(Anything But) Banker to Broker

Today's guest went from designing ice cream parlours with crayons at age six... to designing bespoke kitchens on the Gold Coast... to running marketing for one of Australia's biggest real estate brands, before finally landing where she was always meant to be. Alisha Scappin is the founder of Allora Finance , a Brisbane-based brokerage she launched in February 2020, just weeks before COVID...

Will Miles didn't have a plan. He had a Target uniform, a carpentry certificate, and a mate who kept talking about property. Growing up in Melbourne's eastern suburbs, Will bounced through business at Swinburne, picked up carpentry at TAFE, and worked the odd job here and there Village Cinemas, the tools, whatever came next. It wasn't until his best mate pulled him into the world of pr...

Kane Dury joined the Australian Army the week after 9/11, spent 12 years working his way up to Sergeant, and was quietly buying investment properties the whole time. After the Army came the mines, then mortgage broking on the Gold Coast — built from scratch, one late night at a time. When the Royal Commission threw the industry into chaos, Kane kept going. When a remuneration change wiped out his...

Azem Ozcagli graduated with a criminology degree, applied to hundreds of jobs, and never got a single interview. Then COVID hit, he lost his retail job, and ended up doing demolition work just to survive. A phone call from a mate pulled him into finance — and a year later, he and two colleagues launched OVM Finance Group from the back of a carpool. This one's about taking risks when you've...

Some people get into broking because they wanted a career change. Emma Reiterer got here because life didn't give her any other option but to keep going. Before becoming a mortgage broker, Emma was a registered nurse at The Alfred Hospital's radiotherapy department – a role that hit close to home after her younger sister was diagnosed with melanoma at just 18 years old. Emma cared for her...

This bloke went from marking assignments to settling loans, but the path wasn't nearly as smooth as it sounds. Tim spent years in the classroom before making the jump into broking. But the early days weren't easy. Fluctuating workloads, stress that didn't match the pay, and the constant question of whether this was actually going to work. Then came a chance encounter at an auction that...

Today's guest got rejected by ~20 different brokerages before he even started. Emmanuel Marios was working in commercial floor coverings, running tenders and managing projects for his family's business. But on a beach in Greece, he turned to his dad and said, "I quit. I want to build my own legacy." He came back to Australia, applied everywhere, and heard the same thing over and...

Before mortgage broking, Tristan Vercoe served in the Royal Australian Navy. Raised by a father who overcame poverty to become an artillery officer and a mother who balanced career with family, Tristan learned early that discipline and community matter. After years in uniform, he transitioned into finance, carrying the leadership and resilience the military builds into you. Now he's passionate...

Before he was coaching brokers and building businesses, Ryan Toppin was making smoothies at Boost Juice, trying to figure out how the world worked. Growing up in Perth Ryan learned early that he'd have to carve his own path. That grit took him from the Boost counter into asset finance at Stratton Finance, where he went from broker to State Manager for Victoria. But it wasn't a straight line. Ryan...

He went from being a beach lifeguard on the Central Coast to building in a broker business. No banking background, no credit team experience, just a willingness to learn and a belief that he could figure it out. In this conversation, we dig into Austin's journey: why university felt like the wrong fit, how he stumbled into finance through a CSM role, and what it's really like to start from scratch...

Before he was talking to brokers about scale, valuation and growth, Simon Lewis was building something very different — a meat company. The early days of McKenzies Meats taught him about hustle, margins, people and what it takes to keep a business alive long before he ever stepped into the world of finance. In this episode, Simon traces the journey from selling steaks to helping brokers understand...

Aaron joins us for a conversation that traces his journey from exercise physiology into the world of finance and broking. He talks about growing up in a tight-knit working-class family, the competitive streak that pushed him through sport and study, and the early values that shaped how he understands people today. Aaron opens up about burnout and the moment he realised the health industry was no l...

Before he was helping families secure finance, Shimon Shmerling was on a completely different path — studying to become a junior rabbi. His world revolved around purpose, service, and understanding human behaviour on a deeper level. In this episode, Shimon shares how that foundation shaped the broker he is today. We get into the shift from spiritual study to finance, the moment he realised he was...

