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What is 30under30?

30under30 is an Anthill initiative that was launched in early 2008 to encourage and promote entrepreneurship among young Australians. Each year, we invite our readers to nominate young Australian entrepreneurs deserving of recognition for their outstanding entrepreneurial endeavours. Anthill’s editorial team then trawls through hundreds of applications and identifies and profiles the top 30 Australian entrepreneurs under the age of 30. The process culminates in an event held in Melbourne where the 30 winners network and celebrate. We’ve been releasing profiles of this year’s Anthill 30under30 winners via our Twitter account – youngest to oldest.

Name: Adrian Bold

Age: 26 (b. 1983)
State: TAS
Industry: Multimedia
Company: Bold Impressions

Combining his passion for drawing, construction and architecture through multimedia technology, Adrian Bold and his startup Bold Impressions create Hollywood-style animation for the corporate world. He is also the only Australian to have been invited to give a keynote speech to Oxford University’s MBA program.

With $50 in his pocket, Bold founded Bold Impressions while still studying at the University of Tasmania. He takes blueprints and drawing from architects, engineers and interior designers, and translate those plans into 3D animations using the same cutting-edge technology as Pixar, Disney and Dreamworks.

Bold Impressions has been profitable from day one, enjoyed exponential revenue most years and serves a growing list of property developers, advertising agencies and government clients across Australia and New Zealand.

Bold has recently established another company to vertically integrate and diversify his current solution offerings.

As an entrepreneur, Bold likes the feeling of waking up each day not worried about working for ‘the man’. “I really enjoy the thought of being responsible for the growing wealth of my employees as they mature, settle down and being to start families of their own,” he says.

Bold was titled the Australiasian Student Entrepreneur of the Year in 2004 by RMIT, and listed as one of the top 12 young entrepreneurs (still studying) in the world by Chicago’s University of St. Louis in the USA.

When asked why he should be featured in this year’s 30under30, Bold says “I’d like to share any of my experiences to promote the pursuit of entrepreneurship as a career option to other young people.”

ENTREPRENEURSHIP LESSONS ACCORDING TO ADRIAN

What has been your biggest commercial setback? How was it overcome?

The largest setback has been a dreadful experience with a difficult client who, after applying scope-creep to a multitude of three over and above the original brief, simply did not want to pay their bill. This cost us months of work, cashflow difficulties (still in recovery) and our relationship and quality of service with other clients suffered.

I’d like to report that this was overcome with a hefty legal win in our favour, yet their defence was ridden with lies. The cost to pursue was overbearing, the risk of losing high. Solution? Walk away and forget.