3: she's going? Have I booked us at dinner somewhere? Like?

1039
00:47:29,120 --> 00:47:31,440
Speaker 3: Have I booked a mass out? Like? I don't know anything?

1040
00:47:31,880 --> 00:47:35,040
Speaker 3: Am I being a good dad to the two kids currently?

1041
00:47:35,680 --> 00:47:37,640
Speaker 3: Am I giving them enough time? Am I spending enough

1042
00:47:37,640 --> 00:47:40,400
Speaker 3: one on one time with them? And you're constantly feeling

1043
00:47:40,480 --> 00:47:44,160
Speaker 3: like you're not necessarily doing enough. And then you've got

1044
00:47:44,160 --> 00:47:46,439
Speaker 3: twenty five staff that are sort of looking to you

1045
00:47:47,080 --> 00:47:49,400
Speaker 3: for some sort of guidance in terms of career progression

1046
00:47:49,680 --> 00:47:52,960
Speaker 3: or assistance in some way pay rise and look some

1047
00:47:53,520 --> 00:47:55,839
Speaker 3: more than others. But I think there's a lot of

1048
00:47:55,880 --> 00:48:00,440
Speaker 3: pressure from whether or not it's intentional or it's my

1049
00:48:00,520 --> 00:48:02,960
Speaker 3: own shit that I've got to like think about. But

1050
00:48:03,000 --> 00:48:06,279
Speaker 3: it's like you're constantly trying to give yourself to like

1051
00:48:06,360 --> 00:48:09,960
Speaker 3: lots of people, and that's it's really hard, and I

1052
00:48:09,960 --> 00:48:13,680
Speaker 3: don't do a good enough job at working on myself.

1053
00:48:14,160 --> 00:48:16,080
Speaker 3: Like if I get to the gym twice a week,

1054
00:48:16,120 --> 00:48:19,000
Speaker 3: that's been like a good week and that's not good,

1055
00:48:19,200 --> 00:48:20,919
Speaker 3: Like I should be there four or five times a week,

1056
00:48:20,960 --> 00:48:23,440
Speaker 3: Like I maybe once or twice go for a half

1057
00:48:23,440 --> 00:48:25,480
Speaker 3: an hour walk and clear my head, Like I should

1058
00:48:25,480 --> 00:48:26,279
Speaker 3: be doing that every day.

1059
00:48:26,360 --> 00:48:28,000
Speaker 1: Yeah. I feel like when you're a founder and like

1060
00:48:28,040 --> 00:48:30,640
Speaker 1: you just feel like you're just constantly giving to everyone else,

1061
00:48:30,680 --> 00:48:33,920
Speaker 1: like you put yourself absolutely last. I'm exactly the same.

1062
00:48:34,160 --> 00:48:35,479
Speaker 1: You go to the gym twice a week. I haven't

1063
00:48:35,480 --> 00:48:36,400
Speaker 1: been for years.

1064
00:48:36,440 --> 00:48:38,080
Speaker 3: Well, well that makes me feel good.

1065
00:48:39,080 --> 00:48:41,520
Speaker 1: But actually I've been donating to the local gym because

1066
00:48:41,520 --> 00:48:42,719
Speaker 1: I've still got a membership.

1067
00:48:42,960 --> 00:48:44,719
Speaker 3: Well I've done that a lot, trust me.

1068
00:48:45,000 --> 00:48:47,320
Speaker 2: We're supporting local businesses by donating.

1069
00:48:46,960 --> 00:48:49,760
Speaker 3: To be like a gym in all of our workplace.

1070
00:48:50,000 --> 00:48:54,080
Speaker 2: Literally some places do, Yeah, I think, which is they've

1071
00:48:54,080 --> 00:48:54,600
Speaker 2: got a gym.

