Catching Up With CUB

Daniel catches up with Greg Weiss, Founder of Soulidify. As one of Australia's most prolific employment & career advisors, Greg & his team assist business owners finding their operational half to help take their business to the next level. Daniel and Greg discuss the importance for entrepreneurs to find an 'operational soulmate' that complements their skillset and review crucial steps of onboarding new staff to increase employee retention.

Daniel catches up with Michael Dowsett from Team CUB. Playing professional Rugby all around the World for almost 10 years, Michael was looking for a new career path when he reconnected with CUB CEO & old friend Daniel and became part of a new team - Team CUB. Daniel & Michael speak about the winning mindset that got Michael to the top in professional sports, despite many odds, facing life altering adversity and discuss the principles that make a top athlete, which translate seamlessly into business.

Daniel catches up with Candice Meisels, Founder of Candice PR. After heading the PR at Disney, managing multiple European countries from their Headquarters in London, Candice moved to Australia and started her own PR business, catering specifically to small businesses and SMEs. Daniel and Candice speak about what PR actually entails, ways to get your brand out there without spending money on ads and share some invaluable PR tricks and tools every entrepreneur should add to their arsenal.

Daniel catches up with Daniel Breese, Director at AS White Global. With 7 offices across 4 countries, employing 1200 staff, ASW offers premium offshore solutions that can take your business to the next level. Daniel & Dan speak about the most important know-how around offshoring, discussing how to grow, manage & integrate an offshore team to become an invaluable asset to your business.

Daniel catches up with Charles Canning-Smith, Partner at Ballpark Ventures. Investing in early stage technology startups, the UK born venture capital firm recently saw its biggest success with the unicorn exit of fashion marketplace Depop, selling for 1.6 billion USD. Daniel and Charles discuss the key factors to look for when investing including characteristics of the right team behind a business, 'change waves' in the market and lastly a promising product.

Daniel catches up with George Dib, Founder & CEO of Amfin. With a strong focus on customer experience, the fin-tech business founded only four years ago experienced rapid growth over the past 12 months, now employing over 30 staff with a second office opening soon. Daniel and George talk about customer experience as the core of a strong company, maintaining a family like culture in your team and discuss how building a business based on your passion is a fundamental part to your success.

Daniel catches up with Gareth Krost, Director at Krost Business Furniture. Founded in the 1930s, the family business was passed on through generations. Being Australian manufactured and by adapting to market changes over time, today Krost is one of Australia's leading commercial furniture providers. Daniel and Gareth talk about the challenges and advantages of running a family business, discuss how to stay relevant over the years and the importance of constantly evolving company operations and systems.

Daniel catches up with Hussein Sheeth, Managing Director of Sheeth. Founding the boutique construction firm with his brother in 2017, Hussein and his team are setting an example in the construction industry by delivering outstanding service built around strong values across NSW, ACT, VIC & QLD. Daniel and Hussein speak about how to deliver services that stand out from the competition, how strong values will ensure client & team retention and discuss valuable tools that enable you to achieve your company's goals and vision.

Daniel catches up with Kirsten Carriol, CEO of Lanolips. After 10 years of running a successful beauty PR agency, Kirsten decided to start her own skin care company with Lanolips, building a global beauty empire which products can now be found in all major cosmetic retailers around the world. Daniel and Kirsten discuss creating a product trusted by generations, the gravity of persistence and speak about how Kirsten turned her memories of humble farm beginnings into an international beauty mega-brand.

Daniel catches up with Simon Cohen, CEO of Cohen Handler and the highest grossing buyer's agent in the country. Starring in Amazon hit TV-series 'Luxe Listings', Simon puts Sydney's property market on the world map in a new era of real estate in Australia. Daniel and Simon talk about the experience of filming 'Luxe Listings' and the impact the show has on Sydney's property market. They discuss the future of Australian Real Estate, building a strong team and review the key qualities of ideal investment properties.

