How to Build a Billion-Dollar Business

CHAPTER 1BORN THIS WAY

I was an unusual child from an eclectic family. Born in Scotland and raised in Australia, my father was of Albanian extraction while my mother hailed from the Czech Republic. I am a product of them in so many ways. I’m warm, loyal and hard-working like my father, and direct, creative and disciplined like my mother. This confluence of traits paved the way for my journey into entrepreneurship.

I grew up in leafy Hawthorn, a well-heeled, genteel suburb 9 kilometres east of Melbourne. It was a far cry from the farmland of Shepparton, where Dad was raised, and a long way from the soviet-ruled Czech Republic where Mum was born. As one of the only European families in this quintessentially Australian neighbourhood, our distinctive identity set us apart. I felt different. Actually, it wasn't a feeling; it was a fundamental truth. I was different.

For a start, there was my name. In a classroom of Craigs and Steves, I was Radek. Once the teachers stumbled their way through my first name, they'd encounter my middle name, Rudolf, the namesake of my beloved grandfather. Well, you can just imagine the reaction that got from my classmates.

My food was different. Most kids had a vegemite sandwich, a coconut doughnut and an apple for lunch; I had frankfurts, a boiled egg and green bananas.

I looked different. I was inordinately tall for my age, lanky and wide jawed in that classic Slavic way. I towered over everybody and compensated by stooping so I could blend in. My ...