narrow

Australian online department store, CatchOfTheDay, has local supermarket big kahunas firmly in its sights. CatchOfTheDay trialled the discounted groceries model for 12 months before launching GroceryRun. The company offered groceries as part of a two-day event each month. It sold, on average, two grocery items a second, netting more than $1 million in just 48 hours.

Sensis reports have found that almost half of Australian SMEs are missing an online presence and that most lack a digital strategy, prompting a tour across Australia to help businesses enter the digital world.

A new service called Deal Radar was launched by NewNet to deliver in-depth business information for green companies all over the world. With the mission to connect the sustainable business community and promote green business opportunities, NewNet will be providing insights into business opportunities and investment in the clean technologies and sustainability sectors through its new service.

Last year, the Pearcey NSW ICT and Digital Media Entrepreneur awards celebrated much talent, including that of Lars and Jens Rasmussen for the pinnacle award. The awards are back and the committee needs some nominees!

The Digilant wireless-activated solar power surveillance camera was developed by Moreton Bay Systems, an Australian company. The new camera promises to revolutionise surveillance in remote locations that lack power, addressing problems with illegal waste dumping, vandalism and break-ins.

The University of Queensland Business School has announced the five finalists of its 2011 Enterprize competition. A drug to the delay the progression of cataracts, a stopping corrosion low-cost chemical mix, an environment friendly fabrication technology, an online international patent search tool and an internet hub that hosts competitions to build predictive models are the five ideas behind the finalists of the business competition.

Deakin University is preparing a 5-day intensive workshop for its post graduate students, and if you're an entrepreneur they need your help. Entrepreneurs are invited to submit their sustainability-related problem as a key challenge for a unique workshop. How does it work? A team of students will focus on your challenge while being mentored by professional leaders. They will develop of a solution and present it to a panel of judges who will award cash prizes.

According to the BizExchange Index June Quarter 2011, the number of businesses advertised for sale has reached new heights during the quarter but, as market sentiment declines, fortunate will be those who are able to sell their business for the right price.

After Amazon's announcement last May that it is now selling more kindle books than print books, CAL (Copyright Agency Limited) decided to determine if Australian publishers and authors are ready for the digital revolution. In a survey, it found that, while many see the digital revolution as a significant opportunity, only a small percentage has a defined digital strategy.

The Early Warning Network, an emergency service first started in 1995, has won the Ninefold Cloud Computing Prize at the Tech23 awards. The network uses...

Two-thirds of Australian businesses are taking longer than the usual 30 day period to pay their bills, says the latest Dun & Bradstreet Trade Payment Analysis report. On average, Australian businesses are taking 53.4 days to make their payments.

For those who are not familiar with the phenomenon of Pitch Club, it offers aspiring entrepreneurs a proven pathway to develop, evaluate and get the assistance they need to capitalise on their ideas.

Payroll entrepreneurs Stuart McLeod and John Freeman will no longer be needing to count their pennies. Their two-year-old bootstrapped startup, Paycycle, which provides an online payroll system, is being acquired for $1.5 million by New Zealand’s accounting software provider Xero. Of the amount, $500,000 will be paid in cash and the rest in shares of Xero, which is listed on the New Zealand Stock Exchange. The shares will fully vest over three years.

Travelex and EFIC (Export Finance and Insurance Corporation) have partnered to provide an extension to the limit of the EFIC foreign exchange facility, allowing exporters to have higher foreign exchange trading limits. The two entities have agreed to double the overall limit of the EFIC foreign exchange facility guarantee.

Digital content organization, MEGA, has announced the winners of their recent Pitch Day competition for smartphone app ideas.

The new Randstad Workmonitor index places the Australian workforce among the most optimistic in world with 81% of the respondents stating they were confident of finding a new job. The index also places the Australian workers among the most mobile with 21% of the respondents saying they changed jobs in the last six months. Could there be a correlation?

The insurance company designed with women in mind “Million Dollar Woman” is urging Australian business mums who stay at home to take care of their children to not neglect their superannuation contributions. The company has also launched three strategies to maximise their contributions.

The 2011 City of Sydney Business Awards are now open to nominations and votes across 22 business categories. The awards include restaurants, small bars and cafes, retail fashion and retail beauty, tourism, health and fitness, online business, the new ANZ Fast Starter Award, which recognises fast-growing businesses with a turnover greater than $5 million, the Small Business of the Year and the Business of the Year awards, among others.

In a new report, Stratatel Limited analyses the costs of mobile phones to companies and organisations and reveals that the inappropriate use of mobile phone by employees may have greater consequences than huge phone bills.

Applications for Tech23 2011 close tomorrow, Friday 24 June 2011. Tech23 is a NSW-born initiative for young, innovative and fast-growing Australian companies. Prizes include $150,000 in cash, thanks to the NSW Department of Trade and Investment, Regional Infrastructure and Services.