The Mentor with Mark Bouris

This week my guest is Cam Northway, founder of drinks agency Sweet&Chilli. From humble beginnings designing cocktail menus for bars in 2006, they now have offices in Australia, USA and UK and hundreds of staff. Cam's business specialises in consultancy for bar and restaurant design, bar staff training, and events design and management- capitalising on the enormous nightlife culture worldwide....

This episode is a bit different for The Mentor, talking with the founder of not-for-profit organisation Seven Women, Stephanie Woollard. Mark and Steph talk about the challenges that face every entrepreneur in running a business - growing sustainably, managing burnout, overcoming obstacles, and finding funding - and how it's important for all charities to think like corporate businesses in running...

In our first podcast for 2018, Mark talks with Mario and Alex from Spriggy, a digital pocket-money tool for children. With Spriggy, parents put money onto a card for their kids who can save and spend money and set financial goals - while parents can track and monitor everything from the app. We talk about teaching financial literacy, the Spriggy business model, and how to influence behaviour with...

Mark is joined by a special guest: celebrity chef, restauranteur and fellow PodcastOne host, Gary Mehigan. They talk about Gary's rise from working as an apprentice chef to working in Michelin-hatted restaurants, and then the journey of owning and running restaurants and cafes. Gary opens up about how hard it is to build a brand, working as a media personality, and figuring out the numbers game wh...

Mark speaks to Madelienne Anderson and Rebecca Fox, the founders of a markets business in Sydney's eastern suburbs - Cambridge Markets. They're being counter-intuitive to everyone obsessed with online retail (Amazon, anyone?) and building a thriving physical marketplace for thousands of customers, with local business vendors selling premium quality goods. We talk about shopping habits, building co...

Mark takes a look at digital and creative agencies - with one man who has both worked for them and started his own. Kiel Van Daal is the co-founder of Digilante, an agency with a streamlined, agile approach to delivering rebrands and digital creative. They talk about the traditional agency model, the continuous challenge of innovation, and how Kiel works hard to avoid turning into the type of agen...

Mark has a very special guest this week - the Australian Treasurer, the Hon. Scott Morrison MP. He and Mark talk about the government's Small Business Digital Taskforce that Mark will be chairing, looking at all the digital tools available to small business owners to improve their productivity, efficiency and work/life balance. More importantly though, the taskforce will be examining all the barri...

This week Mark talks partnerships and cross promotion - in the interests of collaboration for business. His guest is Jess Ruhfus, the founder of Collabosaurus, which is a match-making platform for big brands and small businesses. The site connects businesses with similar goals and audiences, taking lots of time and hard work out of the partnership process. They speak about how she built the tech,...

Things get a bit fiery this week - talking about the challenges facing the restaurant industry with all its rules and regulations. Our guest is Antonio Ruggerino, owner and chef at Verde Restaurant + Bar in Sydney. Antonio tells Mark how council and government make running a restaurant hard business, as well as the challenges of finding staff who excel in hospitality. They talk about innovation, n...

Mark talks to Ben Wong and Charbel Zeaiter, the founders of digital education company Academy Xi. They specialise in courses in areas such as virtual reality, augmented reality, user experience design and growth marketing and recently closed a $2.25 million investment round. These two are really committed to teaching critical digital skills to a new wave of the workforce. We discuss raising capita...

Mark speaks to Denan Kemp - a former NRL player who has launched a beer company, designed to be the perfect companion for watching the footy at the pub or on the couch. He is also the host of his own sports interview show on Facebook, called 'The Locker Room'. We discuss the challenges of starting a business with your partner, how to grow a business while minimising risk, and how important brand i...

Mark speaks with a man in the business of coaching. Marcus West has been a presentation coach for 20 years and recently started an online platform to help salespeople with their training process. Users can rehearse their pitches and presentations, get feedback from a coach or their manager, and share with other users in their workplace. It's a great conversation about the theatre and art of sellin...

All pet owners have experienced the problem where it's hard to get out-of-hours medical advice from a vet for peace of mind. This weeks guest is solving that problem. VetChat connects people with vets for video consultations and text chats to help give on-call medical advice. We talk about the business model, getting vets on board and the future plans. Join the Facebook Group. Follow Mark Bouris o...

