James Leslie - Huddle Finance

17/07/2026

Really looking forward to another great night raising funds for an extremely worthy cause. Grateful to be invited back but my role is very small compared to the power of work the Committee do to put this event together. If you haven’t already, get a group together and book a table, or offer up a donation for the raffle or silent auction. Every donation is appreciated.

*can confirm that particular pink glitter jacket has been officially retired.

We are delighted to announce once again, the one and only James Leslie will be our host for the evening. I wonder if he will wear his pink jacket again this year?

24/06/2026

THEN AND NOW

October 2021 and small business was going well. The real estate market was solid and H365 were making our mark and in between selling houses we had some really cool charitable stuff on the go. Lots of side projects for breast cancer research (because of my beautiful mum Louise and her history), events for love your sister, raising money for the MS foundation for our Nouk and much more. There was a real purpose of being able to use the platform for good and it was super rewarding. Most of what we were doing was because it was close to home and we were really invested in it but there were occasions where you could just see that people were driven beyond belief to do something that was important to them and we couldn’t say no. Enter George, Toby and Heartkids.

A football game (on the gravel at Queenstown no less) to raise much needed funds to support those affected by childhood-onset heart disease. We jumped on board and Toby came into Hudson365 HQ to have a quick photo and present us our jersey. The event was a hit and we went back to selling houses.

Fast forward to late 2025 and I’m sitting with a lovely couple getting them set up for a loan to buy their first house. A week or so later, it comes out that we’ve met before… it was Toby and his partner Chelsea! Neither of us worked it out but Chels was all over the fact that we had met before and in fact, had a photo together proving it.

So, when he said there was another game coming up, we just had to be in. But there had to be a new photo. Almost 5 years between these pics and while a lot has changed since then, this stuff still lights me up. Congrats to these guys on continuing to be brilliant and back themselves to create change.

There are so many reasons to donate to great causes but even more than that, it’s the fact that you get to support wonderful people that volunteer loads of their time because they are passionate about something close to their heart. They are motivated to make a difference and that in itself is a huge reason to give where you can to show them they are doing just that.

15/06/2026

THE BEST PART

When people ask me if I miss real estate, the answer is always ‘Yes’. There was so much about the industry that I enjoyed and while there were bits that were challenging, overall it was a great game to be a part of for a big chunk of my working life.

One of the most enjoyable parts was taking photos of buyers and sellers standing proudly with their sold signs, with smiles as big as dinner plates. It really did make me happy and now being on the finance side of that, I don’t get the chance to be there for that moment and share in a little piece of their joy. We are doing loans in an office and hidden behind the scenes so sometimes can feel removed from the excitement.

For some reason in the last few months I’ve had lots of clients sending me some photos of them with their sold sign unprompted, usually with a nice message about how I made that process a bit easier for them which is genuinely lovely. I really enjoy seeing these pics and even more the fact that they want to send them to me in the first place. I still feel invested in these purchases and even though it’s from a distance now, these memorable photos are bloody awesome to receive.

So keep them coming, keep inviting me to see the new place even when there’s boxes everywhere, and to have a beer on the deck when you’re all set up. Nothing would make me happier than to see the result of you taking the leap into property. It’s a big step forward in life and one you should be proud of.

Thanks to Paige and Mitchell for the first photo above, and to all the people in the historical ones after it that had me on a trip down memory lane from the last 20 years. I’ve always been grateful for the small part we get to play in your life.

-James

09/06/2026

Get your table booked early folks! A great bunch of humans raising money for an even better cause!

Registrations Now Open

Scan QR code or click in the comments section below ⬇️

11/03/2026

36 Hours very well spent.

Feat. Linkin Park, Courtside Melbourne, hotel swims and arcade games for hours.

Now back to reality…

30/12/2025

Thank you to everyone for the birthday love. 44 certainly doesn’t feel any different from 43, but I am very grateful for all the messages. It was a brilliant day surrounded by family and spoilt by my crew. The highlight was a quick ride and some hoops with my number one guy. Life is pretty simple sometimes. X

22/09/2025

The whole Leslie crew out supporting the kid. Couldn’t be more proud of him.

Spoiler alert, he found Nemo. 🧡

09/09/2025

I have never played basketball and I actually wasn’t a big fan of the sport in general growing up. I was soccer and afl all the way. But in 2021 the North West Thunder (through Coach Nick Haywood) did something special for my son. Hudson was a nervous kid that had a newfound love for hoops but was struggling with a lack of confidence to even get out on the court with his teammates. Nick invited us to training, encouraged him to feel a part of the group and it made a huge impact. It was later on that year when the club reached out for someone to come in and bring a fresh approach and a more business-based model to help the pathway be at its best, and after witnessing the culture first-hand, I was more than happy to jump in.

From that point forward basketball has become embedded in our lives.

Years down the track and with thousands of hours dedicated to the sport it’s sad that the club that we love is facing an uphill battle. But it has made me realise that the positives from my time in basketball far outweigh the negatives. I’ve met some of the most amazing people along the way and a lot of them will be life-long friends. Genuinely lovely humans that embraced us and trusted that we were there to improve the club. I’m proud of what has been achieved and the fact that we stayed true to purpose, always looking out for the athletes first and foremost and protecting the people behind the game that made up the fabric of our club.

The thing I’m most proud of is how much this has impacted my crew at home. Simone and I have been treated like family from the start and the way that club has embraced Hudson has given him the most amazing springboard and contributed to producing the strong and confident young man that we now have in front of us.

It has changed our lives for the better.

Thank you to everyone that has been a part of this special time for us. Hopefully we will continue to be really close to the action….

27/06/2025

A few weeks ago, I made one of the hardest decisions of my adult life. After 18 years in the real estate industry, it was time to move on.

I’ve had the pleasure of working with some of the sharpest real estate people in the country and always tried to take all the best bits I’ve learned and set a standard for what I hoped to deliver to clients and ensure that I wasn’t the stereotypical agent. For some reason the authenticity of just doing it my way struck a chord and the success that came with it I’ve never taken lightly.

To the incredible Annouka Barr who stood along side me for almost half my time in the game, I say the deepest and most heartfelt thank you.

A giant thank you to my family for what hasn’t been the easiest ride through 2 small businesses including a whole bunch of 70hour weeks, and a Covid interruption that almost broke us. Simone and I started H365 with the last $30k in our savings and a scary amount of drive and passion. The purpose was to always be accountable to the clients we worked for and sometimes that meant I was absent or stuck in a laptop screen until midnight. I can’t give you the time back but I hope that you’re proud of what we built and how well it was received out there in the world.

I’m unbelievably grateful to all the people that signed on to work with me, especially those that I sold houses for. When you think about it, it’s the weirdest thing in the world to be walking through people’s homes with all their belongings, invading their privacy and have them be completely ok with it. You gave me your keys without a second thought and said ‘all yours’. It was a huge amount of trust and I felt like it was a partnership.

I loved what I did right up until I put myself in an environment where it became about the transaction and not the people. When you spend so much time at work it needs to be a place where you want to be and have support to do what you are great at. Sometimes people over promise and under deliver and the grass just wasn’t as green as I was told it was.

Anyways, I can’t wait to get my mojo back, and that’s not far away now….

Big love. JL