Startup & Entrepreneurship
News, opinions and advice on starting and building companies.
Tasmanian innovator Travellr raises growth capital from World Nomad Group
Later in the evening, perhaps after a second or third round of cocktails (all the pubs were closed), Cummings shared his views that raising capital is a time consuming process and that, in particular, he would be seeking a strategic partner. That's why I was particularly pleased to receive news yesterday that Travellr.com has secured growth capital from none other than the travel insurance and travel services company The Worlds Normad Group.
Dr Sam Prince, 2009 Anthill 30under30 winner
If you ever spot Dr Sam Prince in Canberra's John James Hospital, make sure you congratulate him for winning this year's 30under30 Award. The entrepreneur-in-disguise has founded two enterprises on national and international levels and won a string of awards to his name.
Climate change export opportunities for Australia
Climate change is already remaking the global economy. The changes that Australia has to make in order to become a responsible and competitive player in this greener global marketplace are comparable to the liberal economic reforms made in the 1980s, says Austrade’s chief economist, Tim Harcourt.
Ali G pitches Ice Cream Gloves to The Donald, VCs
Sacha Baron Cohen might be making more waves these days with his other alter egos, Borat and Brüno, but his original breakout character, Ali G (ayyyeee), was where it all began. In this clip, Ali G gets his entrepreneur on, pitching his idea for "Ice Cream Gloves" to a less-than-wooed Donald Trump and a series of bemused US VCs.
Why do so many people achieve success then fail?
Analyst Richard St. John is known for his straight-talking assessments of what drives success and failure, like The 8 things that lead to success.
Why the green shoots of recovery will strangle some Australian businesses
It looks like this recession-that-wasn’t-actually-a-recession is coming to an end. As a business owner, you are right to be proud to have survived a frightening 18 months, when so many others have gone to the wall. But beware. It is not a given that survival in the downturn will equate to success and riches in the upturn. Indeed, there is a strong risk that recession conditions have deceived you about the general health of your organisation.
Daniel Houden, 2009 Anthill 30under30 winner
Daniel Houden started software developing when he barely knew how to use Microsoft Word. Four years later he presented at the Microsoft Conference with his software product, Xchangexec.
Anthill's Top 10 Social Media Sites for Australian Entrepreneurs
There is a popular blog post currently doing the rounds - a list of 25 Social Media Sites for Entrepreneurs. It provides a brief description of 25 tools (including some familiar ones, such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn) but with very little analysis or commentary on each. Committing to any new social networking tool is time consuming. So, I figured it might be helpful to test each out and share my views on which are useful and which... quite simply... suck (i.e. are ugly, awkward and generally suck time from your day with very little return).
Anthill’s Top 10 Social Media Sites for Australian Entrepreneurs
There is a popular blog post currently doing the rounds - a list of 25 Social Media Sites for Entrepreneurs. It provides a brief description of 25 tools (including some familiar ones, such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn) but with very little analysis or commentary on each. Committing to any new social networking tool is time consuming. So, I figured it might be helpful to test each out and share my views on which are useful and which... quite simply... suck (i.e. are ugly, awkward and generally suck time from your day with very little return).
The top 10 lessons I learnt when my company collapsed
Thinking about starting up a business? Or are you in the middle of the ride of your life, totally focused on making you business a success? Take a moment to read this – it may save you from making some of the more common mistakes that entrepreneurs make. When my business collapsed last year, I learnt 10 things...
Liubinskas at TechCrunch50: Aussie startup entrepreneurs from iPitch & spellr.us
Pollenizer's Mick Liubinskas, Anthill's man on the ground at this week's TechCrunch50 conference in San Francisco, has been wandering around with his trusty video camera hunting down Aussie startup entrepreneurs to interview for you.
In this first video, he interviews Green Lane Digital, the team behind iPitch, an online platform matching companies and investors. Below, Liubinskas catches up with another regular contributor, spellr.us founder Kevin Garber.
Liubinskas at TechCrunch50: Aussie startup entrepreneurs from iPitch & spellr.us
Pollenizer's Mick Liubinskas, Anthill's man on the ground at this week's TechCrunch50 conference in San Francisco, has been wandering around with his trusty video camera hunting down Aussie startup entrepreneurs to interview for you.
In this first video, he interviews Green Lane Digital, the team behind iPitch, an online platform matching companies and investors. Below, Liubinskas catches up with another regular contributor, spellr.us founder Kevin Garber.
Mark Saba, 2009 Anthill 30under30 winner
Mark Saba may not speak your language, but he sure has a lot of mates who do. His startup, Connect Language Services (CLS), works with 4,000 interpreters and translators globally to provide multicultural communication solutions to major Australian corporations and government organisations.
Look who's in the Cool Company Awards for 2009
The nominations are coming in thick and fast, female involvement is close to reaching an all time high (as posted previously) and, next week, mobile billboards will be hitting major CBDs (thanks to your input). However, one or two trends have emerged that have surprised me.
Look who’s in the Cool Company Awards for 2009
The nominations are coming in thick and fast, female involvement is close to reaching an all time high (as posted previously) and, next week, mobile billboards will be hitting major CBDs (thanks to your input). However, one or two trends have emerged that have surprised me.
Federal R&D Tax Credit Bill passes, more changes to come
The passage last Thursday of the Tax Laws Amendment Bill (2009 Measures no 4) represents the Rudd Government's first significant milestone on the road to delivering a more streamlined R&D Tax Credit for innovative Australian businesses.
Federal R&D Tax Credit Bill passes, more changes to come
The passage last Thursday of the Tax Laws Amendment Bill (2009 Measures no 4) represents the Rudd Government's first significant milestone on the road to delivering a more streamlined R&D Tax Credit for innovative Australian businesses.
When and where to outsource your business functions
One of the most important skills a business leader can develop is being able to identify what to undertake in-house and what to outsource. As Dean Morelli explains, if you know where your company truly adds value, then outsourcing other functions of the business frees you up to add even more value.
Preparing for US venture capital: Due diligence is a two-way street
In part five of our series on the capital raising cultures in Australia and the US, San Francisco-based Steve Anderson explores how Australian entrepreneurs can best prepare for securing US venture capital.
Why Chief Coffee Drinker is my most important entrepreneurial role
An ex-colleague of mine, the least entrepreneurial person I have ever met, gave me the best piece of entrepreneurial advice I have ever received. She told me just as I was starting mag nation that my most important job would be having a coffee with five random people every week. I smiled politely and filed this one in the back pocket. She was right, though. When I have lived by this rule, my business has progressed. When I have ignored it, we have stagnated.