Daniel catches up with Carla Efstratiou, Owner of Stylehub and Gone Tomorrow Vintage. Starting her first business at only 22, Carla now runs two thriving fashion retailers, with a couple of stores in Sydney and booming online shops. Daniel and Carla speak about finding your brand's point of difference, the courage to take risks and discuss why you shouldn't wait for your business ideas to be 'perfect' in order to start.

In this special episode, Daniel catches up with Adrian Hondros, CEO of Porter Davis, speaking about Adrian's first hand experience in New York on September 11th, 2001. On the event's 20th anniversary, Daniel and Adrian review the day that was going to change the course of a nation and discuss the learnings we can all take from it, such as leadership and communication in times of crisis, focusing on things we can control and how adversity should never stop you from what you want to do in life.

Daniel catches up with Fred Schebesta, Co-Founder of award-winning fintech company Finder. By growing the comparison website & money app 'Finder' to global success and launching several businesses along the way, Fred made the AFR Young Rich List in 2019 with a net worth of about $250 million. Daniel & Fred speak about the current rise & future of Crypto currency and discuss the principles by which he lives to reach his ultimate potential & that helped him build a global empire worth half a billion dollars.

Daniel catches up with Mikey Taylor, CEO of Lionize. The high-end Advertising Agency utilises behavioural studies & relevant data to elevate brand, design and media strategies, taking major clients such as The Iconic & Pet Circle to the next level. Daniel and Mikey speak about today's relevant advertising mediums, how to best balance traditional with new marketing channels and discuss what it means to market your product or service to an attitude rather than an audience.

Daniel catches up with Tas Costi, Co-Founder & CEO of Costi Cohen. Together with Luxe Listings' Simon Cohen, Tas Founded Australia's first dedicated commercial buyers agency to provide end to end services for commercial property buyers. Daniel and Tas discuss the current commercial property market, trends & factors to consider when buying and speak about management of productivity for leaders and employees in times like these.

Daniel catches up with Arielle Peters, Creative Director at Two Giraffes Creative. After starting her media production career in the US with shows such as People's Choice Awards & The Voice, Arielle moved to Sydney where she Founded video production company Two Giraffes, creating outstanding video content for clients such as UNSW, Lenovo and Westpac. Daniel & Arielle speak about the inspiring journey that led Arielle to where she is today and discuss the reasons every business needs great video content.

Daniel catches up with Chris King, Founder & CEO of Splend. Founded in 2015, Splend is the market leader in providing vehicles and support services to on-demand drivers who work on platforms such as Uber. Within a few years of launching the company in Sydney, Chris successfully expanded internationally, now operating across Australia & the UK. Daniel and Chris discuss the lessons learned from Splend's international expansion, ups and downs of fast growth and the challenges and benefits that came with a disruptive 2020. *Recorded prior to Lockdown

Daniel catches up with Calvin Chilchik, who has recently been announced Business Partner at CUB. Speaking about Calvin's future as the Head of CUB's Sydney CBD HQ, the two share details about the incredible new Clubhouse and its 'royal' location. Daniel and Calvin review their search for the perfect new home for Australia's Entrepreneurs and discuss the process for Founders of finding and growing the right business partner for their business.

Daniel catches up with CUB Co-Founder Anthony Mullane, talking all things new at CUB and discussing the challenges and learnings of this latest lockdown. Daniel and Anthony share how team CUB is keeping its finger on the pulse of the community and talk about CUB's new app, new Sydney CBD Clubhouse and latest branding upgrade.

Daniel catches up with CUB Members Michelle & Yasmin Horner. Shortly after founding Talent Agency 'Ignite Elite Artists' 10 years ago, Michelle decided to make the business a family affair, with daughter Yasmin heading the sub-division 'Storm Actors' and both her other children leading parts of the international business as well. Daniel, Michelle & Yasmin speak about running & building a family business, the hardship the film industry faced during COVID and how you sometimes simply have to 'just give it a GO'.

