The Mentor with Mark Bouris

If this year has shown us anything, it’s that mobility, flexibility and understanding your customer are essential to any successful business. Customer loyalty is hard to win and you can’t get it by just offering a great product – you must create amazing experiences around your brand as well...

One industry that has boomed this year is horticulture, with people spending more time working on their garden, reaping the benefits of sustainable living and the ‘do it yourself’ ethos. Simon Holloway is the Marketing and Sales Director of Vegepod, a self-watering, portable garden bed company helping people grow their own food at home. Following their win on Shark Tank in 2016, Vegepod’s success has spread beyond Australia to 19 countries...

Don Robertson and Matilda Murray are the co-owners of STAX, a fashion-forward, premium activewear brand for all shapes and sizes. This year STAX had a surge of new business as people started to work - and work out - from home, and demand for comfortable clothing boomed. So much so that during lockdown, STAX released a collection of activewear that earned them $150,000 in just seven minutes...

Today's guest is proof that a great product, the ability to adapt and evolve, and a strong community around you can really make a business thrive, even in challenging times. Ed West is the owner of Poho Flowers, a Sydney florist that offers a premium retail experience as well as an online store, and creates contemporary floral arrangements for weddings, offices and hotels...

Simon Griffiths is the co-founder and CEO of Who Gives a Crap, a toilet paper subscription startup that builds toilets in the developing world. Simon launched the business in 2012 with a crowdfunding campaign where he live-streamed himself sitting on a toilet for 50 hours, which attracted global media attention and generated 2.5 million social media hits. Since launching, Who Gives A Crap has tripled in size year-on-year, largely relying on word-of-mouth to fuel its growth...

Joe Darling is the Founder and owner of The Pottery Shed, a studio workshop with everything you need to create handmade pottery. Born and raised in California, Joe got interested in creating objects with clay while at school. He retrained as a Police officer with the US Army and was deployed to Europe, but maintained his pottery skills and in 2016 started The Pottery Shed...

My guest this week has a career spanning over 30 years in the Australian food industry - dozens of awards, TV shows like MasterChef and My Restaurant Rules and best-selling cookbooks to his name, and owns some of Australia’s most celebrated restaurants and bars. Yep, it’s safe to say that Matt Moran is an Aussie food icon. Like all hospitality venues, Matt’s restaurants were hit hard by the restrictions around Covid19...

One thing that’s become clearer than ever this year is that brand authenticity and consistency as well as being able to adapt and evolve are essential in business. Someone who knows a lot about creating authenticity through brave design and innovation for the future is Ian Cartabiano, President of Toyota Europe Design Development, who is responsible for the progressive direction of Lexus vehicle design...

Daniel Hakim is the founder and CEO of CUB, Australia’s fastest growing community of established entrepreneurs and business leaders focused on a common goal – to help each other succeed by sharing their knowledge and experience. Daniel launched his business in 2015 when he was just 23, after being kicked out of two universities and deciding he wanted to make a difference in the world of business and networking...

My guest today is a great example of how to take a problem and create a purposeful business that drives positive change for everyday people. Lisa Hollinshead is the founder and CEO of One Another Community, a platform that connects skilled professionals who have pro bono capacity with those who need help in their local community, both in response to COVID-19 and as a longer-term solution to address the global loneliness epidemic...