Radio and TV personality turned tech titan Jules Lund knows a thing or two about aiming big, hitting a target and turning dreams into reality.

He admits to being a self-disrupter, reflecting on the different directions his career has taken over the years. Starting as a graphic artist, he transitioned to radio host, did a lengthy TV stint on the travel program Getaway and then returned to radio.

It was his latter-day radio incarnation that furnished him with the idea for a social media marketplace that would connect brands with everyday authentic influencers armed with a mobile phone and their passion for specific special interests.

Jules Lund’s Tribe: connecting brands and micro influencers

In 2014 Jules launched Tribe, an influencer platform and branded content marketplace.

A decade later Tribe is a roaring global success attracting some of the biggest brands on the planet looking for real people to promote their products and cash in on the multiplier effect a bunch of micro-influencers can bring.

‘For five grand, you could get 25 unknown micro-influencers for the same price as a footballer or a pop star, actor or someone from The Bachelorette,’ Jules says.

‘These influencers have small audiences, but collectively you get far more audience and are far more engaged because the smaller the tribe, the more potent the influence.

‘You also have 25 times the content you can repurpose in your own ads rather than one bad post from a footballer who's holding a product up next to their face.’

It’s a win-win for the brands and for the previously unpaid or poorly paid influencers who now have somewhere to offer their services.

How to carve out your own path in business and life

What has all that got to do with the building industry? Well, Jules is sure to have entertaining behind-the-scenes anecdotes from his time in radio and TV. However, there’s much more to his story – elements that could change the direction of your business and your family members’ future.

Jules’ success has not been random, but a result of taking conscious committed decisions to change tack when he needed to. ‘I've always been passionate about taking big swings,’ he says.

He entered and won a competition to get his break in radio. He set a 12-month goal to join Getaway and achieved it in eight. He then took his marketing skills and awareness of brand, audience and the power of video to establish Tribe.

HIA members can learn how he figured out his dream job and made it happen. This is a lesson that can be applied to any business or to kids struggling to find their direction.

As a parent and someone who has worked with young people, Jules has plenty to say about giving kids the scope to stretch.

‘It's important for kids to push boundaries, look past social norms, read between the lines and not be afraid to divert from the path and carve one out themselves. That's where innovation and in many ways, personal growth lives,’ he says.

Think big for your building business

This is also sound advice for anyone negotiating difficult and changing business environments that demand creative solutions.

Not that Jules has left behind those previous incarnations. All his skills from graphic art onwards have coalesced into his present business venture.

He never stopped thinking visually, even on radio. He helped develop the most engaged Facebook brand page in the country at 2DayFM. This produced lucrative social media consultancies and then Tribe.

HIA members often rely on old-school word of mouth recommendations for business or are dabbling in marketing. They can learn about the transformative power of technology and social media. It doesn’t have to be difficult.

If Jules could wave a magic wand for members, it would be to take the fear away from embracing this powerful medium.

‘I would have members really concentrate and focus on what they should be doing instead of doing a little bit of marketing here, a little bit of sending an email here, a little bit of an eDM here, and concentrate on bigger assets,’ he says.

Authentic voices in our industry and the power of video

What about that gold mine?

HIA members might not know it, but there’s gold in what they, their staff and contractors do, how they do it and what they do it with. Not to mention what their customers have to say.

‘Your members have so much wisdom in their chosen field. There are many emerging, aspiring professionals who would be falling over themselves to hear about these lived experiences, their learnings and education. These days the scalable way to share that and build a following is via video,’ says Jules.

He says there’s a huge opportunity to move audiences – whether that be advocacy for policies, innovations or promoting reliable product brands – and unlock creativity at scale. That’s because there’s power in real people with authentic voices, something that many leading businesses have discovered.

‘I'm really excited to hear about some of these opportunities in their industry,’ says Jules. ‘Together we can brainstorm how they capitalise on that using some of the unbelievable tailwinds and benefits of video content and social platforms.’

Register for HIA National Conference now

Jules is just one of three inspirational speakers at the three-day HIA National Conference at the Melbourne Convention Exhibition Centre on 15-17 May.

This include cycling great and sports administrator Anna Meares and Who Gives a Crap founder and CEO Simon Griffiths.

The conference will also feature interactive workshops and networking opportunities, culminating in the HIA-CSR Australian Housing Awards at Melbourne Crown hosted by comedian Peter Helliar.

To register, visit HIA National Conference.

First published on 19 Feb 2025