Lessons from the Throne
400 Members Later
What 12 years of building Fresh taught me
Twelve years ago, Fresh started with one networking hub and 15 members. Recently, Fresh welcomed its 400th member. Reaching that milestone gave me the chance to stop and reflect. Looking back, I’ve realised the biggest achievement isn’t the number itself. It’s everything the journey has taught me about business, leadership and building a community.
When you stand on top of a mountain, people see the summit. What they don’t see is the zig-zag path it took to get there.
Ironically, I almost missed the summit myself.
I was chatting to one of our newest members, Georgina, when I realised I was talking to member number 400.
Cue a celebratory high five with Dexter! (Insert photo of Dexter and me.)
When I started Fresh in 2014, I never imagined where the journey would lead, the incredible people I’d meet, or the lessons I’d learn along the way.
So here are some of the royal treasures I’ve uncovered on the zig-zag journey to 400 members…
- Start before you’re ready
Fresh began with one Hub in South Yarra and just 15 members.
By then, I wasn’t new to networking. After starting my travel business in 2010, I’d attended plenty of networking groups. While I met some terrific people, I often found myself leaving the meetings thinking, “There has to be a better way than this.”
So my accountant Simon and I decided to create it.
We organised a networking event and each invited 15 people. Thirty people attended and 15 joined. We had a basic logo, homemade name badges, a spreadsheet instead of a CRM, and absolutely no grand masterplan.
In fact, Fresh wasn’t even supposed to become a business. It was simply a way of bringing good people together.
At the time, I thought I needed everything mapped out from day one. The reality is that businesses rarely begin perfectly. They grow because you start, learn and improve.
- Build a community, not just a network
One thing has never changed – Fresh has always been about connection, education and support.
Small business owners don’t just need referrals. They need ideas, support and people who understand the challenges of running a business.
In fact, if I could describe Fresh as anything other than a networking organisation, I probably would. I’d call it a business community. We use the word “networking” because that’s what people search for, but community is what we’ve been building all along.
Over the past 12 years, we’ve celebrated business wins, watched lifelong friendships develop, welcomed a Fresh baby into the world and, sadly, said goodbye to members we’ve lost. In 2025 alone, our events attracted more than 12,000 attendances across the network.
That’s more than a networking group. That’s a community.
- Know your target audience
Getting to 400 members was a big goal for Fresh – but not at any cost. I could have reached it sooner if I’d said yes to everyone who applied.
But I didn’t. In fact, in 2025 alone, Fresh declined 51 applications.
Would I have loved to reach the milestone faster? Absolutely. Would I do anything differently? Absolutely not.
In the early days, we accepted almost everyone who applied. As Fresh grew, we became much clearer about what Fresh is, what Fresh isn’t, and whether it was the right fit for the applicant.
We’ve continually refined our recruitment process and interview questions to ensure membership is a win-win for both the applicant and Fresh.
We still use what I call the “Freshometer” as the final check. It’s a highly evolved scientific process that goes something like this: “Would I enjoy hanging out with this person at a BBQ?” If the answer is no, there’s a fair chance Fresh may not be the right fit for them either.
Protecting our culture has always mattered more than growing our numbers. That’s why, 12 years later, I can still walk into any Fresh Hub and know exactly what I’ll find: great people, genuine conversations and plenty of laughs.
For me, that’s worth protecting.
- Every setback teaches you something
The journey certainly hasn’t been a straight line. We hit challenge after challenge.
- In the early years we had high member turnover.
- We couldn’t get past the 200 member mark – we’d make it, then drop back again.
- We discovered people needed more guidance on how to network effectively.
- We realised we weren’t being clear enough about what Fresh expected from members – and what members could expect from Fresh.
Every challenge forced us to improve. We refined our recruitment process, developed better onboarding, built the Fresh Academy, strengthened our leadership programme and became much clearer about what Fresh is – and just as importantly, what it isn’t.
- Sometimes your biggest challenge becomes your biggest opportunity
Covid was easily the biggest challenge Fresh has ever faced.
My travel business (which funded the time I spent building Fresh) collapsed almost overnight. Cafés closed. Members left. I genuinely wondered what came next.
