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In the spacious dining room of a Sydney home, eight entrepreneurs collectively responsible for over $100 million in annual revenue gather around a table. The host, barefoot and focused, isn’t presenting investment decks or growth metrics—he’s serving salmon he prepared himself.
Frank Greeff’s “Founders Table” gatherings regularly play out as scenes representing something more profound than networking. It embodies a philosophical shift in how successful founders integrate wealth, purpose, and identity after achieving what entrepreneurial culture considers the ultimate milestone: the lucrative exit.
The Greeff brothers — Frank and Jacques — sold their real estate marketing technology company Realbase to Domain for $180 million in 2022. In doing so, they joined the ranks of Australia’s tech millionaires.
Unlike many founders who launch new ventures or retire to luxury, the Greeffs see success as the start of a richer, more integrated life.
Meet the minds behind the big exit
Before Frank Greeff built marketing technology, he built meals. He spent three years as a chef at Sydney’s renowned Bathers’ Pavilion restaurant. This culinary background might seem incidental to his tech success story, but provides a crucial lens for understanding his post-exit life.
“People were always flabbergasted that I would leave a role as CEO and go home to my wife and son and cook,” Frank has noted. “But in 14 minutes, I know I can cook something that will be better than anything I will order through a food delivery app. So why not? And why not then teach other people how to do it?”
On the other hand, Jacques Greeff mastered his way of building businesses from scratch. Jacques demonstrates grit by building and raising the next big thing in the tech business through Realhub, Realbase, Founder’s Table, and now the Sydney-based AI start-up Relume. As a result, at just 34, he achieved the financial freedom to pursue any path he desired, explore, and even have the platform and opportunity to mentor the next successful entrepreneur in Australia.
The Greeff’s entrepreneurial instinct — to find fulfillment in crafting something tangible and sharing it with others — contradicts the stereotype of tech entrepreneurs as perpetually future-focused, always chasing the next digital innovation. It suggests that tech titans might be happier and more effective when they honor the full spectrum of their interests and talents rather than narrowing themselves to fit entrepreneurial archetypes.
Wealth and legacy: The incomplete equation
When entrepreneurs achieve financial independence, they face a profound challenge that philosopher Martin Heidegger might recognize: the absence of necessity creates an existential void that must be filled with authentic purpose. The standard path — becoming a serial entrepreneur or investor — offers a familiar structure but often perpetuates the same achievement-oriented mindset that drove the initial success.
Frank Greeff confronted this crossroads after stepping down as Realbase CEO in 2023. He described experiencing a “purpose realignment, “recognizing that his commercial drive could be directed toward goals beyond wealth accumulation.
“I knew I had a strong commercial driver, which had led to great business results, but I didn’t see myself going from business to business for the rest of my life,” he explained. Rather than shutting down this entrepreneurial energy, he redirected it toward his cookbook project “Eat with Purpose,” which aims to raise $1 million for the Children’s Cancer Institute.
This philanthropy-through-business approach maintains the energy of entrepreneurship while transforming its ultimate purpose. It’s not about abandoning commercial thinking but harnessing it for broader impact.
The fellowship of success
In early 2025, the Greeff brothers launched Founders Table, an exclusive community to which only entrepreneurs running businesses with at least $10 million in revenue are invited. This initiative reveals another dimension of their post-exit philosophy: the belief that success creates an obligation to foster community.
“Australia is far too small not to know every entrepreneur!” Frank mentions. “We want to celebrate success and people who are giving it a red hot crack while sharing knowledge, insights, and a few laughs.”
Casual, inclusive language focused on relationships contrasts with competitive, metrics-driven vocabulary dominating startup culture. It suggests that many entrepreneurs hunger for authentic connection after achieving wealth more than additional zeros in their bank accounts.
The Founders Table fosters meaning through shared experience rather than serving as mere networking. In a country where tall poppy syndrome often cuts down those who achieve too visibly, the Greeffs are creating a safe harbor where success can be discussed honestly, with all its emotional complexities.
The meaning-rich portfolio
What the Greeff brothers are assembling — through Founders Table, philanthropic ventures, content creation, and selective investments — might be called a “meaning-rich portfolio.” Unlike a traditional investment portfolio optimized for financial returns, this collection of activities is designed to maximize purpose, impact, and personal fulfillment.
This outlook recognizes that the skills that build successful companies — vision, execution, leadership, and creativity — can be applied across domains. Frank’s journey from chef to tech CEO to cookbook author demonstrates the transferability of entrepreneurial thinking.
In this light, the post-exit life is not about retirement or simply replicating past success; it is about integrating one’s diverse talents and interests into a coherent whole that serves both self and community.
A model for meaningful success
The Greeffs’ perspective offers a compelling alternative to the standard narratives of entrepreneurial success. Rather than perpetuating the cycle of build-exit-repeat or retreating into isolated luxury, they are cultivating a balanced ecosystem of purpose-driven activities.
This model addresses a growing concern in entrepreneurial communities: the single-minded pursuit of exits creates a hollow form of success — financially rewarding but emotionally and socially unfulfilling. The Greeffs expand people’s collective imagination about what constitutes a successful life after a significant exit by demonstrating that commercial success can be a platform for community building, philanthropy, and creative expression.
As Australia’s business ecosystem matures and more founders achieve significant exits, the question of “what comes next” will become increasingly important. The Greeff brothers suggest an answer: not just another company, but a life rich in meaning, connection, and impact—a feast shared with others rather than a fortune hoarded alone.
