Brisbane Based

“They worry about what may happen or whether they’re going to make a sale next week, or next month, or ever again…Why are you worrying about those things, when you should be worrying about the things you can control? That’s all you should worry about; the things you can control….& rather than be worried about them why don’t you do something about it?”   Drew Davies is the selling principal & director of Place Ascot, a residential real estate sales firm employing 17 staff & turning over 9-figures+ worth of inner-city property per annum. In just 6 short years Drew entered the industry, clawed his way out of credit card debt & established himself as one of the top luxury agents in Ascot & Hamilton, breaking sales records & generating millions of dollars in gross commission along the way. Drew is perhaps best known for his presence on social media, having amassed over 32,000 loyal followers on Instagram -- making him Australia’s most followed agent on the platform. Today, we sit down with Drew to discuss cultivating mental toughness, learning from failure & the realities of doing multi-million dollar deals.   To learn more about Drew, you can find him on Instagram @definitelydrewdavies.   If you’d prefer to watch instead of listen, head over to my YouTube channel @carterlagana.   Timecodes: 2:47 | When push comes to shove, how does Drew rise to the occasion? 4:07 | What was going through Drew’s head when businesses were being shut down? 6:32 | Why failure is crucial for getting better & achieving your goals 9:38 | Drew’s thoughts on not predicating your self-esteem/confidence on income 11:15 | How Drew thinks about money & business decisions generally 14:57 | How Drew copes with crippling setbacks & being forced to adapt 17:37 | How Drew dealt with the biggest blow he suffered in his career 19:27 | Drew’s top takeaway from his favourite book (7 Habits) 24:12 | How much of a role sheer determination has played in Drew’s success 26:02 | The story of Drew’s biggest apartment sale to date ($4m) 29:07 | The secret to a successful career in real estate 30:20 | Drew’s parting advice for those in business during these times   Books Mentioned: 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Stephen Covey   Credits: Filmed | @Blackardt Crew | @BriannaBlack Crew | @SamuelJBernard   If you’d like to keep tabs on what I’m up to, you can find me @carterlagana on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok & LinkedIn.

“Adapt or die, it’s that simple…We will get to the other side of this, & when we get to the other side, you need to come out of the starting blocks really fast.”   Dr. Glen Richards is the former co-founder & managing director of Greencross, a $1bn+ market cap integrated pet care company, with over 250 stores & 5,500 employees spanning across Australia & New Zealand. Today, Glen holds various chairman & non-executive director level positions in a range of start-ups, scale-ups & publicly listed companies. Further, Glen has also featured on 3 seasons of Channel 10’s acclaimed Shark Tank Australia, solidifying his reputation as one of the country’s most prominent investors & business mentors. Today, we sit down with Glen to discuss how to win in business, advice for entrepreneurial minded youth & his experience being on Shark Tank.   To learn more about Glen, you can find him on LinkedIn @GlenRichards.   If you’d prefer to watch instead of listen, head over to my YouTube channel @carterlagana.   Timecodes: 2:28 | What Glen would do if he was 18 years old again, living through the current pandemic 4:06 | How important was reading, self-development & continual learning to your success? 4:52 | Glen’s top takeaways from 30 years in business 8:53 | Glen’s advice for chronic job hoppers & his take on passion in the workplace 12:37 | How important is patience in business, & why not try to get rich quick? 14:39 | Glen’s take on the utility of gap years & sabbaticals 17:23 | Glen’s advice for those wanting to take the next step but feel underqualified 20:15 | The most common advice Glen gives as a business mentor & investor 22:39 | Glen’s view on debt, risk & making bold bets in your career 23:49 | The role ‘gut feel’ plays in business 25:10 | The investment opportunities that would interest Glen at the moment 27:15 | Glen’s advice on raising capital from friends & family 28:51 | Glen’s experience being on Shark Tank 32:26 | Glen’s definition of success   Books Mentioned: Mastering the Rockefeller Habits – Verne Harnish Scaling Up – Verne Harnish Good to Great – Jim Collins   Credits: Filmed | @Blackardt &@cojones_media Set | @TheRichardsGroup Crew | @BriannaBlack Crew | @cojones_media   If you’d like to keep tabs on what I’m up to, you can find me @carterlagana on Instagram, TikTok & LinkedIn.

