Home 30under30 2012 Anthill’s 30under30 winners revealed!

Anthill’s 30under30 winners revealed! [2012]

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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 2012 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.

Don’t agree with our ranking? Vote in the Readers’ Choice.

The Top 30 Revealed!

The Top 30 are listed by age.

NAME BIRTH YEAR STATE GENDER LATEST VENTURE
Brandon Cowan 1994 NSW M Crazy Dog Apps
Lachy Groom 1994 WA M Cardnap, iPadCaseFinder, et al
Taylah Hasaballah 1994 QLD F Tiger Temple
Samantha Wade 1992 SA F Bluey Blundstones Blacksmith Shop
Yohan Dantan 1992 NSW M AKARA Creative, myEd Online
Riley Nottingham 1991 QLD M DoneItNow, Thepen
Mick Spencer 1990 ACT M OnTheGo
Liza Shulyayeva 1988 WA F Techalite Web Consulting
Sheng Yeo 1988 NSW M OrionVM
Chanel Costabir 1987 VIC F Sheer Novice, The Lingerie Boutique
Emily Gowor 1987 VIC F Word Artist
Adrian Rokman 1987 VIC M Allsportz
Jack Delosa 1987 NSW M The Entourage
Brad Smith 1987 TAS M braaap
Linda Vydra 1986 VIC F Lydra,  Melbourne Laser Cutter
Jane Lu 1986 NSW F Show Pony
Cameron Tanner 1986 NSW M Chargebar
Melinda Weaver 1986 VIC F BabyInk
Elliot Ramier & Jonathon Green 1986/1985 VIC M ELJO
Cara-Ann Simpson 1985 VIC F Cara-Ann Simpson, Sound Installation
Josh Kamil 1985 VIC M Ready Steady Print
Michael Cohen 1984 VIC M Executive Security Solutions
Finn Kelly 1984 VIC M Wealth Enhancers
Ben Thomas-Brigden 1985 NSW M Blink Mobile
Nicole Kersh 1984 NSW F 4Cabling
Stan Kruss 1984 NSW M Expo Centric
Alec Lynch 1984 NSW M DesignCrowd
James Grieg 1983 QLD M iVvy, Bloomtools
Ruslan Kogan 1982 VIC M Kogan Technologies
READERS’ CHOICE?

 

Honourable Mentions (The Editors’ Ten)

Several young and inspiring entrepreneurs from this year’s line up caught the attention of our editors. For one reason or another, their achievements (and the obstacles they were able to overcome) struck a chord.

That’s why, this year, we added The Editors’ Choice.

NAME BIRTH YEAR STATE GENDER LATEST VENTURE
Ellen Harvey 1989 ACT F BnE Media
David Wei 1988 VIC M Venuemob
Myron Festejo 1986 NSW M My Shout
Adam Long 1986 NSW M Beehive Digital Manufacturing
Jessie Larcombe 1985 QLD F Fashion Ready, Snoozie and Moose
Lachlan Blackhall 1984 ACT M 17Dynamics
Grace Bowe 1984 NSW F Bride Body
Asaf Brukarz 1983 VIC M PropConnect
Jake Howard 1982 WA M Sales Pipeline
Simon Griffiths 1982 VIC M Good Goods and Shebeen

 

Honourable Mentions (Winners of any name)

They may have just missed a slot in the TOP 30 but they, nevertheless, rocked our world.

Expect to read more about these young business builders in Anthill in the not-too-distant future.

