The Founders Fire

Dan Moussa - Thirdway Advisory
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Every founder has two stories, the one on the stage and the one over a whiskey. The Founder's Fire are the second ones. I sit down with founders to talk about the things we all go through, but no one talks about. The pressure, the doubt, the times they nearly gave up and how they turned it all around. If you're building something and want to hear what it actually takes, this is for you. Make sure you hit follow because I can guarantee you've never heard these stories before.

  1. 20h ago

    His first ever client called to threaten a lawsuit. It made his whole business with David Aherne

    Every founder gets tested. Most don't get tested by the first client they ever land. David Ahearne runs Across the Ocean, a freight forwarding and customs business that moves shipments between factories and warehouses all over the world, from China, the UAE and the US into Australia, and exports Australian minerals across Southeast Asia. Eighteen years in, it's a serious operation with a team, a strong industry reputation, and the kind of blue-chip commercial accounts most forwarders spend careers chasing. He built all of it starting from nothing: no job, no contacts, and $500 he had to borrow for a website. And the road there is a run of people coming at him from all sides. A first client who rang up threatening to sue him before they'd ever met, a call that somehow became the relationship that got the whole thing off the ground. A business partner whose $5,000 buy-in cost $120,000 to undo. A software venture where his partners sabotaged his website and abused his staff while a rival on the other side of the world spread lies about him through the industry. In this episode he's honest about the loneliness of it, the times his back was fully against the wall, and why he kept choosing to come out swinging. If you're building something and feel like you're getting hit from every direction, this is the one. Follow so you don't miss the next. You’ll hear: 0:00 $500 he didn't have, borrowed for a website 16:13 One apartment, no cash, and a Google ad that started it all 19:23 His first ever client rang to threaten a lawsuit 22:42 How the man who threatened to sue him made the business 25:29 Turning up to close the deal in a $500 car that barely ran 31:17 The handshake that cost him $120,000 to undo 37:27 The one lesson he paid six figures to learn 43:21 A side venture that looked like the big one 51:15 Pitching to 250 rivals with his own reputation on the line52:31 When his own partners started sabotaging him 59:10 Attacked on two fronts at once, by people he'd helped 1:00:28 Fight or die: the moment he decided to swing back 1:08:00 The two things he'd tell any founder starting out --------- Connect with David - https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-aherne-608b7153/ See behind the scenes over at https://www.instagram.com/danmoussa_thirdwayadvisory/ Or Linked In - https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-moussa-thirdway/ And if you need help to find the hire that will completely change your business reach out over at https://www.thirdwayadvisory.com.au/ Hit follow wherever you're listening so you don't miss a single episode

  2. Aug 5

    70% of his revenue vanished overnight. He rebuilt it from a locked-down apartment with Don Hett

    Don landed in Australia with $1,500 ... cleaning public toilets at 3:30am before uni and stacking shelves at night, sending money home for his brother's medical bills. He built that into Clean Kings, a national cleaning company with 650 staff, and four more businesses under his venture studio Six Silo. But 2020 took almost all of it at once COVID wiped out 70% of his revenue overnight, his fashion label was sinking, his marriage was falling apart across a closed border, and he lost his dog. In this episode he's open about the times that followed, the pressure to just quit and get a job, the trip to Peru that reset his sense of purpose, and the one thing every founder does that outsiders never see. He also explains the Pablo Escobar insight that let him scale Clean Kings. If you're building something and everything's hitting at once, this episode changes everything. You'll hear: 0:00 Five companies, and the grind nobody sees behind them4:04 $1,500, public toilets at 3:30am, and money sent home7:47 The moment he understood why his dad left to work in Saudi9:19 How a personality test at Bunnings sparked Clean Kings13:04 The Pablo Escobar model he used to scale the business15:28 2020: 70% of revenue gone overnight21:53 His marriage unravelling across a closed border27:50 The separation, the depression, and the man in the mirror30:03 Peru, and the reset that gave him his purpose43:00 Why he'd break the whole thing and rebuild it if he had to53:44 Change, confidence, clarity: the three Cs he lives by This episode discusses depression and personal loss. If it resonates, support is available in Australia through Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue at beyondblue.org.au. Connect with Don - https://www.linkedin.com/in/donhettofficial/ --------- See behind the scenes over at https://www.instagram.com/danmoussa_thirdwayadvisory/ Or Linked In - https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-moussa-thirdway/ And if you need help to find the hire that will completely change your business reach out over at https://www.thirdwayadvisory.com.au/ Hit follow wherever you're listening so you don't miss a single episode.