“If you spend a year or two working on something that you’re really interested in, & it doesn’t work out, it’s going to be totally doable for you to get back into an industry. Maybe it’s different if you’re 45 & you have 3 kids & a mortgage….but if you’re young, then I reckon just go for it. ”   Dre Zhou is the co-founder of Askable, the ‘Uber’ for user-testing; which helps companies find & book participants on demand for market research & usability testing purposes. Askable has progressed from a mere incubator generated idea in mid-2017, to a thriving outfit with over 10 staff, six figures in monthly revenue & a laundry list of prestigious clients -- including Woolworths, Qantas, Dominos, Optus & Medibank to name but a few. For this episode, we sit down with Dre to discuss what every young entrepreneur needs to understand about risk, the realities of growing an early stage enterprise & the hard truths about what it takes to build a successful startup.   To learn more about Dre & Askable, you can find them on Medium @DreZhou or Askable’s website @ askable.com.   If you’d prefer to watch instead of listen, head over to my YouTube channel @carterlagana.   Timecodes: 1:59 | The unspoken truth about ‘loving’ your job 3:27 | Dre’s philosophy on taking risks 5:32 | The best time to take on risk 6:36 | What Dre wishes he knew earlier in his career 9:54 | Dre’s advice for building an MVP 12:27 | Acquiring paying users via cold email 14:57 | Plugin to mine email data on LinkedIn 15:47 | Practical productivity tips for getting more done 19:59 | The realities of early stage entrepreneurship 22:00 | Key resources for learning more about startups 23:48 | An interesting insight for those interested in business   Dre’s blog on selling via cold emailing |  https://medium.com/@drezhou/how-we-got-our-first-100-paying-customers-at-askable-51246dfa143   Dre’s blog on productivity pt.1 |  https://medium.com/@drezhou/improving-productivity-as-a-designer-part-1-336314410ab5?source=---------5------------------   Dre’s blog on productivity pt.2 |  https://medium.com/@drezhou/improving-productivity-as-a-designer-part-2-4ad2d940973e   Credits: Filmed | @Blackardt Crew | @BriannaBlack Crew | @SamuelJBernard   If you’d like to keep tabs on what I’m up to, you can find me @carterlagana on all social media platforms.

 “Stop worrying about what you’re selling & start providing solutions to your clients’ problems”   Joe Fox is the APAC Managing Director of ‘Lighthouse8’, a multi-national technology-driven marketing agency with offices spanning across Australia, Norway, Singapore & the UK. Prior to his appointment as MD, Joe co-founded ‘Studio Culture’ – a highly decorated full-service digital marketing firm, having progressed from idea to a flourishing professional outfit with 12+ staff & multi-millions in annual revenue within 5 years. For this episode, we sit down with Joe to discuss how to close deals during down markets, win business with no track record & his advice for sales & marketing professionals in light of a looming global recession.   To learn more about Joe & Lighthouse8, you can find them on LinkedIn @JoeFox & @Lighthouse8.   If you’d prefer to watch instead of listen, head over to my YouTube channel @carterlagana.   Timecodes: 2:23 | Driving top line revenue during tough times 4:47 | How to land your first few clients when just starting out 6:35 | Key resources & tactics for nailing cold outreaches 8:24 | How to find & mine data when you don’t know who to call 9:33 | Key qualifying questions to ask a warm lead 12:06 | Negotiation tips to close deals during down markets 15:24 | Why you must always charge for your product or service 18:55 | How to acquire monetisable sales & marketing skills 23:29 | Where to spend your marketing dollars right now & why 24:39 | The power of narrow AI technology as applied to digital marketing 28:00 | When to hire marketing talent in-house & what they should handle 30:48 | The realities of doing business with large scale enterprise clients 37:47 | Key takeaway for forging a successful career in marketing & sales   Credits: Filmed | @Blackardt Crew | @BriannaBlack Crew | @SamuelJBernard   If you’d like to keep tabs on what I’m up to, you can find me @carterlagana on all social media platforms.