NAME BIRTH YEAR STATE GENDER LATEST VENTURE
 Mardy Daniel  1990  VIC  M  Festival Couch
 Patrick Hamilton  1990  NSW  M  Urban Moves
 Nathan Murphy  1991  NSW  M  Muesli For Me
 Peter Moriarty  1989  NSW  M  itGenius Australia
 Hayden Bowler  1989  VIC  M  Geniaus Ltd
 Michael York  1989  QLD  M  Flex Removals
 James Stapledon  1989  VIC  M  Lighting Matters
 Milan Narayan  1988  QLD  M  Platinum Perception
 Jason Ballo  1987  NSW  M  Ballo Furniture
 Andrew Frahm  1987  QLD  M  Kixup – Online Budgeting
 Scott Middleton  1987  NSW  M  Terem Technologies
 Abs Elmaz  1987  VIC  M  Social House Media
 Chris Hooper  1987  SA  M  Cirillo Hooper and Company
 Rowan Kunz  1987  NSW  M  Art of Smart Education
 Gareth Robinson  1987  NSW  M  Leasate Pty Ltd
 Michael Woods  1987  VIC  M  Media Saints
 Ross Scutts  1986  QLD  M  The Young Entrepreneur Club
 Michael Morgano  1986  VIC  M  Car Genie
 Carl Taylor  1986  NSW  M  Business Builders Academy
 David Truong  1986  VIC  M Broccol-e-games Pty Ltd
 Daniel Ashton  1985  WA  M  Boost Mobeel Perth
 Bill Huynh  1985  VIC  M  Interior Secrets
 Mathew Beeche  1985  NSW  M  Shoe String Media Group
 Mike Watkins  1985  NSW  M  Digiocial
 Marcus Lim  1985  NSW  M  Oneflare
 Dwayne Martens  1985  NSW  M  Amazonia
 Daniel Calleja  1985  VIC  M  Innovating Visuals
 James McDonough  1985  WA  M  See Forge
 Gabriele Ulacco  1985  NSW  M  Architectural Research – Material Applications Pty Ltd
 Ben Carroll  1984  NSW  M  Velflex Pty Ltd
 Dale Hansen  1984  QLD  M  Base Media
 Jeffrey Cooper  1984  NSW  M  Step Change Marketing
 Joel Deakin  1984  NSW  M  George & King
 James Griffin  1984  NSW  M  SR7
 Kym Huynh  1984  VIC  M  WeTeachMe
 Olivier Mamet  1984  WA  M  OOTB Communications
 Flic Manning  1984  VIC  F  Evixa
 Kate Stewart  1984  VIC  F  Bright Young Things Event Makers
 Leeanne Towse  1984  NSW  F  mPole
 Michael Overell  1984  NSW  M  RecruitLoop
 Skye Blackburn  1983  NSW  F  Butterfly Skye’s
 Izhar Basha  1983  NSW  M  Direct Nutrition Australia
 Ebony Centazzo  1983  VIC  F  Cat Napping Suburban Retreat
 Laura Christie  1983  QLD  F  Luminous Marketing
 Guy Pearson  1983  NSW  M  Interactive Accounting
 Andrew Craig  1983  QLD  M  Computer Empire
 Bradley Hampel  1983  VIC  M  Solution Entertainment
 Darcy Naunton  1983  VIC  M  Adventure Capital Venture Management
 Calvin Ng  1983  NSW  M  Aura Capital Group
 Nick Wallberg  1983  VIC  M  Tram Sessions Inc
 Brent Chandler  1982  VIC  M  Zwift
 Grant Capriotti  1982  WA  M  Muse Bureau
 Rosanne Sandars  1982  WA  F  Webholic
 Jo Schneider  1982  SA  F  DVE Business Solutions
 Philip Sondhu  1982  VIC  M  Farmbuy

 

Social Entrepreneurs

This set of five dazzled us with their ambitions to use entrepreneurial thinking and commercial savvy to make the world a better place.

NAME BIRTH YEAR STATE GENDER LATEST VENTURE
 Boyd Whalan  1989  ACT  M  Hessex
 James Chalmers  1988  QLD  M  TownSqr
 Amanda Ryan  1987  NSW  F  Bachhara Pty Ltd
 Monica Kade  1986  NSW  F  Monica Kade
 David Dixon  1984  VIC  M  One Girl

 

Intrapreneur

Entrepreneurial smarts is not just limited to business owners. Employees can have it too!

This year, we recognise one young gun who we think is an intrapreneur worthy of recognition.

NAME BIRTH YEAR STATE GENDER LATEST VENTURE
 Fai Wong  1982  NSW  M  Start Some Good

 

The Reader’s Choice Awards

The 30UNDER30 Readers’ Choice Index was created to provide an opportunity for Anthill readers to help support young entrepreneurs in one of three ways:

1. Tweet this post (three points):

Use the Tweet button at the top of a Finalist’s page.

2. Trigger a social reaction (two points):

Hit the “Like” button, Google+ or LinkedIn.

3. Leave a comment (one point):

Show your support! Share the love!

Voting opens 30 January 2013 and ends 28 February 2013.
Winners announced 5 March 2013.
Having trouble with the form below? Click here.

To vote for your favourite young entrepreneur(s), find their name above, click the link, then vote!

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.