Dylan Pappalardo, owner of DebtSet, worked his way through the ranks of an accounting internship and financial planning to owning his own business in finance broking. Dylan not only owns one businesses, but offers consultancy work with PUFT Events and has recently opened a coffee/wine bar in the CBD.
Tell us about yourself and DebtSet.
I am a local Townsville boy who grew up and went to JCU here. From uni, i studied bachelor of business and lucky enough to score an internship at Dalle Cort Financial Services. I helped with accounting and then moved into financial planning where I made this a career for 7 years. After financial planning, I started a finance broking business out of Townsville now servicing clients Australia wide and have a presence in every metro city. I also built a coffee/wine bar in Townsville CBD with Adam Woodward and Peter Taifalos to help activate the city serving specialty coffee from award winning roaster in Melbourne. We have since sold the café in May 2025 to focus on the finance business to continue the growth with this. I also offer sales consult work to PUFT (pop-up food trucks) where i manage all the sponsorship funds and help with activations for the Townsville community.
What has been the most challenging aspect of owning DebtSet?
Managing your time and how to best find a balance to ensure you look after yourself and well being. It’s important to find a healthy medium. Covid was also a struggle in the financial services industry as the markets fell 40% which made for very difficult conversations with clients with how their portfolio/retirement was tracking along.
Another struggle was starting the finance broking business. Initially scratching my head where the first lead was coming from. I went 3 months without any income, was having to budget cash flow and remember when i had less than $100 in my spending account, unsure when the next pay check was coming from. I went 3 months without any income, was having to budget cash flow, unsure when the next pay check was coming from. I had to to reset, and back to basics building relationships with accountants, financial planners, lawyers, builders and have since built out my network Australia wide.
What is a fun fact about yourself?
I enjoy cooking and making coffee.
What is the best piece of career or business advice you have ever received?
A reminder that I’m in the ‘people business’. We just sell loans. Everything we do is about building rapport with the client, understanding their needs and providing solutions. I have stuck with this philosophy through financial planning, coffee shop, PUFT and now the finance broking business. People buy from people they like and who they trust. You need to build rapport, only then you can influence them and from here gain their respect. You also need to be available. This separates me from the other brokers. I work 7 days for my clients and answer the phone without failure.
Going forward, what is next on the cards for DebtSet?
I have recently put on another broker under my business who has hit the ground running and helped to build my business out further. I am now looking to branch out further and employ administration support to better help our service offering, make the process more efficient and streamlined.
Main image – Dylan Pappalardo
Images Credits – All images supplied.
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