It’s often said that there has never been a better time to be a young entrepreneur in Australia.

We have the economic stability, a soaring Australian dollar, access to technologies undreamt of only a decade ago, plus a growing army of baby-boomer mentors who would like nothing more than to see the next generation of Australian business builders succeed locally and beyond the borders of our small but increasingly outward-looking nation.

And, it seems, that young entrepreneurial Australians have also figured this out… en masse.

While the claim is made every year, Anthill’s 2011 30under30 proved to be our biggest, attracting hundreds of nominations and applications from entrepreneurs right across Australia.

For our judges, it also proved to be our toughest.

That’s why, this year, in addition to our top 30, we’ll be putting the spotlight on a small army of Honourable Mentions and young guns to keep an eye on.

And we intend to stretch out the ant-icipation.

Rather than release every winner in one massive hit, we’ve decided to stagger the names of this prestigious set, three to six per day, for the next… well… until we’re done.

We’ll be starting from youngest to oldest, while also turning our attention to those who didn’t make the top 30 but impressed our socks off nonetheless.

And if you didn’t make it into the top 30, don’t dismay.

As fellow entrepreneurs, we encourage you to simply extend your middle finger, point it purposefully at your computer monitor and exclaim loudly, “F*#k you, Anthill. What the hell do you know? You are wrong and I’m going to show you.”

And, then, we’ll see you next year.

The Top 30 Revealed! (kinda)

The Top 30 are listed by age.

Why do some columns have two? Well, many an outstanding business has more than one ‘driver’ behind the wheel. This year’s competition saw a few such cases of young entrepreneurs on the same team. Rather than single out one talent, we felt a double profile — i.e. Dual Drivers — would be a more appropriate way to highlight their combined and singular entrepreneurial talents. (It also helped us squeeze more deserving entrepreneurs into the list!)

Honourable Mentions

They may have missed the Top 30 by a wink but we couldn’t let this posse of young, uber-achievers slip by without giving them the good ol’ Anthillian stamp of endorsement. Congratulations to this year’s runners up, our Honourable Mentions!

Anthill ‘Up-and-Comers’, 2011

Many applications in this year’s batch genuinely knocked our socks off — for the sheer ingenuity of the business behind the entrepreneur or the entrepreneurs themselves. However, some of their ventures were still nascent, or the entrepreneur was making significant progress but hadn’t quite yet ‘hit the big time’ relative to his or her age bracket.

We’re calling this set our Anthill ‘Up-and-Comers’. While they genuinely impressed us this year (enough to make us want to share their achievements), we suspect their best is yet to come. (Yes, folks. You tapped our Anthill antennae and we’ll be watching your progress with interest.) Congratilations to this year’s Up-and-Comers!

How were these young guns picked?

The 30under30 awards begins with nominations, followed by a process of self-application. Why? Because we believe that one of the most important traits any entrepreneur should have is the ability to win friends and influence people. The self-application process gave our judges a direct line to the personality of each applicant entrepreneur.

Commercial success is not everything…

The 30under30 program rewards traits beyond pure successful venture creation. While some applicants wowed us with their, sometimes instant, commercial successes, others demonstrated their ability to learn from the school of ‘hard-knocks’, embrace unexpected opportunities, harness the skills of others and build buzz beyond their sometimes meagre budgets. All these factors, were considered ‘in the mix’.

Benchmarking success by age…

We’re often asked, ‘How do you measure the achievements and entrepreneurial traits of a 19 year-old against those of a 29 year-old?’ The simple answer? We don’t. Rather, during the judging process, the successes, the skills, the attributes of each applicant are measured against other entrepreneurs their age. So, if you’re a 28 year-old entrepreneur wondering why someone else made the cut while you didn’t, perhaps stop comparing yourself to the 18 year-old and look to your age bracket. As the older you get, the higher the bar.

“Why didn’t I get a spot!?”

The entrepreneurial stereotype is rarely a wall-flower. In other words, each year, we receive a number of enquiries (polite and otherwise) from applicants who didn’t make the list seeking feedback. These enquiries usually begin with, “How can Ellie Entrepreneur be on the list when I am not? I’ve achieved so much more!”

If this sounds like you, please read the section above (again) and then check the age. Often, your ‘Ellie Entrepreneur’ will be far younger than you. You have been judged against your age bracket.

If this doesn’t apply (or ‘assuage your consternation’), perhaps revisit your application. Have you endured multiple hardships and obstacles? This is another factor that our judges consider. Few people find success the first time around, and we accord special attention to those who have been knocked down and found the resilience to get back up.

Lastly, did your application embody the brash tone of self-entitlement that your desire for feedback has also elicited? We love tall-poppies and we love ‘unreasonable’ people. You make progress happen. But we also appreciate that successful entrepreneurs know how to ‘win friends and influence people’. A bullish personality without balance will not succeed in the longer term.

Still not satisfied?

Finally, let us just say, we too have entered Anthill into awards and seen companies that we have thought less deserving take home the coveted gong.  And we know the amount of time and effort that you put into your application.

For that, we sincerely thank you.

We appreciate your passion and we hope that you don’t let our views make you feel discouraged. Great entrepreneurs don’t get put off by hurdles or rejections.

As fellow entrepreneurs, we encourage you to simply extend your middle finger, point it purposefully at your computer monitor and exclaim loudly, “F*#k you, Anthill. What the hell do you know? You are wrong and I’m going to show you.”

And, then, we’ll see you next year.