No. 35 Benjamin De Ocampo

Ben, tell us about yourself. (This doesn’t need to be confined to what job you do – feel free to share anything that paints a picture of who you are and how you feel in this world).

When it comes to my passion for perfumery, I took the scenic route.

I started my career as a pharmacologist, completing a PhD and working briefly for a pharma start-up with a potential treatment for blindness caused by diabetes. During this time I met a mentor and friend who had completed a PhD in the same lab as me years before. He was legendary for completing a law degree not long afterward and then combining his knowledge of science with the law to give a unique perspective for pharmaceutical and cosmetics companies. I was inspired to follow in his footsteps and ended up working with him for almost a decade as a law student and ultimately a lawyer.

For years I had a dream job, working in a tower in the city, surrounded by awesome people, doing interesting work. But once I started having children, the time demands of corporate life was eating away at me. I would often leave for the office before they woke up and came home after they were in bed. I was failing at fatherhood.

In 2013 I worked in Sydney, in offices that overlooked the Opera House and Circular Quay. I would walk the botanical gardens at lunch time with my head running in overdrive trying to find a way to earn a living in a way that gave me more liberty with my time. I started to try some business ideas out. The first bunch sucked and never got off the ground.

But then I struck gold. I had started growing a beard and realised not only was a massive beard trend emerging, there was a problem I could solve. Beards are different from other hair types. They need their own set of products to properly care for, and maintain them. So I developed a range of beard oils, balms and washes in my kitchen and started selling them on Ebay. I called the brand “Milkman” because it seemed like a fun name that no one had really been using to associate with personal care. In the second week I called my wife Jackee to share some amazing news. It took 30 minutes to take the bus to work that day and during that time we made 3 sales of beard oil. This was going somewhere.

Fast forward 6 months and Jackee gets contacted by Shaver Shop, Australia’s leading retailer for beard and shave products. They needed a local range of beard products for the growing demand. Jackee put a proposal together and it was accepted. That was a huge boost to help us grow and re-invest. Milkman is now also stocked in various IGA’s, airport retailers, barber shops and gift shops around Australia.

Mission 1 accomplished. Starting a business allowed me the flexibility to be there for my kids and I work together with my wife which has brought us much closer. Along with this came so many other benefits, including discovering the power of perfume.

What is something you’re really passionate about or deeply care about?

Australia is known for its wine, beer and coffee scene. But we aren’t huge in manufacturing generally speaking, and the manufacturing sector has been in decline for a long time. I would like to buck that trend. I’d like to contribute, along with all the other amazing Aussie brands, to putting Australia on the map for making premium fragrances and personal care products.