But there was an unexpected silver lining. People still wanted to connect – in fact, they needed it more than ever.
We moved online, even though I barely knew how to use Zoom. With no travel needed, members could attend hubs they would never normally visit and make even more connections.
We ran webinars, with members sharing their expertise on everything from marketing to wellbeing. Some people were attending a Fresh event two, three, or even four times a week.
They told me those sessions were a lifeline, helping them stay connected (and sane!) during a very difficult time.
The whole experience changed the way Fresh operates forever.
It forced us to innovate, embrace new technology and find better ways to support our members. The platform changed, but our purpose didn’t.
- Strong foundations create sustainable growth
My initial approach to Fresh got us to 200 members. But no further. I realised that if I wanted to avoid 200 becoming a ceiling, something had to change.
So, I focused on strengthening the foundations. We improved retention, reduced turnover from around 50% to 30%, invested in better marketing, refined our recruitment process, automated systems and became much clearer about who Fresh was for.
Eventually, Fresh got unstuck and smashed through the 200-member ceiling.
After that, membership grew by 70 in one year, then 90, then 120, then 150.
That wasn’t luck. It was the result of doing the hard work behind the scenes before chasing growth.
- Stop trying to do everything yourself
For years, I did almost everything myself because, quite simply, I couldn’t afford not to. I was wearing so many hats that even my head wasn’t big enough for them all.
Hiring my first team members was exciting, but it was also scary. Suddenly, I wasn’t just responsible for my own income. I had wages to cover and people depending on me.
Then I realised something important. If I invested in the right people, they’d free up my time to focus on growing the business instead of just keeping it running.
So I started building a team.
First came a bookkeeper, then a VA, then a sales manager. As Fresh continued to grow, I added area managers, a membership team and a CRM specialist.
Every person I brought on gave me a little more time, a little more headspace and helped Fresh grow even further.
Businesses don’t scale because the owner works harder. They scale because the owner builds the right team.
- Surround yourself with good people
One thing I’m incredibly proud of is that almost everyone who has helped build Fresh has come from within the Fresh community.
Around 95% of our suppliers are members. I always encourage people to “Think Fresh First”, and I try to follow my own advice.
Over the years, I’ve been fortunate to meet incredible business owners through Fresh. Many have become trusted suppliers, mentors or members of our team, each bringing ideas and experience that have helped make Fresh stronger.
Businesses don’t succeed because one person has all the answers. They succeed because great people bring out the best in each other.
- Success isn’t measured by numbers
Yes, reaching 400 members feels fantastic. But it’s not what I’m most proud of.
What I value most are the people this journey has brought into my life.
Without Fresh, I would never have met many of the people who have supported me, challenged me, helped me grow and become genuine friends. Even though Fresh is my business, the friendships and support I’ve gained along the way have been one of its greatest gifts.
Wherever I go in Fresh, I know I’ll enjoy the room. That’s because it’s filled with good people who genuinely want each other to succeed.
For me, that’s the real measure of success.
In any business, numbers are important, but people are everything.
- The next goal isn’t really about the numbers either
Of course, I already have another target. It’s a big, hairy, audacious goal of 1,000 members.
I’m exploring what the future could look like through franchising or licensing (with a franchising expert I met through Fresh, of course!) because I believe Fresh can help many more business owners.
But if the last 12 years have taught me anything, it’s this.
Don’t become obsessed with the summit. Focus on taking the next step.
Business is rarely a straight climb. It’s a zig-zag, and every challenge brings new opportunities to learn and adapt.
One of the biggest challenges we face today is watching the cafés that have supported Fresh over the years deal with the pressure of rising costs. When a venue closes, it doesn’t just impact the café. It impacts the community that has grown around it. That’s why we’ve always believed in supporting our venue partners. Strong communities are built by supporting one another.
If you’re building your own business, keep going. Learn from every setback. Surround yourself with good people. Build strong foundations before you chase growth.
The numbers will follow. More importantly, you’ll build something worth growing.
Here’s to the first 400, the next 600 and all the zig-zag moments in between. One thing’s for sure: Coach Dexter and I still have plenty more milestones and high fives ahead of us.
