Nitro Founder and CEO Sam Chandler has taken top honours at the 2014 EY Australian Entrepreneur of the Year Southern Region awards, judged best entrepreneur in the Emerging category.
Sam, a friend and contributor to the Anthill family of sites, started his first company at the age of 16, when still a high schooler and his second at 21, while studying at RMIT.
He started Nitro in Melbourne in 2005, and since that time, the company has grown to become and international provider of digital document productivity and collaboration solutions. With over 150 employees and 450,000 customers worldwide, Nitro’s desktop and cloud-based digital document products are now used by more than 8 million people worldwide.
Speech!!!
In his acceptance speech, Chandler said: “I’m truly honoured to be recognised with this award, and while I’m the one to accept it, I do so on behalf of the amazing people we have at Nitro.”
It takes an incredible amount of energy, perseverance, time, and hard work to build a business and we simply couldn’t have gotten this far without the combined effort and contributions of the entire team.” Chandler added, “It’s also wonderful to see the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in Australia and it’s a real privilege to be recognised in a field of such talented and creative individuals.
A history of winning
The EY 2014 judges acknowledged Chandler’s contributions and leadership in the tech startup sector, as well as his accomplishments at Nitro.
Having experienced the challenges of scaling Nitro into the successful global business it is today, Tasmanian-born Chandler has long been a vocal advocate for Australian start-ups, particularly in the technology sector.
Shared challenges, welcomed results
“Ultimately, entrepreneurs drive productivity, create new jobs and even entire industries. I hope our government sees the positive flow-on effects that come from the tech start-up sector in particular, and looks to create a more vibrant ecosystem for all Aussie entrepreneurs,” Chandler added.
Chanlder is now in the running for the title of 2014 Australian EY Entrepreneur of the Year at the national awards which will be held in Melbourne in November.
