People Are Strange. Business Knows It.
Why dopamine is the most underestimated force in business right now, how luxury learned to look cheap, and why even rebels are customers.
Cartoon 1 of 5: more businesses understand dopamine

I use forty years in global markets and building companies, combined with disciplined thinking, to deliver clear, informed commentary on business and the economy.
Live every Wednesday: Farleigh & Friends ↓Every Wednesday I go live on camera and answer your questions. You’ll be in a chat room with founders, investors and other curious people. Some weeks we drift towards business, other weeks we end up somewhere none of us expected, and that’s half the fun.
First stream: Wednesday 28 October
Join me on Wednesday ↗Conversations with founders and operators about what actually happens inside businesses – the ones that succeed and the ones that don't. No scripts and no spin. Just lessons.
Past guests include Levi Roots, Anya Hindmarch, Jimmy Carr and many more.
Watch on YouTube ↗ Prefer to listen? Find it on your podcast app ↗
My weekly take on business, psychology, human behaviour and the odd thing that catches my attention. Five ideas in a 17-minute conversation, plus a two-minute read with my cartoons.
Subscribe on Substack ↗
Why dopamine is the most underestimated force in business right now, how luxury learned to look cheap, and why even rebels are customers.
Cartoon 1 of 5: more businesses understand dopamine
I grew up in the care system. The ABC documentary series Australian Story made a film about my life – including the search for my father, who had returned to the bush. It's called There But For Fortune: an expression that reminds us how much of life comes down to circumstance.
That background is why I'm ambassador for three children's charities:
Released 20 years ago to widespread acclaim in the financial media, this book distils decades of experience at the highest levels of financial markets into 100 tested strategies.
“Joins One Up on Wall Street, Adventure Capitalist and The Zurich Axioms as one of a handful of works of blinding originality permanently resident on my investing bookshelf.”
— Interactive Investor
London Stock Exchange Book of the Month · Amazon Business Bestseller · Financial Times · The Independent · Investors Chronicle
Buy on Amazon ↗
Strategies, stories and soul searching from a serial entrepreneur and BBC Dragon
This book took ten years to write. Whenever I had an idea or a story, I jotted it into the notes on my phone. In the end I spent a long time organising them and adding to them. It includes business strategies, business stories, some biography and personal observations, all in an analytical and witty way.
“Brilliantly mixes first-class business analysis with some very personal reflections and memories.”
Evan Davis, broadcaster and journalist
The adventures of a teenage entrepreneur
A business thriller. Yes, a thriller! A teenager tries to launch, grow and eventually sell a business. It is a fun, relatable way to explore the real challenges of business, drawn from my experience with over 120 businesses.
I wrote it over six weeks in Bali, reading each draft aloud and listening back as I walked the beach.
“I love Ricky’s story. It’s exciting and easy to read. I learned so much now I want to start a business!”
Riley, 16
I speak at business events and leadership forums with interesting war stories from my business adventures and background.