BIOGRAPHY

From shooting hoops on the basketball court to kicking goals in business, 35 year old entrepreneur Danny Kordahi has carried the same personal philosophy.

"Whether it's in sport or life, it's important to set aims. They keep you on track and help you achieve your goals".

Following a flirtation with professional basketball at school and university, Danny has charted a course to a success as an entrepreneur.

In four short years, his firm DK Blue has grown to offer an impressive range of services such as corporate uniforms, promotional merchandise, corporate travel, print management and a clothing label - French Kuff.

Equally impressive is its list of national and multinational clients including Microsoft and Merrill Lynch.

A fascination with promotions surfaced early with his decision to study marketing at the University of Wollongong, where his passion for sport was also clearly evident.

"I enjoyed basketball too much to study," he admits.

The eldest child born to immigrant parents in suburban Sydney of the 1970s, basketball took Danny from the Philippines to the United States, touring with top student teams and winning Australian University Championships in 1991.

He began his business career with a wholesaling firm in 1995, where he handled the wholesale of promotional clothing, then moving into corporate merchandising in 1998 before venturing out on his own in 2003.

It was a brave move for a soon to be wed young man with a new mortgage, home renovations and children on the way.

But with typical determination and a make-shift desk made from "a paint bucket and a plank of wood", Danny hit the phone, working from home to begin building a client base.

Things moved quickly from there and Danny was soon moulding DK Blue into the market leader it is today, sourcing products from around the world and employing 18 local staff including graphic artists and fashion designers, not to mention his younger brother and sister.

Needless to say Danny has equally bold plans for the future, with international expansion in his sights.

Danny is also a member of E.O [Entrepreneurs Organistion].

BIOGRAPHY

In late 2002 Dorry Kordahi founded his eponymous DKM (Dorry Kordahi Management) while still just in his mid-twenties.

Before he celebrated his 30th birthday the company was turning over $3 million dollars a year. Yet with his typically determined view on life, he saw this as just the first stepping stone to still greater heights.

Having morphed into DKM Blue little more than two years ago, the company was listed 20th on the BRW’s 2011 list of Australian 100 Fast Starters.

Moreover, he has received much personal acclaim for his business successes, notable amongst which was reaching Ernst & Young’s prestigious and world renowned Top 4 Eastern Region Finalists Entrepreneur Of The Year. Equally notable was the in-depth feature article by Marketing Magazine which profiled him in a series of ‘Five of the Best’.

He is now lionized not only as an astute and successful businessman but also as one possessed of the almost indefinable quality of entrepreneurship.

Yet none of these accolades has meant that he has rested on his laurels or relegated his hands on approach, which sees him working alongside his team on a daily basis to ensure clients receive the first rate, innovative products and services for which he justly renowned. He even wanted to share the secrets of his success by signing a publishing deal to write a book (just like his own entrepreneurial hero Sir Richard Branson). Titled ‘Power to Act’ it details not only his own life as an entrepreneur, but also offers a wealth of ‘how to insights’ for his readers.

This same positive attitude toward life and business ensures that he is constantly looking for and conquering new challenges.

Found a magazine – sure! Why not? Enter ‘BRANDED’ eight years ago. The first of its kind and with the largest circulation in the field promotional marketing, the magazine is a speciality, glossy devoted to entirely marketing.

Go into show business – sure! Why not? He now manages a select group of performers and sports stars.

And speaking of sport. Prior to a life in business, at age thirteen, Dorry became a towel boy for his adored Sydney Kings, but, in typically determined fashion, it was not long before he was playing professional basketball overseas. Just eighteen years after being a towel boy, Dorry’s success allowed him to buy a stake in the famous Sydney Kings.

Yet none of these decisions has been taken lightly, they are not the mere whims and indulgences seen in certain successful people. Rather more, they have proven to be milestones in his career to date. Especially when one considers his first major decision, which was, without any tertiary education, money of his own or backers, to found his own company. But natural, flair, talent and above all determination are endemic to his personality and therefore to his success. Above all they are equally endemic to the way he treats his customers, ensuring they always receive what they want, on time, at the correct price and in full.

The background to his first major, life changing decision is as interesting and insightful as the subsequent successes thus far.

Many ambitious, or perhaps, foolhardy young people seeking to enter the competitive world of commerce do so without much consideration; not he. Instead, he planned and executed a trip to Europe to get a global understanding of the business area he wished to enter and found his research trip extending from the predicted two and half months to six. Yet they were months well spent, for by the time he was ready to return to Australia and make his dream a reality he already had the nexus of his company.

It was founded on the simple principle that if he could not make his own company look absolutely professional from the start, how could he; conceivably expect would-be clients that his fledgling company was capable of making their brands look good. Furthermore, that fundamental principle ignited a fiery passion in him to provide the very best of product for his clients. Product that would enhance and extend their logos in the eye of the consumer, not cheapen it.

Typically, just three years after the company being launched, this ethic was recognized internationally when DKM was awarded a place in the prestigious London publication LOGOLOUNGE, World’s Top 500 logos, alongside such global entities as Microsoft, Bentley, GE, BP, Caltex and the iconic American manufacturing giant John Deere, which later became and remains a client to this day.

Today, in spite of entering BRW’s 2011 Young Rich List at number 100, there remain; locked in his personal safe three scraps of paper covered in scribble. Are they Top Secret? Certainly not, Dorry featured them in ‘The Power to Act’.