They collectively turnover hundreds of millions of dollars each year, yet some are barely out of university. They are proud to be Australian but see their home-grown success as little more than a stepping stone. They have never known serious recession, political instability or significant global conflict, yet they are better educated and better informed than new business owners of any generation preceding them. Meet the future of business in Australia.

Sponsored by national partner, Sensis	Innovation sponsor	State sponsor

More information on the Winners.

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Winners
30under30 – The winners (part 1)
30under30 – The winners (part 2)
30under30 – The winners (part 3)
30under30 – The winners (part 4)
30under30 – The winners (part 5)
30under30 – The winners (part 6)

Finalists

30under30 – The finalists (part 1)
30under30 – The finalists (part 2)
30under30 – The finalists (part 3)
30under30 – The finalists (part 4)
30under30 – The finalists (part 5)
30under30 – The finalists (part 6)

Here’s a question to get you thinking…

Which communication technology gained widespread adoption first – the fax-machine or the internet?

Easy? Of course.

The fax-machine pre-dates the ubiquitous adoption of the world wide web as a communication tool. Companies had long stopped marvelling at the potential of the humble ‘facsimile’ machine, which attained popular usage in the 1980s, when the internet started dominating office life, and business models, in the late 1990s.

Here’s a question that you might find a little hard to answer: Which of these two communication technologies was the first to win the race to mainstream acceptance – the radio or the telephone?

If you’re having trouble answering this second question, it’s probably because the rise of the telephone and radio happened before you were born (unless you have more staying power than The Bulletin).

The business world has undergone such tremendous change in the last 20 years, sporning new entrepreneurial ways of thinking and a new generation of business builders ready to lead the charge.

These ‘young guns’ are switched-on, cashed-up and fearless. And if you haven’t already figured this one out, they also represent the future of business in Australia.

MESSAGE FROM THE JUDGES

There are many clear and conflicting characteristics that make up the entrepreneurial mindset. This naturally made judging our inaugural 30under30 Awards an extremely challenging process. How can you measure the achievements of a 15 year-old dance school proprietor against a 29 year-old property baron? How can you compare an old economy retail business owner, turning over millions, with a new economy dot-com wunderkind, with no profits but a million ‘customers’? These questions confronted us at every turn. Every ‘clear winner’ was quickly supplanted by a ‘definite contender’, only to be returned to the top of the pile another half hour later, before temporary rejection again to complete the cycle. The quality of the entries was high. As such, judging Anthill’s inaugural 30under30 Awards was an unapologetically subjective process. Each applicant was measured against other contenders in his/her age bracket and against other entries from his/her industry. Ultimately, it became an enormous challenge to pick just 30, which is why another 30 high-flyers have also been included within the feature. If you are not in these pages, don’t worry. Many entries have been flagged and presented to the Anthill editorial team for use in future editions. For example, we were overwhelmed by the number of ‘intrapreneurs’ who entered (entrepreneurs who apply their skills for another company as employees). As such, a feature on these important and often-overlooked members of the entrepreneurial community is now brewing. On behalf of Anthill, we thank the hundreds of people who entered and the far greater number of people who nominated friends, family and other sources of inspiration.