We begin with our Member Focus Series where we get to know EO Melbourne Members better. The first member we will get to know is Greg Sanderson, Managing Director of Speakeasy Group.
Greg has over 19 years of experience within the bar industry and began his career obtaining a Bachelor of International Business with a Major in Hospitality & Tourism Management. He has since then worked in some of the most notable drinking establishments across the globe gaining a reputation as one of Australia’s most passionate and knowledgeable hospitality professionals. Greg was awarded Australian Bartender of the year in 2012 in addition to coming on as a co-owner of the Speakeasy Group and overseeing the group’s expansion as Operations Manager. Under Greg’s management, the Speakeasy Group received the award for Bar Group Operator of the year at the 2018 ALIA Awards.
Greg recently joined the EO Melbourne chapter and has these things to share with us.
Q: Can you give a brief background about you, your family and your business?
Originally, I’m from Queensland. After spending some years living abroad (Scotland), I made the move to live in Melbourne.
Being a hospitality professional in 2006 when I made the move, there were just far more opportunities available in VIC than in my home state. After running a number of Melbourne’s most notable and awarded cocktail & spirit bars, I became a Brand Ambassador for a range of luxury spirits and found myself travelling across the country judging cocktail competitions, hosting exciting activations for hospitality staff and growing these brands within the premium spirit market.
The end goal right from the beginning, however, was to own my own venue, and in 2011, I partnered up with my now long-term business partner to do so. This first venue was a cocktail bar hidden in a back alley of Melbourne behind a door with no sign called Eau-de-Vie that has now become somewhat of an institution in Melbourne. We now own 7 venues across both VIC and NSW with more on the way in 2022. These venues and our additional businesses fall under our parent company The Speakeasy Group. We love having businesses that are “Easy to get to, Hard to find”.
Eau-de-Vie Melbourne: Cocktail & Whisky Bar
Nick & Nora’s Melbourne & Sydney: Cocktail & Champagne Bar
Boilermaker House: Craft Beer & Whisky Bar
Mjølner Melbourne & Sydney: Viking inspired restaurant
Pearl Diver Cocktails & Oysters: Cocktail & Oyster Bar
Whisky Freaks: Whisky subscription / online retail (e-commerce)
Viking Mode: Norse inspired lifestyle brand (e-commerce)
Ananas: Online hospitality training platform
In addition to my businesses, I am happily married with a beautiful 3-year-old daughter and love living in the heart of Fitzroy.
Q: What inspired you to be an entrepreneur?
I think the inspiration to be an entrepreneur came very early in life. My father was a serial entrepreneur as I was growing up, and it is no surprise that both myself and my twin brother both own and operate our own businesses. Over his life, my father had numerous businesses, including a coffee shop, a wholesale native plant nursery, a restaurant, a tour bus company and a limousine company. I loved watching him get excited about business, seeing how hard he worked on them, and when he had big wins, how excited he was about his accomplishments. I certainly carried this into my life and always wanted to be putting in the hard work for something I had built and not by someone else.
Q: What do you enjoy most about being an entrepreneur?
The thing I like most about being an entrepreneur vs. working for someone else is being able to execute ideas exactly how I envision them (of course, with input from the team).
Q: What are the biggest challenges you have faced as an entrepreneur?
The biggest challenge I face as an entrepreneur is getting the right people in our team along for the ride. Having a vision is extremely hard to execute without surrounding yourself with individuals that share the same passion and understanding of what you are trying to achieve.
Q: Why did you decide to join EO?
I decided to join EO to surround myself with individuals that were having similar challenges in their lives that I was. Many of my friends have not become entrepreneurs in their life journey and I found it difficult to connect with them when discussing business and my personal challenges.
If you just go to work every day for someone else it is very difficult to really understand what I go through on a daily basis. Whilst I love my friends that are not business owners, I just found myself not really talking to them about some of the most significant events in my life.
Q: Can you share a golden nugget that you learned from another entrepreneur or mentor in the past?
Surround yourself with the best! When I add new members to our team I look for individuals that are far better than myself in what they do. I have no desire to be the best or smartest at anything within our company.