  3. Jul 29

    He tripled the family business in a year, and then the unthinkable happened with Julian Grasso

    His dad told him to make his own brother redundant. He did it. They didn't speak for 18 months. Julian Grasso didn't inherit a business or get handed a stake. He walked out of a corporate 30-year plan, pitched his own parents to start something together, and turned one truck into a 35-truck waste and environmental services company, tripling it in the first year. But going into business with the people who raised you comes with a cost the family photos never show. In this episode he's open about running the company as his parents' boss, buying them out, the intervention where he had to ask them "am I your son or your business partner," and the brother he had to let go. He also shares the stuff that actually built the business: why he backs himself into industries he knows nothing about, and why everyone plans for failure but no one plans for success. If you're building something with family, or thinking about it, this is the one. 0:00 He pitched his own parents to start a business4:40 One truck to 35: how the business actually grew7:24 Why he chose his parents over a mate as co-founders10:26 The skill every founder needs: having the hard conversation13:33 Being your parents' business partner and their son at once16:04 Lockdown, a newborn, and moving back in with mum and dad20:39 Everyone plans for the business failing. No one plans for it succeeding22:11 The food truck, the pressure, and his brother getting caught in it25:19 Buying his own parents out of the company31:45 The midlife crisis at 25 that sent him to a psychologist40:53 The intervention: "am I your son or your business partner?"48:01 Where his brother and his parents stand now Connect with Julian - https://www.linkedin.com/in/julian-grasso-2a102354/ --------- See behind the scenes over at https://www.instagram.com/danmoussa_thirdwayadvisory/ Or Linked In - https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-moussa-thirdway/ And if you need help to find the hire that will completely change your business reach out over at https://www.thirdwayadvisory.com.au/ Hit follow wherever you're listening so you don't miss a single episode.

  4. Jul 22

    Two school mates raised £100 million and built the World's Best Surf Park

    Andy Hadden built Lost Shore, Europe's largest inland surf resort, on a disused quarry outside Edinburgh. It was voted the world's best surf park. What almost nobody knows is what those years actually took. Andy had the idea in 2012 and didn't open until 2024. It took 18 months to raise the first £40,000. Along the way there were leaflets handed out with his face on them, mates back home all saying he'd lost the plot, missed holidays, a marriage that didn't survive it, and a phone call from the bank four weeks before construction that nearly ended the whole thing. Chris Bain and Andy Hadden are two school friends who've somehow spent a decade in the trenches together without it breaking either the project or the friendship. In this one they get honest about what it cost, what they hid from the people at home, and why the skill they've built is one you only get to use when everything's going wrong.Follow so you don't miss the next. 0:00 The surf park in Scotland everyone said was madness 9:21 "We'd have been crackers to start if we'd known" 14:02 The mates who laughed, and the leaflet with his face on it 19:23 Why their families only ever got 80% of the story 21:29 What fourteen years of this cost his marriage 25:40 The call from the bank, mid Hokey Cokey at his daughter's birthday 27:41 "I've ruined this for everyone." The one time he broke 30:42 Stress or anxiety? Why he's had 24 hours of one in 15 years 32:05 How they know the other one is cracking before he says a word 39:29 "You owe me £3.6 million" 51:44 £35k a year each, while the new arrivals wanted £200k 59:22 The bottle of single malt they still haven't opened Connect with Andy over at https://www.linkedin.com/in/andy-hadden-94989a67/ And Chris at https://www.linkedin.com/in/bainchris/  --------- See behind the scenes over at https://www.instagram.com/danmoussa_thirdwayadvisory/ Or Linked In - https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-moussa-thirdway/ And if you need help to find the hire that will completely change your business reach out over at https://www.thirdwayadvisory.com.au/ Hit follow wherever you're listening so you don't miss a single episode