Before she ever stepped into broking, Victoria Cakakios was chasing a very different dream, one built on runways, glossy shoots, and the idea of working in high fashion. She did the internships. She worked backstage at the Melbourne Fashion Show. She did everything you’re “meant” to do to break into the industry. And then she saw it up close. The stress. The competitiveness. The cattiness. The “wh...

Before he was coaching brokers on how to scale, Sam Panetta was on the tools — a spray painter who built his career from pure work ethic and grit. No finance degree. No contacts. Just discipline and a hunger to build something bigger. When he made the jump into broking, he didn’t ease in — he went all-in. In his first year , Sam wrote around $60 million in loans, learning the game the hard way and...

Lewis knew what he wanted before most kids even knew who they were. As a schoolboy, he dreamt of earning his place in Australia’s elite Special Forces. He did it. Became a Commando. Lived the discipline, the brotherhood, the pressure. But somewhere along the line, the fire shifted. In this episode, Lewis talks about what happens when the purpose that once defined you starts to fade — and how he fo...

This week we head down the South Coast to chat with Joe Mascaro , the friendly face behind Aussie Vincentia and Aussie Nowra — a husband, dad, and lifelong local who’s turned customer service into a superpower. Before he was helping families secure homes, Joe was running the Vincentia Post Office and helping out in his family’s grocery store , learning early that good business starts with good peo...

Marcus’s career started under the hood — literally. As a teenager, he took on a mechanical apprenticeship, learning the value of precision, patience, and getting his hands dirty. From there, he jumped into car sales — first consumer, then fleet — where he swapped tools for talk and discovered he had a knack for reading people and closing deals. But when his parents packed up from Western Sydney to...

Dan’s story isn’t linear — it’s layered. He grew up in his parents’ coffee shop, learning early that business starts with people, not profit. That lesson carried him through a career in law, a stint in recruitment, and eventually into broking — where all three collide. We get into the beauty and ills of recruitment: the high of helping someone find their fit, and the grind of dealing with people w...

This one’s raw. Rory opens up about growing up tough, leaving school early, and making the call to walk away from a life that could’ve gone very differently. It’s not a highlight reel — it’s a reckoning. We talk about the moments that force you to grow up fast, the people who pull you forward, and the grit it takes to rebuild yourself from scratch. Today, he’s leading Aurelius Capital — sharp, gro...

From factory floor to financial force — Peter Savage’s story is proof that mindset trumps background. Before founding his fast-growing brokerage, Peter was a machine operator who spent his nights learning about property and wealth creation. He didn’t come from money — he came from grit, curiosity, and a hunger to build something bigger. In this episode, we dive into how Peter went from working-cla...

Before she was “Katie the Broker,” Katie was building brands, not broking deals. After eight years in marketing across London and Brisbane, buying her first home opened her eyes to how confusing the process can be — and it sparked a whole new career. Now, she’s helping first-home buyers feel confident, informed, and seen. We chat about her leap from marketing to mortgages, how storytelling became...

In this episode, we sit down with Jimmy Shepherd , who’s lived a tale of two SAs — moving from South Africa to South Australia by way of Melbourne , chasing opportunity, hard work, and a little bit of peri-peri heat along the way. Jimmy’s story starts behind the counter at Nando’s , where a casual job for “beer money” turned into a full-blown dream — owning five restaurants and building a reputati...

In this episode, we sit down with It’s Simple Finance founder Joseph Daoud for a raw, heartfelt chat about life before, during, and beyond broking. We dig into upbringing, family bonds, and the moments that shaped both the man and the business — with a few unexpected cameos from Joseph’s young son, Charlie, along the way. (Quick heads up — the audio on my end isn’t perfect in this one, but the con...

At 25, Mohammed Zahr was knee-deep in construction dust, chasing a paycheck but craving purpose. Weekends were spent studying property, finance, and the path to something more. One interviewer told him, “Broking is for you.” It took another year — and a few detours — before he made the leap. By April 2022 , Mohammed started as a broker support officer, and just two weeks in, he knew he’d found his...