Agency

Dain Walker

In 2018, I was broke, 200k in debt, and working an unfulfilling job. I started a content creation agency and scaled it from 1 freelancer to a team of 30+ in just 4 short years. Now I run Australia’s fastest-growing agency: rivyl. As a guy who runs an agency working with global brands and celebrities, I decided to start interviewing people who take Agency over their lives. To unpack what entrepreneurs do to get ahead in business and life. My goal is to unearth the tactics, mindset, and motives that make high performers tick so you can get a leg up and take Agency with whatever you’re doing.

  1. 5 days ago

    #132 - The "Invoice" Every Founder Pays For The 16-Hour Day | Robert Van der Moigg

    Founder burnout is real, and Robert Van der Moigg can prove it. You work 16 hour days, you skip the recovery, and you tell yourself you'll fix your health once the business is built. Robert spent 20 years managing the private lives of self made billionaires and royalty, and he has bad news for you. Your biology is keeping a ledger, and one day it sends the invoice. In this episode of The Agency Podcast, Robert, the founder of Life X DNA, breaks down preventative health, longevity, and epigenetics, and what the ultra wealthy understood about optimising their bodies decades before the rest of us. He explains why he believes the system focuses on treating illness more than preventing it, how DNA testing and genetic testing went from millions of dollars to a few hundred, and the exact toll the entrepreneur grind can take on your body. We cover the science of burnout and chronic nervous system overload, why the founder grind can accelerate aging, inflammation, methylation, gut health, cold plunge and sauna protocols, circadian rhythm and sleep, and why he thinks most supplements are a waste of money. Robert also shares his take on where the wellness and food industries fall short, from supplement marketing to what ends up in the food supply. If you are a founder, entrepreneur, or high performer running yourself into the ground, this conversation on health optimisation, biohacking, and longevity is the wake up call before the invoice arrives. This conversation is for general information and entertainment only and is not medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional. Book Rivyl in for a free 30-minute call, here: http://l.rivyl.com/JUPbkj Level up your agency with Wix Studio today: https://www.wix.com/studio (00:00) Intro (01:35) 20 Years Managing Billionaires' Private Lives (07:10) Your Genes Are a Roadmap, Not a Destiny (10:01) Treating Illness vs Preventing It (16:49) The Business Model Behind Modern Medicine (20:19) Your Laptop Isn't Your Most Important Device (22:46) The 16-Hour Founder Day, Dissected (25:04) Chronic Nervous System Overload (a.k.a. Burnout) (27:40) Fix Your Morning: Get the Phone Out of the Bedroom (37:21) Cold, Heat & Sun: Comfort Is Making You Soft (46:11) Why He Can Eat Gluten in Europe but Not at Home (53:07) How the Founder Grind Accelerates Aging (01:03:43) Why Blind Supplements Are "Expensive Urine" (01:11:08) Robert's Pacemaker Wake-Up Call (01:16:59) Don't Be the Richest Man in the Graveyard

  2. 17 July

    #131 - Stop Treating Social Media Like a Billboard: Showpo's Content Strategy | Jane Lu

