Rory’s Group started in 2003 when Rory and his wife, Louise, opened a small lunch bar in Surrey Downs. Gradually, they started increasing their food services providing for school canteens, catering, and running small cafés.

By 2010, Rory’s had grown to a large enterprise with around 60 employees, but Rory felt worn thin. They were working too hard to stay profitable and he wanted to operate more sustainably. As luck would have it, he was running the cafeteria in Innovation House right down the hallway from the Polaris Centre. It didn’t take much for him to realise where he could easily go for guidance.

Keen and ready for change, Rory signed up for Polaris programs to get his business fundamentals in order and began his mentoring journey through Mentoring for Success. He had a big vision for what he wanted to achieve. Over time, he identified his niche, and his mentor supported him through the challenges of growth, slow periods, how to manage and monitor a bigger operation, and how to measure progress. Rory was introduced to the concept of a board for governance and eventually joined the pilot of the Advanced Management Mentoring Program learning how to fine tune his financials to an art.

Rory’s Group is now booming and has gone from a two to 14-million-dollar business with nearly 200 people. Rory considers the staff at the Polaris Centre as part of his extended team. Having gone through several ‘pinnacle points’ in his business journey with Polaris’ support, Rory feels that his whole business changed for the better as soon as he got a mentor.