Business News Australia Podcast Business News Australia

Episode 16 Katie Jones, Country Girl Management


From the farm to the USA: Country girl Katie Jones' journey to success.

Katie Jones' ambition has taken her from a small farming town to professional cycling, Miss Universe Australia, and now to launching her modelling agency Country Girl Management in the US.



Country Girl Management, a Gold Coast-based self-development program and modelling agency for young women across Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the US, scouts girls who traditionally don't get a foot in the door at city-based agencies.



While COVID-19 has all but decimated the traditional world of fashion shows and runways, Jones has still managed to finally crack into the US market this year but not without some stumbles on the way.



Not one to let a pandemic get in the way of success, Jones managed to become an expert at running events online and still had models work for huge brands this year including Seafolly, Lea Denim and Mecca.



This week Jack talks to Katie about how her stint as a professional cyclist gave her the ambition she needed to survive in business, and how international expansion is a tricky but rewarding science.

Episode 15 - Paul Eastwood, Pollen Consulting Group


Whether your business is upstream or downstream along the supply chain, unexpected challenges are part and parcel when it comes to logistics.


But there are efficiencies to be found that are within anyone's reach. Over the course of four years Paul Eastwood has built up Pollen Consulting Group to a sizeable operation providing a wide variety of services to manufacturing and supply chain clients, all driven by the promise of adding value and return on investment.


In this interview with Jack, Paul waxes philosophical on Australia's manufacturing future, and what needs to be done with technology, reskilling and support to drive a new boom.


"We're going to win by getting ahead of the market investing in robotics, investing in and capturing techniques of funding a way to support that," Eastwood said on the latest episode of Talking to Trailblazers.


"We've got to upskill the current workforce and allow them to transition to operating technology.


"We can all operate an iPhone, we all learnt how to use a computer. We all know how to use pretty much any new technology somebody puts in front of us. I think there is an ability to upskill in the right way and create roles."

Episode 14 - Travis Erridge, co-founder of TM Insight


In the space of just four months Travis Erridge's supply chain specialist business TM Insight experienced the equivalent of 10 years of growth during the COVID-19 pandemic.


Logistics networks buckled under the pressure of panic buying in March, but after the situation levelled out TM Insight continued riding the next wave of online shopping as we all stayed at home.


This performance is far from a one-off for Erridge, who believes the best is yet to come. Following the acquisition of XAct Solutions, which gives the company a foothold in the Asian market, TM's team will double in size.


This week Erridge talks Jack through the M&A process and where he believes the logistics sector will be heading this decade.

Episode 13 Craig & Lucy Johnston, TCLH


Lucy and Craig Johnston have proven a formidable team with their business TCLH, but theirs is no overnight success story.


Far from it in fact. From threadbare beginnings writing out contracts for prospective clients at their local library, the pair have grown the company to reach far-flung corners of Australia, much to the benefit of the hospitality workers they enlist and the people who get fed delicious meals in remote areas.


In this podcast the duo tell Jack about their chance meeting in Byron Bay, and how persistence is key to securing contracts with some of the biggest companies in Australia and the world.

Episode 12 - Nic Blair, Search Factory, Brus Media, Bump Shoes


Digital marketing and SEO expert Nic Blair recently closed his chapter with Search Factory, the company he founded.


The entrepreneur poured everything into the business, building it up to a level where it was acquired by Dentsu Aegis Network in 2016 with an earn-out finishing in December last year.


Blair stayed on as GM of the business now known as iProspect until June, and while he remains busy with his other companies Brus Media and Bump Shoes, now is an apt time to reflect on what was a volatile entrepreneurial journey.


In this podcast he tells Jack how the business came about, persevering through failures along the way, and lessons learned in management and recruitment.

For Nexba co-founder Troy Douglas his sugar-free beverage business has been sweet.


Troy is a celebrated young entrepreneur and passionate businessman who, alongside his brother Drew, has experienced a whopping ten years of 100 per cent year on year growth since Nexba launched.


Nexba produce delicious, sugar free drinks like Kombucha, soft drink, and they recently launched a probiotic soda range that was the first to market here in Australia.


Though they're stocked nationally in retailers including Coles, Woolworths, 7-Eleven, Caltex and more, Nexba has been cracking into the UK market of late, partnering with groups like Sainsburys and WHSmith to bring their naturally sugar free range to yet another thirsty population.


On this week's episode of Talking to Trailblazers we find out what life was like for Troy before co-founding Nexba and delve into the ins-and-outs of capital raising strategies.