Smart 100 2011

Over $23 billion is given out annually in grants funding in Australia by government, philanthropy, corporates and NGOs, and there is no standardised solution, application process or management and acquittal process. $23 billion and not one standard operating system. Started from the ground up after a series of "Grants Rage" sessions by grant applicants on the tragic state of technology, systems, process and learnings exchange, SmartyGrants was born.

My mum always used to catch the initial volume of cold water discharged from her shower in a bucket and use it on the garden, but a few years ago, when she hit her mid-70s, she abandoned the practice because it was just too much hard work. With water restrictions also in place due to the drought, I decided to invent a better way to collect and use that water. The Cullector is the result of that inspiration, although it’s taken several years and 14 prototypes to perfect it!

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.

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.

In 2009, we decided to find out what was happening inside Australian small businesses that was holding them up from getting online and participating in the digital economy. Our research showed us that for the majority of SMEs, getting a website was all too hard... too technical, too expensive and too time-consuming. We decided to change all that.

It started with some WILD questions about building games for the emerging "social game" space. Crazy stuff, like what if you could build "Farmville" in a week? What if you could press a button and have a cross-platform, scalable, social game application layer instantly available? What if we could distill the core mechanics of social games into a highly configurable, easy-to-use system so that game developers could focus on creating amazing game experiences, rather than figuring out how to build complex server infrastructures...

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.

I stumbled upon some published research work being undertaken by an overseas research establishment. Their research was not related directly to my invention but had direct application to what I saw as being directly applicable to my area of interest.

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.

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.

I was holding four cans of beer whilst waiting for the Jesus and Mary Chain to come on stage at the 2008 V Festival. Like all cans at festivals, the four cans had been opened at the bar. Someone bumped my elbow and the bottom can in one hand fell to the ground and the beer in it exploded out and covered me in beer. Two thoughts came into my head: "Crap, there goes seven bucks," and then, "I wish I could re-seal the cans after they open them at the bar..." And that's when I came up with the Spillah can lid.

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.

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.

Carla Penn, the founder, was visiting her monthly local farmers' market early on a Winter's morning in the pouring rain. She thought to herself, there must be a better way to access the same food products without having to physically be at the market and without having to wait another 30 days before she could repurchase. So she went home and started with a simple Google search and nothing appeared.

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.

When I went to purchase my first car, there were so many things I did not know and did not understand about the process. After a great deal of research and conversing with friends I still made a lot of mistakes. Realising how much research and street know-how is required, I created this iPhone application, which can help at the most important time, when you actually go to look at and purchase a car.

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.

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.

The purpose of this innovation is to make internet advertising in search engines more efficient and cost-effective for both searchers and advertisers. DynamicCreative’s ability to incorporate live pricing that matches inventory, for large scale campaigns, providing higher Quality Score, increased relevancy and significantly improved ROI.

I was a time-starved mother of a newborn baby and a toddler. I was spending nearly an hour a day washing and sterilizing baby bottles. I began researching for an appliance that could meet my needs and found nothing. So, I started sketching some designs and developing the functions of my 'Dream' appliance.