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Diana Williams from Fernwood Women’s Health Clubs In the early 90s Diana Williams recognised an untapped market for a women-only gym. With co-founder John Clow, the pair were just in time to beat overseas competitors to the market, and rolled out the hugely successful Fernwood Women’s Health Clubs franchise, which now boasts 75 locations around […]

Mark Bouris, founder of Wizard Home Loans Seeing the time was ripe for non-bank home loan providers in the late 90s, Mark Bouris took advantage of the property boom and started Wizard Home Loans. Bouris attracted powerful backers including Kerry Packer, eventually seeing turnover grow to $100 million annually. Recently selling the company for a tidy sum, he remains […]

Brad Sugars from Action International From teaching business in his suburban bedroom, Brad Sugars’ company Action International now has nearly 1,000 offices in more than 20 countries teaching business owners how to be their best. Having learnt the ins and outs of business after owning and operating several of his own since leaving university, Sugars’ made a […]

Roger Gillespie, founder of Baker’s Delight and Brumby’s bakery chains Roger Gillespie knows his dough. A fourth-generation baker, Gillespie started his first bakery to help fund a local school in 1975. This became the first Brumby’s. In 1980 he launched Baker’s Delight, to great success, and the stores kept coming. There are now 700 franchisees […]

John Casella, managing director of Casella Wines You’d be hard pressed to find someone who’s not familiar with the Casella Wines’ Yellow Tail brand, the brainchild of John Casella. Coming into the family business as managing director in 1994, with a focus on new technology and up-to-date developments in the winemaking process, Casella has seen […]

Collette Dinnigan, fashion designer One of Australia’s most successful fashion designers, Collette Dinnigan has dressed everyone from homegrown talent to Hollywood stars. The fashion designer’s accolades include the 1997 Louis Vuitton Business Award and Australian ‘Designer of the Year’ in 1996. Recently celebrating her 10th fashion show in Paris, Dinnigan has shown that style combined […]

David Bassau, financial entrepreneur and founder of Opportunity International Australia David Bassau’s work in the field of micro finance has given assistance to budding small business entrepreneurs in developing countries. Bassau established Opportunity International Australia in 1971, and the business operates in almost 30 countries (current average loan size: $213). Now retired from the company he […]

Maggi Miles and Gary Lines, founders of Byron Bay Cookie Company After working in the fashion industry, Maggi Miles and Gary Lines started baking cookies for local markets in the Byron Bay area while deciding on their next business venture. High demand soon showed that they’d already found it, and Byron Bay Cookie Company was […]

Napoleon Perdis, founder of Napoleon Perdis Cosmetics Despite studying law and marketing, Napoleon Perdis began teaching women how to apply makeup before launching his own brand of cosmetics. Now Perdis’ self-named line can be found at more than 550 points of sale around Australia, including 52 concept stores, and seven makeup academies. His multimillion-dollar line […]

Paul Cave, founder of BridgeClimb It took Paul Cave almost a decade to get the business off the ground, but the Bridge Climb has now seen almost two million people climb to the top of Australia’s most famous icon. Cave battled bureaucracy and red tape, as well as trying to sell the concept to prospective investors. […]