COMMENT
I’ve started to wonder whether Airbnb has become, well, too “mainstream”. Do people no longer respect the trust that underpins the whole deal?
Is it OK to smoke in a no-smoking apartment, to leave rubbish all over the place?
Domain, Fairfax Media, June 2017. Read the full story here
When Perth couple Karina and Craig Waters hired a car and headed on a scenic drive towards the Pyrenees, they weren’t seriously expecting to buy an 18th century, 96-room chateau.
After all, what business would an Australian taxation accountant and a neurological surgeon have in pouring their blood, sweat and savings into a French historical monument with the same protection status as the Eiffel Tower?
If you spot Grant Trebilco out in the waves – ripping it up in a pair of bright yellow leggings, perhaps a floral shirt, and a face slathered in pink zinc – you’d assume the surfer is one of the most carefree blokes getting around.
But paddle closer, and the 36-year-old may share some darker stories. Like the time he experienced psychosis during a work trip to Mexico, and seriously considered ending his own life.
Executive Style, Fairfax Media, June 2017. Read the full story here
Would you be happy if your super dollars were being invested in cluster bombs, companies that use child labour or even tobacco stocks?
Simon O’Connor, CEO of the Responsible Investment Association Australasia, says most people don’t know where their superannuation money is being invested, and might be unpleasantly surprised if they did.
The New Daily, March 2017. Read the full story here
By definition, entrepreneurs are rule-breakers who thrive on testing the limits.
But with the potential for great success and acclaim comes the potential for their businesses to go right off the rails – at least temporarily.
It’s no secret that Airbnb is booming, with 70,000 listings in Australia alone – double that of last year.
But while its founders are laughing all the way to the bank, Airbnb’s success is also paying dividends for the many businesses that have sprung up around it.
ShortPress, July 2016. Read the full story here
By Larissa Ham
Operating a business from a sailboat – or Indonesia, or anywhere with Wi-Fi really – is the stuff many cubicle-bound folk dream of.
But for Ryan Scanlon, managing his wetsuit business in this way is a daily reality, albeit one that was a couple of decades in the making.
“I’ve always wrestled between career and being a surfer,” says the 39-year-old founder of Need Essentials. “I’ve always worked three years on and taken two years off and travelled all over the world.”
Published on ShortPress, December 2015. Read the full story here.
