Family, Business, and Perspectives with AgriMaster co-CEO's David and Natalie Egerton-Warburton

In agriculture we often have husband and wife duos on the farm, but not so often in Agribusiness! So we're stoked to have had the opportunity to chat to co-CEO's - David and Natalie Egerton-Warbuton from Agrimaster. Together, they established the software development company in 2001 and since have been providing farmers with finance solutions to support their businesses.

In this episode, we wanted to understand how they’ve approached building a successful business while also maintaining their personal lives. It's obvious from how they interact that they're the definition of a power couple. They admit to understanding each others strengths and weaknesses and how 'beautiful' it is to be brave and trust in each other... And to also call 'bullish*t' on each other at times too! 

Image supplied by Agrimaster.

Nat is much more executional, so you can find her in the engine room. Dave on the other hand is generally more conceptual and strategic, looking toward the future for the next opportunities. The duo began working out of the cottage on the farm which had four bedrooms... And three of those rooms were offices! Their business has come a long way since then and they are almost ready to celebrate their 26th wedding anniversary!

What we really admire about Dave and Nat is there ability to empower their team, while creating healthy boundaries between their professional and personal lives. Earlier in 2023, while Dave and one of their three sons Ferg were hiking the Kokoda track in Papua New Guinea, their life would change forever.

Ferg began experiencing some health issues, returning to a hospital in Port Moresby they would identify that he had a mass growing on his brain. He’s been undergoing treatment and the family have found a second home at the Ronald McDonald House.

Let’s hear from Dave:

“For my fortieth birthday present, Nat got me a trip to trek Kokoda. On that trek, there were four teenagers who had come from difficult backgrounds and were supported to be there. And you could see they were a bit insular and a bit angry. But through the 10 day trek, I just saw them blossom as humans.

And that was my biggest memory from that whole trek, that experience of watching those teenagers just come alive, and from such a low point as well.

I came home to Nat and said, ‘Every time one of our boys turns 16, I’m trekking Kokoda with them’.

What I love about it is each of our boys have to train, and it’s all about that process. And they know it, so they’re thinking about it. So it’s just an amazing experience to do with the boys.

I had done it with the two older boys and this time it was with Fergus… And this trek didn’t go to plan.

We were in the hills training every weekend and doing everything. And he was a little bit clumsy, but I thought he was just a teenager.

We flew over to PNG (Papua New Guinea) and there was a whole mess up with flights and a whole lot of stuff was going wrong.

We got up the next morning about to start trekking and he [Fergus, Dave’s son] starts throwing up. And we’re in PNG, everything wants to kill you - bacteria and worms… Your medical case is the biggest thing in your pack.

Anyway, we gave him an anti-nausea tablet and started walking. On the first day he was walking like he was drunk!

And I said, ‘You alright, mate?’ and he said ‘Yeah, yeah, I'm fine.’ And I’m looking at him and thinking he’s not fine…

And then he goes, ‘Wait, I can see three of everything.’… So we thought he was overheating. So we were stripping him down and actually soaking him in the cold rivers in the jungle.

Anyway, we got to the first camp and he still couldn't walk properly. We got up next morning and he was still sick and couldn't walk properly. And we decided to pull out and walk him back. We took him to the Port Moresby hospital.

Eventually, through a whole lot of drama and everything, we eventually convinced them to do a scan on him and found that he had a five centimetre tumor in his head.

So then within three days, we're in a medical jet back to Australia. And two days later, he was having a tumor removed from his brain at Perth Children's Hospital.

So it was not the adventure we trained for… Not at all.

He starts his second round of chemo tomorrow, but he's in good spirits.” - Dave

Agrimaster are currently raising money for Ronald McDonald House charities. You can donate here.

They actually have their own podcast called ‘Boots Off Log On’ where Oli was a guest recently. Link below to check it out!