Frank Greeff, entrepreneur, 32: Q&

When Frank Greeff and his brothers sold tech start-up Realbase last year it made them instant millionaires, and gave the young Sydneysider a chance to return to his unexpected first love.

Driven: Frank Greeff

In 2022, you and your brothers Ken and Jacques became instant millionaires when you sold your business (Realbase, an online platform that streamlines real estate marketing) – for $180 million! How did that feel? I think the biggest thing is that I know I have a lot more to give. I have a life mission to make a positive impact on as many people in this world as I can, and business is my vehicle to do it. I feel that I’ve played levels one, two and three of business and now I’m excited to play levels four, five and six.

Did you at least allow yourself an indulgent purchase after the sale? Yes, my wife and I had been renting a two-bedroom apartment, and she was pregnant, so the most important thing for me to buy was a family home. I did the final negotiation of the deal from a car outside our birthing class.

What’s it like to work so closely with siblings? I have two very intelligent brothers. They’re software engineers – something I could never do. Very early on it was clear that I was the one who would have to do the talking. I often joke it would be hard for me to remember my brothers’ birthdays, but I can tell you exactly what they think about business and their methodology. Business can be lonely, and we fortunately never had that problem – we had each other.

Doesn’t sound like you have all that much in common? There’s one thing I call our maniacal focus. Each one of us has it and we all apply it to our different lanes – we’re obsessed, truly, truly obsessed.

Frank Greeff

What drives you all so hard? I think a lot of people will shy away from saying what I am about to say and be like, “Oh, it was never about the money.” The reality is, that is a big driver. My dad went bankrupt when we were living in South Africa, and we were a family of five living in a caravan. In the early days of our lives money was the most common conversation at the dinner table, because we had very little of it. We have always been like, you know, “One day when our business is doing $50 million revenue…”

And yet in your early life, your ambition was to become a chef... Before the business got going, I was doing my apprenticeship in the kitchen. I honestly can’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t want to be a chef. Throughout school, my elective classes were food tech, advanced food tech and hospitality, which means I got the world’s worst marks at the end of my HSC. I even cooked at my wedding, and I’ve always come home from a day at work and cooked for my wife. The beautiful thing is, cooking is one of those skills that when you learn, you do it for the rest of your life

You’ve now written a cookbook, Eat With Purpose, and all proceeds will be donated to the Children’s Cancer Institute. Tell us why. During the final months of the business sale I was concerned I would experience a real loss of purpose, but I didn’t want to get into another business straight away. I had to do something that I could use as an opportunity to give back. I thought, “Why don’t I do something that gets my creative brain going, and do it for charity?”

So who do you see reading this book? Someone who is health-conscious, time-poor, and doesn’t have 50 different ingredients that they’ll never use again sitting in the cupboard.

Learn more at eatwithpurpose.net