This episode of Owner Insights features Danny Di Iorio from Aquamate - a business whose journey has been far from linear. A believer in the ‘seven-year itch’ and regularly shaking things up, Danny had a strong first chapter with Aquamate, helped by a large-scale drought in Australia that boosted demand for their steel water tanks. But when the drought broke and the GFC hit, turnover declined for almost a decade.

That downturn led Danny to rethink the business, but a move into the Oil and Gas industry didn’t go well. Many lessons were learnt, and a refocus on being the best in the world at something got the business back on track. The catalyst came from an unlikely source - a Texan goat farmer, prompting Aquamate to develop a flat-pack design that opened the US market.

Today, the US accounts for 30% of Aquamate’s $12 million revenue and is expected to overtake the Australian side, all still manufactured in Adelaide. Aquamate is now exploring a Big Science project in South America that could require up to 4,000 tanks - and with global demand rising, Danny is gearing up for the most ambitious chapter in the company’s history.

Imagine being 30 years old, leaving a secure career in investment banking, and with no job trying to raise $40 million to build a business from the ground up.

Fast forward a few years, now with a young family and in the middle of the GFC, feeling like you’re on a treadmill you can’t get off, with your house and everything else on the line.

That was the reality for Grant Wilckens in the early days of building what would become the G’day Group. Starting in 2004 with a blank sheet of paper and a handful of caravan parks in WA and Victoria, Grant set out to commercialise a traditional cottage industry, transforming Australian caravan parks into holiday parks and resorts.

Today, the group employs 2,600 people and includes 90 holiday parks and resorts under Discovery Parks, 330 licensed parks in the G’day Parks network, and tech platforms like WikiCamps and Bookeasy. In this episode, Grant shares how he rebuilt from those challenging early years, shifted the focus from simply owning assets to delivering exceptional customer experiences, and why digital innovation is shaping the next chapter.

In this episode of Owner Insights, we sit down with Meg Paech – founder of Yellow Door Care – whose quiet determination has built one of Adelaide’s most trusted in-home care providers.

Ten years ago, after 25 years as a nurse, Meg saw a gap in the market when her father-in-law needed care. What began as a deeply personal mission has grown into a business employing over 150 casual staff and delivering 3,000 hours of care every week to clients under the NDIS and Aged Care systems.

Meg is an incredibly humble entrepreneur – someone who dislikes selling, found early business meetings with bankers intimidating, but always knew she wanted her own business.

She shares how she’s grown Yellow Door while staying true to her values – keeping the business family-owned, resisting multiple offers to sell, and maintaining a personal touch in an increasingly complex industry. With all three of her kids working in the business and her twin sister Chris as Operations Manager, Yellow Door is a true family success story.

This is a refreshing conversation about doing business your own way – and staying grounded while making a big impact.