The Launceston-born strategy consultant was jogging with an Australian friend in the leafy city park, and developed a business partnership by chance.

A chartered accountant by trade, Mr Fist’s friend, Shaun Malligan, suggested the two of them co-found a beef jerky company in Australia.

Dubious at the prospect of a beef jerky company succeeding, the 27-year-old eventually took a leap of faith and relocated back to his home state of Tasmania. 

“He (Shaun) told me he’s going to stop looking for jobs in accounting, and start a business in beef jerky, and I thought the poor guy had lost his mind,” Mr Fist joked.

“It’s hard to think of a food product with less glamour than beef jerky. Most people don’t get it when you first pitch it to them.”

Three years later, KOOEE Snacks is on the verge of expanding to retailers across the country, and abroad.

Now in his 30s, Mr Fist said he faced numerous hurdles in the first 20 months, including getting food safety regulations through compliance and packaging design.

“It was way harder than I thought it would be, but I suppose as time went on, we were thinking bigger and bigger as well...I had some good conversations with advisors.” 

He said he first started selling at the Launceston Farmers’ Market.

“There was someone there from a vineyard, it was actually Moores Hill, so then they became our first retailer, and then immediately after that, Davies Grand Central.” 

“It took us twenty months to go from conception to having something to sell at the local farmers’ market. That was about three times longer than I thought it would take.”

“And so it should be, it shouldn’t be easy. When you buy packaging for a product like this you’re buying 20,000 bags at a time, so a mistake, like failing to disclose an allergen, can be very expensive.”  

He said his fortunes turned around in 2016, when KOOEE secured a Tasmanian distributor, and began selling to IGA Supermarkets across the state. 

“We started to get into tourism outlets as well like Pumphouse Point, Port Arthur Visitor Centre.”

“This year, we redesigned the product completely, this was like one of those things that when we first launched, it was good but it wasn’t great.”   

“It was selling, but there didn’t seem to be huge excitement around it, and one flavour was better than the other. The price was too high, the product quality wasn’t as good as it should be.” 

Mr Fist said KOOEE has now successfully expanded to WA and Queensland, with Victoria and NSW to follow by February.

“A big store for KOOEE is Dan Murphy’s in Launceston, it’s selling really well, and allows us to make a business case for Dan Murphy’s Victoria, or Coles and Woolworths in Tasmania.”  

“2017 is going to be a really different year, because a lot of our time last year was product development and getting things right, and it feels like now we’re in sales mode for the first time, and that’s a great feeling.” 

Still it’s been a strong year for Mr Fist, who took home both the Young Professional of the Year and Successful Start-up Award at the Launceston Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Awards.

And although breaking into the industry was not without its challenges, Mr Fist argued Tasmania is one of the best places in the country to start a food business.

“When you make something in Tasmania, you get a brand that immediately communicates that the product is made to a high standard, and you don’t have to explain that to people.” 

“At the Fine Food Expo, Australia’s biggest food show, I was really surprised that buyers from Asia already understood the Tasmanian brand.”

He said the innovation hubs in Tasmania fostered an environment of constructive feedback, though he urged businesses to be blunt in receiving and providing advice. 

“It doesn’t matter how effective you are at execution if your strategy is no good. You see businesses that just haven’t got the feedback they need, and that can be really hard to get sometimes.”

Mr Fist said he adopted startup principles such as preparing a minimally viable product, which involves developing a product with the least amount of effort and receiving customer feedback. 

He said he has undertaken significant market research to understand trends and needs locally and nationally.

“You’ve got to go out there and look for it (feedback), because it’s very hard to get honest feedback from people, and often, you end up with a situation where everyone around you is just offering encouragement.

“Sometimes what people really need to hear is: this is a bad idea.”

“Often people don’t get feedback early enough, and they’ll invest too much money, and then they’re tied to their business, and no longer in a position to accept negative feedback.” 

“There are some awesome new Tasmanian businesses popping up, but starting a business certainly isn’t for everyone.”