Founded by an operator who's built 11 brands and survived the ones that nearly broke.
Scaled to eight figures, exited, expanded across 30+ markets, and learned what actually makes growth repeatable, not just possible.
Founder Story
I didn't train as a consultant. I came up as a founder—launching brands, building teams, making expensive mistakes, and learning what actually breaks when a business grows faster than its operating discipline.
By my early 30s I'd scaled a brand past $30 million. Then a crisis hit that nearly took it all away. That was my MBA in disaster recovery, risk mitigation, and building businesses that don't collapse when the founder steps back.
What came after was different. I rebuilt with structure: tighter numbers, real SOPs, automation where it mattered, and teams that didn't need me for every decision. I scaled brands internationally—30+ markets, from Australia to Brazil. I ended up in the office of Kerry Packer, Australia's richest man at the time, negotiating with his senior team. I exited. And then I kept building.
Growth Key exists because most founders don't need more tactics—they need an operating system that compounds. I've spent 20+ years learning what that looks like. Now I help others install it faster than I did.
Built 11 brands to 8 figures (most bootstrapped from scratch)
Survived a near-collapse—rebuilt with systems that actually worked
Scaled internationally across 30+ markets
Successful exits and M&A experience
Real scars, not just theory
A Track Record of Building, Scaling, and Exiting
25+ years of founding, scaling, and advising consumer brands from first launch to eight-figure exits.
1997
Started first business: a call centre and fulfilment operation. Also began direct marketing consulting for clients including Dyson Australia and Dragon Dictate.
1998
Co-founded Skin Doctors, my first beauty brand.
1999
Co-founded Naturopathica, my first supplement brand.
2000
Launched Fatblaster—became the biggest-selling weight management supplement in AU/NZ.
2003
Hit $30M revenue. Then a supplier crisis nearly wiped us out overnight. Learned the hard way how to raise capital for a distressed business.
2004 2005
Rebuilt with systems, SOPs, and real infrastructure. Expanded Skin Doctors to 30+ international markets.
2006
First major exit: sold three brands (Skin Doctors, Naturopathica, Fatblaster) for eight figures.
2007 2012
Founded Bodytrim (peaked at $35M+). Acquired David Babaii Hair with Kate Hudson. Launched Skin Physics—won multiple international beauty awards.
2014
Exited both brands earlier than planned. Took time out to reset, then started again.
2015 2018
Reinvested in Skin Physics, relaunched successfully, brought in private equity, then exited at an eight-figure valuation. Won multiple international beauty awards.
2019 2021
Founded ALSIS Labs as a brand incubator (LIPMD and others). Raised capital to roll out internationally across UK and USA. Then COVID hit the lip category hard.
2022
Near-fatal accident. Four months in hospital. A lot of time to reflect on what comes next.
2024
Founded Growth Key Consulting to help other founders install what took me decades to learn.
How Growth Key Originated
Every business I've built has taught me the same lesson: growth isn't the hard part making it repeatable is.
In my early ventures, I made the classic founder mistakes: too much in my head, too little in systems, and a business that couldn't run without me in the middle of every decision. When things went well, we scaled fast. When they didn't, we nearly went under.
After rebuilding multiple times through a supplier crisis that nearly wiped us out, a partnership collapse, and a complete operational reset I finally understood what actually makes growth stick: clear numbers, real SOPs, automation that reduces risk, and a rhythm that lets teams execute without waiting on the founder.
Growth Key exists to help other founders install that faster than I did. It's the model I wish I'd had when I was in the messy middle scaling past $3M but not yet at $30M, with enough volume to create chaos but not enough structure to absorb it.
The Approach
Most consulting looks the same: discovery sessions, strategy decks, frameworks you're left to implement yourself. It's helpful in theory—but it rarely survives contact with the day-to-day reality of running a business.
My approach is different because I've been on the other side of the table. I've sat in the founder's chair through rapid growth, near-collapse, and everything in between. I know what it feels like when the systems can't keep up and you're the bottleneck holding it all together.
1
90-day sprints, not endless engagements.
We diagnose, prioritise, and ship real changes—SOPs, automations, dashboards—inside 90 days. Traction first.
2
Implementation, not just advice.
I don't hand you a deck and walk away. We build the systems together until they're working.
3
Founder bottleneck removal.
The goal isn't to make you busier—it's to make the business less dependent on you being in every decision.
4
Exit-ready by design.
Everything we install—reporting, workflows, operating rhythm—is what buyers and investors actually look for. Whether you exit in 2 years or 10, the foundations are there.
This isn't consulting that gives you more decks. It's consulting that gives you more leverage.
Behind The Name
After building and advising businesses for 20+ years, I've seen the same pattern over and over: growth isn't linear. It happens in phases—and between each phase is a plateau that can either become a launchpad or a ceiling.
The first is around $1–3M, where hustle and MVP can only take you so far. The next is $8–10M, where the cracks in systems and team start to show. Then $20–30M, where the business either becomes a real company or stalls under its own weight.
Some call these "valleys of death." I've been through them myself—more than once.
At each stage, you have two choices: consolidate and stay flat, or find the levers that unlock the next phase of growth. Strategy, systems, marketing, leadership—the mix changes, but the principle doesn't. Growth is how you survive and evolve.
That's what Growth Key is: the strategy and guidance that helps founders navigate these critical periods. The key to getting through isn't more hustle—it's knowing which locks to open and in what order.
