Zero to $600m: Aussie ex-market stall couple reveal how they got rich
Founders of iconic streetwear brand Culture Kings have lifted the lid on the one simple thing they did to go from $0 to $600m.
An Aussie couple who met while running humble flea market stalls and went on to build one of the biggest streetwear brands in the world have revealed what it took to do it.
Simon and Tah-nee Beard, founders of Culture Kings, eventually sold their business for $600m total in 2021 – giving up 50 per cent for $300m cash and the rest in shares of the takeover firm – and are now among the biggest investors on the coast with real estate including a multistorey penthouse and jawdropping riverside homes.
But Mr Beard said for years they paid themselves $150,000 refusing to tap into their millions as they built the brand – with the key to their success being delayed gratification for things like their penthouse.
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“Most founders make the mistake of prioritising their ‘lifestyle’ over business growth,” Mr Beard said. “As soon as revenue hits, they buy flashy cars and big houses.”
“But,” he said, “they forget that as their business grows, their lifestyle naturally changes”.
“When building Culture Kings, we had a clear north star: we wanted to build the Disneyland of streetwear culture. This meant reinvesting everything until we reached our goal.”
The Beards are strong believers in hard work and grit, because as Mr Beard says “bootstrapping forces resourcefulness”.
“We started in the flea markets in Australia before getting our first store,” he said, with their first business activity done at the Carrarra Markets on the Gold Coast in Queensland.
“My wife Tahnnee and I met when she was 19 and I was 23 in the markets,” he said. “Only 6 weeks into our relationship, we started sharing money. But this wasn’t the reason why we worked so well together. The reason behind our success was how our personalities matched up.”
“No matter what would happen, Tahnee and I were always able to keep our heads cool and move forward. When our warehouse caught fire and we lost $10m in inventory overnight, neither of us panicked. We simply looked at each other and started rebuilding within hours.”
“Most people quit after 6 months in business. We spent 6 years testing products before finding market fit with Culture Kings. Where others saw roadblocks, we kept looking at our north star.”
“For us, 16-hour days were extremely common. Tahnee would pull all-nighters even while pregnant, and I’d be pitching retailers until midnight.”
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The couple tried to stay abreast of every new development that might impact their business.
“We moved into the online space during the early days of Shopify,” he said in comments readily shared with over 16,000 followers on LinkedIn, adding they also were the second company to integrate Afterpay, keeping ahead of the trend.
“Yet, we still invested heavily in the company. Instead of taking money out, we did this instead: $100m on ad spend. 1,000-plus staff members and 8 stores in Australia alone.”
Mr Beard told followers that he and his wife differed when it came to seeking status which is why they worked so well together: “Her humility and my desire for recognition never clashed. She never needed her name on the building, never needed to be in the press, she simply focused on execution while raising 4 kids and scaling a global brand.”
“Our complementary traits are what built Culture Kings. I’d come up with ambitious ideas, she’d make them operationally possible. I’d push for expansion, she’d ensure we had systems to support it. I’d create the vision, she’d create the reality. From the Carrara market stalls all the way to the NYSE.”
The couple now spend their millions investing in real estate and other business ventures that strike their fancy such as entertainment groups and tech firms.
Among their stunning real estate purchases was 2021’s most expensive apartment in Queensland – the penthouse in the Soul building in Surfers Paradise that they bought off Sydney businessman Andrew Koloadin for $15.25m. They also bought Riverpoint, a waterfront mansion for $11.75m in June 2020 and broke the suburb record in Ashmore when they sold off their six-bedroom, main river residence for $4.95m in 2021.
All of those came at the tail end of their Culture Kings journey, after they turned it into “a $600m evaluation, single products that crossed 9 figures in sales and one of the biggest streetwear brands in the world”, Mr Beard said.
“Here’s why this worked. We kept our personal burn rate low. Most founders underestimate how expensive scaling actually is. Growth eats cash.”
“By keeping our burn rate low, we maintained the flexibility to seize opportunities when they appeared.”
He said it was a simple formula that worked.
“Live below your means during the growth phase. Reinvest aggressively in your business. Focus on compounding returns. Maintain independence and build with the long game in mind.”
Mr Beard said even when the business was raking in $10m in profit, the couple paid themselves $150,000 a year.
“For this to work, you need to love being an entrepreneur,” he said. “Otherwise, not only will it not work, but it also won’t make any sense. You need to decide what your north star is and go from there.”
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Originally published as Zero to $600m: Aussie ex-market stall couple reveal how they got rich