Top 20 Under 40: Young Queensland entrepreneurs taking on the world
From a protein bar king turning over $20m to a construction queen solving the housing crisis these young, determined stars are taking the business world by storm.
Business
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Queensland’s young entrepreneurs are taking on the world. This is the ninth year The Courier-Mail has run its annual Top 20 Under 40 list. We feature a different batch of inspiring go-getters each year. They come from all different backgrounds and industries but have a common drive to succeed.
Katie Naprasnik, 33, Orange Sherbet
At just 16 years old Katie Naprasnik started Orange Sherbet with the goal of empowering women and body positivity.
Her flagship store in Redcliffe, once a 19 square metre store quickly grew in popularity with the help of locals.
“It was 2006 … there was no social media. I mean it was really word of mouth, I think I even got a story in the local newspaper. And then we started to get a database, I was handwriting letters to customers because again, there was no email or anything,” Katie said.
“Then Facebook came about and we jumped on that straightaway. And we really grew the business because we were able to get a lot further and reach a lot more people.”
Katie said the business changed when she had a baby.
“I went from going out Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night to being a mum. I mean I still wanted to feel like me, but my clothing style changed and I realised a lot of people’s styles changed. So we were able to target a larger market,” Katie said.
The business also started stocking more sizes.
“The growth just went completely up once we were targeting and being able to cater to more and more of Australia,” Katie said.
The business has now expanded to Carindale and Kawana, with a warehouse out in North Lakes.
“We are selling to over 2000 customers a day … we started out extremely small and it just organically grew. Just investing back into the business what the business has given us,” Katie said.
“The business is because of our customers. It’s growing because we listen to our customers and our customers are the most important person … every single decision boils down to whether our customer will like it.”
“We hear daily that women hate shopping … they don’t feel comfortable in stores. But when they come into our store they feel like them again, they feel human, they feel acknowledged and valued. So we would love to be able to roll out that service everywhere.”
Orange Sherbet marketing manager Jessica Naprasnik said Black Friday sales are always the busiest time for the fashion retailer, with last year’s sales bringing in 5000 orders on the first day.
“October, November, and December are always our busiest months of the year. I think the preparation that goes into getting that hype there is always tough. Getting our audience excited but also reaching new customers, it’s interesting, cost of acquisition goes up around that time,” Jessica said.
“In preparation, we have ensured that we have bulked up our core ranges and bestsellers to take us through the sale period.”
Orange Sherbet typically sees a spike in sales in November by 83 per cent on average, which has increased the YoY by approximately 31 per cent.
STACEY HOLLANDS, 34, Lust Minerals
Stacey Hollands has always had a passion for the beauty industry and for helping people.
“The idea to start a clean cosmetics company came when my father was sadly diagnosed with
cancer in 2011 and the role of toxins and chemicals in bad health came very real to me,” Hollands said.
“I spent long hours researching for a cure for dad, and through this uncovered a lot about the different toxins and chemicals we are exposed to and the effects they can have.”
“Additionally, growing up I also suffered with breakouts which as a teenage girl, made me
self-conscious. Being in the industry, I found so many girls like me, coming into the salon asking for help with their skin and little did they know that using conventional products that didn’t allow the skin to breathe was making it worse.”
It was for those reasons the former beauty therapist created a mineral makeup empire designed to create healthy skin without harming the planet.
Starting with just $10,000, Lust Minerals quickly accelerated to the multimillion-dollar business it is today, turning over $10m in under 10 years.
“Typically, we process around 10,000 orders each month, and this number is consistently
increasing. In sale periods, we often experience the equivalent of 7-9 weeks’ worth of sales
within 2-3 weeks,” Hollands said.
“In 2021, we invested over $300,000 into a rebrand and extension of our product range, and this again helped to supercharge our growth. This allowed us to elevate the branding to ensure it matched the potency and efficacy of our product formulations. We also extended our product portfolio to include a small yet powerful range of clean body products.”
