The Founders Fire

Dan Moussa - Thirdway Advisory
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  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Weekly

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.

Episodes

  1. 5d ago

    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

  2. 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.

  3. 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

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. Jun 17

    Cancer at 29 gave him the one question that gets him through anything with Scott Horton

    He survived cancer in his twenties. Years later he lost his marriage and his business in the same stretch, and it nearly cost him his life. NOTE:This episode discusses mental health and suicide. If anything here lands close to home, support is available in Australia through Lifeline on 13 11 14, and Reach Out at au.reachout.com Scott Horton is one of the best-known names in Brisbane recruitment, co-founder of u&u and now Troocoo. But the story behind two successful firms runs through an alcoholic childhood in Birmingham, a cancer diagnosis at 29, and a collapse so fast it put him in hospital. In this episode he's remarkably open about hitting rock bottom and the slow climb back, what resilience actually costs, why he leads people first, and what he'd say to any founder sitting in the hard early days wondering if it's worth it. This is the conversation founders rarely have out loud. If you're carrying more than you let on, it's worth your time. 0:00 Why he believes resilience is a founder's only real skill 0:59 Growing up on eggshells with an alcoholic father 10:21 Cancer at 29, just after losing his dad to it 19:41 The CEO who showed him exactly how not to lead 23:15 The lesson that built two firms: look after your people 34:21 Losing his marriage and his business in the same year 41:24 How fast everything unravelled 44:49 Rock bottom, and the climb back 49:23 Why he walked away from a thriving business to start again 55:58 What he'd tell a founder ready to quit Find Scott over at https://www.linkedin.com/in/scotthorton2010/ and https://www.troocoo.com/  --------- 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. Jun 10

    He sold his coffee company for $47 million. It nearly killed him - Phil Di Bella

    He started Di Bella Coffee with $5,000. He sold it for $47 million. This is what that actually cost him. Phil Di Bella built one of Australia's biggest coffee companies, then nearly lost himself doing it. 167kg. Blood pressure of 177. Nightmares for six months. In this first episode of The Founder's Fire he talks about the parts founders never say out loud, and the funeral that made him rethink what success was even for. If you're building something, watch this before you burn yourself down building it. 0:00 The two stories every founder has4:44 Why he calls his pain "premium unleaded"12:25 "Be careful who you tell to f*** off"17:21 He started with $5,000 and one piece of advice21:15 The award win that broke him37:23 What 167kg and 177 blood pressure actually felt like48:17 The question he won't answer about his marriage51:15 The funeral that changed everything53:43 Why he walked away from the company with his name on it1:02:40 How do you refuel after you've already "made it" Discover The Coffee Commune - https://www.coffeecommune.com.au/ Connect with Phil on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/phillip-di-bella-1556936b/ --------- 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 10

    Never tell your partner everything. The advice this founder gives every other founder - Rudy Crous

    He signed the deal every startup dreams of: 5,000 jobs a week. Then COVID wiped it out overnight. Rudy Crous arrived in Australia as a teenager with a backpack and not much else. He became an organisational psychologist, spent years studying how people behave under pressure, then co-founded Compono, an HR tech company backed by Shark Tank's Andrew Banks. When his big deal collapsed in 2020 he rebuilt the business into the technology that now powers driver licensing across most of the country. In this episode he's blunt about the restructures, the loneliness, the two pieces of advice he gives every founder (including the one about your partner nobody wants to hear), and the one thing he does that stops him quitting before lunch. 0:00 The founder behind licensing tech in 5 of 6 states 1:26 He landed in Australia with a backpack and nothing else 14:18 The deal that should have made them, then COVID hit 15:45 The pivot that turned a dead deal into national infrastructure 20:08 "I've wanted to quit before lunch. You just never do." 23:05 Why he'd pick the scrappy hire over the Harvard one every time 25:01 Laying off people he cares about, and how he carries it 36:15 Why every one of his staff sees the burn rate 37:45 The fundraising rule that keeps founders alive 39:53 "Never tell your partner everything." 51:09 His one rule for every founder: keep making decisions Connect with Rudy https://www.linkedin.com/in/rudycrous/ --------- 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.

  9. Jun 10

    The fire that built her business is the same one that nearly burned it down with Niamh Whiley

    Niamh Whiley quit her job with $2,000 in the bank, a brand new mortgage and no clients. Under two years later she runs Aligned Allied Health with a team of 12, helping hundreds of people. But the person who treats founders for a living turned out to be the worst at taking her own advice. In this episode she's honest about the burnout, the self-doubt, the friends she lost, and the money mistakes nobody warns you about. If you're building something and pretending you're fine, watch this one. 0:00 The therapist founders call when they're breaking 2:50 She lied to the bank and quit with $2,000 9:21 "I work in mental health and I struggled with it more than anyone" 16:51 "Who am I to charge people when I couldn't fix myself?" 21:15 The friends she lost building this 26:19 The $19,700 mistake she never clawed back 28:11 Why year two nearly finished her 39:38 The warning signs founders miss until it's too late 44:20 You built it on fear. What faith would do instead 51:21 What she'd tell herself with $2,000 and no clients Connect with Niamh - https://au.linkedin.com/in/niamh-whiley-457a111aa --------- 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.

  10. Trailer

    Welcome to The Founders Fire

    Every founder has two stories, the one on the stage and the one over a whiskey. The Founder's Fire is the second one. We 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't guarantee you've never heard these stories before. See behind the scenes over at https://www.instagram.com/danmoussa_thirdwayadvisory/ Connect on 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/

Trailer

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
    10
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Dan Moussa - Thirdway Advisory
  • Show Website
    The Founders Fire

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