Anthill was initially launched as a print magazine, in September 2003, by its current editor-in-chief James Tuckerman, who at the age of 26 quit his day job, departing a promising career in corporate PR, to pursue his own entrepreneurial journey.
Frustrated by what he considered the ‘snoringly dry’ personality of the Australian business media (and Australia’s then ‘highly unenthusiastic’ attitude toward entrepreneurship), James moved back home with his mum and dad (after much begging and pleading) in order to launch what would become Australia’s first magazine specifically dedicated to innovation and entrepreneurship.
‘The Anthill Story’ (2006), courtesy of Inside Business, ABC Television.
No more print!
An early verson of the 'blog'
In early 2009, James and the Anthill team announced that the magazine would no longer produce a regular print product, so that it could focus its attention on digital activities.
Anthill was soon reborn as a small blog in February. These humble online beginnings were short-lived. By November, it was ranked among the Top 50 Business & Finance sites in Australia by Nielson Online Ratings.
It is now also ranked among the Top 1,000 websites in Australia by Alexa (and among the Top 100,000 in US, despite all attempts to keep its traffic local).
Since September 2009, Anthill has been audited by the Audit Bureaux of Australia. Twice it has topped the Bureaux’s engagement index. This simply means that Anthill readers spend more time onsite than your average website. (Significantly more.)
Anthill is now based in Melbourne’s CBD (much to the relief of James’ parents). It is widely known and respected as the magazine for entrepreneurs by entrepreneurs, providing a rare and often refreshing take on business, innovation and commercial creativity (in whatever form it takes).
What’s it about?
Anthill's first incarnation... a print product!
Until Anthill was launched in September 2003, business media in Australia was largely concerned with issues of relevance to small/micro businesses or large corporations (one or the other).
Anthill was developed to bridge this gap, appealing to highly innovative and ambitious ‘fast’ growth businesses – SMEs with rapid growth potential and larger companies that realise the value of reinvention to stay ahead.
It does not focus on the traditional ‘nuts and bolts’ of business development (although this is a key element of editorial content), but instead it highlights the inspiring thrills, spills, trials and tribulations of business development and rapid commercial growth.
Business can and should be fun, right!
The Accolades (print)
In 2005, Anthill won the Australian Publishers Association Bell Award for Best Small Publisher, for the second year running. In reaching their decision, the judges made the following comment:
“The publisher is to be commended for creating a whole new market segment. Breaking new ground in the way Anthill does and to do it so well – from the edgy look to the irreverent editorial – makes it a clear winner.”
The acknowledgement that Anthill had created a ‘whole new market segment’ was a watershed moment for Anthill, positioning Anthill as an industry leader with its own definable place in the Australian media market and guiding its future as a media company dedicated to innovation.
The Achievements (online)
From humble beginnings, Anthill has grown to become a ‘lightning rod’ for innovation, testing new business practices with its own business as the guinea pig!
It’s very public ‘experiments’ have included:
In 2006, Anthill launched an initiative designed to lampoon the overwhelming swamp of business indexes and unexpectedly created our own: the Cool Company Awards. The program quickly took on a life of its own, attracting over 700 entrants in its second year. Today, the awards are taken very seriously (particularly by entrants!).
In 2007, it offered to buy The Bulletin for one dollar and accidentally discovered how effective blogs can be at mobilising our readers, prompting our own satirical alternative, The Bullantin. Since then, it has run ‘flash’ protest to rail against the closure of Commercial Ready and turned to the ‘crowd’ for awards judging.
In 2008, Anthill announced plans to create the world’s first ‘reader-generated’ business magazine and used online crowd-sourcing techniques to publish the spoils of reader toils as its ‘Magazine 2.0 Experiment’, opening many eyes to the power of two-way reader engagement.
In 2009, Anthill was ranked among the Top 50 Business & Finance websites in Australia, by Nielsen Online Ratings, within 10 months of adopting its online focus, it debuted on the Audit Bureaux of Australia among its Top 20 B2B Media List and is now among the Top 1,000 websites in Australia, according to Alexa.
The Awards
The Smart 100 Index
“In its sixth year unearthing, analysing and promoting Australian innovation, Anthill launched its inaugural ‘SMART 100′ Index in April 2009 – to identify and rank Australia’s 100 most innovative products, fast becoming one of the largest surveys of its kind in Australia.”
WHEN: January-June (six months)
MORE: http://smart100.com.au
The Anthill 30under30 Awards
“30under30 is an Anthill initiative, launched in early 2008 to encourage and promote entrepreneurship among young Australians. Thirty entrepreneurs under the age of 30 are identified and profiled by Anthill, in recognition of their outstanding entrepreneurial endeavours, culminating in an Alumni Event.”
WHEN: April-September (six months)
MORE: http://30under30.com.au
Cool Company Awards
“This annual fixture on the Anthill calender is all about recognising and encouraging rule changing behaviour. What makes a company cool?”
WHEN: June-November (six months)
MORE: Cool Company Awards 2009
Pitch Club – The Event
This fast and furious networking event puts real entrepreneurs into a miniature boxing ring, where they pitch to real investors for real cash. Pitch Club is NOT a spectator sport!
WHEN: All year
MORE: http://pitchclub.com.au/
Why the name, Anthill?
Ants are known to be hard working and resourceful. They are super-efficient, highly organised and forever optimistic (even if they can’t move rubber tree plants).
They are also among the first to notice change – and act fast!
Successful business people have much in common with ants. But unfortunately, in Australia, many are also confined to their own comfortable, but restrictive, metaphoric ant hills. It is often said that Australians are highly innovative but lack entrepreneurial talent or global drive.
Too often, the outcome is unfulfilled potential – ideas that never see the light of day.
Anthill aims to change this culture, by aiding the development of fast-growth businesses – innovative private companies, fuelled by passion and their own genuine global potential.
Anthill is a fun media company with a serious economic purpose.
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