Black Belt

A masterclass for start-ups and entrepreneurs

Joseph Healy, David Hornery

• Publisher: Major Street Publishing
• Year: 2023
• Topic: Business
• eBook ISBN:
  9781922611574
• Subtopic: Entrepreneurship
• Index: Business

Disillusioned with the four big Australian banks’ culture and strategy, Joseph Healy and David Hornery started thinking about a startup that would improve and disrupt the immovable banking sector. Although they were self-professed ‘no spring chickens’ who fell outside of the usual millennial startup entrepreneur demographic, they forged a plan to start a new bank that would service small and medium-sized businesses (a sector the big banks were neglecting) in a highly regulated industry monopolised by four of Australia’s biggest companies. Inspired by the Netflix mantra ‘that will never work’, Joseph and David founded Judo Bank in 2016. The name is a nod to the fact that in judo, the smaller, weaker person can overpower a stronger opponent through the efficient use of energy. In Black Belt the authors share keys lessons from the Judo journey and their decades in business prior to the startup, including how to: Find and stick to your niche Act like a David and succeed as the underdog against Goliaths Be 100% clear on your purpose Continuously work on your culture. This is true masterclass in planning, launching and scaling a successful business against all odds. Follow their advice and you too could be a Black Belt leader and entrepreneur.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Chapter 1: Introduction - Setting the scene
• Chapter 2: ‘Project Greengate’ - Our entrepreneurial journey begins
• Chapter 3: Measure twice, cut once - From vision to business case
• Chapter 4: The plan of attack - Competitive advantage and the ability to scale
• Chapter 5: Dodging blows - Pitfalls to avoid
• Chapter 6: Hearts, minds and money - Securing investors
• Chapter 7: Finding our balance - Building the team and culture
• Chapter 8: How to reach black belt - Ten lessons we learnt
• Chapter 9: The challenger mindset - Maintaining founder centrism
• Chapter 10: Sharing our start-up with the world - Taking Judo public
• Final reflections
• References
• Index