Startup & Entrepreneurship

I once gave some sage advice to a friend. Even if I do say so myself. He was about to embark on, what many people thought to be, a crazy adventure. He had sold everything he owned and was moving to China, for no other reason than he wanted to. He asked me if this was normal.

Cowards & Giants - it sounds like just another week in Australian talkback radio. But, it's not. It's an idea for a story for children, developed by two mates, Mat and Tom. The idea is to use the power of the internet to create a movie.

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 Melbourne group was selected from a field of more than 40 applicant organisations. Among other things, the test included six months in an intensive business planning incubator program. The funding, and much more, will help CoDesign Studio attain business and other skills, and grow into a commercially viable social enterprise.

Ernst & Young has announced the launch of its Global Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, a new online platform that is designed to provide guidance to entrepreneurs and innovators on their ascent toward business growth, and of course, eventual success. The concept hinges on enabling fast-growing companies to connect to each other and share ideas proactively.

For an extremely reasonable fee, providers of goods and services can reap the many benefits of this brand new Australian wide service. By creating a profile that can be updated as required, service providers become discoverable to a wide network of independent and state schools.

The motivation behind Australian daily deal website Sports Grab is so simple, even obvious: "Australians love all things sport, right?" That bit of common knowledge was just inspirational enough to prompt two Melbourne entrepreneurs to start the discount sporting goods site in August 2011.

The year-old U.S. startup, has focused on providing an intelligent dashboard service for small businesses that don’t have the financial resources for expensive software, or the time to analyse online marketing campaigns. Its advisor, especially for the Australian market, is our own James Tuckerman, Anthill’s publisher.

The Melbourne firm will join 100 other startups from 36 countries and receive $40,000 in equity-free seed capital. Truong tells us Broccol-e-games was picked for the Start-Up Chile program from an application pool of 1,509 startups, and is the only Australian one selected.

When researching to start up Bubbler Deals I saw a clear need for a customer service focused deal site. Pretty much everyone I spoke to told me of a bad experience they had purchasing from a deal site. The industry was fast losing the trust and respect of their members – their reason for being.

Adams got a trophy, memorial plaque and cash prize for the Entrepreneurial Award. In addition, she will receive 12 months of mentoring from 10 of the top executives including those from Google, GBST and the Queensland government.

Venture capital assistance from Australian Government programs, such as the Innovation Investment Fund, has been vital for helping turn groundbreaking ideas into commercial products...

Directors of struggling companies will have to act earlier on unpaid super and PAYG if they are to avoid tough new personal liability penalties, warns an insolvency expert. Don’t say we did not warn you.

Wallpaper is resurging in popularity, but we haven’t forgotten the paisley mistakes and putrid plaid blunders of our parents and grandparents. Thankfully, The Wall Sticker Company is taking a bold new approach to wallpaper. The company has introduced a range of self-adhesive wallpaper that is quick and easy to put up as well as take down. This is welcome news to landlords and home remodelers everywhere. The company’s wallpaper stickers have a nice fabric texture, and are fully washable. And when it comes time to pack up and move, the stuff can be removed in seconds, without damaging the underlying wall. The best part is that the removed wallpaper can be re-used in your next pad.

Businesses exist to make money. That’s not news right? And, if a company does not generate sufficient profits it may fail. That's not news either. Business bankruptcies are on the rise, with ASIC statistics show that 1123 companies were placed into receivership in February 2012. So, what can businesses do to get better profits?

Gone are the days when you just built an app, and users came and bought it. Today, millions of apps jostle for users’ attention, besides competing on features as well. Consequently, you will go nowhere without acquiring some smart marketing skills or, specifically, some tricks to grab eyeballs on Apple’s App Store.

Imagine being able to turn every tv screen into a wireless monitor. All it takes is a nifty little device that's all smooth and curvy. That's the promise of PLAIR.

Last week, I shared with you the first part of my interview with John T Unger, the impossibility remediation specialist and artist who truly...

SME leaders should also be mindful of some larger lessons from the Olympic Games. We don’t all work only for money. The desire to make a difference and win recognition are far bigger. So are job satisfaction and the spirit of being part of a team.

In this video from the Harvard Review, Tom Hulme, the Design Director of IDEO London, pitches us this idea: launch your product before it's ready. Why would you do such a crazy thing?