  5. Jul 15

    His account was drained to $0. Now he's building to $100 Mil

    They woke up one morning to a bank balance of zero and a transaction they didn't understand. The tax man had emptied the account.They still had to make payroll that week. Adam Hall started AH Fencing eight years ago with his best mate Matt, no business knowledge, and a plan that lasted about a month. They didn't know what a profit and loss was. They didn't know the tax office could take your money. They nearly went under more than once, paid their staff on personal credit cards, and cut their own salaries to $50k while everyone they employed earned more. Today the business turns over $30 million and Adam teaches other trades businesses the things that nearly killed his own. In this episode he's open about the shame, the loneliness, the phone call from his mum, and the year they gave their team more than ever and made everyone miserable. If you're building something and pretending you know what you're doing, this is the one. Follow so you don't miss the next. CHAPTERS 0:00 The $0 bank balance behind a $30 million business4:11 Two mates, no business knowledge, and no idea what a P&L was6:44 Waking up to an empty account and one word: garnish8:00 They were losing work because they were too cheap10:25 Paying the team on personal credit cards, and telling them the truth13:55 Too proud to quit, so they went down with the ship19:12 Back on their feet, then two builders went under owing them $100,00022:22 $50k salaries, no super, and the lowest paid people in their own company25:18 His mum rang in tears: "why didn't you tell me?"35:15 The year they gave more than ever. The team had never been unhappier49:04 What people get wrong about him56:14 The one number most founders refuse to look at This episode touches on isolation and the mental toll of building. If it resonates, support is available in Australia through Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue at beyondblue.org.au. Connect with Adam - https://www.instagram.com/the_adamhall/ --------- See behind the scenes over at https://www.instagram.com/danmoussa_thirdwayadvisory/ Or Linked In - https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-moussa-thirdway/ And if you need help to find the hire that will completely change your business reach out over at https://www.thirdwayadvisory.com.au/ Hit follow wherever you're listening so you don't miss a single episode.

  6. Jul 8

    The story behind the Ferraris Emil Juresic has never told until now

    You've seen the cars. The offices. The 500 staff. The half a million people watching him online. You haven't seen the four years that made all of it possible and the moment he lost everything. Before the property empire, Emil Juresic was a boy in a war zone, walking five kilometres through sniper fire to carry water back to his family. Four years with no power, no clean water, barely any food, waking up each morning not knowing if that was the day. He arrived in Australia at 15 with an accent, no English, and one decision already made: no one would ever be the boss of his life again. He rarely lets people all the way into those years. In this episode, he does, and you start to understand where the pain tolerance, the hunger and the refusal to ever give up actually come from. Emil shares the mistakes he's made that nearly cost him everything and the things he'll never stop doing no matter how big his company gets. CHAPTERS 0:00 "You're marrying a zombie." His warning to anyone who loves a founder2:43 Two kinds of business owner, and why one of them is born broken5:43 The chainsaw test: could you put your fingers on the table?8:18 The three choices when business puts you on your knees11:24 Carrying water through sniper fire at eleven years old14:21 "The best times of my life." Why he won't call the war trauma23:10 He employs 500 people and still moved 15 tonnes of sand himself25:10 The Braveheart rule he leads every business by30:02 Getting wiped out at 30, the graduation he never wanted44:27 Half a million followers calling him an idiot. His answer52:36 How an entrepreneur really sleeps, and why he loves it This episode touches on war, trauma and the mental toll of building. If it resonates, support is available in Australia through Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue at beyondblue.org.au. Connect with Emil - https://www.instagram.com/emil_juresic/?hl=en --------- See behind the scenes over at https://www.instagram.com/danmoussa_thirdwayadvisory/ Or Linked In - https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-moussa-thirdway/ And if you need help to find the hire that will completely change your business reach out over at https://www.thirdwayadvisory.com.au/ Hit follow wherever you're listening so you don't miss a single episode

