Bondi Sands co-founder Shaun Wilson says successful leaders obsess over every part of their business. A Deakin University Master of Business was his stepping stone to an internationally beloved brand – that eventually sold for hundreds of millions of dollars.
For Deakin’s latest Stories of Wonder podcast, we caught up with Shaun to find out what it takes to build a world-renowned brand from scratch.
Bondi Sands is the world’s most recognisable self-tanning brand, founded by Shaun (MBus(SportMgt) ‘08) with his business partner Blair James.
‘People laugh at me because I’m actually very pasty. I used to get spray tans a lot,’ laughs Shaun.
The Bondi Sands story began in the early 2010s, when Shaun and Blair realised self-tanning was ready for a shake-up.
Blair, a tanning salon operator, had to turn away clients because his books were full. And he had no good at-home alternatives to suggest. Most self-tanning products at the time would ‘smell a bit funny’ and often rubbed off in the sheets, Shaun recalls.
The road to success
In creating Bondi Sands, the pair thought about the brand as bottling the Aussie beach lifestyle.
They started with a sketch Shaun had developed for a business plan from a project he completed as part of his Deakin studies.
‘It really helped us think through how we were actually going to navigate launching the brand and how we were going to be disruptive but also ensure we had this customer value proposition that makes sense to our customers,’ Shaun says.
But first they needed to figure out why self-tanning products failed compared to salon-based tanning – while also keeping them affordable. Blair and Shaun worked with a chemist to create their formula.
‘We tested it on our family and friends – some Deakin students were on the stage as well – in our apartment. People were just walking through and tanning,’ Shaun says.
‘And then, once we were satisfied that we got somewhere with the formula, the next step was engaging a manufacturer and then producing a product strategy and brand. And that was the really early days of Bondi Sands’ beginning.’
How to be a good business leader
In 2025, Shaun received a Deakin University Alumni Excellence Award for his leadership and his ethical approach to business.
A good leader is equally obsessed with every part of their business, Shaun believes. One benefit of doing a business degree is that you’re exposed to all those different subjects: finance, people and culture, marketing, sales and customer service.
‘It all plays an equal part to creating a beautiful business and a beautiful brand,’ he says.
Deakin nurtured a love of learning in Shaun. He has encouraged a similar culture of learning and innovation in his business.
‘Innovation is everything – and not just in product development, but across your whole business. I think we always had a principle on our leadership team that we came to work thinking about how we can improve it,’ Shaun says.
The pair were in Los Angeles, on a trip celebrating getting Bondi Sands into Priceline, a national chain of pharmacies, when their leadership was seriously tested. A quality control issue forced a recall on their second batch of products from Priceline shelves.
‘All of a sudden, we’re getting these Facebook messages and Instagram messages that our products were turning green,’ Shaun says.
‘I think the good thing when I look back on that is that we confronted it quickly. We were very honest and transparent. We actually flew back straight away, went to the head office and said: “So this is how we’re gonna solve it,”’ he says.
The quality control issue was with a manufacturer. But as the brand representing that manufacturer, Bondi Sands had to own up to the mistake.
‘You’ve got to make sure that that’s part of your culture as a group: that there’s no issue speaking up when something’s gone wrong,’ he says.
Priceline stood by Bondi Sands through its product recall. That gave the business the opportunity to bounce back and flourish.
How it feels to sell your start-up
The product recall wasn’t the most stressful time in Shaun’s Bondi Sands career, though.
‘I think probably one of the most stressful periods I’ve had was selling my business at the end,’ he reveals.
Shaun and Blair received offers to buy the company as early as 2017. But they felt the time wasn’t right. They still loved their work and had so much they wanted to achieve in launching new products and improving their business.
One improvement Shaun pursued was in sustainability. Bondi Sands worked with an engineer to remove a metal spring from their foaming pump, making its packaging completely recyclable.
But Bondi Sands needed outside capital or support from a bigger company to go to the next level.
In 2023, Bondi Sands sold for a bit less than $450 million. Handing over control of the company he’d poured his passion into for more than 10 years, was an emotional time. But what does gaining that kind of money feel like?
‘I still look at it as numbers on a screen. They’re big numbers. And obviously it gives you the security to do things you want to do in your next chapters of your life. But it doesn’t give you fulfilment,’ Shaun says.
He’ll be seeking that fulfilment from helping other start-up founders on their journeys.
What’s next for Shaun
Shaun has now founded the private equity business Sol Rise, through which he plans to invest in Australian and New Zealand beauty and wellness brands. He looks forward to creating close partnerships with passionate founders who share Bondi Sands’ values.
‘If you give people the right direction and confidence, they’ll go for it. They just need that reinforcement sometimes, or direction. And I’m hoping Sol Rise and myself can help with that over the next chapters of these businesses as well.’
Want to know more about Shaun’s story? Watch the full Stories of Wonder interview on YouTube, or listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.