Daniel catches up with Matthew Miller, COO of Brace168. After extensive careers in the cyber security industry, Matt and his business partner founded Brace168 in 2017 with the goal to provide customers the best cyber security services & outcome. Daniel and Matt speak about the undeniable relevance of cyber security for businesses of any size as well as Matt's incredible story of overcoming two major adversities and the lessons they taught him as a businessman, a husband, father and leader.

Daniel catches up with Leigh Rust, Director of Safetyline Jalousie and multi-award-winning Entrepreneur. Starting in a garage, Leigh and his brother have since grown Safetyline Jalousie to a 2,000m2 factory in Sydney, providing louvre windows to residential, commercial and government projects nationwide. Daniel & Leigh speak about the importance of balancing family and business, constant personal development and discuss Leigh's key learnings from scaling a business to an industry leading company.

Daniel catches up with the team - Tara Sassine & Patrick Hogan, the youngest members of our CUB family. Coming from hospitality and childcare backgrounds, Patrick and Tara both decided to strike a new path at the age of 21, finding opportunity to grow professionally and personally with CUB. Daniel, Tara & Patrick discuss what attracts young talent to a business, the importance of a good work environment from day one and review the things that motivate employees to work hard and improve every day.

Daniel catches up with Riley Stewart, CEO of More Gym Members. At only 24 Riley has won multiple awards with his marketing agency MGM, owns five Gyms across Australia, founded service software 'eMGM' and launched his own supplement company with 'FUTUR3 LABS'. Daniel and Riley share hacks on writing the perfect ad copy by relating to your audience and discuss the learnings and opportunities that came out of what was a challenging 2020.

Daniel catches up with Stephen Younane, CEO of Retail Prodigy Group. After heading multiple retail corporations, Steve decided to start RPG, becoming Australia's master franchise partner of brands such as Nike, Samsung & TOMS. RPG now owns 56 stores, employing over 700 staff across AU & NZ. Daniel and Steve discuss what it takes to uphold a strong culture throughout a large corporation and review Steve's key learnings from partnering with strong brands like Nike.

Daniel catches up with Samuel Wood, CEO of Azura Runway & Azura Consulting. Azura connects retailers, designers & customers worldwide, partnering with 42 fashion marketplaces in 17 countries and has an estimate customer base of 100M. Daniel and Sam review the fascinating journey that led Sam from selling cars, to exporting coal and baby formula, all the way to running one of Australia's greatest fashion marketplaces and the opportunity in creating additional revenue streams through existing resources.

Daniel catches up with Amal Wakim & Jade Spooner, Co-Founders of Equalution. Creating a game-changing platform for weight-loss, Amal & Jade built a tech-business that turned into a multimillion-dollar empire within only five years - securing them a spot on this year's Forbes 30 Under 30 list. Daniel, Amal & Jade speak about their experiences and the challenges that come with building a tech-company and review how they turned their passion into a market leader in the Australian weight-loss industry.

Daniel catches up with Allan Dall, CEO of The Glue. Going from a degree in the science of plants to running a successful IT-business, Allan and his team create and execute technology strategies and risk management for businesses across Australia and Asia-Pacific. Daniel and Allan speak about the gaps in the technology service industry, pros and cons of running a business transparently and discuss different management styles.

Daniel catches up with Nicole Billett, Managing Director & CEO of Teddington Legal. After a 20 year career in strategy, sales and marketing, Nicole now runs TT Legal together with her husband Mark Gardiner since 2012. Daniel and Nicole speak about running a business as a married couple, finding points of difference for yourself and your business and discuss authenticity in business.

Daniel catches up with Matt Browne, Managing Partner of Black Nova Group. Matt is a founder of one of 10 Australian start ups to ever experience Y combinator, Silicon Valley's top venture capital fund. After returning to Australia, Matt decided to deliver Aussie start ups a similar experience through his own venture capital fund, Black Nova Group. Daniel and Matt discuss effective defence strategies required to position your business as a category leader and review key factors to win over investors.

