Smart 100 2011

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.

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.

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.

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.

Since the GFC, western investors -- large and small -- have heightened concerns about where their money is invested, and want to know that it's creating real value in the world. Lending as a Barefoot Angel delivers an unbeatable double-digit return, social impact and environmental benefit via a clearly tangible product and result, with short exit periods of 6-12 months.

Whilst in my hotel room at night I would search Google for "The best coffee in..." the city where I was staying. I found this process exhausting and it usually came up with mediocre results. So a couple of years ago upon arriving back in Melbourne I had a chat with coffee-loving friends James Crawford (Web Developer) and Adam Lowe (Psychologist) and the concept of Beanhunter was born.

After starting Pole Dancing classes and travelling to Sydney each week, the need for my own Pole took hold, but my landlord at the time did not share this same enthusiasm for installing a pole. This predicament forced me to design and have made a freestanding pole that did no damage to the precious roof.

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...

It came to life after reading Anita Roddick's book of collected essays, Troubled Water, which amongst other things predicted wars on water in the 21st century. It was not long after, when I was tackling more water-related dilemmas, I determined that the conundrum of bottled water could use a marketer's approach. The notion that in a country where there is perfectly safe tap water available it is ridiculous that we are quenching our thirst with bottled water. My solution: 321 Water.

This innovation initially came to life when Rod, keen environmentalist traveler and rideshare advocate, met Ross, expert online marketplace developer. Rod was certain that creating a carpool and rideshare network as complete and functional as a bus network was a real possibility. Ross, bringing his knowledge with online marketplaces, developed the execution which made it a reality.

Shortcuts realised that whilst the Internet offers significant revenue opportunities, less than one fifth of Australian salons have an online presence -- and are missing out on potential business. Already enabling salons to take bookings online, Shortcuts wanted to drive more business to salons at minimal risk and cost to them, and enable potential clients to find Shortcuts salons anywhere, anytime.

Duc Ngo, inventor and CTO of JMango, got tired of re-writing every app he made to work on multiple mobile devices. Traditionally, developing apps for multiple operating systems took way too long and required specialist skills resulting to mounting costs. He found this to be inefficient and too expensive, not to mention tedious, repetitive and just plain boring. So he set out to create his own solution and the result was the JMango Mobile Platform.

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.

Recognised as a world leader by the ATS program and featured in A Faster Future by Brad Howarth, BigTinCan and BuzzMe Beats have attracted world leading artists like Jessica Simpson, and leading music management guru, and former VP Sony Music Jerry Blair to join the team. BigTinCan believes that the future of music on the smartphone can be compelling, yet simple and easy to use. With a fundamental patent pending on the use of mixed alerting on smartphones, BigTinCan is well placed to globally grow our market.

We were working closely with one of our clients, a locksmith, who was having difficulty managing the day-to-day activities involved in a do-and-charge business: providing quotes, booking jobs, using staff effectively, and remembering to invoice. We saw that the issues with our client were not locksmith issues, but issues almost every small business faces. We knew that through the power of the iPhone and a clever web app, we would completely change how small business operated. ServiceM8 was born.

The purpose of this innovation is to efficiently and effectively raise capital for early-stage businesses needing growth capital. This is done by increasing the competence of those seeking capital and matching them to those with capital to invest.

Two french horn players set out to make it possible for musicians to (a) broadcast a live concert from small venues and sell a 'ticket' to viewers and (b) allow music students to participate in master classes with teachers around the world. They realised that video streaming was both expensive and complicated -- and decided to change that!

Kogan invented LivePrice when we realised there were shoppers around the world pre-paying for goods but not receiving any benefits for doing so. LivePrice creates a win-win situation for both retailers and shoppers. It rewards customers who jump on great deals quickly.

We wanted to create something that connected to the average Australian. The financial planning industry ignores people who have simple goals and not large amounts of money -- we wanted to help and connect with people from all walks of life.

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.