James Harkness

Ten creative tech companies spanning verticals including robotics, fashion tech, AR, VR and music tech have been selected by Queensland University of Technology’s startup hub Creative Enterprise Australia (CEA) to participate in its 2018 Collider Accelerator.   [Related: Winning Creative3 Pitch helped Darren Tonkin’s photo sharing app ‘cut through all the noise’, How Virgin StartUp’s UK accelerator […]

The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, Kate Carnell, has released a position paper identifying ways to reduce the complexity of the workplace relations system for small businesses. “We have had significant consultations with small businesses over the last two years and the overwhelming view is the legislation is far too complicated for the […]

Sole traders and micro businesses operating in Australia’s tried and tested’ trades-based industries are enjoying the most growth and the greatest financial returns, according to data released by fintech startup Invoice2go. The Most Lucrative Industries for Australia’s Small Businesses list was compiled by aggregating annual invoicing activity of more than 23,000 Invoice2go mobile app users. […]

Startups contemplating an IPO must have all their ducks in a row and be willing to get their hands dirty, says Andrew Ward, founder and managing director of recently-listed fintech company SelfWealth. Launched in 2012, the online, cloud-based share trading platform offers investors flat fee brokerage, regardless of the trade size, as well as access […]

Sydney deep tech incubator, Cicada Innovations, has been named ‘Top Incubator in the World’ by global peak industry association for entrepreneurship programs, the International Business Innovation Association (InBIA). [Related: Now that more capital is available to deep tech startups, they need better access to makerspace: Cicada Innovations’ CEO] Finalists were selected from over 2,200 InBIA […]

B2B Talent mobility platform BenchOn has raised $650,000 in seed capital to meet market demand for its software solution to employee underutilisation, estimated to cost the Australian economy $305 billion each year in lost productivity. [Related: Can ‘For-Profit’ businesses still have a Social Impact? BenchOn’s founder provides answers and Why the startup ecosystem needs more non-technical […]

Taking a lead in Australia’s home improvement sector has involved eliminating friction points for home owners, letting go of the past and an equal commitment to consumer and culture, according to David Vitek, CEO of online tradie marketplace hipages. The Sydney-based entrepreneur said that Australian homeowners are using the hipages mobile app to advertise more […]

Employers who equate mentor-mentee relationships with a quick coffee catch-up risk missing out on the huge financial gains of having a structured mentoring program, according to Melissa Richardson, the Managing Director of Art of Mentoring. The mentoring program design and implementation business was spun out of Horizons Unlimited, a mentoring consultancy where Richardson is a […]

A Federal Government review of auDA – the not-for-profit organisation responsible for administering the .au domain – has found its management framework is “no longer fit-for-purpose” and requires urgent reforms to meet the needs of Australia’s internet community. The review, undertaken by the Department of Communications and the Arts, outlines 29 recommendations for the auDA […]

Gender equality startup WORK180 has secured $1 million from seed investors including Skip Capital – the private investment fund of Atlassian Co-CEO Scott Farquhar – to fuel the international rollout of its unique jobs platform. WORK180 (formerly known as DCC Jobs) was launched in 2015 by co-CEOs Gemma Lloyd and Valeria Ignatieva to disrupt the […]