    Jane is the mastermind and "The Lazy CEO" behind Showpo, a massive global E-commerce empire. Jane realised that spending 40 years climbing the corporate accounting ladder wasn't financial security, it was a life she didn't want. So, she took a leap. But when her first business failed and her partner quit, telling her that "nobody shops online," Jane didn't back down. Determined to prove everyone wrong, she built a new website in a single night and launched what would eventually become Showpo. Because she had no money and couldn't bear the shame of telling her parents she quit her prestigious job, Jane lived a double life. For two full years, she put on a corporate suit and rode the bus into the city with her mum, secretly building her business on the side. She bootstrapped her inventory by carrying giant bags of clothes on public transport and utilized a zero-cash consignment hack to get stock without paying upfront. In this episode, Jane breaks down the strategies she used to grow Showpo, the marketing that put it on the map, and the lessons she learned along the way. In this episode, we break down: • The 2-Year Secret: Why Jane kept Showpo from her immigrant parents until she could buy them a car and pay off their mortgage.• The Zero-Inventory Strategy: How to launch an online store without buying stock upfront.• Growing Without a Marketing Budget: The $0 strategy that took Showpo from 3,000 to 20,000 followers in a month.• Defying the Gatekeepers: Why Jane refused to give equity to a CTO who said she'd never reach $100M without him.• Surviving the E-Commerce Trap: How to manage dead stock, avoid endless discounting, and protect your margins.• The Power of Taking Action: Why execution beats intelligence every time. (00:00) Intro (06:44) Leaving the corporate "prison sentence" (10:55) Her first business & "nobody shops online" (12:07) The shame of failing and hiding it from her parents (15:17) Why you shouldn't quit your job (20:16) The second business: first sale in a week (24:14) Telling her parents (two years later) (27:24) What no one tells you about e-commerce (34:12) Going viral: the Facebook growth hack (38:49) Becoming the "Lazy CEO" (43:15) Why every founder needs a personal brand (53:36) Value vs. selling: social isn't a license to sell (1:04:22) "You'll never hit $100M". Let's prove them wrong (1:14:16) Family, business & having it all (1:30:37) Agency beats intelligence

  3. 11 July

    #130 - How to Build A Business When You Have No Money | Yasser Zaki

    When Yasser Zaki left Egypt for Australia, his father gave him one warning: "Don't come back crying". Within months, he found himself broke, sleeping under a tree in Campsie, and eating one meal a day at 4 PM just to survive the night.  Fast forward to today, Yasser is the powerhouse CEO of Tender Loving Care spanning 7 industries, 9 businesses, 8 countries, and 3,000 employees.In this episode, Yasser reveals the secrets to his systems. He shares the story of how he called out the boss's integrity, only to be betrayed by a coworker and fired in month one. More importantly, he breaks down the exact high-level business mechanics he used to scale, from the horizontal ecosystem strategy he learned from Richard Branson to the "backward" butcher paper planning method that guarantees success. In this episode, Yasser reveals the secrets to his systems. He shares the story of how he called out the boss's integrity, only to be betrayed by a coworker and fired in month one. More importantly, he breaks down the exact high-level business mechanics he used to scale, from the horizontal ecosystem strategy he learned from Richard Branson to the "backward" butcher paper planning method that guarantees success. In this episode, we break down:• The Reality of Starting Over: Surviving extreme poverty and outsmarting a rigged system.• The Vengeance Mindset: How getting stitched up by a coworker fueled Yasser to become the number one salesman.• The Branson Blueprint: Why vertical scaling is dangerous and how horizontal ecosystems de-risk your empire.• Acquisition Arbitrage: How to buy companies that service your own business and instantly multiply their value.• The Butcher Paper Strategy: Why you should reverse engineer your goals and completely ignore your current skills.• Scaling to 3,000 Employees: Why processes create culture and why relying on people will break your systems.• Building Elite Leaders: How Yasser dared his Head of Growth to beat his skill set and how she eventually took his job as Group CEO. Book Rivyl in for a free 30-minute call, here: http://l.rivyl.com/JUPbkj Level up your agency with Wix Studio today: https://www.wix.com/studio (00:00) - Introduction(01:27) - "Don't Come Back Crying": Arriving in Australia(10:06) - Fired in Month One: The Sales Betrayal(14:56) - Surviving on One Meal a Day at 4 PM(27:21) - The 2-Day Butcher Paper Business Strategy(32:29) - The Backward Business Plan: Reverse Engineering Success(41:00) - How to Control the Conversation with Mentors(43:55) - The Richard Branson Horizontal Scaling Strategy(45:32) - Acquisition Arbitrage: Buying Your Own Supply Chain(58:35) - Daring His Employee to Take His Job as CEO(1:04:11) - Scaling to 3,000 Employees: Systems vs. People(1:13:15) - The True Cost of Fear in Business Growth(1:25:23) - A Ship Without Goodness Sinks

  4. 3 July

    #129 - The Truth About Success From A 2x Guinness World Record Holder | James Castrission