“Then in 2022, we did a similar rebrand however with our skincare range, and we opted for a more gender neutral colour being blue so we could appeal to a female and male audience.”
Hollands said the beauty company is committed to developing new products and reformulating existing products to ensure they are providing the most effective clean beauty products on the market.
“My mission is to prove that there is no need to sacrifice your health in order to achieve real results,” Hollands said.
“We have already provided our community with a teaser of this year by introducing natural skincare products that have patented ingredients in them, which means they have clinical studies behind them.”
“Additionally, a big barrier for me has always been education, so I am excited to announce that in early 2024 we have a groundbreaking education platform launching that will assist us in achieving our vision of educating, empowering and inspiring 100 million people about the power of clean beauty and the interconnectedness between body, mind and skin.”
NICOLE DETSIMAS, 35, Belnic Constructions
Having always dreamt of running a business, Nicole Detsimas knew teaming up with Hayley and Karl Bell in their construction management venture was the right thing for her.
“I’ve always wanted to have a seat at the table and be a part of discussions regarding business strategy and management,” Detsimas said.
“Hayley, Karl and I, we all kind of felt the same thing when we first started was the construction industry can really burn you out. It’s quite notorious for really long hours and everything. So we wanted to start a business that gave us the opportunity to control that work-life balance.”
Detsimas said when starting Belnic Constructions, five years ago, the team focused on cash flow management.
The construction management business has now flourished into a strong company with a $10 million yearly revenue and seven talented employees.
“I’ve been really fortunate to have two excellent business partners … it’s not just me, it’s them as well. I wouldn’t have gotten anywhere without us being a really awesome team,” Detsimas said.
Detsimas said the company is looking into the health sector as their next focus.
“Radiology is a really big focus … there’s a lot of growth coming up in that area, particularly as private practices try to help alleviate the burden that’s on the public system,” Detsimas said.
“The other thing we’re really excited about is expanding our focus to include scientific research facilities … we really love those complex projects.”
KATIE MACINANTE, 29, Hello Peachiee
Hello Peachiee founder Katie Macinante said she wanted to do something a little bit unique to shake up the lingerie industry.
“There was a lot of same stuff around. The brands weren’t very fun, they were a little bit boring, and stiff and very overly sexualised,” Macinante said.
“So I just wanted something that was more fun, more body positive … that was a big part of why I started.”
The subscription service which originally started as a fun idea to deliver lingerie to women stuck at home during the pandemic, flourished into an booming business empowering women and connecting community.
Leveraging her brand using Meta ads, Macinante grew the business from earning $20,000 to over $100,000 in sales every month and gaining over 4000 subscriptions per month.
“We haven’t had much of a drop in orders despite the current economy … we kind of planned for the worst and then the worst didn’t really happen. So because of that we were able to remain consistent and grow a little bit … we’ve been super lucky,” Macinante said.
Macinante said she plans to expand the business by renting out a warehouse for packaging orders, as she is currently working from home.
“By doing that, we can start hiring people for marketing and I could move more into management and delegation,” Macinante said.
SAMIRA PATEL, 24, Social Studio
Opening Social Studio eighteen months ago, Samira Patel felt a boutique agency was needed in the digital marketing world.
With over five years experience in the marketing industry, Patel knows the secret to elevating a business to its full potential.
The Social Studio team are always on hand, providing high quality services in social media management, content creation, graphic design and consultancy. They develop a top-tier marketing strategy while the client can focus on the business.
Currently Patel has four contracted staff and is looking to grow her team going forward.
“I definitely want to expand our team and grow the business more strategically, with a more cohesive business model,” Patel said.
Social Studio is on track to end the calendar year with an annual revenue of $200,000.
“In our first year we did really well and our profit margins were huge so we are definitely gaining a bit more traction,” Patel said.