  7. Jul 1

    He could have declared bankruptcy, He paid back every dollar instead - Tim Duggal

    He owed more than a million dollars and was too ashamed to tell almost anyone. Today he runs a multi-million-dollar business.Tim Duggal built OzMobiles from a second bedroom in St Kilda, buying and selling second-hand phones out the front of his apartment building, into a multi-million-dollar phone trade-in business. But a few years ago he borrowed a million dollars, felt rich, and watched it nearly take everything. A bank manager told him he was in a death spiral. In this episode he's open about the debt, the isolation, the shame he had to drop to survive, and the chance meeting at a 70th birthday party that turned it around. Along the way he makes the case that the relationship you have with yourself is the one that decides how the business goes. 0:00 The bedroom hustle that became a multi-million-dollar business 3:41 The slightly dodgy phone trade he ran from his apartment stairs 6:14 A doctor dad, a lawyer brother, and him selling second-hand phones 20:00 "I borrowed a million dollars and felt rich" 22:16 Waking up owing $20,000 before getting out of bed 29:48 "You're in a death spiral." What his bank manager told him 32:12 Why he refused to take the easy way out 35:01 The 70th birthday party meeting that changed everything 41:46 The leadership skill he learned at rock bottom: actually listening 55:03 The one relationship that decides all the others This episode discusses debt, isolation and mental health. If it resonates, support is available in Australia through Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue at beyondblue.org.au. Connect with Tim over at https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-duggal-a596b039/ --------- See behind the scenes over at https://www.instagram.com/danmoussa_thirdwayadvisory/ Or Linked In - https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-moussa-thirdway/ And if you need help to find the hire that will completely change your business reach out over at https://www.thirdwayadvisory.com.au/ Hit follow wherever you're listening so you don't miss a single episode.

  8. Jun 24

    Nightclubs to a $30 million business. None of it was the plan - Sacha Cornford

    She left school three months early, worked nightclubs, trained as an electrician, and once went two years without an oven. Now she co-runs a traffic control business turning over $30 million a year. Sacha Cornford has lived more lives than most founders, and built one of Queensland's fastest-growing businesses through the middle of it.  In this episode she shares about the broke single-mum years, a late ADHD diagnosis, the breakdown she had while buying the company she now runs, and the business partnership that makes it all work. Along the way she talks about why a business is a vehicle and not a legacy, why the best deals leave everyone slightly unhappy, and why you should pick a business partner the way you pick a spouse. 0:00 The school dropout now running a $30M business 4:00 She walked out of school early with a near-perfect score 9:04 "Your business is not your legacy" 16:20 Two years with no oven, choosing petrol over groceries 25:32 The ADHD diagnosis that came after she'd blown up her life 38:09 "I was manic." The breakdown in the middle of buying the business 42:09 The owners walked a month before Christmas. She bought it anyway. 48:08 What healing from a breakdown actually takes 57:39 How she and her partner break a deadlock 58:21 Why the best deals leave everyone slightly unhappy 1:03:14 The one thing she'd tell a founder in the trenches This episode touches on mental health, breakdown and burnout. If it resonates, support is available in Australia through Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue at beyondblue.org.au. Connect with Sacha over at https://www.linkedin.com/in/sacha-cornford-77098821/  --------- See behind the scenes over at https://www.instagram.com/danmoussa_thirdwayadvisory/ Or Linked In - https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-moussa-thirdway/ And if you need help to find the hire that will completely change your business reach out over at https://www.thirdwayadvisory.com.au/ Hit follow wherever you're listening so you don't miss a single episode.

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About

Every founder has two stories, the one on the stage and the one over a whiskey. The Founder's Fire are the second ones. I sit down with founders to talk about the things we all go through, but no one talks about. The pressure, the doubt, the times they nearly gave up and how they turned it all around. If you're building something and want to hear what it actually takes, this is for you. Make sure you hit follow because I can guarantee you've never heard these stories before.

Information

  • Creator
    Dan Moussa - Thirdway Advisory
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    13
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Dan Moussa - Thirdway Advisory
  • Show Website
    The Founders Fire