Startup & Entrepreneurship

Some quick thoughts on one of the hardest things to do as an entrepreneur (or intrapreneur) -- holding both a big vision and a brutal focus in your mind at the same time. They sound like contradictions and in many ways they are the endlessly feuding families of a new venture. You need to make them happy neighbours though.

Ruslan Kogan, 27-year-old founder and CEO of Kogan Technologies, along with other members of the world's first team of Virgin Galactic space tourists yesterday joined Sir Richard Branson in the Mojave Desert for the unveiling of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo.

Week 6: For me, whether it’s speed dating or a business proposition, a great pitch should help others understand your vision and get them excited about it as quickly as possible. For some reason my spiel has never generated that much enthusiasm in the speed-dating world, but the business environment is different (I hope). Generally speaking, my pitches usually follow a formula, which explains (in order) the following...

The enemy shall be known by the name ... People-who-have-to-use-big-words-to-sound-smart-even-in-marketing-copy-where-the-point-should-be-to-sell-rather-than-to-be-liked.

Bardia Housman is an Australian entrepreneur who recently completed his second successful exit, selling Business Catalyst (makers of e-commerce software suite GoodBarry) to Adobe Systems. Australian specialist recruitment and M&A outfit MitchellLake captured this candid interview at the South Food+Wine Bar in San Francisco last month.

Bardia Housman is an Australian entrepreneur who recently completed his second successful exit, selling Business Catalyst (makers of e-commerce software suite GoodBarry) to Adobe Systems. Australian specialist recruitment and M&A outfit MitchellLake captured this candid interview at the South Food+Wine Bar in San Francisco last month.

In 2001, Frank Levinson of Finisar Corporation delivered this no-nonsense talk in which he offers his top 10 things you must have to start a business. And just like the lecture itself, the overriding theme is to keep things simple.

Dr Amantha Imber, Anthill’s Creativity Corner blogger, recently published a book entitled The Creativity Formula: 50 scientifically-proven creativity boosters for work and for life. We asked Amantha to hand-select an excerpt from the book to share with Anthill readers. Here is her selection. If it leaves you wanting more, please consider grabbing a copy of the book, which has earned praise from the likes of Seth Godin.

The apathy toward online retailing by Australia’s incumbent ‘bricks and mortar’ retailers has allowed some notable upstarts to gain a foothold in the digital shopping space. Kim Wingerei examines opportunities lost and seized.

Out of every one hundred new businesses founded today, in ten years time only three will still be open for business. So what do those three have in common? And is nature or nurture responsible for entrepreneurial success? Christopher Witt wonders.

For the second year running, Anthill's overall 'Coolest of the Cool' Award winner is an Australian medical company, combining the commercialisation of breakthrough research with the impact of saving lives globally. In the final analysis, our judges awarded overall honours to Vaxine Pty Ltd over the other 2009 Cool Company Awards category winners for its success to date in building a platform that will potentially benefit every human on Earth.

The launch of Commercialisation Australia will coincide with the closure on 1 January 2010 of the Commercialising Emerging Technologies (COMET) program to new applications. Prior applications and ongoing COMET grants will continue to be serviced.

I'm childless by choice -- a decision I cop a lot of flak for. But one line of criticism I cannot abide is that I am somehow a lesser entrepreneur because I'm not a mother too. There's some weird calculus going on here.

Tenille Bentley is putting Australia on the map with her impressive philanthropic work. She is the founder of The Greater Good Foundation (GGF), a charity to support women and children affected by domestic violence.

Adelaide-based biotechnology company Vaxine Pty Ltd was named Australia’s “Coolest Company” at Anthill Magazine’s 4th Annual Cool Company Awards, held in Southbank, Victoria, last night.

Adelaide-based biotechnology company Vaxine Pty Ltd was named Australia’s “Coolest Company” at Anthill Magazine’s 4th Annual Cool Company Awards, held in Southbank, Victoria, last night.

In this classic talk, Kawasaki outlines his "10-20-30 Rule" for ensuring that your business presentations are sizzle-fests rather than snore-athons.

In this classic talk, Kawasaki outlines his "10-20-30 Rule" for ensuring that your business presentations are sizzle-fests rather than snore-athons.

For three times in his life Kane Black has cracked into markets and industries he knew nearly nothing about. His story is mixed with both dazzling success and catastrophic failure, and each time he has demonstrated the versatility of a swift young entrepreneur.

Fleur Madden-Topley launched Red PRwhen she was only 23. After six years of hard work she has developed the agency into a force in the industry and a player on the international PR scene.