    In this episode, we sit down with James Castrission, founder of MyAdventure Group and a 2 x Guinness World Record holding explorer who left a safe job at Deloitte to tackle the most treacherous environments on Earth. James shares the unfiltered reality of stripping away corporate ego, building elite teams, and using extreme adversity to forge an unbreakable mindset.We dive straight into the mechanics of survival and leadership. From paddling across the Tasman Sea for 62 days, to dragging 160kg sleds 2,200km across Antarctica, James unpacks what it takes to survive and translates those lessons into business.In this episode, we break down:• The Corporate Escape: Why James quit his Big 4 accounting job and risked everything to escape a predetermined life.• Surviving the Tasman Sea: The reality of 13-meter waves, zero sleep, and sharks bumping their kayak in the dark.• The Antarctic Rivalry: How an unexpected rival turned a 2,200km ski into the ultimate test of endurance.• The Execution Rule: Why talent is overrated in business, and how meticulous planning allows you to adapt to chaos.• Extreme Accountability: The psychological shift that happens when leaders take absolute blame for a team's failure.• Stripping the Ego: How James breaks down corporate titles in the wilderness to build true vulnerability in high-performing teams. Book Rivyl in for a free 30-minute call, here: http://l.rivyl.com/JUPbkj Level up your agency with Wix Studio today: https://www.wix.com/studio (00:00) - Introduction(03:38) - Finding Adventure & The Murray River Trip(05:32) - The Murray River Lesson: Aligning Objectives(11:09) - The Decision to Paddle to New Zealand(17:30) - Planning the Tasman Sea Crossing & Sponsorships(23:27) - Extreme Accountability: Why Leaders Take the Blame(27:14) - Surviving 13-Meter Waves & Sharks(32:19) - 62 Days Later: Arriving in New Zealand(37:15) - The 1% Execution Rule & Why Talent is Overrated(42:42) - Antarctica: The "Super Bowl" of Adventure(49:50) - Weight Cutting & Strategy(57:05) - Meeting the Norwegian "Polar Ninja"(01:03:20) - Severe Infections & The Decision to Quit(01:14:02) - The Final Test

  5. 26 June

    #128 - Navigating The 2026 Economy: Your Wealth Preservation Strategy | Scott Kuru

    Ready to build wealth, generate passive income, and achieve financial freedom in 2026? Stop waiting for the system to save you. In this episode, property investing expert Scott Kuru (Co-founder of Freedom Property Investors) reveals the exact strategies you can use to grow your net worth.The reality is that relying on the traditional path won't save you anymore. If you want true financial independence, you need a highly strategic, data-driven plan to reach your $3 to $5 million "Freedom Number".We bypass the generic financial advice and dive straight into the hardcore, unfiltered reality of wealth creation. Forget about taking crazy risks, jumping on the latest trend, or trying to copy Elon Musk, this episode is about the highly effective, and guaranteed strategy to build multi-generational wealth.In this episode, we break down:The 5-Step Wealth Strategy: The exact blueprint to build true wealth, starting with securing your income.The Property Tax Shield: How to legally and strategically leverage brand-new property to maximise your returns and keep the taxman out of your pocket.The Old vs. New Property Trap: Why holding an old property could drain you of $300–$600 a week, while new properties cost just $50–$150 to hold."Live Like A Monk": The mindset required to get rid of your bad debt, cancel unnecessary subscriptions, and find an extra $50,000 hiding in your household budget.The Leverage Playbook: How to beat the minimum repayment delusion, negotiate with banks, and use "safe debt" to multiply your returns without risking your family's future.Book Rivyl in for a free 30-minute call, here: http://l.rivyl.com/JUPbkj Level up your agency with Wix Studio today: https://www.wix.com/studio 00:00 - Introduction 07:00 - From Sleeping on a Couch to Multi-Millionaire 14:50 - The May Budget & The Squeeze on Small Business 20:33 - Your $3 to $5 Million "Freedom Number" Explained 24:47 - The Hidden AI Data Center Crisis 36:50 - Why You Should Never Copy Elon Musk in Business 43:09 - The 5-Step Formula to Escape the System 49:30 - How to Ask for a Pay Raise (And Actually Get It) 56:26 - "Live Like a Monk": The War on Your Expenses 59:51 - How to Eliminate Your Bad Debt 01:15:50 - Using "Safe Debt" to Multiply Your Wealth 01:26:16 - Old vs. New Property: The Ultimate Tax Loophole