Daniel catches up with Karen Finch & Bianca Dowdell-Munro, the Owners of Legally Yours. Both coming from extensive entrepreneurial backgrounds, Karen & Bianca are now on a mission to innovate the legal industry, bringing fix-cost billing to the Australian Market. Daniel, Karen & Bianca discuss the long overdue modernisation of law practice, their experiences in traditionally male-dominated industries and they talk about balancing entrepreneurship and motherhood.

Daniel catches up with Chris Christofi, Founder & CEO of Reventon. At 25, starting the business with $300k in debt, Chris since grew his finance company to a multi-award-winning firm with over $1b in sales and currently $700m under management, all while establishing a significant property portfolio. Daniel and Chris discuss the traits of a winning mindset and how a relentless approach will lead your company to success by setting your business up even for the difficult times.

Daniel catches up with Nathan Taddeo, Chief Lending Officer at Finspo. After 5 years of running his multi-award-winning finance company Credo, Nathan decided to take his years of experience to fintech-business Finspo, joining their mission to help everyday Australians save money by building better banking habits. Daniel and Nathan discuss the challenges and perks of joining the family business and they discuss what is often the enemy of industries but also opportunity for modern businesses - bad stigmas.

Daniel catches up with Andy Watson, Partner at Accounting Powerhouse Smith Feutrill. Buying into the business in 2015 at only 26, Andy now looks after some of Victoria's key Real Estate Agents, Property Developers, and Financial Services Businesses. Daniel and Andy discuss the financial hacks of the top 1%, use of trust funds and the importance of evaluating your accountant's work.

Daniel catches up with Godwin Hili, Founder & Creative Director of Godwin Charli. After he reimagined the approach to made-to-measure, Godwin Charli has been at the forefront of men's and women's tailoring in Australia, worn by celebrities around the country since 2007. Daniel and Godwin speak about his rise as an industry icon, the adversity that can come with rapid business growth and Godwin shares how defining his values saved him and his business.

Daniel catches up with Chris Round, Intellectual Property Lawyer and Partner at K&L Gates. Being a part of one of the largest global law firms for over 20 years, Chris has been responsible for copyright, trademark and design litigation of high-profile clients such as the AFL. His work has received international recognition through multiple accolades. Daniel and Chris review all you need to know about registering your company's trademark, what to consider when choosing your brand-name and discuss important facts about trademark laws when scaling internationally.

Daniel catches up with Dr Lillian Nejad, Director of Omnipsych & Skills for Life. In addition to providing cutting edge clinical psychological services at her own clinic, Lillian is dedicated to teaching others crucial life skills that help with dealing with anxiety, insomnia, pressure and much more through her books and online courses. Daniel and Lillian discuss how to best handle the stress every business owner is dealing with, they speak about the importance of managing our anxiety and how there is so much more to happiness than we might think.

Daniel catches up with Nick Reilly, Managing Director of Inovayt. With offices around the country, Inovayt offers a diverse range of financial services not just for the wealthy, focusing on the needs of everyday Australians. Daniel and Nick speak about the art of delegating within your business in order to grow with stability, they look at the pros and cons of generating multiple revenue streams and discuss how to build successful referral-partnerships.

Daniel catches up with Paul Walton, Co-Founder of Flare Creative. With clients such as Ferrari and Pernod Ricard, Flare Creative delivers innovative concepts that challenge the status quo of customer experiences - re-imagining events virtually and in person. Daniel and Paul talk about finding opportunity in expanding your company's offering, creating lucrative side-hustles you're passionate about and look into the steps of creating a brand experience that will leave your customer with goose bumps.

Daniel catches up with George Guse, Managing Director of Arc Renewable Group. George started his first successful internationally operated business at only 19. Now at 30, his experience and knowledge in the renewable energy sector make him one of Australia's leaders in the rapidly growing industry. Daniel and George discuss how the evolution of renewable energy is impacted by capitalism & constantly changing policies, the future of the industry and answer an important question: "What is it we can guarantee our customer?"

