#75 Simon Bugeja - MD of Lucia's Group

In this episode, I interview Simon Bugeja, managing director of Lucia’s Group. Lucia’s started as Australia’s first Italian pizza bar founded by Simon’s grandparents ion 1957. Growing up in the family business, Simon found success by expanding into the retail sector and moved into producing and selling goods like pasta sauce, olive oil and pesto. Backed with the advice of his Nonna to “never cheat” on quality, Simon has successfully grown the business to now have over 50 employees and be scaling internationally.

Throughout the episode, Simon emphasises the importance of work ethic - a skill that his family valued the most. He also talks about the enormous impact that hiring the right people has had on the business. 

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Chapters

• 0:00 Highlight Clip
• 0:46 Introduction
• 2:21 Guest Introduction and Company Background
• 8:34 Why Simon Bugeja Started A Business Competing Against His Family
• 14:00 How Big Has Simon Bugeja's Side Business Grown To?
• 16:43 Simon Bugeja's Biggest Learnings From Business
• 17:38 How Does Simon Bugeja's Skills From the Markets Translate to Successful Business Now?
• 19:38 The Size of Lucias Today
• 20:00 The Biggest Challenge of Scaling Internationally
• 21:09 How Simon Bugeja's Handles Inflation with Lucias
• 23:17 How Simon Goes About Strategic Decision Making at Lucias
• 25:37 Simon Bugeja's Biggest Weaknesses and How He's Overcome Them
• 29:13 The Best Advice Simon Bugeja has Ever Received
• 30:05 Advice for Someone Starting Business Today
• 31:29 The Impact Simon Bugeja's Grandparents Had on His Business
• 36:29 Simon Bugeja's Business Inspirations
• 39:00 What's Next for Simon Bugeja and Lucias
• 39:56 Outtro