Mark talks to Alex Houseman, the founder of Over The Moo, a dairy-free ice cream company born out of necessity - Alex is lactose intolerant. Over The Moo is now in Woolworths, IGA and Foodworks around Australia and looking to expand internationally. Mark and Alex talk about business models, creating exotic flavours and when is the right time to look for investors. Join the Facebook Group. Follow M...

Mark sits down with former Olympic swimming champion Michael Klim about his skincare business, MILK & Co. Michael's company has been around for almost a decade, with his skincare range in 3000 stores domestically. Mark and Klimmy talk about starting a brand from scratch, expanding into Asia and why work-life balance is so important when running a global business. Join the Facebook Group. Follo...

Mark talks to Cameron Harrison and John Treloar, who went from running a mobile bicycle repair van to providing bike service options for businesses and buildings all around Sydney. They're also involved in selling electric bikes, encouraging more people to be active without having to break a sweat with a motor-assisted ride. They discuss the future of the business with more people riding bikes, an...

Mark talks to Sam Canavan from Sport Heroes. They're an app that links to your fitness tracker and offers you rewards, discounts from brands, exclusive offers and prizes, just for exercising - effectively frequent flyer points for your activity. They talk about hacking into Nike, tracking data and the huge opportunities ahead for the business. Join the Facebook Group. Follow Mark Bouris on  I...

This week, Mark focuses on a business that serves man's best friend - their pets. Adam, Scott and Holly are the founders of Raw and Fresh Pet Food, which has grown from working in a shipping container in the back yard to producing and delivering two tonnes of made-to-order fresh pet food each week. They've done it all themselves and are now ready to franchise and scale up. Join the Facebook Group....

Mark talks with Christie Whitehill, who made her first move into the tech world with a dating app that was blown out of the water by Tinder. Since then she's launched Hatching Lab, an innovation partner and software developer for large corporates and startups; and a program called Tech Ready Women supporting other women turn their tech ideas into reality. Join the Facebook Group. Follow Mark Bouri...

Mark speaks to Nick Langton, the co-founder of Wimp 2 Warrior, a 22-week mixed martial arts program in gyms worldwide, training amateurs to be ready for their first fight. It is backed by some of MMA's biggest names including John Kavanagh and Conor McGregor - and has ambitious growth plans. Nick talks about going global, the challenges of raising capital and why anyone who does the program deserv...

This week Mark sits down with woman credited with coining the term "activewear", Lorna Jane Clarkson - the founder of the hugely successful Lorna Jane fashion label. Lorna Jane talks about her humble beginnings in a gym 29 years ago, the biggest challenges in her career, tall poppy syndrome, and why budding entrepreneurs should just go for it. Join the Facebook Group. Follow Mark Bouris on  I...

This week Mark speaks to Martin Halphen, who took his business The Fruit Box Group from delivering fresh fruit to 300 households in Melbourne to more than 30,000 deliveries each week around Australia. Hear how he did it and what he plans to do next. Join the Facebook Group. Follow Mark Bouris on  Instagram ,  LinkedIn   & YouTube . Want to grow your business and stay ahead of th...

This week Mark speaks to Phil Scardigno, the founder of online DIY retailer Monsta. Monsta is cutting out the middle man selling paint and other DIY products directly to consumers, and using technology to provide easy support and advice. The conversation isn't just about taking on the big boys, it's about manufacturing in Australia, marketing, social media, engaging with customers and how to grow...

First up this week on The Mentor is Melissa Morphet - whose wellness product, Be Broth, an Aussie-first ready to drink bone broth - is now selling in Woolworths. Then Mark speaks to James Kitchener who runs Jack Media, a lead generation and sales agency living the dream based out of Byron Bay. Join the Facebook Group. Follow Mark Bouris on  Instagram ,  LinkedIn   & YouTube . Want to grow your...

This week on The Mentor with Mark Bouris, this a special episode with former NRL player Alex McKinnon. After a life-changing injury ended his footy career in 2014, Alex has since quit his role in recruitment at the Newcastle Knights to start a new career in business. Mark sat down with Alex and his fiancée Teigan to talk through all the things he needs to work on when it comes to speak...