Kieran Perkins, 4 time Olympic medallist, former world record holder and one of the world’s best ever long distance swimmer let us into an athletes world and life after Olympics. Kieran is living proof that dedication, determination and commitment can lead to success but more importantly he highlighted that to put yourself in the best possible position to achieve your goals the holistic person both mentally and physically need to be at peak performance levels.

Angus Kennard showed us his family’s empire, starting with strong family roots and how they live the culture of their business through their values, their people and philosophy that the customer is king. They are passionate about continuous improvement and innovation which has kept their business growing through the generations as well as the importance of giving back to community. Angus was a real hit with all of the business entrepreneurs in the audience.

Jamie Durie’s diversification of his business let us know that it is important to keep evolving in business. He created the term ‘transterior’ incorporating both interior and exterior design. Jamie started off as a landscape designer and expanded his business to include architecture, interior architecture and furniture design in addition to being an author, TV presenter both in Australia and Internationally as well as an environmentalist.

Futurist, trends tracker and technology guru Craig Rispin enlightened the audience with his innate ability to spot trends and create new markets and opportunities that businesses can take advantage of. You got us thinking Craig!

Michelle Bridges brand is synonymous is health and fitness however for us we were given the opportunity to know Michelle the person and gained insight into how she built her empire from her interest in fitness at high school to being one of Australia’s most recognised female personal trainers and TV personality.

Entrepreneur, Business Executive, Author and Media Personality, Mark Bouris took us through our ‘Apprenticeship’ speaking about Wizard Home Loans to Yellow Brick Road and how business disrupters can challenge markets. He inspired us with his entrepreneurship and gutsy business decisions proving if you have a dream and the right attitude anything is possible.

Who can forget the red bandanna of ex rugby legend Peter FitzSimons. Peter has also been one of Australia’s best-selling non-fiction authors as well as one of Australia’s finest Sports Journalists. Peter’s entertained us with his own life story incorporating his colourful career journey.

The charismatic and inspirational Baker from Beechworth. Tom is living proof that no matter your education or life story, you can succeed. He turned a small dying business in a small town to a multi-million dollar enterprise through perseverance, passion and dedication to customer service. His motto ‘if you wouldn’t buy it, then don’t serve it’ still resonates today with us.