Growth & Export
News, opinions and advice for fast growth businesses with an eye on the horizon.
Meet Sportsnet Holidays, 2010 Anthill Cool Company Award Finalist [Global Growth Award Category]
In 1998, Australian entrepreneur Rob Cecconi heard some friends were having a tough time getting tickets to the Daytona 500 NASCAR race in the U.S. Cecconi poked around and learned Australia had few travel agencies that booked trips to sports events. Game, set, match. Sportsnet Holidays was born.
Was the Melbourne Cup interest rate rise too much, too soon?
In this news podcast, Leon and Garry talk about interest rates being put on hold – for now. But evidence suggests that latest interest rate rise has put pressure on the construction industry and BIS Shrapnel says it was premature. Also, could a Wikileaks cyber war be hitting Australia? Press play and have a listen.
Try a MAFTA with your Laksa: Malaysia’s exciting economic future
Many Australians may view Malaysia as a tourist spot or source of some seriously hot curries, but there’s much more to the story. In fact, the relationship between the two nations goes back decades, says Tim Harcourt, and as the Malaysian economy accelerates, Australia will continue to play an important role in its development.
Aussie e-tailer eStore.com.au on acquisition trail for 2011
Australian online retailer eStore.com.au is in acquisition mode for 2011 with plans to grow its already significant business through the acquisition of local online companies. In a statement to Anthill, eStore founder Lorenzo Coppa says he is keen to speak with owners of online businesses selling technology products looking to exit the market or explore opportunities to leverage their products with eStore.com.au.
ACCC’s decision against Metcash-Franklins deal ‘defies logic’, says IGA Chairman Mick Daly
Leon and Garry talk to the IGA National Board Chairman, Mick Daly, about the grocery industry and the Australian retail environment. In particular, he has much to say on the success of Metcash, IGA’s principal wholesaler, against competitors Woolworths and Coles, and the looming showdown with the ACCC over Metcash’s plans to acquire the Franklins supermarket chain.
So, you have 300 contacts on LinkedIn. Well, I’m not impressed.
I was at an event the other day when I met a very smart, respected, and likeable business owner, named Ron. We got to discussing LinkedIn, and I asked him how many connections he had. He mentioned he had around 300, and then went on to proudly proclaim that he knew “all of them personally, save three or four”. That's great for taking care of your existing customers, I thought, but what about attracting new ones?
Lost in all the merger news? Let the Talking Business guys sort it out...
Everywhere this week, companies have been taking advantage of a red-hot Australian dollar to engage in mergers and acquisitions. Leon and Garry talk about AMP and France's AXA SA bidding on AXA Asia Pacific, Brambles buying the Dutch IFCO Systems, OneSteel buying business from AngloAmerican, and more, plus all the latest news in this Talking Business podcast.
Is Joe Hockey on a winner with his plans to control the banks?
Commonwealth Bank raises its mortgage rate on top of the RBA’s interest rate hike. Meanwhile the inflation index for Australia is picking up. And Joe Hockey appears to be on a winner with his plans to control the banks: he and the Government are now in a game of one upmanship to bring the banks into line. Leon and Garry discuss all these headlines and more in this news podcast.
Talking Business Analysis: Are consumers growing more frugal?
RMIT economist Jonathan Boymal talks about interest rate rises, retail figures and falling building approval data. He sees evidence of high consumer confidence, but also observes a degree of risk aversion and cautious selectivity in the spending habits of consumers.
What can marshmallows, dry spaghetti and one yard of string teach you about design?
The insights from Tom Wujec's design exercise are what makes this video worth watching. For instance: Kindergarten students are among the best builders, while recent graduates of business school are among the worst. Oh, and CEOs perform better if executive administrators are added to their team (somehow, that's not even remotely surprising).
Singapore’s ASX bid meets with mounting opposition
The top business story of late has been the Singapore Exchange’s bid to take over the Australian Securities Exchange. Leon and Garry examine the growing political opposition to the bid and the conditions under which the Government might approve the merger.
Talking Business Analysis: Utility price jumps may call for intervention
In this podcast, RMIT Economist Alberto Posso talks about misleading inflation figures and job market data. While the consumer price index is slightly up, utility prices have jumped and may hurt working families without some short-term government intervention.
Anthill’s 5OVER50 revealed! (2010)
Unlike most award programs recognising the achievements of Australia's most successful entrepreneurs, we didn't want the 5over50 to simply provide another round of accolades for the same small set of already well-known industry leaders. Our inaugural 50ver50 winners are five inspiring people who have uprooted their lives to pursue entrepreneurial ventures, out of both passion and necessity.
James Packer back in the TV mogul game. Leon Gettler and Gary Barker discuss...
Not even a sore throat can keep Garry away from the news desk this week. He and Leon discuss the near-certain likelihood of an interest rate rise before the Melbourne Cup, as well as James Packer's surprise sharemarket raid on the Ten Network and its consequences, plus all the latest business news in this episode of Talking Business.
Talking Business Analysis: Of bank bashing and business survival
RMIT Economist Sinclair Davidson looks at the ABS report showing only a slight decline in the total number of businesses in Australia. He criticises an Opposition proposal to rein in the banks and weighs the pros and cons of a plan for the post office to operate financial shopfronts.
The simple mathematics of web conversion (you don’t need to be a rocket scientist)
If you are like most online entrepreneurs, you're probably obsessing about traffic without giving conversions a second thought. But what most website owners don’t realise is that their profits (what they actually can take home) can be multiplied many fold by giving conversions the attention it deserves.
Housing not driving the economy any time soon, says expert
Talking Business is a podcast review of the Australian economy, presented by seasoned business journalists Leon Gettler and Garry Barker, produced in association with the RMIT College of Business. In this podcast, RMIT economist Jonathan Boymal talks about flat to declining housing and lending finance, indicating that housing will not be driving the Australian economy for some time.
Australian dollar gets even closer to Greenback. Why this is bad news.
In this podcast, Leon and Garry talk about the soaring Australian dollar with the NAB predicting it will hit $US1.10 in the next six months. Treasurer Wayne Swan warns that it could erode tax revenue with manufacturing, agriculture and tourism the hardest hit. Exporters are calling for government assistance to offset the impact of a strong dollar.
Anthill’s 30under30 winners revealed (2010)
This year, rather than release the 2010 30under30 'massive' in one shot, we're releasing the names of this prestigious set, three a day, for the next 10 days. Why do this? Well, aside from the unplanned loss of a laptop, containing our deliberations and winner profiles, this suspense filled, masterfully manipulating traffic-fueling tactic just seemed too attractive to pass up. Can you feel the ant-icipation?
Why shake-up Twitter’s management team? #makemoney
Earlier this month, Twitter announced a shake-up at the top. CEO and co-founder Evan Williams stepped down and was replaced by COO Richard Costolo. Trouble in tweet-land? If it wants to reach its goal one billion users (and actually make some coin), things will need to change.