  6. 19 June

    #127 - The AI Era: The Illusion Of AI Productivity | Frank Greeff & Marissa Kos

    Are you actually scaling your business with AI, or are you just addicted to the dopamine of prompt engineering and chasing the next generative AI trend? In this episode, we sit down with Frank Greeff (Co-founder of Kinso) and Marissa Kos (Founder of MXM and AI Technician) to expose the truth about the current AI gold rush and the future of artificial intelligence. We bypass the generic "how to use ChatGPT" and "AI productivity hacks" advice, diving straight into the terrifying, contrarian, and unfiltered realities of the new AI era. If you think you are seamlessly automating your business, replacing your entire team, and printing money with a few lines of code, you are falling for the ultimate tech startup trap. In this episode, we break down: • The "Slop Cannon" Epidemic: Why firing out automated, perfectly polished AI content is actually destroying your brand's value. • Spotting the "AI Smell": How to identify the visual and written giveaways of AI that expose your work as fake. • The Productivity Illusion: Why you aren't working faster, but just wasting 13 hours chasing a dopamine hit while shipping absolutely nothing. • The Premium on "Ugly": Why raw, unedited, and highly human content is the only true competitive advantage left in a sea of AI-generated noise. • The Digital Afterlife: The dystopian reality of generating AI clones. Book Rivyl in for a free 30-minute call, here: http://l.rivyl.com/JUPbkj Level up your agency with Wix Studio today: https://www.wix.com/studio (00:08) - Introduction (02:11) - The 5-Second AI Paradox Game (05:28) - What Happens to Founders Who Ignore AI? (09:10) - The Hype Cycle vs. The Reality of the "Slop Cannon" (15:58) - Can a 20-Year-Old with AI Outpace Real Experience? (19:10) - The Playbook of Big Tech (28:52) - The "AI Smell": Visual and Written Giveaways (39:44) - Re-Engineering Customer Support for a 400-Person Company (47:07) - Overcoming Internal Paranoia and Managing Stressed Teams (52:47) - The 13-Hour Prompting Trap & AI Dopamine Loops (01:08:18) - Endless Tool Hopping (01:18:25) - Why AI Output Disgusts Your Audience (01:24:48) - Why Imperfect Humanity Outperforms AI (01:41:31) - Quantum Computing and a Dystopian Sense of Self

  7. 12 June

    #126 - How LSKD Turned Customers Into a Massive Global Community | Jason Daniel

    How did a $30 motocross logo turn into a $150 million global fitness empire?In this episode, Jason Daniel, the CEO and Founder of LSKD, breaks down how a performance lifestyle brand exploded to 32 retail stores and a massive team of 700 employees. But the journey was far from easy.Jason opens up about the reality of being stuck at a $3 million revenue plateau for five straight years. The conversation covers the terrifying pivot that required walking away from 30% of wholesale revenue, dropping the biggest clients, and completely rebuilding the company's identity into what LSKD is today.This episode is an absolute masterclass in building a zero-ego company culture and cultivating a brand community that actually cares.You will learn:The Power of the Pivot: How LSKD escaped a 5-year growth plateau by cutting out wholesale and focusing entirely on direct-to-consumer community building.Zero-Ego Leadership: Why Jason refuses to have a private office, an assistant, or even a reserved car park at the company.The "Sweep the Sheds" Culture: How LSKD uses the "Hungry, Humble, Smart" framework to hire, and why they pay for their employees' audiobooks.Building True Community: Why chasing rapid scale backfires, and how going above and beyond for your community drives organic brand loyalty.Book Rivyl in for a free 30-minute call, here: http://l.rivyl.com/JUPbkj Level up your agency with Wix Studio today: https://www.wix.com/studio (00:00) - Introduction(02:28) - The "Loose Kid" origin story and early BMX days(03:42) - How a $30 garage sale logo started the brand(05:22) - Discovering functional fitness and the pivot to LSKD(10:02) - Dropping the magazine ad budget on a wakeboard boat(18:10) - The 3-day leadership course(26:15) - Launching the Rep Legging and focusing on E-commerce(31:09) - Bringing in a CFO to learn the financials(45:20) - Walking away from a retailer making up 30% of sales(54:12) - Why Jason refuses to have a private office or reserved car park(57:07) - Hiring with the "Hungry, Humble, Smart" framework(01:09:41) - Paying for employees' audiobooks to train future CEOs(01:13:25) - Breaking down LSKD's 6 Core Values

