Melissa Y
Smooth sailing for Sarina Bratton and Orion Expedition Cruises
When injury cut short the outstanding sporting career of Sarina Bratton, a work holiday in Europe proved the world of tourism her next calling. Bratton, founder of Orion Expedition Cruises shares her own expedition through a sea of opportunity. Bratton’s vision to develop Australia as both a domestic and international cruise destination with innovative itineraries […]
Mobile Data Group’s Marc and Dale Carr: Technology and the user experience
Father and son duo, Marc and Dale Carr, have always been interested in extending the user experience on technology platforms. As mobile phones became more prolific, they founded Mobile Data Group, to bring multimedia content to technology platforms, whether it be to send SMS, run trivia contests or sell wallpapers, games and videos. DB: Is […]
emberin’s Maureen Frank: Gender diversity in the workforce
Maureen Frank, author of You Go Girlfriend, which deals with gender diversity, left behind her large pay packet at a US multinational and founded emberin, an organisation assisting companies in attracting and retaining female staff. “Being one of the most senior women in the company, it became apparent to me that perhaps some of […]
Stuart Giles takes APHS national
Consolidation of operators in niche healthcare areas in the mid nineties opened the door for Stuart Giles and his wife Cathie Reed to develop APHS, a national pharmacy service network. APHS has now grown to become one of Australia’s largest niche healthcare providers, specialising in aged care and hospital pharmacy groups with offices in Brisbane, […]
Tony Gea Gea from 24/7 Distribution: Running a service-based business
Seeing a gap in the services offered by IT distributors, Tony Gea Gea decided to fill it; with 24/7 Distribution. Now 24/7 Distribution has become the leading services-based distributor of unified communication solutions with offices in every state in Australia, India, New Zealand and Fiji. Tony Gea Gea saw that an IT distributor could play […]
Costa Anastasiadis: Franchising Crust Gourmet Pizza Bars
It was a combination of gut feel and knowing what was happening that led Costa Anastasiadis to the open his first Crust Gourmet Pizza Bar in Annandale, Sydney. After opening four more stores, Anastasiadis invested in a proper franchising model. Today Crust Gourmet Pizza Bars have 17 stores operating under the franchise model across Sydney, […]
DKM’s Dorry Kordahi has the branding edge
With no formal degrees, Dorry Kordahi became the founder and managing director of Dorry Kordahi Management (DKM). Since beginning his marketing and branding business in 2002, out of a shed, DKM has come to operate in Sydney, Melbourne and Shanghai and generates more than $4,000,000 in revenue. DB: What helped you most when trying to […]
Tracey Bialek, the Ripple Products effect
With her passion for green business and experience in niche product design, marketing and business, Tracey Bialek established Ripple Products to develop a niche product in the growing green business sector. “I had a real desire to be in a business that was active in the environment sector, but could also create some sort of […]
Stephen Langford’s ‘view’ of Quickflix
Online business has always been an interest of Stephen Langford’s. Appreciating the success of Netflix in the US, Langford soon launched Quickflix in Australia, and online business success followed. DB: What helped you most in trying to get the business off the ground? SL: Two other major players with some serious money behind them were […]
Online management with Rob Phillpot and Leigh Jasper from Aconex
Managing information online simply made sense to Rob Phillpot and Leigh Jasper. And so they founded Aconex, an online information management and collaboration service which services projects with a combined value of AU$200 billion across 44 offices worldwide. When it comes to the beginnings of their Aconex business, Phillpot says: “We were two young guys with […]
Swedish Success Kristina Karlsson, kikki.K
When it came to setting up her own home office after moving from Sweden to Australia, Kristina Karlsson, from kikki.K, was quick to realise the lack of stylish home and office products that Australian retail had to offer. From there, Karlsson designed her first retail range, and the beginnings of kikki.K. With no business experience, let alone […]