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Peter Alexander From humble beginnings selling pyjamas from his mother’s kitchen table, Peter Alexander has spent 20 years developing his self-named brand to grow his mail order, retail, wholesale and online pyjama empire to what it is today.

Jim Penman from Jim’s Group Jim Penman started Jim’s Group in 1982 with a second-hand lawn mower and a trailer. Today, Jim’s Group is one of the largest home service franchises in the world with Jim leading 20 divisions, totalling 2,300 franchisees in three countries.

Wotif’s Graeme Wood Founder of the phenomenally successful wotif.com, Graeme Wood is a creative thinker who took an idea about marketing discount accommodation online and made it work. Within seven years, wotif.com is recognised in more than 32 countries and has gone public recording a 2005–06 net profit of $16.5 million.

Luke Baylis & James Miller from Sumo Salad Two young IT professionals,  Luke Baylis and James Miller, took the humble salad and cooked up a multi-million dollar business. Despite their lack of retail experience, the duo are building a fast food brand to rival the big boys. The first Sumo Salad store opened just three years ago, […]

Janine Allis from Boost Juice Janine Allis launched the juice bar craze in Australia when she started Boost Juice in 2000, and she’s now spread the love for smoothies around the world. There are more than 170 Boost stores throughout Australia, and now three in Chile, two in Indonesia, one in Kuwait and Singapore, with many more in the […]

aussieBum’s Sean Ashby In 2001 Sean Ashby invested his $20,000 life savings to develop the aussieBum swimwear range that no Aussie retailer would buy. He didn’t give up, he launched the cheeky brand online and went global. aussieBum is now a multi-million dollar company exporting to 75 countries, and growing 20 percent every quarter.

ModelCo’s Shelley Barrett The Ernst & Young 2005 Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Shelley Barrett launched ModelCo four years ago to develop quick-fix beauty solutions. The brand has since achieved significant recognition globally, with the company enjoying a 350 percent turnover growth.  

Suzi Dafnis from Australian Businesswomen’s Network (ABN) Serial entrepreneur, Suzi Dafnis is well placed to chair the Australian Businesswomen’s Network  having co-founded successful personal development education business Pow Wow Events, as well as a separate business around Robert Kiyosaki-inspired Rich Dad investment seminars, here and in the US. She also now has such a substantial […]

Sarina Russo Group A determined attitude is what turned Russo from a frequently sacked typist into creator of a multi-million dollar empire. The various training and recruitment businesses within the Sarina Russo Group turn over approximately $60 million a year, with Russo now also a successful mentor, author and investor—featuring on the panel of TV’s […]

Lonely Planet’s Maureen and Tony Wheeler Travel junkies Maureen and Tony Wheeler turned their passion into an international publishing phenomenon that started 35 years ago when they turned their travel diaries into a book. Lonely Planet is now the world’s largest independent travel publishing company, with some 650 titles under its belt.