Daniel catches up with Andrew McKenna, CEO of SelectPay. After successfully running multiple recruitment agencies over the past decade, Andrew identified a gap in the market for cash flow efficiency. This year he officially launched SelectPay, a buy now, pay later solution for businesses. Daniel and Andrew speak about the significance & contents of a 24-months cash flow plan, what to consider when hiring a recruitment agency as well as when and why it's time for a business to scale.

SPECIAL EPISODE! To celebrate 50 episodes, our host & CUB Founder Daniel Hakim switches seats, and speaks with team members Alice & Anthony about the history, present and future of CUB, revealing more about the man who made it all possible. Daniel, Alice and Anthony talk about the value of community and culture and discuss how adversity and challenges have the ability to lead you towards your goals.

Daniel catches up with Brian Lim, CEO of Wise Networking. Combining his extensive knowledge on communication & outer space, Brian created the world's first on demand telecommunication network deployable by air - a solution for the loss of infrastructure during natural disasters. Daniel and Brian talk about current developments in the space industry, the impact of geopolitics on the market and discuss why now is the time to start a 'space business' due to a distinctive decrease in cost of resources.

Daniel catches up with Susan Werkner & Peter Applebaum, Co-Founders of The Agency Accelerators. After extensive careers in Digital Marketing & co-hosting the show 'Marketing Matters' on Sky News, they are now providing a proven "business development in a box" program to B2B businesses. Daniel, Susan & Peter run through their 4 step program for agencies, service businesses and consultants, including key ways to gain corporate clients, rapid growth through LinkedIn and winning new clients without pitching.

Daniel catches up with Adrian Bo, one of the founding Partners at McGrath Estate Agents. Being one of Australia's thought-leaders in the industry, Adrian now shares the experiences and lessons learnt over 31 years in the game through coaching and business advisory. Daniel and Adrian speak about the 4 pillars to being successful in the Real Estate industry, they address the reputation of the industry as a whole and discuss how Adrian overcame great adversity by following the philosophy of Stoicism.

Daniel catches up with Belinda Agnew, Founder of Foccus Group & Foccus Media. Starting her Recruitment Agency Foccus Group just 3 years ago, Belinda now expanded her services with Foccus Media, a Digital Agency that focuses on brand awareness and content creation. Daniel and Belinda talk about the importance of personal branding and authenticity in business and discuss the future of female entrepreneurship in Australia.

Daniel catches up with Monika Lama & Marcello Pinto. Marcello, CEO of Exponential Investments & Monika, owner of Lama Family Lawyers, met at CUB only last year. Now the two are running a new and innovative law firm together - Pinto Lama Lawyers & Advisers - which they are now expanding internationally. Daniel, Monika & Marcello speak about their experiences at CUB, the power of relationships built with likeminded people & share some valuable knowledge in their areas of expertise, Family Law & Investment.

Daniel catches up with Tim Griffiths, Co-Founder & CSO of Xref - an ASX listed pre-employment reference checking platform with clients such as Westpac, NSW Gov & Buckingham Palace. Tim himself is an MBA‑qualified technologist with over 23 years' global experience advising companies, including Virgin and SkyTV. Daniel and Tim speak about his experience with start-ups & big corporations, the benefits of listing your company and discuss failing in business & the courage to start over again.

Daniel catches up with Lachlan Rowston & Raphael Freedman, the Co-Founders of Creature Fitness and LOCKEROOM. Besides innovating the Australian gym industry, the two also run the country's #1 fitness podcast 'The MindMuscleProject', educating listeners on health, nutrition and exercise. Daniel, Lachlan & Raph discuss the present & future of the fitness industry, how 'The MindMuscleProject' became one of the leading fitness podcasts in the world and speak about ways to improve your overall health and performance.

Daniel catches up with Emma Blomfield, Founder of Emma Blomfield & Décor Library. A specialist in residential interior decorating & design, Emma works on projects from multi res unit blocks through to family homes. At only 33 Emma is a two-time bestselling author and holds the title of being the first member to ever join CUB. Daniel and Emma speak about the benefits of publishing a book as an entrepreneur, the intricacy of home styling and review Emma's 5 years of Membership at the CUB.