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What is 30under30?
30under30 is an Anthill initiative 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. More.
Michael Woods, VIC (b. 1987)
Name: Michael Woods
Age: 24 (Born: April 1986)
Gender: Male
State: VIC
Video and high-tech media wunderkind Michael Woods appears to be as comfortable in front of a camera as he is behind it.
Four years before founding Media Saints, the video production / game development company that landed him on the 30under30 list, he was the force behind B1G LEAGUE, which produced live webcasts of video-game tournaments — ‘casts for which he served as the amped-up emcee.
Woods started Media Saints in 2010, stepping away from a position at Film Victoria, a government entity supports moviemaking and location shoots in the state. He caught our attention that year, earning an Emerging Digital Doyens honour for 2010’s 30under30. Today, Media Saints has a staff of 14, a list of nine long-term clients and plethora of contacts that Woods says could double the company’s output in a year.
He spent years sowing the seeds for Media Saints — which, for a guy still on the uphill side of 30, is saying something. His B1GLEAGUE, started in 2006, grew by 2010 to more than 20 international tournament and prize money of more than $100,000. In 2008, he presented a program — billed as a crash course in social media — to the CEO Institute in Victoria. That one endeavour has led to contacts and relationships that Woods said will pay off for years to come.
One of Media Saints’ top creations are the interactives for Knowledge Quest, which aims to motivate students learning English with an online game. The game and its supporting material will be available to students, teachers and schools later this year.
Woods also made a light-hearted documentary about a trip to California in which he made some business contacts, fell in love with a California girl, and proposed to her. “Conquering California,” a commercial venture, is being distributed in a unique way — via Facebook’s credit system. The film will cost 25 Facebook credits — or $2.50 — to see.
“I love to be the first to do things that no one has done before,” Woods says. “Who cares if it’s more rush and a bit more stressful and I’m sleep-deprived? How many times can you say you have done that in your life?”
Anthill asks: Michael Woods, what motivates you as an entrepreneur?
“I live for the rush. I’m a junkie when it comes to technology and media. I love the lifestyle, how every day is different.”
‘Conquering California’ trailer
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To check out the full list of Anthill’s 30under30 winners, click here.