JULIETTE MURPHY, 36 and RYAN PROSSER, 36, FloodMapp
Juliette Murphy wanted to do more for her friends who had been gravely impacted by major flooding events. She’d seen the affect it had on Brisbane in 2011 and Calgary, Canada in 2013 and felt an urgency to find a way to help.
With her extensive experience in water resources engineering, hydrology, hydraulics and flood modelling, Murphy teamed up with Ryan Prosser and set off to start their passion project, creating the advanced technology company, FloodMapp. Specialising in real-time forecasting, the technology assesses the impact of a flood and the damage it can do to a community. The result is providing greater warning times for locals and emergency services.
Founding the company in 2018, Murphy and Prosser have worked with several government agencies.
“We’ve been really proud to support the Queensland Government … so you know, emergency services will use our real time live intelligence and flood forecasting to identify properties that might be impacted before the flood, during the floods, and after the floods,” Murphy said.
“So that’s been used to support targeted evacuations and school closures to make sure that people are safe and out of harm’s way. It’s also allowed them to understand where to deploy rescue crews, and swift water rescue crews.”
Murphy said the FloodMapp crew currently consists of 30 employees spanning across Australia and the US.
“We’re really growing our team in North America and looking to expand our reach and really support more communities here locally, and in the US too,” Murphy said.
“I think my dream would be to see this technology go global. If you look back on the last year, there’s been so much loss of life and so many billions in damage of flood impacts across the world.”
“I think yeah, what keeps me up at night is just knowing that we’re not there yet, we don’t have the resources to serve globally, but we just don’t want to stop until we help all communities and government agencies have access to this kind of technology that can save lives.”
The team is currently searching for flight and software engineers who are passionate about building a safer future.
AMI BATEMAN, 39, and SIAN MURRAY, 31, Pleasant State
Pleasant State all started when the thought of chemicals and toxic plastics in the home was giving Ami Bateman a headache, literally. On a mission to clear out her home from as many toxins as possible, Bateman realised she couldn’t find a suitable toxin free alternative for her cleaning products.
Joining forces with Sian Murray, the two created Australia’s first concentrated cleaning bars that dissolve to create healthy, zero-waste products for cleaning the home.
“We launched through a crowd-funding campaign … so essentially through that process we gave our customers the opportunity to pre order our product,” Murray said.
“So we had the funds early to manufacture our products and the response there was amazing. We exceeded our target and raised just over $87,000 through that, which gave us the proof that the concept was something that people are aligned with.”
“It also meant that when we then launched the following year … we had 1500 customers ready to go that were really passionate and aligned with our brand.”
“We’re really focused on building brands and a really great relationship with our customers.”
In their first year back in 2019, Pleasant State’s products made just over $400,000 in revenue, she said. This financial year the team are expecting to hit $1m.
“We’re demonstrating that we’re currently growing really quickly and our plan is to double that again next year. But more importantly, we’ve made a lot of impact along the way,” Bateman said.
“We’ve saved close to 200,000 single-use plastic bottles so far from being produced and ending up in landfill. We’ve generated close to 100,000 litres of toxin free cleaning, and we’ve donated and gifted over $60,000 to our charity partners.”
“So I guess we are proving that we can balance people, planet and profit.”
EVETTE HESS, 37, PONi Cosmetics, Makeup Cartel, and Esmi Skin Minerals
After the successful launch of PONi Cosmetics in 2012, Evette Hess envisioned Makeup Cartel as the umbrella for its diverse brands, each possessing their distinct personality.
“In 2017, we introduced Esmi Skin Minerals in response to my experiences dealing with vulnerable skin conditions while working in clinics over many years,” Hess said.
“Having struggled with acne in my teens and early 20s, Esmi was created with a focus on skincare that’s kind to your skin, using micro biome-loving ingredients instead of harsh formulations.”
The Australian-made, natural-meets-active formulations provide customers with the ultimate skin journey.