1072
00:48:54,680 --> 00:48:57,279
Speaker 3: That makes sense. Yeah, but like I think that's that

1073
00:48:57,320 --> 00:48:58,759
Speaker 3: would be good because I feel like then there's no

1074
00:48:58,800 --> 00:49:05,320
Speaker 3: excuses exactly come up with it. But I have to say,

1075
00:49:05,360 --> 00:49:08,120
Speaker 3: like out of all of those challenges, there is just

1076
00:49:08,200 --> 00:49:11,200
Speaker 3: so like everyone gives back in some way, whether it's

1077
00:49:11,200 --> 00:49:14,720
Speaker 3: family or at work. Just seeing people thrive at work

1078
00:49:15,239 --> 00:49:18,359
Speaker 3: and starting like Ben, who'll probably listen to this, will

1079
00:49:18,400 --> 00:49:19,520
Speaker 3: get super Jack that I've.

1080
00:49:19,360 --> 00:49:21,160
Speaker 2: Made my bet.

1081
00:49:21,640 --> 00:49:25,280
Speaker 3: He literally made the transition from when I was packing

1082
00:49:25,320 --> 00:49:29,840
Speaker 3: boxes and working from my house into a little little

1083
00:49:29,840 --> 00:49:31,600
Speaker 3: office on the high street in Paran because it was

1084
00:49:31,600 --> 00:49:34,000
Speaker 3: COVID and everyone everywhere's folly. So I called it ten.

1085
00:49:34,040 --> 00:49:35,279
Speaker 3: I was like, I need to get out of my house.

1086
00:49:35,280 --> 00:49:37,279
Speaker 3: I've just had a baby. I can't work here. I

1087
00:49:37,280 --> 00:49:40,080
Speaker 3: haven't had the baby, but my wife. I need to

1088
00:49:40,120 --> 00:49:41,640
Speaker 3: get out. This is like a disaster. I want to

1089
00:49:41,640 --> 00:49:44,799
Speaker 3: go nuts. So he started that day, helped me move,

1090
00:49:45,120 --> 00:49:47,520
Speaker 3: packed all the orders. He's now been like four years.

1091
00:49:47,520 --> 00:49:50,560
Speaker 3: He's now like doing supply chain and operations and knows

1092
00:49:50,640 --> 00:49:53,160
Speaker 3: every part of the business inside out, just like the

1093
00:49:53,239 --> 00:49:57,919
Speaker 3: satisfaction you get from seeing someone thrive so much.

1094
00:49:58,040 --> 00:49:59,560
Speaker 1: This is what I always say, you know, like we

1095
00:49:59,600 --> 00:50:03,040
Speaker 1: start businesses really, I guess selfishly for ourselves because we're

1096
00:50:03,040 --> 00:50:05,200
Speaker 1: like I want to start a business for me. But

1097
00:50:05,320 --> 00:50:08,040
Speaker 1: then what I didn't realize when I started Fate was

1098
00:50:08,080 --> 00:50:11,040
Speaker 1: like that personal satisfaction that you get from seeing other

1099
00:50:11,080 --> 00:50:14,359
Speaker 1: people be passionate about what you have created and then

1100
00:50:14,400 --> 00:50:17,759
Speaker 1: become passionate in their own ways for themselves and like

1101
00:50:18,080 --> 00:50:20,600
Speaker 1: I'm the same as you, Like I've got like quite

1102
00:50:20,600 --> 00:50:21,839
Speaker 1: a lot ab our teams that have been with us

1103
00:50:21,840 --> 00:50:23,359
Speaker 1: for like four and a half years now, and when

1104
00:50:23,400 --> 00:50:26,799
Speaker 1: they started, the business was a shit show and just

1105
00:50:26,960 --> 00:50:30,080
Speaker 1: very small, and we didn't even have rosters or anything

1106
00:50:30,160 --> 00:50:32,000
Speaker 1: like you know, we didn't have a handbook or anything

1107
00:50:32,040 --> 00:50:36,320
Speaker 1: like that. And now they're all in completely different areas

1108
00:50:36,320 --> 00:50:38,799
Speaker 1: of the business and they've taken interest in like whether

1109
00:50:38,840 --> 00:50:40,360
Speaker 1: it's operations or brand.

