Q: How did you grow your business from strength to strength in just under 11 years? What’s the key to your business success?

Fred Schebesta and I built, owned and operated a digital marketing agency through our early to mid-20s, during the period from 2002 to 2007. While we both completed finance and commerce degrees at uni, this did not prepare us for life as entrepreneurs. We often refer to getting an additional degree from the ‘University of Hard Knocks’, because the early years in business were hard. I remember getting kicked out of meetings because companies didn’t believe in the internet, people cancelling meetings while I was outside in their lobby, working for weeks on unsuccessful pitches for no pay, legal disputes, you name it. 

Dealing with rejection and mistakes has strengthened my resolve to succeed. I believe that because we worked so hard with our first business, we appreciate our people, our culture, our clients and the needs of operating a business more today with Finder. So I would say the most important thing that has sustained us is our ability, collectively with the wonderful 150+ crew who we work with today, to get up and keep fighting when an obstacle gets in the way. 

I think another thing is that we’ve never taken on external investors. We’ve forged our own pathway and have been able to pivot and take more risks as the market has evolved and opportunities have arisen.

 

Q: What makes you confident that consumers want your services?

In 2006, when we launched Finder, few consumers compared products and services online. The sites we have today did not exist in Australia. We looked around the world and saw some successful sites, so we could see a lot of potential in the model. 

In truth, it’s much easier now to say we were confident in launching, but at the time we didn’t give ourselves too long to think about it. It was more that we saw a gap in the market and gave it a go. It all happened in a very organic way.  

I have a core belief we are making people’s lives better by empowering them to make a better decision, and we work tirelessly to make sure we are doing this. The products we are helping people compare, such as your home loan or your health insurance are important decisions that can be tough to make. The goal for Finder is to play a key role in this decision-making well beyond my lifetime.

 

Q: What do you do to get such a high take-up of visitors to your site?

With our background in digital, we’ve focused on channels such as search engines, social media, email and press to generate visitors to our site. Over the years we’ve gradually invested more in TV and radio too. However, we’re most proud of the repeat visits we get and our focus is ensuring we’re delighting each and every user that visits the site.

 

 

I would say the most important thing that has sustained us is our ability, collectively with the wonderful 150+ crew who we work with today, to get up and keep fighting when an obstacle gets in the way.

Q: Could you have been this successful in your growth strategy without online technology?

I was lucky, I suppose, to start my working life in the noughties with the online world being more comfortable than the offline world for me. I always imagined through my digital marketing agency days that online technology would become vital to a company’s marketing strategy, but it really is the most important game in town.  

The next wave of technology such as AI and machine learning, will totally change our lives again. I’m fortunate to be working with some incredible online technologists who are thinking light years ahead of me now. I’m very excited by our growth and development plans.

 

Q: On reflection what lessons have you learnt about business growth and what would you do differently?

I still feel like we have much to achieve and so to be honest, I rarely spend time reflecting or thinking about the past and much prefer to look forwards. As this question has prompted me to look backwards, I get a great sense of happiness thinking about all the great people who I’ve worked with over the years. I wish I had more time to hang out with them. So perhaps that is the lesson – to really enjoy the crew that you work with.  

Perhaps the only other thing I would do differently is to think global first. We’re now operating in the US, UK and other countries with Finder.com, but the domain name cost us a pretty penny to get and a few months of my life! Get your .com and your .com.au and think big from the start.  

At the same time, in our early years, we were very focused on our initial idea to help people compare credit cards only. So who knows, perhaps it wouldn’t have worked out the same.   

Please feel free to ask me that question again when I’m retired.

 

Q: Both you and co-founder, Fred Schebesta, are millennials with inspirational back stories. How did you have the chutzpah and confidence to bring this service to the marketplace and be successful in rapid growth?

We definitely cut our teeth in our first business, and it was a successful business before it was acquired in 2007. So this gave us confidence we could do it again with Finder.  

When we first started in business together, I remember reading some statistics about how 90% of businesses fail within seven years. I said to Fred, “Well, that’s it then, we’ll stay in business for seven years”. I’m not sure it’s confidence, but I definitely believe in the power of persistence.  

This Calvin Coolidge quote has been a constant motivator for me: “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not: unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”

I’m prepared to be the last man standing to achieve the goal.

Q: What competencies or skills do you believe exceptional millennial leaders, like yourself, must possess?

You hear a lot about skills such as empathy, competence, vision and humility. These are vitally important. However, I believe the most important thing is to have and demonstrate an unshakeable belief that what you’re doing will change lives and you’re the best person to lead the movement. You’ve got to be prepared to leave no energy for the return trip.

 

Q: How important is your team to the continued success of the business plan? Is youth an important ingredient?

Age has never been a factor to me when considering someone for a role or a promotion. I believe young people are just as capable if given the opportunity, so long as they have the willingness to work hard and want to grow professionally.  

We don’t see training and development as a cost, but an investment in our people’s futures. If people are unsure about something or need help, we have a culture of sharing knowledge that helps us perform our roles better. Working well together as a team or what we call as ‘one crew’ is a non-negotiable trait at Finder.

 

Some final insider business advice for small business growth

I believe too many businesses seek out capital as the first step and focus excessively on this and not enough on generating customers and revenue.  

The first $1 in revenue is the most important for a new initiative or business. It proves to me that you’ve got a real customer that values what you do. If you can make $1, you can make a million.  

At Finder, we would say: “We’re live!” You can always improve on your idea, but the first step is the most important.

Frank’s interview is just one of many we conduct with leading entrepreneurs and industry experts in Australia. To receive the latest interviews and more small business advice from My Business, sign up for our free newsletter today.