“Our mantra of exceptional customer service, visibly displayed in our office – yes, there is a flashing neon sign – forms the backbone of our success. This commitment results in high customer loyalty and referrals. We prioritise a genuine value exchange, ensuring excellence from website to product delivery and after-care. We have built the most incredible community,” Hess said.
“Our innovative skin service, initiated when I found myself doing midnight DM skin consultations, evolved with fully qualified beauty therapists and dermal technicians. Providing seven day availability for personalised advice and routine assistance, especially during Covid has been integral to our growth.”
“Our early adoption of Instagram and social media in 2012 facilitated engagement with a broad audience through influencers.”
“There are major plans in the pipeline for 2024 and I’m oozing with excitement! We want to grow with our customers and support them through all of life’s phases. I’m working on 2 new innovative ranges that will allow us to do just that. No more of the same old, we’re pushing boundaries, testing uncharted waters, and shattering ceilings. Stay tuned.”
TAMIKA SMITH, 34, My Bella Casa
Having spent 15 years in construction and 10 years specialising in social and affordable housing, Tamika Smith has immense influence as a businesswoman. Her company, My Bella Casa has been awarded a plethora of accolades for the incredible work the construction company and Smith have done for the Australian community.
“I have devoted my life to connecting the dots and building a bridge between the commercial expertise, the industry funding and the people that sincerely needed my help and I had grown tired of waiting for others to think long term in a housing crisis we have seen coming now for years,” Smith said.
“Effectively My Bella Casa, an off site construction company was the missing link for a larger vision in seeing people into a long term home within our country.”
“In working with housing providers managing developments, we recognised the cost of construction was difficult to make feasible, and the quality varied significantly in what was deemed an innovative space. I could not find the Australian standards that matched our expectation for a home so we created it.
Smith said the development of My Bella Casa will form a much bigger picture, targeting key workers within regional Australia to see people into a long term housing solution under an impact derived model.
“The community needs our help and for as long as I have waited, I have not seen the bigger picture addressed and I have watched wait lists exceed 10 years for a home,” Smith said.
“My career journey has meant acquiring the knowledge, then creating these impact initiatives to stop the patterns of short term strategies over a long term problem.”
ROSA-CLARE WILLIS, 30, and ANDREW FORD, 32, Crockd
What started as a way to relax from the week for couple Rosa-Clare Willis and Andrew Ford, quickly transformed into a fully-fledged DIY craft business.
“We create kits, everything from pottery painting, yarn, watercolour, and basically use them as a way to get adults to unwind, de-stress and kind of connect with each other and themselves,” Willis said.
“And then that has just kind of continuously evolved.”
With just five full-time employees, Crockd has been doubling in growth year on year since 2020 and has warehouses across Australia, New Zealand and the US.
“We have a studio in Bondi and in Neutral Bay … eventually we will open our own Queensland studios as well,” Willis said.
“Every year now, the further we get away from Covid-19, the bigger the business grows.”
Willis said the Gold Coast-based business wouldn’t have existed without social media, as the couple posted their creations to get people talking about mental health during the height of the pandemic.
“We’ve been lucky enough to build out a really big presence on YouTube and TikTok and Instagram, which has definitely helped,” Willis said.
“So we’re just like really diligent with our sort of storytelling and testimonials on Instagram mostly.”
Willis said Crockd was looking to expand its pottery line and intended to open three more studios across Australia in the new year.
DWAYNE MARTENS, 38, Amazonia
A wild trip around the world is what led to the creation of global success story, Amazonia. The then 23-year-old Dwayne Martens was inspired by the many mindset books he read on his travels which gave him the confidence to start his own business.
“My best friend’s brother-in-law was selling a lot of exotic frozen fruit from Brazil, so using my last $3000 I bought all this fruit in my ignorance off of him,” Martens said.
“Unfortunately the fruit did not sell and I had no choice but to open a market store and actively sell these fruit smoothies to punters. It was a hard slog but one fruit acai was very popular. I literally threw away all the other fruit and focused on the Acai berry.”
