Smart 100 2010

We wanted to help small businesses that couldn't afford our PR fees to generate publicity themselves.

The innovation came to life when Modra Hayes was approached by a number of fly in/fly out miners to solve the quality of accommodation problem that existed in remote locations around Australia. Traditional mining accommodation was considered to be uncomfortable, dirty, and not aesthetically pleasing or attractive to live in. The modpod™'s use of composite fibre technology was specifically designed to redress the deficiencies of traditional mining dongas. Modra Hayes has also designed and is constructing a modpod™ Mass Production Facility (MPF) capable of producing one modpod™ or more per eight-hour shift.

Our NPD team started to dream about a way to take Australia's rainwater collection experience to the world. As people globally begin to see how they can contribute to the water cycle through the collection of rainwater we asked, "How can we get Australia's learnings over the last decade, put it all in one product and make rainwater simple? Let's make a product that people won't need to worry about, will find easy to use and will let them contribute to our water system."

From my own experience of having a brain-injured daughter as a result of seatbelt injury. I spent hours researching pregnancy and driving and seatbelt effect, and I was convinced that something must be done. Hence, the Tummy Shield was invented.

We understood the need for a comprehensive college management system that incorporates various business processes simplifying the management of Registered Training Organisations using one system to manage efficiently and effectively.

We have spent almost fifteen years working in the Victorian education sector, teaching everything from Outdoor Education to Science to History to Geography. After seeing firsthand the increasing frustration felt by many teachers trying to find the best educational opportunities for their students, and how this was matched by an inability by many providers to successfully advertise their products to schools. Having identified a big gap in the market, we looked around at the technology available, decided upon ones and zeros as our medium, and after many sleepless nights and cups of coffee -- Cursions was born!

The following SMART 100 profile and the information it contains is a duplication of content submitted by the applicant during ...

The following SMART 100 profile and the information it contains is a duplication of content submitted by the applicant during ...

We saw businesses struggling to advertise themselves, unsure of where to start and lacking in time, money and media experience. We created a trusted marketplace matching available media space, both rate card bookings and ‘last minute’ deals, with those businesses wanting to purchase advertising. All types of media are available, including: TV, Radio, Newspapers, Magazines and Digital (online). We developed the Last Chance Ads marketplace to be: fast, easy to use, open 24/7, media company independent and offering businesses the opportunity to search, find and purchase - all in the one place via the web or mobile.

We used to be an outsourced sales and marketing organisation conducting campaigns for SMEs right up to large brands such as 3 mobile. We now use this ability of putting in place a sales and marketing division, in order to acquire a large equity stake in the businesses we work for. We have now become a hybrid blend of a private equity firm and a sales and marketing organisation, implementing sales systems and structures in exchange for up to 40% ownership in the business. A model such as this is a world first.

This innovation initially came to life when my business partner and I recognised that Australians had almost no flexibility when it came to the use of gift card vouchers. We soon discovered that the market was worth about $1b and that 1 in 3 cards were never redeemed, representing an incredible waste. We wanted to provide a service that gave people the option to use gift cards as they wanted to. A market study demonstrated that similar services existed in North America but not yet in Australia.

This innovation came to life after a discussion with a friend who owned an Ice manufacturing and distribution business in Adelaide. I noticed there was a blank space on one side of the bag and asked him why he didn't sell the space off to advertisers. We also discussed the vast opportunities due to his distribution network into all supermarkets and convenience stores. From this we looked at potential markets and agreed to trial the concept through his business.

In 2008: the recognition of the reality of climate change by society, governments and forward-thinking businesses. For business, staff engagement and behavioural change are fundamental to the success of a large-scale change. Organisations have a need for sustainability education that can be delivered in a practical format, actively engaging the learner and encouraging behavioural and cultural change. Change2 is an off-the-shelf, scalable online solution, delivering interactive sustainability modules which can be accessed by all staff. It encourages further discussion and communication of sustainability practices within organisations and is supplied with online tools to facilitate ongoing behaviour change.

We saw the need for Business to be able to access simple, clear web strategy consulting + planning, and thence order 'best of breed' related site/s and systems, for a low cost (less than half that of traditional processes), get it fast, and then access ongoing support and an ever expanding library of member's only 'how-to' content on Web Marketing (and anything that touches it), along with the usual 'how to use the system' type stuff and direct support. This is the advanced (revised) version of something I've been working on (albeit slowly) for 3.5 years.

Founders Sarah Taylor and Jeff Dusting realized how time consuming and unsatisfactory it was to locate, book, and pay for home, health and beauty services, and how few service providers had access to efficient low-cost online trading.

The initial system was developed for a third party in order to replace reversing sirens on large mining trucks. It was soon realised that there was a huge requirement for a system such as this across many industrial sectors (mining, logistics and warehousing, freight terminals, gantry cranes and more) as a system to help reduce risk of collision between any moving machinery and personnel. The current system has been developed over several years of research, development and testing to the point that it is now ready for full commercial release with the aim of saving lives in the workplace.

The founding technical directors came together in 2006 as individual contractors to contribute specific intellectual property to some unique product development. In 2007 the group identified a safe, environmentally friendly opportunity: an energy efficient, direct replacement for halogen downlights. The science behind Indice Ecotech had started to evolve at that time and it was recognised that it could make a meaningful contribution to saving lives, property and the environment. This valuable research has produced a rich suite of additional lighting products that will replace old inefficient and costly products in fields that naturally lend themselves to Indice Ecotech’s control technology.

Having worked on insurance claims as a carpenter, Brian Siemsen identified the need for a better way for insurers to conduct repairs. He was surprised at the attitude of tradespeople who would charge anything because it was an insurance job. He had heard of minor jobs taking as long as 180 days to complete. He believed these attitudes had developed due to the limited ability of insurers to monitor and quality control the repair work. So he set out to develop IntelBuild –- an online system that gives insurers the power to monitor each job, regardless of where it is.

Our idea came about while we were waiting outside a women's clothing store for our girlfriends and we saw the same cars circling the block looking for parking. Having been frustrated at the inability to make informed decisions when finding a parking space -- and more than often walking past a better alternative on our way to our destination, we decided that it was about time someone found a better way! Digging into the parking space we realised that the rates vary dramatically and are not geographically dependent so we developed a rate comparison tool to allow for custom results.

I was watching TV and the subject was a Singaporean ship had become stacked on the beach at Caloundra Qld. To refloat the vessel two Chinook helicopters were used to take containers off the ship, some with a weight of over 7,000 kgs and out of the blue the following crossed my mind: "If a 7,000 kgs-plus container can be easily lifted by a Chinook, a water tank can be easily lifted as well...If the biggest fire chopper can lift only 6,000 litres or kilograms...Bingo! I got a new idea and long research begins."