Gold Coast entrepreneur says AI has changed tools, not business fundamentals

Wayne Sedawie is marking more than 50 years in business by arguing that the core formula for building durable companies has not changed, even as AI reshapes retail and marketing. His Gold Coast group has grown into five businesses, $200 million in online sales and a $30 million property portfolio built around a reinvestment model he calls the “bubble concept.”

Why it matters: - Wayne Sedawie is using a 50-year business track record to make a broader point: AI may speed up execution, but long-term business growth still depends on reinvestment, asset building and disciplined capital allocation. - The model links e-commerce and property in a way that has helped create five operating businesses, a $30 million property portfolio and more than $200 million in cumulative online sales. - The approach is now scaling again, with plans for a 440-unit residential development on newly amalgamated river-frontage land in Queensland.

What happened: - Wayne Sedawie, CEO of a Gold Coast-based group of five companies, said the group has followed the same strategy for decades: reinvest profits from one business into property, then use that property as the base for the next business. - The company’s online auction businesses, including OpalAuctions and GemRockAuctions, have operated for 20 years and sit at the center of the group’s e-commerce arm. - Sedawie is marking 50 years in business while promoting his book, Bubble Genius: Business Secrets from a Self-Made Millionaire for Success Beyond Money. - Sedawie said AI is now part of the company’s marketing and content operations, including AI-generated video for social platforms.

The details: - Sedawie describes the strategy as the “bubble concept,” a cycle in which profits from online businesses fund property purchases and property holdings help launch the next venture. - The company says the model has been applied consistently since the launch of its online auction sites 20 years ago. - The group’s property portfolio is valued at $30 million. - The group says cumulative online sales have topped $200 million over 20 years. - Sedawie has amalgamated five river-frontage properties adjoining Queensland’s largest shopping centre. - Plans are underway to build a 440-unit residential development on that site. - Sedawie said the book lays out how property ownership and e-commerce trading can support each other instead of competing for the same capital. - Sedawie said time efficiency matters more than social media volume, arguing that online platforms should serve sales rather than become the goal themselves. - Sedawie said he uses AI constantly to improve online selling, but the discipline behind the business has not changed.

Between the lines: - The message is partly about technology and partly about timing: Sedawie is framing AI as an upgrade to operations, not a substitute for the older habits that built the business. - The property move suggests the group is still using real estate as both a financial engine and a platform for expansion, even as the business shifts toward more AI-driven retail tools. - The emphasis on time efficiency reflects a long-horizon operating style that favors compounding assets over chasing short-term visibility.

What's next: - The 440-unit residential project is the clearest near-term growth plan tied to the group’s property strategy. - Sedawie is likely to keep expanding the use of AI across marketing, content and sales operations as e-commerce competition intensifies. - The book release gives the business a public platform to frame the “bubble concept” as a repeatable model for other founders.