  8. 5 June

    #125 - 11 Rules of Marketing And What Actually Works | Andrew Tindall

    In this episode, Andrew dismantles the 11 biggest rules in modern digital marketing strategy, starting with the hard truth that engagement rates have absolutely zero correlation to actual sales.If you are treating your marketing campaigns like a race for virality, you are hitting a performance plateau. Andrew reveals why ROI is the most overvalued metric in the industry, and why forcing your logo into the first two seconds of a video will actually ruin your brand awareness. From replacing A-list celebrities with brand mascots to surviving the "tax" of retail media, this is a masterclass in driving undeniable business growth through data-backed advertising strategy.You will learn:The ROI Trap: Why optimising for short-term efficiency will eventually stall your entire business.The "Logo Hook" Myth: Why slapping a logo on the first two seconds of a TikTok ad increases skip rates by 50%.The Power of Characters: Why brand mascots are twice as effective at building distinctiveness compared to celebrities.The Organic Delusion: Why paid media will always outscale organic reach, no matter how viral your content gets.Book Rivyl in for a free 30-minute call, here: http://l.rivyl.com/JUPbkj Level up your agency with Wix Studio today: https://www.wix.com/studio(00:00:00) - Introduction(00:02:46) - Engagement Rates Are Rubbish(00:16:36) - Creators Are Brand Builders, Not Salespeople(00:29:08) - Digital Media Can Grow Brands, But Bad Creative Can't(00:35:52) - We Can No Longer Ignore Creativity and Focus Solely on Media(00:42:15) - We Are Giving Too Much Media Spend to Our Worst Work(00:44:52) - Why ROI is the Most Overvalued Marketing Metric(00:51:16) - Lazy Marketers Use Celebrities as One-Offs(00:59:58) - We Have Reduced Creativity to Distinctiveness and a Logo(01:08:30) - Moo Deng is Not Culture Strategy(01:15:07) - Only Marketers Get Bored of Ads(01:19:59) - Media Plans Are Still Full of Marketers' Bias(01:24:20) - Half of Global Advertising is Dull, and Dull is Expensive(01:35:33) - What Does Taking Agency MeanFOLLOW DAIN WALKER - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dainwalker/Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz1eMJcjy8HfyvWJ_U1_WxQTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dainwalkerLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dainwalker/Website: https://www.dainwalker.com/FOLLOW ANDREW TINDALL - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andrewtindall/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@andrew.tindall?lang=enLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-tindall/FOLLOW AGENCY -Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/agencypodcast_/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6EXJ0ZBN1oPiPfquu0YXhK?si=bccac787f10c4d45&nd=1Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/agency/id1568032804FOLLOW RIVYL -Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rivyl.co/?hl=enYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChfY2uu9UF8m2tWrz2loTzwLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rivylWebsite: https://www.rivyl.com/

See All (134)

Ratings & Reviews

4.5
out of 5
13 Ratings

About

In 2018, I was broke, 200k in debt, and working an unfulfilling job. I started a content creation agency and scaled it from 1 freelancer to a team of 30+ in just 4 short years. Now I run Australia’s fastest-growing agency: rivyl. As a guy who runs an agency working with global brands and celebrities, I decided to start interviewing people who take Agency over their lives. To unpack what entrepreneurs do to get ahead in business and life. My goal is to unearth the tactics, mindset, and motives that make high performers tick so you can get a leg up and take Agency with whatever you’re doing.

Information

  • Creator
    Dain Walker
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    134
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Dain Walker
  • Show Website
    Agency