1110
00:50:40,840 --> 00:50:41,520
Speaker 2: Head of brand.

1111
00:50:42,160 --> 00:50:44,400
Speaker 1: I've got April that works with me now, who's just

1112
00:50:44,440 --> 00:50:46,400
Speaker 1: in all of my content, does everything with me. But

1113
00:50:46,440 --> 00:50:48,239
Speaker 1: she started in our warehouse when it was just her

1114
00:50:48,280 --> 00:50:51,040
Speaker 1: and aj And like that's one of probably one of

1115
00:50:51,040 --> 00:50:56,200
Speaker 1: my favorite things about business, is like finding those amazing people,

1116
00:50:56,520 --> 00:50:58,399
Speaker 1: but like saying to them, fucking go for gold with.

1117
00:50:59,000 --> 00:51:01,399
Speaker 3: Is because like most work places to not like both

1118
00:51:01,560 --> 00:51:04,040
Speaker 3: workplaces are like if you have one role, you do

1119
00:51:04,120 --> 00:51:06,840
Speaker 3: the one role and don't like get outside of that

1120
00:51:06,920 --> 00:51:09,680
Speaker 3: scope because you're going to encroaching someone else's territory. And

1121
00:51:09,760 --> 00:51:11,799
Speaker 3: so when they're in your sort of environment or a

1122
00:51:11,800 --> 00:51:16,760
Speaker 3: fundat environment, if they express interest in another area, generally speaking,

1123
00:51:16,840 --> 00:51:18,280
Speaker 3: you'll find a way to make it happen.

1124
00:51:18,320 --> 00:51:19,879
Speaker 1: And I think that's one of the cool things again

1125
00:51:19,960 --> 00:51:22,560
Speaker 1: about like working for smaller businesses to anyone out there

1126
00:51:22,600 --> 00:51:25,359
Speaker 1: who maybe is you know, stuck in a corporate role

1127
00:51:25,360 --> 00:51:27,600
Speaker 1: where you feel like you aren't going anywhere.

1128
00:51:27,480 --> 00:51:29,080
Speaker 2: Like working for a smaller business.

1129
00:51:29,320 --> 00:51:30,600
Speaker 1: Of course, it's got to be the right one, and

1130
00:51:30,640 --> 00:51:33,040
Speaker 1: it's got to have a founder that wants everyone to grow.

1131
00:51:33,600 --> 00:51:37,000
Speaker 1: Like I think if I was working somewhere, that's what

1132
00:51:37,040 --> 00:51:38,600
Speaker 1: I would want to do. I'd want to go work

1133
00:51:38,600 --> 00:51:41,600
Speaker 1: for like a creative founder who's scaling a business, because

1134
00:51:41,600 --> 00:51:44,680
Speaker 1: then you have that opportunity to be like, I'm interested

1135
00:51:44,680 --> 00:51:47,080
Speaker 1: in that, and that founder will be like yep, come

1136
00:51:47,080 --> 00:51:49,640
Speaker 1: on then, and they'll link arms and run into the

1137
00:51:49,680 --> 00:51:51,120
Speaker 1: sunset together totally.

1138
00:51:51,719 --> 00:51:52,960
Speaker 2: So yeah, I'm right there with you.

1139
00:51:53,000 --> 00:51:56,560
Speaker 1: That's one of my favorite parts about scaling a business

1140
00:51:56,560 --> 00:51:57,040
Speaker 1: as well.

1141
00:51:57,200 --> 00:52:00,200
Speaker 2: What's on the cards for the future with Fundai? Is

1142
00:52:00,200 --> 00:52:02,960
Speaker 2: there anything that you can spill any new lollies?

