30under30 is an Anthill initiative that was launched in early 2008 to encourage and promote entrepreneurship among young Australians. Each year, we invite our readers to nominate young Australian entrepreneurs deserving of recognition for their outstanding entrepreneurial endeavours. Anthill’s editorial team then trawls through hundreds of applications and identifies and profiles the top 30 Australian entrepreneurs under the age of 30. The process culminates in an event held in Melbourne where the 30 winners will network and celebrate. We’ll be releasing this year’s Anthill 30under30 winners over the next couple of weeks via our Twitter account – youngest to oldest.
When asked to create a 30under30 award category that would best suit him, 22-year-old Queenslander David Ball suggested the “Robin Hood Award (for taking some money away from the rich guys and giving it back to the poor guys)”.
Ball, founder and Managing Director of Zebra International, recently launched a new web service, Askatradie.com.au, which caters to the burgeoning Do-It-Yourself (DIY) market by providing consumers with access to trusted, qualified tradespeople for advice and services. He attracted 4,000 customers in only two weeks and has since poached a significant slice of the market from market leaders Telstra and Sensis.
Prior to releasing Askatradie, Ball was short-listed in the 2008 UQ Business Enterprize competition for Zspot, a product for tracking and securing content on mobile devices using GPS. He didn’t win, and now that business is on the backburner while he focuses on Askatradie. But the experience taught him a lot about being an entrepreneur. “Admittedly, I licked my wounds for a while but moved on to something bigger and better, something my heart is truly in.”
In his 30under30 application, Ball wrote, “I don’t think there are too many 21-year-olds out there that within the last year have crossed three of their top ten life goals from their list. 1. Meet Richard Branson (check). 2. Launch own business (check). 3. Turn business into profit (check). All while finishing their biotechnology degree.”
For his creativity, energy and entrepreneurial pluck, David Ball is a fitting recipient of 30under30 honours in 2009.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP ACCORDING TO DAVID
Why are you an entrepreneur?
If a 21-year-old uni grad with visions of grandeur and working for no pay for 14 hours every day in his parent’s spare room isn’t an entrepreneur, then he’s suspiciously close to being mentally insane. I’d like to think it’s the former!
I think an achievement in itself is starting a business on less money than most people would spend on a big night out.
In part three of our series on the capital raising cultures in Australia and the US, San Francisco-based Steve Anderson explores the five things Australian and US venture capitalist must see before they will invest in an early-stage company.
Founder of Sharley Consulting and Co-Founder of personalised shopping app, Shop You, Emma Sharley made the switch from corporate to start up a few years ago. Emma shares her experience and her top five ways to seamlessly make the transition from corporate to running your own business.
Wiltshire was at it again this week when US television network CBS sponsored him to draw an 18 foot panorama of New York from memory after taking a 20-minute helicopter ride over the city. The whole process was documented in television segments and on a dedicated website that includes articles, photos, video footage and even a live ustream video feed.
Don McKenzie’s Stream Group is one of the biggest employers on this year’s 30under30 list, with a staff of about 110. McKenzie estimates the company will manage 25,000 home insurance claims this year, up from 2,000 in 2008, and total revenue is likely to exceed $80 million. Did we mention that he’s only 27?
Furthermore, the fact that around one quarter of business owners don’t know where to start with their planning process is damning. A simple framework can be built around the basic premise of “Now, Where, How”
We’ve held on to this latest manic instalment of Steve Sammartino’s Creative Espresso series since he submitted it for inclusion in the July print edition, which didn’t eventuate. Here it is, in all its super-charged, creative glory.
