The Founders Fire

← The Founders Fire5 Aug · 56 min

70% of his revenue vanished overnight. He rebuilt it from a locked-down apartment with Don Hett

70% of his revenue vanished overnight. He rebuilt it from a locked-down apartment with Don Hett5 Aug56 min

<p>Don landed in Australia with $1,500 ... cleaning public toilets at 3:30am before uni and stacking shelves at night, sending money home for his brother&#39;s medical bills. </p><p>He built that into Clean Kings, a national cleaning company with 650 staff, and four more businesses under his venture studio Six Silo. </p><p>But 2020 took almost all of it at once COVID wiped out 70% of his revenue overnight, his fashion label was sinking, his marriage was falling apart across a closed border, and he lost his dog. </p><p>In this episode he&#39;s open about the times that followed, the pressure to just quit and get a job, the trip to Peru that reset his sense of purpose, and the one thing every founder does that outsiders never see. He also explains the Pablo Escobar insight that let him scale Clean Kings.</p><p>If you&#39;re building something and everything&#39;s hitting at once, this episode changes everything. </p><p><br></p><p>You&#39;ll hear: </p><p>0:00 Five companies, and the grind nobody sees behind them<br>4:04 $1,500, public toilets at 3:30am, and money sent home<br>7:47 The moment he understood why his dad left to work in Saudi<br>9:19 How a personality test at Bunnings sparked Clean Kings<br>13:04 The Pablo Escobar model he used to scale the business<br>15:28 2020: 70% of revenue gone overnight<br>21:53 His marriage unravelling across a closed border<br>27:50 The separation, the depression, and the man in the mirror<br>30:03 Peru, and the reset that gave him his purpose<br>43:00 Why he&#39;d break the whole thing and rebuild it if he had to<br>53:44 Change, confidence, clarity: the three Cs he lives by</p><p><em>This episode discusses depression and personal loss. If it resonates, support is available in Australia through Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue at beyondblue.org.au.</em></p><p>Connect with Don - https://www.linkedin.com/in/donhettofficial/</p><p>---------</p><p>See behind the scenes over at https://www.instagram.com/danmoussa_thirdwayadvisory/</p><p>Or Linked In - https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-moussa-thirdway/</p><p>And if you need help to find the hire that will completely change your business reach out over at https://www.thirdwayadvisory.com.au/</p><p>Hit follow wherever you&#39;re listening so you don&#39;t miss a single episode.</p>