1143
00:52:02,960 --> 00:52:04,759
Speaker 1: I'll tell you one question I was gonna ask you,

1144
00:52:06,760 --> 00:52:10,560
Speaker 1: do you ever think how can you create the next

1145
00:52:10,760 --> 00:52:14,040
Speaker 1: iconic lolly that's gonna be around for like, you know,

1146
00:52:14,080 --> 00:52:16,520
Speaker 1: because we've got like all the lollies that everyone knows,

1147
00:52:16,640 --> 00:52:21,399
Speaker 1: you know, from snakes, strawberries and creams, red frogs, pineapple, lollies. Yeah,

1148
00:52:21,400 --> 00:52:24,719
Speaker 1: you've done pineapple, like the milk bottles, like everything, Like

1149
00:52:24,760 --> 00:52:26,560
Speaker 1: they've been around forever.

1150
00:52:26,400 --> 00:52:27,840
Speaker 2: Like people know them as lollies.

1151
00:52:28,160 --> 00:52:31,560
Speaker 1: Like, how can you create the next lolly that's gonna

1152
00:52:31,600 --> 00:52:34,680
Speaker 1: be even around, you know, when you're gone.

1153
00:52:35,680 --> 00:52:38,399
Speaker 3: That's a question I haven't been answered asked before. That's

1154
00:52:38,400 --> 00:52:38,839
Speaker 3: what I was.

1155
00:52:38,800 --> 00:52:41,480
Speaker 1: Thinking, because you know, like I'm always thinking, like how

1156
00:52:41,520 --> 00:52:46,120
Speaker 1: can someone create something that's gonna be like an iconic moment.

1157
00:52:45,800 --> 00:52:46,680
Speaker 2: That lasts forever.

1158
00:52:47,040 --> 00:52:49,120
Speaker 1: Because we've got lollies in all forms, but like what's

1159
00:52:49,160 --> 00:52:52,440
Speaker 1: something that someone I think and I'll get back to you,

1160
00:52:52,480 --> 00:52:54,360
Speaker 1: but you know what I mean, like banana lollies like

1161
00:52:54,680 --> 00:52:57,960
Speaker 1: everyone knows. But there's still more lollies that can be created.

1162
00:52:58,040 --> 00:53:01,240
Speaker 3: Absolutely pretty much anything can be crap, like a different flavor,

1163
00:53:01,280 --> 00:53:04,920
Speaker 3: a different shape, a different sour coating. We are probably

1164
00:53:05,520 --> 00:53:08,640
Speaker 3: more limited in what we can do because of our

1165
00:53:08,920 --> 00:53:15,080
Speaker 3: strict nutritional gidelines around not adding sugar, not adding sugar alcohols.

1166
00:53:15,680 --> 00:53:17,640
Speaker 3: There are a lot of things that we would be

1167
00:53:17,719 --> 00:53:20,120
Speaker 3: able to do even if we use a little bit

1168
00:53:20,120 --> 00:53:27,319
Speaker 3: of sugar. So the challenge is innovating within reason, but

1169
00:53:27,400 --> 00:53:29,759
Speaker 3: also pushing the boundaries and saying like okay, we can't

1170
00:53:29,920 --> 00:53:33,359
Speaker 3: use these ingredients because it doesn't fit our ethos. What

1171
00:53:33,640 --> 00:53:39,560
Speaker 3: can we do what's possible. I think we are on

1172
00:53:39,680 --> 00:53:42,440
Speaker 3: the way to doing things like that. I don't think

1173
00:53:42,480 --> 00:53:47,640
Speaker 3: we're there yet. I think our first go at funding

1174
00:53:47,640 --> 00:53:48,960
Speaker 3: in the last four and a half years has been

1175
00:53:49,400 --> 00:53:53,600
Speaker 3: delivering a better option than what exists out there currently,

1176
00:53:54,080 --> 00:53:57,160
Speaker 3: which explains the focus on a lot of the products

1177
00:53:57,160 --> 00:54:01,080
Speaker 3: suite that you see in our current range. As we

1178
00:54:01,360 --> 00:54:05,040
Speaker 3: grow and progress and get more people around, like the

1179
00:54:05,040 --> 00:54:08,359
Speaker 3: product development side, we will push the boundaries a lot more.

