30under30 is an Anthill initiative that was launched in early 2008 to encourage and promote entrepreneurship among young Australians. Each year, we invite our readers to nominate young Australian entrepreneurs deserving of recognition for their outstanding entrepreneurial endeavours. Anthill’s editorial team then trawls through hundreds of applications and identifies and profiles the top 30 Australian entrepreneurs under the age of 30. The process culminates in an event held in Melbourne where the 30 winners network and celebrate. We’ve been releasing profiles of this year’s Anthill 30under30 winners via our Twitter account – youngest to oldest.
Glen Riverstone is the embodiment of an inventor-turned-entrepreneur. Faced with a personal problem, he invented a device to solve it, commercialised the product and exported to 13 countries around the world – all within the space of eleven months.
Riverstone worked as a registered nurse in a hospital Emergency Department after graduating from university. In the heat of a busy resuscitation, he cut himself opening a glass ampoule (small glass-sealed vial) containing Adrenaline. After doing some research, Riverstone discovered that glass ampoules are one of the leading causes of medical sharps injuries – with no existing safety solution.
Frustrated after cutting himself twice more, Riverstone said to a colleague, “I should invent something to open those silly ampoules and retire!”
Nine months later, Riverstone made the first sale of his invention Snapit Ampoule Opener – a torch-like reusable device that takes out the danger of cutting oneself opening glass ampoules. Another two months on the market and Riverstone landed a commercial lease for the IP and exported the product to over 13 countries.
The invention won four national awards (including being ranked #4 on Anthill’s 2009 Smart 100), received an $85,000 government grant, an international honourable mention and is under the commercial contract potentially worth $1.4 million over the patent life.
But Riverstone isn’t going to retire any time soon. “As I walk through one door I seem to enter a room with another five.” He says. “One led to the other. I now have several more under development.”
Riverstone later established a nurse equipment retail business that turned over $60,000 in the first three months. He has also launched his own publishing house, Riverstone House. In addition to these, Riverstone’s second medical device invention – a gym fitness IT concept – and a real estate domain listing are all in the pipeline.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP ACCORDING TO GLEN
What motivates you as an entrepreneur?
“What I do is motivated by the inability to ignore identified opportunities. I want to leave a legacy behind and I want to achieve two lifetimes worth of accomplishments.
“Much deeper than this, I feel it is my obligation to capitalise on the prosperity, wealth and opportunity the western world faces so in my later years I can occupy my time by ‘paying it forward’ and improving the quality of life for those who are less fortunate. I also believe in being diligent with what talents we are given. It would seem I have a ‘nak’ for business.”
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