
2 Commas: The $multi-million exit show with Josh Comrie
An illegal fence, an angry horse, and a billion-dollar company | 2 Commas by Josh Comrie
In 1937 a horse kept scratching its backside on a farmer's brand new car. That horse accidentally started a company now closing in on a billion dollars a year. The farmer was Bill Gallagher. He wired the magneto off a motorcycle to his car, shocked the horse, and realised he had a business. His first electric fence was illegal, wired straight into the mains until an inspector made him rip it out, which pushed him to invent the world's first battery powered energizer. This is a solo episode on the Gallagher Group, from a Waikato shed to Buckingham Palace, British Gas, and four of the Five Eyes intelligence sites. It is one of the great New Zealand business stories and a genuine masterclass in diversification, succession, and turning what you already know into what you sell next. I get into: How the 1984 Rogernomics reforms wiped out Gallagher's farmer customer base overnight The world-first pivot into perimeter security that saved the company Why the best diversifications sit where your capability meets a rising global tailwind Why they put 10% of revenue into R&D every year, good times or bad Why they handed the CEO role to a 24-year employee, not the next Gallagher Sometimes the next billion dollar business is just your old invention pointed at a new problem. Subscribe to the 2 Commas Journal Order the 2 Commas book Follow Josh on LinkedIn





