Smart 100 2011

Home Smart 100 2011

ThisRing.com (SMART 100)

"There was a point where I was looking to buy an engagement ring, and even though I felt confident, I could never have been sure about my decision. I would have preferred to know that she was 100% happy. I was caught between asking my partner at the time what she wanted, and wanting to surprise her. For a man to try and choose what a girl wants, it is rarely a good idea.”

langoor.net (SMART 100)

The innovation came to light when Ruchir Punjabi, who had experience of serving more than one hundred clients with his expertise in web services and products, identified a few fair problems in the web site creation and management sector and decided to spend more of his energy on product development in key areas in the web space. He saw immense potential for the product in a seemingly unorganised web services market in India and elsewhere. He went head hunting for like-minded, passionate individuals in the same space and put together a motivated unit of web developers. This is his third venture.

iMinds Digital eAudioBooks and eBooks (SMART 100)

Olivia Wood was driven by what she saw as emerging trends in "Education/Entertainment" consumer products and the proliferation of personal technology in all aspects of modern life. iMinds has carved a strong niche in the new publishing space, securing all major eBook and eAudioBook distributors and having strong sales uptake from the new information consumer...dedicated to getting the most from their tech devices.

iVvy Cloud-based Event Management Software (SMART 100)

I won the tender to handle an Event for 500 people with no experience other than a sheer will to deliver an awesome experience. After much frustration with the industry and service levels, supported by a programming background I set out to change the world. I wanted a system with no boundaries of language, currency, time or location. A platform that could give productivity back to organisations and reduce costs by improving processes.

ManageFlitter (SMART 100)

We had problems keeping our Twitter accounts uncluttered from users that added little value to our tweet stream. We also were having problems seeing who we were following and who was not following us back, and vice versa. There was no easy way to bulk unfollow people based on a set of criteria, so we developed a web-based application that would assist in improving the signal/noise ration of a user's Twitter account.

Infomaxim (SMART 100)

This innovation came to life after spending ten years in the Internet business and finding it was still way too difficult for the average business to run an online store. Worse still, marketing online was getting more complex, and you needed a swag of different tools to make it happen.

LeadBolt (SMART 100)

Founder Dale Carr noticed how many website owners were complaining about declining revenues they were seeing from online adverts placed on their web pages (especially with Google Adsense). Digging deeper, Carr identified a trend called ad-blindness where web visitors were now so used to the look and feel of online adverts that they were totally ignoring them. Carr set about working on an advertising solution where the display method would be more engaging meaning higher click-throughs, better web-owner revenues and higher quality leads for advertisers.

NoteTower Desktop Organisers (SMART 100)

The inventor, Eric Costas, recognised that he and a large proportion of his office colleagues suffered the despair and frustration of desktop clutter. Tired of misplacing important notes, business cards scattered on his desktop and with an office space that had self-stick notes stuck on any available surface, Eric thought there had to be a better way. So drawing on his engineering background and gaining inspiration from the construction of an office tower, the idea of a desktop tower that could hold and organise notes, business cards and photos came to life.

White Label Telco (SMART 100)

The innovation came to life when frustrated with wholesaler services, and because there was no support or innovation from their side. While working one hour with our business coach from Action Coach we came up with the concept we have now come to sell. Our service provides a one-stop shop opportunity for anyone to become a Telecoms company without the large capital normally required and without having to source dozens of different providers to supply them.

spareticket.com.au (SMART 100)

I had friends who travelled often for business and would find themselves suddenly in a city with nothing to do and no one to do it with. As you often purchase event tickets months out from events, it is difficult for the business traveller or last-minute purchaser. Also, it can be very lonely to attend events on your own. I decided to build a site where people could meet and connect with others, without the "online dating" stigma attached. And it would provide an opportunity for people to offload or buy last-minute tickets without having to deal with scalpers.

Young Republic (SMART 100)

We discovered there were no online platforms/marketplaces that empower young or emerging Australian designers to reach their goals. The purpose of this innovation is to empower young and emerging Australian designers.

Customisable Eyewear (SMART 100)

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.

Wide Waste (SMART 100)

My innovation was hatched after fitting yet another misaligned shower tray. This time I was doing a renovation for a mate who always provided a drink after work. Bewildered by the task ahead, I knocked off and sat down to a bout of drinking and thinking. Do I pack the walls or do I jackhammer and shift the pipe? Then it came to me: Why doesn't someone make an adjustable tray with a waste that can be fitted through the tray from above?

Powering wheelchairs with brain waves earns third spot in Anthill SMART 100

At the University of Technology, Sydney, Professor Hung Nguyen and his research team are developing a system operates a wheelchair with nothing but brain waves. The tech can be revolutionary for people with severe disabilities. It earned position No. 3 in this year's Anthill SMART 100.

Brightgreen’s DR700 LED Downlight Replacement Bulb (SMART 100)

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.

Aviator (SMART 100)

Aviator is a venture spun out of the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Australia. Leveraging UTS’ proprietary software around thought classification for controlling electronic devices, the venture is developing a wheelchair control solution to respond to the needs of the severely disabled and paralysed.

Business Island (SMART 100)

I proposed taking practice firms into a 3D platform. Previously, students formed companies that existed only on paper and traded with no economic restrictions. In a virtual world, the teacher can monitor the interactions and transactions between businesses and change the cost of inputs to recreate reflections of a real environment.

Brainstorm in a Teacup (SMART 100)

I realised that mums attending my networking events were leaving inspired but still didn't have the technical know-how to move forward. However, they also had limited funds to access business support and advice. Brainstorm in a Teacup solved both these problems. Bringing together six biz mums (and myself), the session utilised the skills and experiences of women who were formerly in marketing, sales, IT and more to advise, connect and feedback to one another, all for the price of a coffee and a magazine.

Get a Shortlist (SMART 100)

We realised many businesses were failing to take full advantage of the power of software to improve their business, despite a compelling business case and many options available. We explored many different ways to serve end-users directly and get paid by them, but eventually concluded they generally lacked enough budget for software selection support. At the same time, we were being inundated with approaches from software vendors keen to find new customers. The light bulb went on...

Mozo Rewards Revealer (SMART 100)

We conducted some analysis of the rewards credit card market for our website and discovered that the vast majority of rewards credit cards fail to deliver real value for Australian consumers. We were gobsmacked to learn that some cards even put consumers in the red, charging more in fees than they deliver value in a year. It was time someone made it easy for the average person to compare rewards cards and rewards types, and to expose the sneaky marketing tactics banks and financial institutions have long used to promote ‘rewards’ cards.
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