1180
00:54:08,360 --> 00:54:10,919
Speaker 3: Like we have a product launching or we actually have

1181
00:54:11,000 --> 00:54:14,359
Speaker 3: a number of products launching in October next month that

1182
00:54:15,160 --> 00:54:17,520
Speaker 3: in its own right, based on its nutritionals have never

1183
00:54:17,560 --> 00:54:20,360
Speaker 3: been done like globally before. Call it akin to like

1184
00:54:20,360 --> 00:54:23,000
Speaker 3: the lollipop where it was just one major brand won't

1185
00:54:23,520 --> 00:54:27,680
Speaker 3: name names. That's an example of like twelve gram lollipop

1186
00:54:27,800 --> 00:54:30,399
Speaker 3: ten point three grams of sugar. We were like, no,

1187
00:54:30,800 --> 00:54:34,520
Speaker 3: like that's not okay, let's do one grammar sugar not

1188
00:54:34,600 --> 00:54:38,719
Speaker 3: added and still tastes pretty damn similar. Yeah, we have

1189
00:54:38,800 --> 00:54:40,960
Speaker 3: other things like that which is sort of the focus.

1190
00:54:41,520 --> 00:54:44,920
Speaker 3: But we are built well. I personally didn't build it.

1191
00:54:44,960 --> 00:54:48,400
Speaker 3: I funded the building of a kitchen within our own office,

1192
00:54:48,680 --> 00:54:50,400
Speaker 3: so we have like an R and D kitchen. We

1193
00:54:50,440 --> 00:54:53,439
Speaker 3: have two product developers. They work around the clock on

1194
00:54:53,600 --> 00:54:57,040
Speaker 3: not just like confectionery, but things in other categories as

1195
00:54:57,040 --> 00:54:59,400
Speaker 3: well that could be really disruptive and interesting. So I

1196
00:54:59,400 --> 00:55:02,160
Speaker 3: would say with the like a couple of years, you

1197
00:55:02,200 --> 00:55:05,400
Speaker 3: will start to see things on a gant not necessarily

1198
00:55:05,440 --> 00:55:09,160
Speaker 3: grander scale, but grand like expansion of what we're currently doing,

1199
00:55:10,040 --> 00:55:13,799
Speaker 3: all within the same ethos and sort of brand principles. Yeah,

1200
00:55:13,800 --> 00:55:14,440
Speaker 3: we've gone.

1201
00:55:14,200 --> 00:55:17,400
Speaker 1: Well, I'll start brainstorming and if I have an idea,

1202
00:55:17,640 --> 00:55:19,759
Speaker 1: I will send it your way and then you can

1203
00:55:19,800 --> 00:55:22,160
Speaker 1: just sign me up for royalties or something because you're like, yeah,

1204
00:55:22,200 --> 00:55:23,000
Speaker 1: that was my idea.

1205
00:55:23,120 --> 00:55:23,960
Speaker 2: Now it's viral.

1206
00:55:24,680 --> 00:55:25,399
Speaker 3: We'll cut that out.

1207
00:55:26,320 --> 00:55:30,160
Speaker 1: It didn't exist well, Daniel, thank you so much for

1208
00:55:30,400 --> 00:55:34,319
Speaker 1: coming on Big Business. We always end every episode with

1209
00:55:34,600 --> 00:55:36,719
Speaker 1: a tip of the week. This can be like a

1210
00:55:36,760 --> 00:55:39,600
Speaker 1: life hack, something personal, it can be something business related.

1211
00:55:39,680 --> 00:55:41,760
Speaker 1: It can be an app or a quote or anything.

1212
00:55:41,800 --> 00:55:43,440
Speaker 2: Do you have a tip that you can leave us with?

