Profiles
In his former career, Melbourne entrepreneur Joel Smith played AFL with Hawthorn Football Club. Today, he is the CEO of Gavl, a digital tech start-up transforming the way people engage in what is arguably their favourite pastime outside of sport: real estate. Launched in October 2016, Gavl is an app-based platform that lets users watch […]
When Fergus Watts reluctantly hung up his AFL boots a decade ago, he wasted no time in reinventing himself. Today, the 31-year-old steers Bastion Collective, a privately-owned communication agency that is forecast to turn over $20 million in 2017 and which counts NAB, Continental Tyres, Blackmores, Kathmandu, PowerCor, Witchery, Mirvac and Stocklands amongst its clients. […]
Seventeen businesswomen were inducted into the Businesswomen’s Hall of Fame this week. Now in its 19th year, the initiative celebrates female business owners, including social entrepreneurs, who are not only trailblazers in their industries but role models for other women. The Businesswomen’s Hall of Fame was developed by Suzi Dafnis, the founder and CEO of HerBusiness […]
Melbourne-based audio tech startup nura made headlines, last year, when its flagship product – ‘nuraphones’ – attracted US$1.8 million on Kickstarter, making it the most-funded Australian campaign ever. Since then, the company has continued to gather pre-launch support for their headphones, described by one investor – UK music industry veteran Ric Salmon – as a […]
Industry recognition has proved a huge boon to Adelaide Green Clean (AGC), the sustainable cleaning and waste management company named the 2016 Telstra South Australian Business of the Year. AGC founder and CEO Jordan Walsh credits the win with fast-tracking a merger negotiation, which in turn “brought business growth forward by at least five years”. […]
Launched in November, last year, Melbourne start-up Vollie is breaking down barriers to tech-savvy millennials engaging in volunteer work. In addition to satisfying the demand for skilled labour from not-for-profits, including charities and social enterprises, co-founder and managing director Matthew Boyd said the online platform is helping professionals progress their careers and companies demonstrate their corporate […]
Underpinned by a readily scalable solution to multiple pain points in the education sector, Canberra EdTech start-up Quizling has secured partnerships with some of Australia’s most prestigious cultural institutions plus funding from leading angel investor groups. Having amassed thousands of local users since launching a year ago, co-founders Dion Oxley and Damien Trask are looking […]
When launching her handmade Jewellery business in March 2014, Melbourne designer Erin Browne resolved to take a gradual approach. The decision was fuelled by her desire to self-fund the brand, which meant part-time work, and form a deep understanding of the market she was entering. Wanting a hands-on education in ecommerce, she opened an online […]
Each year, an estimated 15 billion trees are cut down worldwide to produce paper, timber and other consumables. Terrified by the statistics, Sydney-based entrepreneur, designer and self-proclaimed ‘eco-warrior’ Ziah Lane launched 100% tree-free tissue brand NO ISSUES, eager to drive a consumer revolution that would help preserve the planet for future generations. Validation, both of […]
In February 2016, Brett Kaplan – a veteran of the corporate world – ‘flew the coop’ to become CFO of online home services marketplace Oneflare. Founded just five years earlier by serial entrepreneurs Marcus Lim and Adam Dong, the fast-growing Sydney tech start-up provided the enterprising South African with relief from an itch big business […]
Any way you slice it, 2016 was a milestone year for online art marketplace Redbubble. The Melbourne tech start-up made headlines when it pulled off a $288m IPO in May. Then, just three months later, it announced plans to launch its first European office – plus the roll-out of three localised websites – as a […]
In 2016, Brisbane entrepreneur Kate Middleton earned the distinction of being the only female CEO of a major player in the Australian Insurance Adjusting and Engineering industry. It’s now her personal mission to blow the floodgates wide open and make the sector a much more attractive place to work for other enterprising women. Last year, Middleton […]
‘Businessmums’ (i.e. business-minded mothers) shouldn’t have to choose between their family and their career – that principle is the DNA of Mums & Co, a new venture birthed by entrepreneur and Daily Addict founder Carrie Kwan. Backed by insurance provider IAG, Mums & Co is a membership-based service that offers businessmums online content as well as a […]
A personal tragedy led prominent hospitality figure, Ramzey Choker, to reimagine what was possible in his industry. The result? The Grounds of Alexandria – an immersive, acre-sized venue in Sydney’s Inner West that continues to defy categorisation and attract crowds nearly five years on. From a very young age, Choker worked in his father’s Alexandria-based […]
Buoyed by $8 million in seed funding, Yanir Yakutiel launched a fintech start-up in November, last year, to assist small businesses under-serviced by banks and other traditional lenders. The former finance and shipping expert spoke to Dynamic Business about Sail, including the process of raising capital and its participation in the Tel Aviv Landing Pad […]
Together with his co-founder Simon Cohen, Ben Handler has grown Cohen Hander from a two-man property buyers’ agent team into an industry-leading agency. The duo found success by identifying – and actively addressing – a gap in the Australian property market. However, Ben also credits yoga, quantum physics, adland and the 14th Dalai Lama with the […]
Co-founded by two French expats, Maestrano is fast-becoming one of Australia’s great start-up success stories. Buoyed by its most lucrative capital raise to date, the cloud computing platform provider is chasing an audacious goal: an addressable market of 4 million SMEs worldwide by mid-2017. The brainchild of compatriots Stephane Ibos (CEO) and Arnaud Lachaume (CTO), Maestrano gathers […]
Bolstered by a successful capital raise, earlier this year, Elanation co-founders Katherine Pace and Aimee Atkins have launched the start-up’s first offering, with the aim being to satisfy a gap in the kid-tech market for age-appropriate fitness wearables – and they’re just in time for Christmas. In July, Pace and Atkins closed Elanation’s final seed-funding […]
Fed up with the soul-destroying (and oft-times fruitless) exercise of finding parking near Sydney’s busiest beaches, two enterprising locals have launched an on-demand, peer-to-peer parking app, with the aim being to strike a balance between supply and demand. Free to download now from App Store, with a release on Google Play to follow, Share with […]
Beginning life as a small hawker-style eatery in Melbourne’s CBD, Rolld has rapidly evolved over the course of four and half years into a booming national franchise. While it’s growth rate (2122% since launch) may seem remarkable for what was initially a self-funded start-up, co-founder and CEO Bao Hoang isn’t surprised by Rolld’s success. He told […]
