Anthill was initially launched as a business 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.
To watch ‘The Anthill Story’, courtesy of Inside Business, ABC Television, click below.
Since then, James and the Anthill team have extended the goals and reach of the Anthill to kick-start a range of endeavours to support innovation and entrepreneurship in Australia, such as awards, competitions, events and this online community.
Anthill is now based in Richmond, Victoria (much to the relief of James’ parents).
What’s it about?
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!
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.
The Accolades
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.
Anthill initiatives to support entrepreneurs and innovators
The Cool Company Awards were launched in 2006, arising out of Anthill’s dissatisfaction with the over-emphasis of most business award programs on a company’s bottom-line. While commercial success is obviously important, Cool Company winners are also ethical, embrace supportive work environments for employees and they are highly innovative (constantly adapting and evolving).
30under30 was launched in 2007, as a program to support young entrepreneurs and is evolving from an awards program to become Australia’s only national peer-to-peer network for young business owners – including Teentrepreneurs. By fostering a culture of entrepreneurship among young Australians, Anthill hopes to make a lasting difference across the broader economy.
Pitch Club was also initiated in 2007, as a supportive and fun networking event, where people with ideas, capital and skills can connect. In keeping with Anthill’s ‘edgy’ outlook, Pitch club participants are invited into a miniature boxing ring, where they are given 90 seconds to communicate their ideas and objectives. The objective of Pitch club is to create a member driven organisation to facilitate investment in early stage ventures.
The SMART 100 Index was launched in 2008, developed in association with global market research agency Colmar Brunton to identify and rank Australia’s 100 most innovative products.
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Anthill’s Print Magazine
Given the run-away success of Anthill’s online magazine since its launch in early 2009, in tandem with a range of industry developments affecting print and digital media, we are currently reviewing our subscription offer and model. Anthill no-longer offers 12 or 24-month print magazine subscriptions. Instead, we thank you for your passion for Anthill and invite you to please subscribe to one of our digital options above.
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