Smart 100 2011

After six years of success as Ecowash Mobile, we conducted market research into the consumer perception of the brand. We found that consumers were more interested in our technology. As a result of this research, we re-positioned our service and re-branded based on the unique and exclusive liquid nanotechology via which we provide our service. Whilst still having the same environmental credentials, the new Nanotek brand better conveys not only the technology but the unmatched quality of the service.

We were planning our wedding and I was looking for a wedding gown with a very strict budget in mind. I shopped at home using the Internet, but was unable to find any website that dealt specifically with wedding attire. eBay was an option but was overruled because of the large number of wholesale importers with poor quality gowns.

This innovation initially came to life when I was working on my butterfly and insect farm. I wanted people to be able to experience various insect life cycles in their own home or at school, so that I could share something special with them. I chose a few of my favourites and came up with a prototype for an enclosure that would meet the housing requirements for all of them.

I discovered how difficult it was to reach my powerpoint to turn off wasted standby power. The purpose of this innovation is to enable everyone to save wasted standby power or simply to gain switching access to one's powerpoints. And to provide a visual reminder for those of use who are forgetful.

Clinton Larson and Emma Lo Russo, ex-Macquarie Bank colleagues, came together to explore the impact that the social web and changing technology were having on traditional businesses, especially those looking to compete globally. After testing the opportunity, they launched DIGIVIZER in July 2010 -- a solution that finds the digital footprint of people organisations know (their customers) or people they should know (prospects) on the social web.

It came to life when we discovered how hard it is to keep a house tidy enough to be presentable at its best for a Home Open when we were selling it. We also noticed that many of the photos did not give a good impression of our home, its layout or feel. Home Open TV is a user-enabled site that allows anyone to list their own home free ... with video and a unique video email solution.

Inventor Don Richardson was approached by AFGC with a problem that its food industry members were confronting; it had to do with improving and monitoring the refrigerated distribution of perishables -- foods and pharma products -- during distribution. The industry wanted a more responsive way to ensure their product food safety. Richardson was then granted patents in numerous OECD countries for its unique business process.

One night I called all the kids for dinner and asked them to bring the cups they were using to the table. They all walked past several cups on the kitchen counter and grabbed a new one from the cupboard. Right then I wished I had a better way to manage all the cups floating around our house. Keeping track of cups in a busy family can sometimes become unmanageable resulting in abandoned cups, spreading of illness and arguments.

Shop, Stock and Bill is an integrated online 'in the cloud' system that manages and tracks products and payment, from retail or wholesale client orders via a shopping cart (or e-catalogue) through a stock inventory control system, tracing components, enabling warehouse management and location, freight, and finally interfaces with the client's existing accounts system to deliver customised reporting.

This innovation came to life when my business partner and I were looking into trends overseas and noticed the massive daily deal boom. We knew that there were a few sites already up and running. We thought, instead of setting up a daily deal site and working against some big fish, we wanted to build a partnership with them to help them grow and build some exposure for them.

The three of us where completing our postgraduate studies at The University of Melbourne. We started to work out what could be done to make it easier for people to create diagrams that wouldn't just be pictures but could represent the real world. We entered the Melbourne University Entrepreneur Challenge (MUEC) and with our business plan and pitching won second prize.

Vickie Johnson (founder & director) was working in her car between coffee shop meetings in the North Queensland heat in December 2009. Sweating and watching the battery power of the laptop depleting, she reflected on the fact that using her iPhone right now she could book a hotel room or a flight to England, but here she was working in the car and having meetings in coffee shops with no other options. Being a woman of action rather than negativity, she set about creating a network providing businesses with access to work or meeting space Australia-wide.

I was sitting on a beach in Dili, East Timor. While the sun was setting, I realised two things: 1) Physiotherapists are placing increasing emphasis on education and exercise programs in injury management; 2) People in remote areas should not miss out on valuable personalised injury information. The idea for an online injury assessment and management clinic was born.

When I came home from London and found it was so costly to move my furniture, I thought there must be a better way. And then I bought a few items from regional Australia and eBay and realised it was more expensive to ship these items then paying for them! I just wanted to create a way to support regional businesses but also create a win-win situation for transport providers.

Daniel He, an optometrist, first worked in an optical store in the late 1990s selling eyewear. Too often a customer was dissatisfied with one or more aspect of shape, colour, material or size of the glasses they purchased. Most compromised and settled for something that was mass-produced. Now, a decade on, this problem was a recurring theme. So he out to change this, in an industry dominated by multinational companies.

I invented a device to block drains and then automatically to draw water from drains. It was called the everydrop water harvester and appeared on the New Inventors and won the episode people's choice award. I then found it was difficult getting a pump that could draw water from below it and continue to hold prime. Such pumps that could do it like diaphragm pumps were more expensive, less efficient and not usually for the domestic market. Further, even these pumps were prone to shorter life when left to run dry for too long. Hence I developed this new product.

We realised that simply providing content to a market online was not enough. We discovered that we also needed to help our customers organise, access and use the content in the easiest way possible. The purpose of this innovation is to provide nurses and allied health staff around central and rural Australia with a comprehensive online platform for them to complete and manage their Continued Professional Development (CPD) activities.

The transport regulators and state road authorities decided that Line Haul Transport Operators must operate their business to a stringent set of complex Fatigue Laws in 2009. These laws fall under a strict Chain of Responsibility (CoR) legislation designed to make heavy vehicle fleets safer. Unfortunately the fatigue laws that have been implemented, although great in theory, are impossible to manage in practice, in manual format as a work diary.

My professional background as an accountant collided with small business ownership when I bought a surf shop. I knew I needed to get my tax completed just like any small business owner, so I took my “folder” to my tax accountant. He was gobsmacked by how organised my tax information was. I was also developing my own clientele as an accountant, and clients’ tax accountants commented on how easy it was to complete their tax returns as all the information was at hand, so I researched producing a commercial version of the system I was using for myself and clients.

Brothers David and Barry O'Driscoll started Brightgreen, an LED lighting company developing products that match a halogen on brightness while using only a quarter of the power and lasting up to fifteen times longer. Brightgreen’s latest cutting-edge product is the DR700 -- the world’s first LED downlight replacement bulb to match the brightness of an average halogen and to be compatible with all existing transformers and dimmers. This means that LED replacement bulbs are now simple, fast and hassle-free to install, making them ideal for a mass market.