1213
00:55:44,320 --> 00:55:47,640
Speaker 3: I do. It's not revolutionary, but it's what it's sort

1214
00:55:47,680 --> 00:55:50,240
Speaker 3: of my day to day mantra, and it's really around

1215
00:55:50,360 --> 00:55:52,680
Speaker 3: you just cannot control things that you can't control. And

1216
00:55:52,719 --> 00:55:57,880
Speaker 3: it's very simple. But I know for myself personally, I

1217
00:55:57,920 --> 00:56:01,640
Speaker 3: come up, you know, a lot of issues within the day.

1218
00:56:01,680 --> 00:56:04,440
Speaker 3: I'm sort of fire fighting constantly. And certain things you

1219
00:56:04,480 --> 00:56:07,319
Speaker 3: know that you can resolve yourself, and certain things, you know,

1220
00:56:08,000 --> 00:56:10,560
Speaker 3: maybe it takes time or cannot be resolved for a

1221
00:56:10,600 --> 00:56:13,120
Speaker 3: particular reason. And I think the sooner that you can

1222
00:56:13,160 --> 00:56:15,920
Speaker 3: come to grips with the fact that you cannot control

1223
00:56:15,960 --> 00:56:19,000
Speaker 3: the outcome of everything, the happier you will be as

1224
00:56:19,000 --> 00:56:22,680
Speaker 3: a person. And so I read something recently. The thing

1225
00:56:22,760 --> 00:56:24,560
Speaker 3: was a ceover, like a big business in the US,

1226
00:56:24,600 --> 00:56:26,640
Speaker 3: and it was they make a list. There was a

1227
00:56:26,680 --> 00:56:29,920
Speaker 3: lady CEO and she's like, these are the issues. These

1228
00:56:29,960 --> 00:56:32,160
Speaker 3: are out of the issues. This is like the outcome

1229
00:56:32,160 --> 00:56:34,000
Speaker 3: that I can control. These are the ones that I

1230
00:56:34,000 --> 00:56:36,480
Speaker 3: cannot control. And she takes ones that she can't control

1231
00:56:36,480 --> 00:56:38,279
Speaker 3: and she chucks in the bin. She's like, it's just

1232
00:56:38,320 --> 00:56:40,600
Speaker 3: not my problem anymore. And so I just think that's

1233
00:56:40,640 --> 00:56:42,760
Speaker 3: so simple but really helpful.

1234
00:56:42,800 --> 00:56:44,040
Speaker 1: And I feel like when you are a founder, like

1235
00:56:44,080 --> 00:56:46,200
Speaker 1: you can get caught up in all the little things

1236
00:56:46,239 --> 00:56:46,800
Speaker 1: every day.

1237
00:56:46,760 --> 00:56:48,680
Speaker 2: Like I'm exactly the same. Then I go home and

1238
00:56:48,760 --> 00:56:49,880
Speaker 2: lay in bed at nine things.

1239
00:56:50,480 --> 00:56:52,840
Speaker 1: Enough for this, I'm a bad person, Like I'm not

1240
00:56:52,920 --> 00:56:55,560
Speaker 1: a good boss, Like you know, that's just like but.

1241
00:56:55,520 --> 00:56:57,400
Speaker 3: Then the next night you're probably thinking, Wow, everything is

1242
00:56:57,400 --> 00:56:59,640
Speaker 3: going amazingly. So the whole thing is just always a

1243
00:56:59,719 --> 00:57:00,279
Speaker 3: roller coaster.

1244
00:57:00,480 --> 00:57:02,480
Speaker 1: Things always work out in the end, Like I always

1245
00:57:02,480 --> 00:57:04,480
Speaker 1: say to you know, like our leadership team, or if

1246
00:57:04,480 --> 00:57:05,240
Speaker 1: we've got something.

1247
00:57:05,120 --> 00:57:06,680
Speaker 2: Going on internally in the company and.

