In 2012, Luke Fryer (ON 1994) founded Harri.com, an innovative online hospitality recruitment platform initially focused on the hypercompetitive restaurant market in New York City which has expanded to service Miami, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Boston. Harri.com has founded strong relationships with an impressive set of top restaurant groups and individual establishments in all major NYC boroughs, ranging from fast casual to upscale, full-service dining. Harri offers a modern, enticing platform, which exclusively caters to the unique dynamics involved with recruiting and retaining great talent.

As a youngster, Luke epitomised the young, bold entrepreneur. At 11, he started a car wash from his local garage, which at its peak had 14 people squeezing sponges and wrestling high-powered hoses. After completing his HSC at Newington, Luke juggled a full-time job as the wholesale/retail franchise manager for Australian Geographic, as well as studying a bachelor of business full time at the University of Technology, Sydney.

In 1998, Fryer financed the launch of his company and negotiated to purchase the first ever Australian Burger King Franchise at age 22. Responsible for development, financing and the day to day operations of the business, Luke’s industry achievements included top performing Burger King Restaurant in Australia (amongst 65) and highest group store profit ratio.

At 24, Luke successfully fielded pitch 1014 to company CEO, Ian Neil, securing the Australian license for Wagamama in 2002. Their flagship restaurant opened at King Street Wharf in May 2002 and was well received by the notoriously tough Australian dining crowd. Luke went on to own New York’s Yushi Kaiten and Betel, a chain of noodle shops in London, and the sushi restaurant where ex-KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned in 2006. (It wasn’t the food – Litvinenko died from a radioactive polonium-210 poisoning.)