Care, compassion, and entrepreneurial flair: How Dr Glen Richards changed an industry for the better

EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2023 Chair of Judges, Dr Glen Richards, is a seasoned entrepreneur, former Shark Tank investor and director. Driven by the desire to build a better, more supportive environment for vets and pet owners, Glen’s story began with a single veterinary practice in Townsville and grew to Greencross, a national network of over 200 clinics and 300 pet stores that changed the face of the industry. Now a director and mentor for startup and scaleup companies, Glen is as passionate as ever about the power and impact of entrepreneurship, and about sharing what he has learned with others.

Entrepreneurship is in my blood. I grew up in a small business household deep in the Australian outback, so the concept of owning my own business was always part of who I am and where I've come from.

I was a young vet working in London when I was struck by an article that put my profession top of the list for people most likely to commit suicide. Our industry attracts people who care deeply, but we need support. I knew we had to do more, and that sparked my plan to develop a network of veterinary hospitals that provided better workplaces for young vets – where they had the facilities, equipment, and professional and educational support to help them avoid burnout.

I started out by convincing my parents to buy into a small practice in Townsville, which became a group of five over seven years. We then opened a large-format pet store, along with smaller retail operations. We worked hard to listen to pet owners and our young vets, to really focus on supporting them, and to make sure we were more professional than our competitors in every regard. Our vets and customers loved what we were building. This became Greencross, a consolidated model that delivered a more professional, supportive brand for vets and pet owners. And ultimately, that ended up being a better succession plan for the industry.

I love finding founders I can work with, and whose journeys I can support. I left the Greencross management team in 2014, but I’ve continued on as a director, and I mentor early-stage startup companies and scaleups. I’m chairman of Healthia Ltd, a group with over 300 allied health clinics across Australia. What started with podiatry clinics, has become a multidisciplinary integrated health business. I’m also chairman of PeopleIn Ltd that provides talent and workforce management solutions across many industries including mining, food services, nursing, community services, finance and information technology. Early-stage companies need love and support, so I also chair unlisted companies working in food technology and cardiac science.

You feel the vibe straight away from entrepreneurs with a big vision. They have the energy and passion to sell that vision, and they bring people along. That’s key. And they can execute. Delivering on promises is critical. They are serious competitors with that essential ‘entrepreneurial mongrel’ that keeps them going when things get tough. Business can be really hard so you need to stay humble, and respect how tough the journey is. You can’t have a blind, optimistic view but you need to back yourself and have a positive mindset that you will get there. I still remember when we listed Greencross, a mate of mine said he never invested because he thought it would fail!

Listening and acting helps build a healthy culture. At Greencross, each member of the leadership team called one employee and one customer weekly and asked what we should start, stop, and keep doing. The responses went into our 90-day resets, and I’ve built that approach into every company I’ve worked with. This philosophy of serving our customers with a fantastic culture of passionate employees has worked exceptionally well in the small, and large, listed companies I’ve been involved with. You have to engage your people and customers, listen to them and adjust what you’re doing regularly. If you do what you did last year, you’re probably going to get beaten in business.

Competition excites me. It makes me tougher, smarter, and better. And it brings me back to my values of being strong on team, bouncing off people and having robust conversations without ego or politics. Listening to ideas from inside and outside your organisation keeps you humble and it keeps you from getting stuck. And that stops competitors from overtaking you. You have to be able to fight in the marketplace.

Our world needs people who are willing to take the risk and step up. Tall poppy syndrome puts a target on entrepreneurs, but these people create employment and social and financial good in our communities. I love hearing the stories of people who have a go, whatever the size of their business or where they’re from. That’s one of the reasons I love EY Entrepreneur Of The Year. It provides the platform to tell those inspirational stories locally, nationally and internationally. The entrepreneurs challenge me to stay in the game and remind me I have so much more to give, including supporting those who are coming through the program.

You need people who will challenge your thinking. I still catch up with an old professor of mine, and my peer mentors are still friends. You need people to help you have those deep conversations that force you to articulate your position. Robust discussions disrupt your thinking and bring you back to your purpose.

Turning an idea into a working business is an art. A bunch of skills go into the mix – leadership means attracting a team and keeping them engaged, transforming your idea into a plan, and then executing your plan to build a business. The art is finding all the right people who can help you build and fund a business where your people and your customers feel the passion and the purpose, and really get what you’re doing, so you can turn it into your big vision. Those that do it well can do it across any industry, any product, any service. There’s a Japanese proverb that sums it up nicely: “Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.”

The Travelers sculpture series by Bruno Catalano is a perfect metaphor for entrepreneurs. I purchased one of the sculptures while on holiday in Venice. The missing pieces in his works signify you always leave a little bit of yourself behind in whatever community you travel in. And the bag signifies the ideas and thoughts you pick up along the journey. That fits beautifully as I’m always on the lookout for those ideas as an entrepreneur.

Opportunities are always coming past our front door. I fear for people when they don’t step out through the door, out of their comfort zone and have a go. The ideas are out there circulating, and it's so important for our society and our community to have people who step through the open door and grab them.

Photo credit: Network Ten, Glen Richards

The views expressed in this article are the views of the author, not Ernst & Young. This article provides general information, does not constitute advice and should not be relied on as such. Professional advice should be sought prior to any action being taken in reliance on any of the information. Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.