1248
00:57:06,600 --> 00:57:09,040
Speaker 1: It feels stressful, like whatever it may be, like I'll

1249
00:57:09,040 --> 00:57:12,000
Speaker 1: always say, like, there's it's gonna come to the end

1250
00:57:12,120 --> 00:57:14,960
Speaker 1: and we're gonna be fine. Yeah, no matter what, Like

1251
00:57:15,000 --> 00:57:17,360
Speaker 1: it's always going to work out one way or the other.

1252
00:57:17,840 --> 00:57:21,200
Speaker 1: Like there is another side to like and stress. So

1253
00:57:21,280 --> 00:57:24,439
Speaker 1: I absolutely love that. Where can everyone find fun day

1254
00:57:24,440 --> 00:57:26,120
Speaker 1: if they don't know where you are?

1255
00:57:26,320 --> 00:57:29,960
Speaker 3: Okay, we are located in the health food arel at

1256
00:57:30,000 --> 00:57:33,680
Speaker 3: Wolworths in confectionery and front of Stoic Holes, front of

1257
00:57:33,680 --> 00:57:37,920
Speaker 3: store at chemist Warehouse Online, we're in seven to eleven.

1258
00:57:38,640 --> 00:57:41,200
Speaker 2: You're everywhere. Sers Yeah.

1259
00:57:41,320 --> 00:57:42,920
Speaker 1: When I come down to Sydney here in the studio,

1260
00:57:42,960 --> 00:57:44,840
Speaker 1: I stop at the Twin Servos and I always get

1261
00:57:44,840 --> 00:57:45,440
Speaker 1: a little bag.

1262
00:57:48,320 --> 00:57:52,360
Speaker 3: We're also lots of like independence health food stores. I

1263
00:57:52,400 --> 00:57:55,280
Speaker 3: feel like I've missed one. Oh, we've got something coming

1264
00:57:55,320 --> 00:57:55,840
Speaker 3: up pretty soon.

1265
00:57:57,040 --> 00:57:57,960
Speaker 2: What's your favorite lollie?

1266
00:57:58,000 --> 00:58:03,280
Speaker 3: By the way, don't have a favorite. I really don't like.

1267
00:58:03,320 --> 00:58:05,720
Speaker 3: I don't have a favorite child. No, I genuinely died.

1268
00:58:06,120 --> 00:58:08,000
Speaker 2: I well, okay, what are you currently obsessed with?

1269
00:58:08,280 --> 00:58:11,800
Speaker 3: I like the peatures our peaches at the moment and.

1270
00:58:11,800 --> 00:58:13,400
Speaker 2: Are saying same mind strawberries and cream.

1271
00:58:13,400 --> 00:58:16,240
Speaker 1: If anyone wants to take my recommendation, use my affiliate

1272
00:58:16,280 --> 00:58:20,160
Speaker 1: code Ritney ten, where I make ten dollars.

1273
00:58:20,240 --> 00:58:25,160
Speaker 3: Somehow it just changes. I also like get to try

1274
00:58:25,200 --> 00:58:27,040
Speaker 3: all the new ones, Like in our kitchen we're trying

1275
00:58:27,040 --> 00:58:30,480
Speaker 3: gummies three times a week, so I get obsessed with

1276
00:58:30,520 --> 00:58:33,640
Speaker 3: the new stuff that often doesn't get to market. And

1277
00:58:33,680 --> 00:58:35,600
Speaker 3: then I just go to the R and D team

1278
00:58:35,680 --> 00:58:36,960
Speaker 3: or like, can you just make me a batch of

1279
00:58:37,040 --> 00:58:41,160
Speaker 3: like like this today, A little bit like that? Yeah?

1280
00:58:41,240 --> 00:58:41,720
Speaker 2: I love it.

1281
00:58:41,720 --> 00:58:44,480
Speaker 1: Well, thank you so much for coming on. This has

1282
00:58:44,520 --> 00:58:45,600
Speaker 1: been absolutely amazing.

1283
00:58:45,600 --> 00:58:54,280
Speaker 3: Thanks for having me. I've really loved it.