“Anything you’ll ever need or want is going to come from another person” Jason Roulston is a seasoned recruitment executive, serial entrepreneur & managing director of Blackroc -- a c18 month old, multidisciplinary agency grown from Jason’s dining room table to 20+ staff & $10m+ in generated fees. In addition to Blackroc, Jason has co-founded 4 other businesses, including a digital first recruitment organisation producing 8 figures in annual turnover, with over 40 employees & offices across 3 states. For this episode, we sit down with Jason to discuss some general career advice, the key ingredient to every business partnership & his thoughts on stoic philosophy. To learn more about Jason & Blackroc, you can follow them on LinkedIn @JasonRoulston & @BLACKROC. If you’d prefer to watch instead of listen, head over to my YouTube channel @carterlagana.   Timecodes: 2:18 | Highest paying professions 3:13 | Advice for selecting a career 4:47 | Maximising your employability 6:30 | How important is having a degree? 9:10 | Can you trade experience for qualifications? 10:13 | Jason’s thoughts on cold emailing 11:10 | How to nail your next job interview 12:43 | Key ingredients to succeeding in the workplace pt.1 14:26 | Key ingredients to succeeding in the workplace pt.2 16:01 | Something EVERY business partnership needs 17:51 | Why Jason awards equity to key employees 21:22 | Balancing happiness & huge ambition 23:47 | Chasing external validation vs living your life 28:26 | Observed benefits of digital minimalism 32:22 | Embracing isolation & introspection 34:52 | Learnings from Ryan Holiday 36:55 | Jason’s vision for Blackroc 39:16 | Want to work for Jason? Listen up 42:19 | A counterintuitive insight worth noting   Books Mentioned: Ego is the Enemy | Link: https://www.amazon.com.au/Ego-Enemy-Ryan-Holiday/dp/1591847818 Stillness is the Key | Link: https://www.amazon.com/Stillness-Key-Ryan-Holiday/dp/0525538585   Credits: Filmed | @Blackardt Crew | @BriannaBlack Crew | @SamuelJBernard Set | @BLACKROC   If you’d like to keep tabs on what I’m up to, you can find me @carterlagana on all social media platforms.

“Most people aim too low & reach their target – that’s the biggest issue” BeforeYouSpeakCoffee is the fastest growing instant coffee business in all of Australia, having shipped well over 2 million units to 43 countries worldwide & counting. For this episode, we sit down with co-founders Jaryd Terkelsen & Ash Bisset to discuss mindset, personal growth & what it takes to successfully build & scale a start-up. To learn more about Jaryd & Ash, you can follow them @beforeyouspeakcoffee, @jaryterk & @mr.bisset. If you’d prefer to watch instead of listen, head over to my YouTube channel @carterlagana. Timecodes: 11:49 | Mentorship & levelling up 17:27 | The hard times 22:56 | Mental fortitude 24:58 | Chinese bamboo parable 29:00 | Prolific over perfect 33:30 | Total start-up cost 34:47 | Their biggest mistake to date 42:25 | Hiring, people & culture 47:32 | Morning routines 48:55 | Jaryd’s 3 daily non-negotiables 54:36 | Learnings from Amazon & Dollar Shave Club 56:41 | Stretch goals & thinking big 1:00:16 | Advice for finding your passion 1:03:07 | Time is on your side 1:04:59 | Chase fulfillment, not things 1:07:04 | Advice to 18-year-old selves Credits: Filmed | @joelweaverfilms Edited | @joealweaverfilms & @i.matthews Crew support | @menaalexander Set | @beforeyouspeakcoffee HQ If you’d like to keep tabs on what I’m up to, you can find me @carterlagana on all social media platforms.

"The next phone call, could change your life" Five years ago, Drew Davies was just beginning his career as a real estate agent – optimistic, but up to his eyeballs in debt. Today, Drew is a director in a prominent Ascot based firm & one of Queensland’s most successful luxury agents, having transacted circa 9 figures worth of high-end property over the course of his decorated career, & amassing over 32,000 followers on Instagram along the way – making him Australia’s most followed real estate agent. For this episode, we sit down with Drew to deep dive on his journey to date in life & business, the crucial lessons he took away & his key pieces of advice for those starting out. To learn more about Drew, you can follow him @definitelydrewdavies. If you’d prefer to watch instead of listen, head over to my YouTube channel @carterlagana. Timecodes: 4:39 | The silver lining of starting with nothing 10:27 | You’ve got time, but fail faster 15:02 | Why Drew got into sales 16:30 | Jordan Belfort 21:13 | Get ready to party 25:28 | The next phone call could change your life 29:59 | Some details matter, some don’t 35:12 | Drew’s first luxury listing 40:36 | How Drew met his wife 44:53 | Why Drew moved from boutique to big time 50:19 | Good people turn up 55:35 | How I got my job in real estate 1:02:40 | 6-figure months 1:07:05 | How Drew built his Instagram 1:12:29 | The impact of social media on Drew’s life 1:16:57 | Embrace failure, don’t worry about what people think 1:18:19 | An announcement Credits: Filmed & edited | @joelweaverfilms Crew support | @tobymastersonfilm If you’d like to keep tabs on what I’m up to, you can find me @carterlagana on all social media platforms.

