Anthill Magazine

Three brothers Nick, Mike and Guilherme from Brazil, who are currently living in Australia, have been working on Brigie's development since November 2016.

All industries bring new products to market – whether they be new product categories, markets, segments, or industries. But not every company gets it right.

In these pensive days, where a backpacker on a bus could pose more of a threat than a cave-dwelling Taliban, Governments and corporations are hungry for technology that will help secure their people and resources. It has fed a boom in the defence tech sector; a world of cutting-edge machinery and multi-million dollar contracts, and home to some of the world's keenest strategic and technical minds. Several Australian companies are emerging as genuine players in this highly competitive space. Liz Heynes and Catherine Kerstjens take a look at six on this new front line.

Who better to do your marketing than a wolf? Sure, it may have to overcome stomach-driven urges to eat other members of staff but, that's a small price to pay for marketing success!

Why do successful companies fail? Pixar's Ed Catmull addresses this key question through the prism of Pixar's growth from a small, unheard of digital animation company to the powerhouse Disney partner it is today.

Small businesses struggling to keep up with the digital age have been thrown another lifeline for 2013, with the Government funded Get Up To Speed program being offered once again. During 2012, over 380 business professionals across Queensland participated in the 12-week program, which is delivered entirely online, with some in person and virtual support offered from mentors.

It takes a lot of guts for an entrepreneur to turn down an offer from a US venture capital investor, particularly when the alternative means staying put when you have just two months cash left. Brad Howarth follows the plight of innovative start-ups down the road to commercialisation.

These three amusing sketches are courtesy of the BAFTA-award-winning comedy sketch program Harry and Paul, featuring Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse. While clearly lampooning the regular UK Dragons, who won't be familiar to most Australians, there's also much mirth to be found in their portrayal of the shows endless line of absurdly optimistic entrepreneur-pitchers.

In recent years, I have been involved in assisting entrepreneurs with establishing strong online presence. Both our research and the projects that we have carried out for our clients strongly suggest that the very critical factor for online success is usually (though not always)… a strong offline presence!

Are entrepreneurs born or made? Nine-year-old Caine Monroy spent his summer vacation building his own arcade in his dad's second-hand auto-parts store in the middle of a junkyard. With no budget, in perhaps the world’s least-likely location for a fun park, and with nothing but cardboard boxes and oodles of perseverance, Caine’s dream cardboard arcade became a reality – but sadly, no one came to play. This is his story.

In the last three years, STM Goods has doubled in size, tripled in revenue, has offices in Sydney, San Diego, London and Kuala Lumpur and has products available in more than 30 countries

Brisbane start-up hub River City Labs has opened applications for entrepreneurs and start-ups to take part in its three-month Sponsored Entrepreneur Program

The Bamboo Bubby Bag has become a practical and popular choice among parents worldwide, minimising damage caused by scratching from eczema, dermatitis and even chicken pox as well as stopping thumb sucking and even helping babies who would wake from cold hands. Eczema is a particularly unpleasant condition that is quite common in infants, and can continue into adulthood. The condition, also called atopic dermatitis, can cause painful blisters, dry sky, redness, inflammation, and leather-like patches on the skin. Especially with the case of young children, eczema can be very frustrating for baby and mother alike.

The Law of Success in Sixteen Lessons, Napoleon Hill’s 1,600+ page monstrosity published prior to Think and Grow Rich, contains a lot of useful information that can help you realise your potential. In this series, Joshua Moore covers each of these attributes in a practical way that you can apply to your life and work. Today he discusses the value of enthusiasm.

Don’t let its 104 years of age fool you though; Robern Menz is still a very versatile player in the industry, and even produces high-quality confections for other international brand names besides the Robern Menz name. CEO Phil Sims says these companies have chosen to focus on their strong points, and leave production to more capable companies like Robern Menz.

At some point, many small businesses feel stuck – stuck behind a larger competitor with resources that far outstrips their own. All is not lost though because, according to Fiona Mackenzie, these businesses are prime candidates to turn to the Internet which offers a level playing field and where a small one-man band can be bigger than Goliath. Start with thinking small, she tells Anthill.

With concern about employee underpayments at an all-time high, new data reveals that more than a third (36 per cent) of Australian organisations are not confident that they have identified and corrected all payslip errors.

Australia’s leading retail management platform, Neto, and ‘one of a kind’ repricing engine StreetPricer, are busting the myth that marketplaces are a race to the bottom, and helping SMB retailers realise the opposite is most often true.

Retailers now have a much lower cost way to engage with and acquire the customers they want. At the same time, customers love receiving sponsored and group gift cards from their friends to spend on items they actually want. Put the two together and you get some thing interesting.

Students deciding to pursue work or study overseas face many challenges. One of the hardest parts of being a student is working out the best approach to enter their desired industry, this is especially challenging for international students.