Now heading a multimillion-dollar health empire, Amazonia supplies delicious acai products across Australia and globally.
“We are one of the few businesses that have organically grown from a $3000 investment to over 20 million in revenue per annum. We have invested back into the business for the last 15 years and not received outside investment,” Martens said.
“We have just invested over two million in a manufacturing facility on the Gold Coast and for the first time we are manufacturing our raw range products from this facility.”
“We have further secured solid international ranging been the first Australian business to be ranged through Saudi Arabia over 1000 locations. We have grown in international regions like the Mena & Korea region over the last nine years and are starting to see scale there. In Australia we already have two major retailers coming on board.”
ELLI GREGORY, 34, Poppy Rose
After travelling overseas in her early twenties, Elli Gregory came back to Brisbane stumped about what to do next. Just about to embark on a university degree, Gregory had the crazy idea of starting a daily bunch florist.
“In 2015, (the floristry industry) wasn’t very saturated in Brisbane, or that sort of style of floristry. So yeah I just sort of started going to the markets and buying flowers and teaching myself how to do it,” Gregory said.
The concept of a daily bunch of flowers was so popular the business quickly took off, and Poppy Rose was born.
“I think our timing was amazing … it’s kind of evolved over the years and we’re not really a daily bunch company anymore. But in the beginning, the concept was so new to people that we just grew organically,” Gregory said.
The florist and flower delivery service sells beautiful flowers at an accessible price. The business has expanded to pots, plants and homewares and is situated in their Norman Park store.
Employing 20 people, including eight florists, Poppy Rose is dedicated to supporting the environment, using recyclable materials to wrap flowers and bouquets.
The business’s current annual turnover is $2m.
Gregory said the retail side of the business will be put online with the new Poppy Rose website next year.
“We have so much beautiful stuff and none of it is on our website. So that’s sort of our big focus for 2024,” Gregory said.
“We also want to expand on social media as well … just to make it a bit more interactive and engaging with the people that follow us.”
SKY KOLADE, 29, Association of Professional Builders
The team at Association of Professional Builders (APB) said founder, Sky Kolade was always destined to run her own company.
At just 19, Kolade had already sold one of her businesses for profit. Kolade has had a significant impact on the male-dominated industry by leading a global team to coach hundreds of building companies across five countries.
Kolade left university because she felt the marketing curriculum at the time was out of touch and outdated.
With so many new technologies and marketing techniques emerging, Kolade felt she could have more of an impact by diving headfirst into business.
With 700 active members across five countries, APB is on track to generate in excess of $10m in revenue this financial year.
The building company has a 100 per cent growth rate every two years by incrementally increasing leading indicators such as new leads, conversion rates, and active members by 2.93 per cent every month, APB endeavours to have a positive impact on the world.
Kolade and the APB team will be focusing on expanding and improving their products and services.
Retention is also expected to increase significantly in the coming years due to the growth of APB Rewards, which provides members with ongoing cash payments in return for using APB Preferred Partners, which are completely funded by the partners.
Technology also plays a huge role in APB’s future success, with the team in the process of developing a custom web application to create a central point for all the benefits it provides for its members.
MIKE KELLETT, 32, Macro Mike
Mike Kellett was struggling to find a protein-packed snack that wouldn’t affect his gluten and dairy intolerance while competing as a bodybuilder. Under the Instagram name, Macro Mike, Kellett would post his own recipes that would beat around his intolerance, and his videos quickly got traction.
“People were asking me to cook for them and to send them recipes … I was like hang on, we may be onto something here, how can I commercialise this?” Kellett said.
First gaining exposure at bodybuilding and fitness expos, the Burleigh Heads-based brand quickly took off.
“Six months ago we moved into our forever home which is a 2000 square metre production facility. We have a team of close to 35 staff and a warehouse,” Kellett said.
