Most people in Australia still do not know Charlie Gearside’s name. They should.
Eucalyptus
Charlie co-founded Eucalyptus, one of the four people behind brands like Pilot, Juniper, Kin and Software. Charlie says their telehealth brands have served over a million Australian patients and saved Medicare around $40 million. They built it from a Sydney office in about seven years.
The exit
In February, Eucalyptus agreed to sell to Hims & Hers for up to US$1.15 billion, about A$1.6 billion, one of the largest Australian health tech exits in history.
What he’s doing now
Charlie started a YouTube channel and launched a movement called Build Australia. The pitch is simple. Australia is a country that digs things up. It should be a country that makes things that matter.
He spoke at Build Australia’s debut at Blackbird’s Sunrise festival in Sydney, alongside Maxine Minter and Joe Walker.
My read
His thesis is that Australia has a self-belief problem. He is not wrong. And he is spending his windfall trying to fix it. The country is better for it.