How this tenacious entrepreneur beat brain trauma to become a tech success story

Christy Laurence knows better than most what it takes to be a resilient businesswoman. The seasoned advertising executive left a cushy corporate gig with Insurance Australia Group to chase the entrepreneurial dream just over three years ago. Laurence then founded Plann, an Instagram planning, scheduling and analytics tool which is des...

The woman who denied retirement to create a multi million-dollar empire

When Deb Farnworth-Wood first moved to Australia with her husband, the pair were a couple of UK expats who were ready to chase the sunburnt and sandy dream of a Gold Coast retirement. After only a couple of weeks in the country however, the seasoned entrepreneur decided to forgo R&R and instead dive headfirst into a new career journey...

Merino Country woollen undies strike the right baa-lance

For many small businesses a high-profile defence contract would be like hitting the jackpot, but for woollen apparel manufacturer Merino Country it was a stepping stone to greater things.  With 20,000 customers worldwide, the Brisbane-based company celebrated 25 years in business last year and has come a long way from its o...

Black Hops launches brewery number two

One of Australia's favourite small brewers has become a bit bigger over the weekend. Black Hops opened its second brewery on Saturday, 2 March, in Biggera Waters on the Gold Coast. The launch of the new brewery is expected to greatly enhance Black Hops's production capacity, transforming it from a boutique brewer into an emerg...

Will new funding round propel iVvy to the big leagues of software tech?

Software as a Service (Saas) outfit iVvy is taking its cloud-based event and venue management platform to new heights with a $5 million Series A funding round to accelerate global expansion. After disrupting the meeting and events industry in Australia and expanding internationally to include 12,000 users in 13 countries, the Gold Coast-h...

Nexba secures funding from Gaingels just in time for Mardi Gras

Right in the midst of Mardi Gras Nexba has become the first Australian company to secure funding from Gaingels, an investment vehicle for LGBT founders. The sugar-free beverage producer, which recently expanded into the UK, scored $150,000 from Gaingels as part of its $6 million Series A capital raise. Derived from "gay angels&qu...

Inside Tammy Hembrow's Neon Collection

On Friday evening Tammy Hembrow launched her latest collection, and it's the most eye-popping one to date. The launch was held at The Pink Hotel in Coolangatta with the Neon Collection fitting right at home amongst the pastel pink walls, neon lights, and 'gram-worthy décor. Tammy Hembrow's Saski Collection took over...

Black Hops completes crowd funding in just six days

Purveyors of craft beer have latched onto Gold Coast-based craft beer brand Black Hops since it launched in 2014. And whilst they certainly make fantastic beer, the company's founders say they have attracted the public's attention and crowd funding support by becoming the 'least covert operation in brewing'. From day o...

A decade of hard work pays off for working travel entrepreneur

If you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life. It's an adage as old as sliced bread, but every entrepreneur knows it takes a lot of work to get to that point. However, when it comes to Jürgen Himmelmann, those hours of grinding do pay off, especially when they involve some serious travelling. Over the last...

How CarSwap is taking on a monopoly with its next gen auto classifieds app

There are slim pickings for options when it comes to selling your car online in Australia, while the act of offloading your pre-loved automobile can be quite expensive as well.  An Adelaide startup is hoping to flip the Australian industry on its head with its next gen app CarSwap. So confident in their business model are founder...

AEV Robotics is changing the way we think about driverless cars and vehicles themselves

When you take a look at the prototype for AEV Robotics' modular driverless vehicle it's hard not to see the future of transport. But according to co-founder and CEO of AEV Julian Broadbent, that future isn't as far off as it might seem. Melbourne-based AEV Robotics is currently in Las Vegas at the home of emerging tech: CE...

Australia's top 100 young entrepreneurs

These young business men and women are our future business leaders fuelling the nations vibrant business culture, making our local economies tick and inspiring us with their drive and innovation.

They are well informed risk-takers who think outside the box. They have worked hard at building their empires and are prepared to act on ideas ...

Tomas Steenackers crowned Australian Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2018

The nation's leading young businesspeople gathered on the Gold Coast for a night of revelry and recognition yesterday, after Business News Australia scoured the country to select candidates for the coveted Australian Young Entrepreneur Awards 2018.  Not only have these entrepreneurs found success, but they are exploring and ...

How Ella Fence dived into unknown waters to unearth dream music career

When Ella Fence stepped onto the stage of the Australian Young Entrepreneur Awards, she was surrounded by a crowd of people she had never met before. And though she wouldn't necessarily describe herself as such, her journey with music and the creative industries is remarkably similar to the business journeys of those in the room. ...

Australian Young Entrepreneur Awards 2018 to acclaim the risk-takers and game-changers

Not content to rest on their laurels as the world changes around them, entrepreneurs are a forward-thinking breed for whom determination is de rigueur and risk is a reality.  As the culmination of a decade hosting Young Entrepreneur Awards and following the journeys of its participants through reportage, Business News Australia will ...

Coincast Media cuts out the jargon, rides the blockchain wave

While prices of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum have dropped this year, fortunes have been much better for a Perth-based global news and media group specialising in the blockchain that underpins the technology. With a background in financial journalism at Bloomberg, Heidi Cuthbert (pictured) founded her digital PR agency Multip...

Hey, sole sister! Synxsole springs to life with Chemist Warehouse, Amazon

Frustrated by orthotics that fit poorly into fashion shoes and sports boots, podiatrist Rachael Ferguson (pictured) and Marie Ishak-Lewis tackled the problem with a solution and the result was Synxsole. Ferguson says the insoles available before she co-founded the business in 2012 often weren't therapeutic, so when patients visit...

From sheep's cheese to world's best vodka: Hartshorn Distillery hits the high-end

When there's a will there's a way, and when there's whey there's...vodka? From the family sheep's milk farm south of Hobart, Ryan Hartshorn (pictured) has built a spirit producer that's the envy of the world. Hartshorn Distillery won top honours in the World Vodka Awards 2018 in London, while its gins are held in h...

How TJ Swim found success by becoming an essential social media brand

There's certainly no shortage of fresh-faced brands on Instagram. Scrolling through the website, it becomes quickly apparent that the social media platform has birthed a whole new world of e-commerce. In many ways, it's far more important in 2018 to have a beautiful Instagram page than it is to have a shopfront at the local We...

Founder of turnkey design construction company wins 2018 Sydney Young Entrepreneur Award

In the aftermath of the carnage of the GFC, Rouad Elayoubi decided after 13 years in the construction business it was time to got it alone and he formed the Alliance Project Group with a staff of four, taking on small jobs that others didn't want to do. That was 2011 and in the seven years since, Elayoubi's company has evolved ...