"Get the skills, get the network, attack a problem someone will pay you to solve" Steve Baxter is one of Australia’s most accomplished investors & entrepreneurs. Currently the founder/CEO of Transition Level Investments, Steve successfully exited his second business – PIPE Networks – for $373m in 2010. On the media front, Steve was casted as a ‘shark’ as part of Channel 10’s acclaimed ‘Shark Tank Australia’. For this episode, we sit down with Steve to discuss the current state of entrepreneurship, why customers are the best source of capital & his best advice for those looking to start a business. To learn more about Steve, you can follow him @transitionlvl & @stevebaxter. If you’d prefer to watch instead of listen, head over to my YouTube channel @carterlagana. Timecodes: 5:45 | Wealth creation & tall poppy syndrome 11:40 | Competition spurs innovation 14:20 | Uber: $25k to $124m 20:12 | Skills, network, find a problem 25:10 | Best capital comes from customers 30:00 | Work-life balance 34:55 | An interesting hypothetical 40:50 | Interested in tech but can’t code 42:12 | How Steve ended up on Shark Tank 47:06 | Not all deals go ahead 51:56 | Didn’t think I’d hear this 53:06 | The legacy Steve wants to leave Credits: Filmed & edited | @joelweaverfilms Crew support | @menaalexander Crew support | @nathantartaglia If you’d like to keep tabs on what I’m up to, you can find me @carterlagana on all social media platforms.

"Just f*cking do it" Alborz Fallah founded CarAdvice.com at 21 years old in his parent’s spare bedroom, with $35. A decade later in 2016, the company was acquired for a reported $35m. The actual sale price was north of $60m. For this episode, we sit down with Alborz to discuss how he built CarAdvice from scratch, why the status quo must be challenged & his best advice for aspiring entrepreneurs. To learn more about Alborz, you can follow him @alborzfallah. If you’d prefer to watch instead of listen, head over to my YouTube channel @carterlagana. Timecodes: 4:31 | An incredible business that never was 10:40 | How hard Alborz worked in school 14:20 | The premise for CarAdvice 16:15 | Why Alborz could never be an employee 18:25 | The day Alborz quit 20:15 | The importance of passion in business 26:07 | Don’t posture, actually do 29:18 | Vision boards 31:28 | The best time to work hard 35:44 | Why goals matter 39:39 | How Alborz met his first business partner 43:53 | A quote Alborz will never forget 45:32 | Aim high early, then leverage your results 50:39 | Impact of the GFC 52:47 | Culture 57:00 | Discovering a few extra 0’s in your bank account 1:04:41 | Alborz’s best piece of advice for young entrepreneurs Credits: Filmed & edited | @joelweaverfilms Produced | @menaalexander Set | @harryfairman Crew | @nathantartaglia If you’d like to keep tabs on what I’m up to, you can find me @carterlagana on all social media platforms.

"When you're naive to the fact & you're just so confident that you can make anything work, that sometimes gets you started, & then you have to just roll with the punches because.... business is tough" The Acai Brothers franchise reached over 25 stores across the country at its peak, & is currently Australia’s leading superfood bar franchise. For this episode, we sit down with co-founders Ben Day & Sam Carson to discuss their origin story, the importance of risk taking & how they managed to successfully grow a nationwide 20+ store franchise. To learn more about Ben & Sam, you can follow them @acaibrothers, @ben_acaibrothers & @sam_acaibrothers. If you’d prefer to watch instead of listen, head over to my YouTube channel @carterlagana.  Timecodes: 9:05 | The relationship between sport & entrepreneurship 20:25 | Elite university athlete day in the life 23:51 | Thoughts on university 29:06 | The power of putting yourself out there 34:04 | Customer retention vs acquisition 40:03 | Why Ben & Sam decided to partner up 44:03 | How to find the answers Google can’t provide 47:16 | The day Acai Brothers was born 50:05 | How much Acai Brothers cost to start 57:06 | Sam’s biggest piece of business advice 1:01:33 | Relationships & entrepreneurship 1:05:54 | The importance of sacrifice 1:14:27 | Why franchising 1:19:31 | The current state of Acai Brothers 1:25:11 | The impact of a strong personal brand 1:28:30 | Advice to 18-year-old selves Credits: Filmed & edited | @blakegannon Produced | @menaxalexander Photography | @flynngraham_ Set | @harryfairman Crew | @nathantartaglia If you’d like to keep tabs on what I’m up to, you can find me @carterlagana on all social media platforms.