How Melbourne’s young and rich made it big
THEY’RE young, ambitious and are some of the wealthiest in Australia. But it wasn’t an easy for Melbourne’s self-made young rich listers. Here’s how three of our own took on the world.
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THEY’RE young, ambitious and are some of the wealthiest in Australia.
Not only did they get their start in Melbourne, they spent years building their empire in our neighbourhoods.
But their path to success wasn’t as easy or direct as you’d think.
The Herald Sun spoke to three young achievers to find out how they made their millions.
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Joel MacDonald
Former AFL Footballer
Founder of Get Swift, Liquorun in 2013.
Wealth: $36 million
Age: 33
THERE were many things playing on footballer Joel MacDonald’s mind when he considered leaving the AFL to forge a business career.
One realisation came the morning after a gruelling recovery session at Port Phillip Bay.
The Dees had been thumped by Geelong the night before and a punishing 5am swim in the bay, in the thick of a Melbourne winter, was payback.
“We had to swim out to the pier and back, by the end of it I couldn’t feel my body,” he said.
“I was having a shower afterwards and thought: it’s time to move on.”
MacDonald also realised his other business ventures were earning him more than playing AFL football.
“It was getting to a stage where I was more excited to be driving to and from training,” he said.
MacDonald had played 11 seasons and 124 AFL matches, including 44 with Melbourne.
But after realising he was destined for other great opportunities, MacDonald retired in 2013 and took a risk in business.
Fortunately that leap paid off — today he has an estimated wealth of $36 million, thanks to founding global tech company GetSwift.
Before he hopped on a plane to New York City, MacDonald was toying with an business idea in Melbourne.
He’d developed a mobile alcohol delivery service Liquorun, before the likes of Deliveroo and UberEats took hold in Melbourne.
“It really grew in popularity in 2014,” MacDonald said.
“But we realised one thing. If we were going to efficiently run the business, we needed to build software to manage the operation.”
“When we launched the software, we saw some amazing things happen in business.”
“The revenue was increasing and our costs were decreasing. Customers were more satisfied and buying more, drivers were happier.”
The swift operation of MacDonald’s business caught the eye of a large US organisation, that offered to partner if he moved to New York City.
“From that moment, we went all in,” he said.
“I remember landing in New York City, in the depth of a New York winter and (my business partner) warned me that it would be brutal. But to quote a Frank Sinatra song ‘If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere’ and we’ve really been able to accomplish great things.”
“It’s the first time I truly listened to my gut. I’m a big believer that things aren’t served up on a platter, you have to work hard, be prepared to sacrifice and not give up.”
“AFL football was a fantastic foundation to learn to work really hard and achieve something,” he said.
MacDonald said life was too short to not do something he loved.
“Sometimes life can be too short to not give something a try,” he said.
“Nine times out of ten, once you’ve made that commitment, the path will start to appear in front of you.”
“Fear isn’t a thing — it’s just an emotion we feel and it can control or restrict people from realising their greater self.”
“It’s a personal development, have a go and don’t be scared of the outcome.”
Tim Gurner
Gurner founder and CEO
Wealth: $465m
Age: 35
IT may be surprising to learn that property mogul Tim Gurner isn’t a forward planner.
“I’ve never been really good at planning ahead,” he said.
The young entrepreneur, worth $465 million, has pioneered Australia’s luxury apartment landscape with his Gurner brand.
He has 19 buildings and 5700 under development in Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales — worth billions— but Gurner wasn’t an overnight success.
As a teenager he didn’t know what career to follow.
But while off sick from school, as his parent’s renovated their home, he realised his passion.
“I do remember sitting down and peering out the window at the creation they were making,” he said.
“The biggest thing for me, when I was growing up, was thinking there was always a short cut”
“It was the creation of things that really fascinated me — seeing something go from nothing and then come into a reality.”
But after realising his passion, Gurner still weighed up career options after studying at a Kew Grammar school — even considering a career in osteopathy.
“Mum said if I went down that path, maybe I should try commerce first,” he said.
“I’m glad she did, as I would have been a useless osteopath.”
He studied commerce for two years at the University of Melbourne, moving from his Kangaroo Ground family home in Melbourne’s east to Queens College.
Gurner revelled in uni life by living on campus.
“We partied hard, had a good time, but four weeks out of exams we knuckled down and studied,” he said.
Gurner studied his final year of his commerce degree part time, before completing a Bachelor of Business at RMIT.
Many people assume Gurner became an overnight success, which wasn’t the case.
“It’s been 14 years, or 17 years depending on how you look at it,” he said.
“Most people think I’ve made a really quick success but it’s been a long journey.”
“The biggest thing for me, when I was growing up, was thinking there was always a short cut,” he said.
“But there’s not. It’s all handwork, determination and grit, and to love what you do.”
Sacrifice is also something Gurner has learned to deal with in his career.
“I don’t have a social life. I work seven days a week from 6am to 10pm. I’m exhausted when it comes to Friday so I spend time recovering.”
“It goes back to loving what you do. If I didn’t have that, it would be a struggle. It’s not a work lifestyle balance, it’s a lifestyle.”
Andrew and Tom Dyduk
Schnitz founders
Wealth: $95 Million
Age: 38, 37
TOM Dyduck always had an entrepreneurial mind, even as a child.
His first business was collecting golf balls lost in creeks near his Blackburn South home.
The thrifty 12-year-old then onsold his loot for a couple of dollars each.
“It was a good excuse to get out of homework,” he said.
“I did it more for the satisfaction I get from seeing happy customers.”
But it was a move into business with his father Roman and brother Andrew that changed his life.
The Dyduk family is responsible for the Melbourne-born Schnitz franchise, which has 70 stores across Australia and plans to open globally.
“We opened our first store in Richmond in 2009, which we created with the intention of taking over the world,” Andrew said.
Roman initially worked in a buffet style restaurant in Melbourne in the 1970s, complete with a sandwich bar.
“They made a big sacrifice. But when you believe in something, you aren’t afraid to take those crazy risks.”
Aside from all the other offerings, customers waited in line until Roman’s chicken schnitzels were served.
“They were dad’s obsession. They had to have a decent amount of meat and batter and crumbs,” Tom said.
After realising his passion, Roman closed his other restaurant ventures and focused purely on schnitzels, opening the Schnitz Cafe and Schnitzel Bar on Queen St in Melbourne’s CBD in 2007.
“Dad hated the way schnitzels had been bastardised with processed meat, double crumb, deep fried and frozen,” Andrew said.
“Why can’t they enjoy schnitzels the real way?”
A couple of years later the brothers opened their first franchise at Bridge Rd, Richmond.
Andrew quit his IT job to run the business with his brother.
But succeeding in business wasn’t an easy feat, with the pair taking risks and learning some valuable lessons.
When they started out they had to remortgage their parent’s house and were repaying loans at 25% interest.
“(Our parents) put their neck on the line for us,” Andrew said.
“They made a big sacrifice. But when you believe in something, you aren’t afraid to take those crazy risks.”
Despite their success, with a combined wealth of $95 million, the Dyduk brothers still lead a humble life.
“We’ve always hung around the same group of friends we had when we were teenagers,” Andrew said.
“Success is a by-product — it hasn’t changed us.”
“We go to the movies, have poker nights at least once every couple of months.”
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