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News, opinions and advice on starting and building companies.

Monique Jeremiah, 2011 Anthill 30under30 Up-and-Comer

Monique Jeremiah owns and operates Exceptional Group, a tuition, training and employment company on the Gold Coast. Many of her clients are university undergrads or college students who need a boost in their grades or business acumen, or simply a spit-shine to their resume.

Is this the future of fast food? Mark Koronczyk tells the story behind Lord...

Garry and Leon talk with Mark Koronczyk, founder and CEO of successful food outlet Lord Of The Fries. Originating in a van, the Lord has grown into five store locations in the Melbourne area. The chain emphasizes fresh ingredients with an all-vegetarian menu that features soy protein hamburgers and, of course, its signature European-style hot chips.

Five things I learnt at the Startup Hackathon

When my friend convinced me I should join him in the Startup Hackathon – an event where mostly everyone involved is awake for the majority of a 48 hour period and creates a startup with a real product – I did not know what to expect.

The UQ Business School has announced its Enterprize 2011 finalists

The University of Queensland Business School has announced the five finalists of its 2011 Enterprize competition. A drug to the delay the progression of cataracts, a stopping corrosion low-cost chemical mix, an environment friendly fabrication technology, an online international patent search tool and an internet hub that hosts competitions to build predictive models are the five ideas behind the finalists of the business competition.

DealFetch: Australia’s first location-based group buying aggregator?

Daily deals remain on a tear as innovation adds spice to the sector. First there were deal sites like Scoopon and Cudo. Then came the deal aggregators like AllTheDeals and BargainDesk. Now here is a deal aggregator with a local twist – a la BargainDesk meets Foursquare, if you will.

Joshua Kamil, 2011 Anthill 30under30 Winner

Joshua Kamil's Ready Steady Print business, launched in 2006, removes the “inherent inefficiences” of the printing industry, delivering products to clients at a fraction of the cost. Sniffing out inefficiencies and irradicating them is one of Kamil's strengths.

Submit your sustainability-related problem to Deakin University post graduate students

Deakin University is preparing a 5-day intensive workshop for its post graduate students, and if you're an entrepreneur they need your help. Entrepreneurs are invited to submit their sustainability-related problem as a key challenge for a unique workshop. How does it work? A team of students will focus on your challenge while being mentored by professional leaders. They will develop of a solution and present it to a panel of judges who will award cash prizes.

WeTeachMe? Bringing a new paradigm to education

WeTeachMe is the brainchild of a diverse fivesome – Kym Huynh, Demi Markogiannaki, Martin Kemka, Rowan McSweeney and Cheng Zhu, two of whom are immigrants. Hyunh is a serial entrepreneur, Markogiannai, a Greek, is crazy about the arts; Kemka has an insatiable curiosity about the world; McSweeney, of Irish heritage, is the marketer with a love for Turkish delights; and Cheng is the group’s code Ninja. Together, they want to change the world we learn, and share knowledge -- kind of like the Spice Girls but with better shoes.

Ryan Wardell, 2011 Anthill 30under30 Up-and-Comer

Crowd-funding has been spun as a viable alternative to traditional modes of finance and sponsorship in Australia, particularly for cash-strapped artists and independent filmmakers. But what if the crowd-funding model can be applied to startups as well? It's a question that has been floated recently, and Ryan Wardell thinks he has the answer. He's just launched Project PowerUp, and if it catches on, it will do for small businesses what Kickstarter has done for the arts.

Mike Boyd, 2011 Anthill 30under30 Up-and-Comer

Cupstart is a unique tweak on a pressing problem among java junkies: having to queue up and wait, and wait, just to get a decent cup of joe. The brainchild of Mike Boyd, the Cupstart app lets the user select a venue and order a brew online, then pick it up ready to go on arrival. Also included is a pre-paid option, so there's no need to fret over loose change.

