What do premiership-winning football teams and thriving regional businesses have in common? According to Shaun Mooney, almost everything. In this episode of Launch Spotlight, host Eddie the Chef sits down with one of East Gippsland’s most quietly influential figures — a man who has spent decades building winning cultures both on the football field and in the local business community.

Shaun Mooney is a self-described quiet achiever with an extraordinary record. Over 300 senior games of Australian rules football, three premiership-winning coaching campaigns, back-to-back grand final appearances with Lucknow in the East Gippsland Football Netball League, and now a new chapter as senior coach of Morwell in the Gippsland League. Off the field, he’s spent nearly two decades as a radio sales representative for TRFM and Gold FM (Ace Radio), helping local businesses across the region tell their stories and grow their audiences.

The thread running through both careers? Connection. Shaun talks openly about how coaching and sales demand the same core skill: genuinely getting to know people — understanding how they learn, what motivates them, and what they need in the moment. Whether he’s working with a 17-year-old starting his football journey or a brand new business finding its feet in Bairnsdale, Shaun’s approach is the same: ask questions, listen, and show up consistently.

He shares a compelling philosophy on marketing consistency that every regional business owner should hear: radio’s role isn’t just to sell — it’s to keep businesses top of mind so that when a buying decision arrives, they’re already in the conversation. He draws a direct line between this and football: you train week after week not for the moments when it’s easy, but so you’re ready when it counts. Shaun also opens up about the evolution of Ace Radio’s offerings — now extending beyond broadcast into digital and website services — and how that allows him to be a genuine one-stop marketing partner for clients he’s known for years.

There’s a warmth to this conversation that’s hard to manufacture. Shaun speaks about East Gippsland the way someone does when they truly belong to a place — born at the Bairnsdale Hospital, raised in the high country, moved away briefly for family and career, and came back by choice. He describes the region with genuine affection: the mountains, the 90 Mile Beach, the tight-knit communities that pulled together through bushfires, floods, and COVID. During those crises, he reflects, radio stopped being entertainment and became something closer to an essential service.

With a young family of four, a fresh coaching challenge at Morwell, and a career built on long-term relationships over short-term transactions, Shaun Mooney is a reminder that in regional Australia, the most powerful business asset you can have is trust — earned one conversation at a time.

What do you do when a career-ending back injury takes everything you’ve known for 25 years off the table? If you’re Paul Poulter, you spend your recovery time on the couch, deep in YouTube rabbit holes, and you build a craft distillery. In this episode of Launch Spotlight, host Eddie the Chef heads out to the stunning high country of Glenaladale in regional Victoria to meet the founder of High Country Hooch Distilling Company — a man who turned forced stillness into something seriously impressive.

Paul’s journey began in 2021 after a serious back injury ended his life as a heavy diesel mechanic. With time on his hands and a lifelong love of whiskey, he started distilling as a hobby. When friends tasted the results and told him to sell it, something clicked. What followed was two and a half years of relentless persistence — navigating a council planning process that had never seen a distillery application before, calling planners weekly to stay on their radar, and investing money into a business he legally couldn’t sell from yet. Eight months before they would even accept his application. Another 14 months of back-and-forth after that.

He finally secured his wholesale licence in May 2024, then retail six months later. The results since have been remarkable: from 2,000 bottles sold in his first year to over 6,000 in the six months that followed, and a distribution deal with Australia’s third largest distributor — secured the same way everything else was, by being the squeaky wheel and letting the product speak for itself during in-store tastings that left bottle shop owners shaking their heads in disbelief.

Paul talks candidly about what makes High Country Hooch different: every bottle passes through his hands, every label applied in-house, every batch tasted before it leaves the property. The brand carries the same spirit — irreverent, authentic, and unapologetically regional. Their hazelnut liqueur is called “Nut Job.” Their fermenter is named “The Ferminator.” The still? “Stillvester.” It’s a business that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and that personality is exactly what’s connecting with customers.

There’s a long game being played here too. Paul’s vodkas and liqueurs fund the cash flow while whiskey barrels quietly age in the background — years away from generating revenue but already filling up. And out on the farm, a converted shearing shed is becoming a tasting room, a grain silo has been transformed into a toilet block, and another is being turned into a band stage. A Scottish Highland Festival is already booked. Sixty to eighty visitors every weekend is the 12-month goal.

Paul’s advice for anyone thinking about turning a passion into a business? Be prepared for the long game. Surround yourself with people who believe in you. And if something is worth building, build it as if you’re never going to sell it. At knock-off time, he sits in his tasting room, looks out at the mountains, drinks a glass of his own whiskey, and feels completely at peace. That’s what success looks like in the high country.

What does it take to build a regional hospitality empire from scratch — and then buy out your biggest competitor? In this episode of Launch Spotlight, host Eddie the Chef sits down with David Schmidt, the visionary entrepreneur behind three thriving venues in Bairnsdale, Victoria’s East Gippsland: Mr. D Food & Coffee, Aroma Coffeehouse & Eatery, and the Catering Events Co.

Dave’s story began with a simple observation: regional cafes were closing at 2pm and leaving locals with nowhere to go. Rather than accept the status quo, he opened Mr. D with a bold commitment to trading seven days a week, from early morning until 6pm — a model the locals questioned but ultimately embraced. Over nine years, that instinct to push boundaries has shaped everything from his extended trading hours to his menus, his staffing philosophy, and his approach to growth.

One of the episode’s most compelling moments is Dave’s account of acquiring Aroma — a business he’d always identified as his fiercest competitor. When a broker called out of the blue one Saturday afternoon, Dave didn’t hesitate: there was only one café in Bairnsdale he’d ever want to buy, and it had just come on the market. He shares how the acquisition was handled amicably, how the community reacted — with both congratulations and scepticism — and why the two venues remain deliberately distinct despite the common ownership.

COVID tested everything. Dave opens up about watching Daniel Andrews announce the first lockdown on a Sunday night and telling his 26 staff it’d “only be a couple of days.” Fortunately, a renovation months earlier had already introduced a dedicated takeaway window and online ordering — giving Mr. D a critical head-start when dine-in vanished overnight. He’s candid about the financial pressure of carrying staff with no government support in those early weeks and the mental toll of sole ownership across three businesses.

The conversation covers the innovations that set Dave apart in a regional market: partnering with Code Black specialty coffee (now moving 86 kilos per week at Mr. D alone), using AI tools to match staffing levels to sales data and weather patterns, and managing a rotating team of 40+ personalities across all three businesses. He also shares the launch of the Catering Events Co. — a fully equipped mobile catering operation born from growing demand for high-end external events.

Dave doesn’t shy away from the harder truths. He speaks candidly about the mental health challenges of running a seven-day operation solo, the importance of building better structures earlier, and the $25,000 annual community grants budget his businesses quietly run — no social media announcements, just quiet commitment to giving back. His advice to his younger self? Don’t try to do everything at once. Delegate, focus, and build your structure from day one.

With plans for a potential fourth venue already forming, David Schmidt is proof that regional Australia is where real innovation happens — one bold idea at a time.