Erick Armando, 2011 Anthill 30under30 Up-and-Comer

Erick Armando's website, DealsGuide, grabs onto the group-buying boom and takes it to the next logical level. DealsGuide aggregates the daily-deals sites such as Spreets, Wimzy and Scoopon, putting the craze under one roof. Armando launched DealsGuide in 2010 after he and a business partner studied the group-buying phenomenon, looking for the best opening. "Having an impact in whatever industry I am in is a massive motivator," he says. "This also encourages me to push through what is comfortable and go into the unknown."

Marianne Sea, 2011 Anthill 30under30 Up-and-Comer

Young Republicans, the creation of 24-year-old Marianne Sea, is an online marketplace dedicated to emerging, independent Australian designers. The site offers one-stop shopping for men's, women's and children's clothing, accessories, housewares and art. Sea, who owns the business with partners, was a senior website designer and developer who saw first-hand how expensive and difficult it could be for many emerging designers to have their websites built. That obstacle, along with a passion toward helping young entrepreneurs succeed, led to the creation of Young Republic.

Queensland biotech startup Vaxxas gets $15 million from venture funds

Vaxxas Pty. Ltd. has won a $15 million investment from venture groups led by OneVentures. Other investors include Brandon Capital Partners, the Medical Research Commercialisation Fund and U.S.-based HealthCare Ventures. Vaxxas is the first Queensland company to be funded under the Bio Capital Fund, which has swelled to nearly $250 million, established last year with the help of Health Care Ventures and Eli Lilly, among others. The investment was negotiated in the main by UniQuest Pty Limited, the University of Queensland’s main commercialisation company.

Sean Qian, 2011 Anthill 30under30 Honourable Mention

Sean Qian describes himself as a passionate music fan and a terrible singer. "In high school I loved music but knew a career as an entertainer was unlikely for me," he says. Thankfully, this motivated him not to flaunt his awfulness on Australian Idol, but to jump into the realm of start-ups. Crisp Entertainment is a niche events management and touring company. The idea behind Crisp, says Qian, is to "do things that are for niche communities but do them big."

Kavita Singh, 2011 Anthill 30under30 Honourable Mention

Kavita Singh has a vision for Brisbane: to make the city a hotspot for fashion, and to make people realise a local scene brimming with creative designers waiting to be discovered. IG'ZIST, the marketing and PR company she started this year, is devoted to building fashion buzz. "No one in Brisbane is doing what I am, so I just came to the conclusion I needed to do my own thing," she says.

Owen McCrink, 2011 Anthill 30under30 Up-and-Comer

Where do neglected or unused cell phones go to die? Yes, "landfill" is one acceptable answer. But 23-year-old Owen McCrink has given us a more Earth-friendly response: ReGadget. The online business, allows people to exchange phones, cameras, laptops, portable music players and game consoles for cash.

Bubble Gum Interactive’s investment adventures (including a handwriting test that earned them $100k)

Any start-up that’s had to raise funds via Angels and VCs will tell you it’s a white-knuckle ride. Independent game development studio Bubble Gum Interactive (BGI) is no exception. The Australian start-up’s tales of capital raising include near-hypothermia, an encounter with Interpol, and a handwriting analysis test (that they passed and scored $100k.)

Nikias Leigh, 2011 Anthill 30under30 Up-and-Comer

Wedding photography is the family business for Nikias Leigh. His father runs Zenfoto, a thriving business in North Queensland. Leigh decided to follow in dad's footsteps, but to take the business in a bold direction by setting up a model by which they can grant franchises throughout Australia.

Eric Chau, 2011 Anthill 30under30 Up-and-Comer

In early May, Eric Chau won a business-pitch competition sponsored by TiE Sydney, winning a trip to Silicon Valley for the TiECON conference. It was another push in Chau's trajectory as an up and coming industrial designer.

David Eden, 2011 Anthill 30under30 Up-and-Comer

David Eden launched his first entrepreneurial venture at age 15, setting up a backyard business in which he grew and sold indoor potted plants. Now, at the ripe, old age of 17, Eden is jumping into an online venture that tackles the wild, wooly world of social media.
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New Zealand’s Xero eyes US IPO, further disruption as subscribers increase...

Xero recently held its annual meeting in Wellington, during which the company revealed some interesting details about its future. As has been widely suspected, the...

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