“We do maybe seven and a half to ten thousand orders a month just on our online store.”
“Our first year we made around $180,000, then in our second we made $650,000 … this financial year we should do just under $20m in revenue.”
Gym-goers can select from a range of protein powders, snacks and bars, and baking mixes that are gluten and dairy free.
Now seven years into his business journey, success has only skyrocketed for Kellett with Macro Mike products in Coles and Woolworths supermarkets and in over 5000 wholesale stores across Australia.
Kellett said the next move is to take on contract manufacturing clients.
“It will definitely be a big part of our revenue, and I think our growth potential for the next 12 to 24 months,” Kellett said.
“We also have a UK parallel website and we’ll definitely be aggressively pushing into the UK market in early 2024 as well.
KARLEIGH PEARSON, 27, and JAKE ASHE, 27, Lucky Boy Agency
Dynamic duo Karleigh Pearson and Jake Ashe left their day jobs to pursue what has become an incredible success story. Harnessing both Pearson’s marketing prowess and Ashe’s talent in filmmaking, the couple created Lucky Boy Agency, a quirky firm taking on the marketing world. Coming up to its second birthday, Lucky Boy Agency works with brands devoted to doing good in the world.
“We work with a lot of really amazing not for profits all the way through to hospitality companies … lots of different styles of service-based companies and also product-based companies. The one thing they all have in common is that they are doing something good for the world,” Pearson said.
“The goal is to just sort of have a team of about five or six people that are absolute weapons and we all love what we do. We’re all really just super passionate about what we do … that’s sort of the direction I would see in the next couple of years.”
Pearsons said the marketing agency opened up shop in Collingwood, Melbourne just over a month ago.
“It’s all happening and it feels like you know, everything that we’ve been working towards is finally coming to fruition which is amazing,” Pearson said.
“We are in our second year of trading and have already pretty much doubled what we made in the first year.”
Pearson said the firm has plans to take on more full-time staff. Pearson currently has one full-time team member alongside a couple of freelance staff.
“We’re hiring a creative marketing specialist, and also a video editor. We’ve literally just opened up our office space in Melbourne, and we also have a studio here. So now we’ll have the capability to do a lot more in video, photography and videography,” Pearson said.
“Just having the studio opens up so many more doors for us to create more content on site which is super cool.”
JAE FRASER, 39, Little Scholars Early Learning
For Jae Fraser, who has built up a $50m South East Queensland childcare centre empire in less than a decade, managing parents’ “huge expectations” about what they want for their children is a fundamental part of business.
Little Scholars School of Early Learning recently opened its 14th centre at Parkwood in the heart of the Gold Coast and Fraser, who is the managing director and founder of the business, said he always wants it to be “something unique”.
“I wanted to create a centre that parents would drive past 20 others centres to get too,” he said.
“We didn’t want to be a centre that was only convenient and cheap. We wanted it to be an extension of the family and at the same time ensure it there was a real focus on education.
“Parents have huge expectations which have grown 10-fold since from when I first started. Over that time there’s been a huge shift in expectations from child care and virtual babysitting daycare to actual early childhood education.
Gold Coast born and bred Fraser co-owns the business which has more than 7000 enrolments across its Little Scholars childcare centres and employs 600 staff.
POPPY HEPBURN, 35, Pixxie
Pixxie founder and chief executive Poppy Hepburn said the sales for her outdoor portable projectors are going through the roof.
The company – which she runs with husband Geoff from her Redland Bay home – sold out of its Pixxie Pro Projector and they have abandoned plans to find an investor.
“We went on Shark Tank and we thought we would get an investor but it didn’t happen and it ended up that we didn't really need it because our new product was going so well,” she said.
“It’s a better model and it will give us the opportunity to go into retail because the margins will be better.”
The mother of two, who launched the company in December, 2020, said they turned over $570,000 in 2022-23 but with the Pixxie Pro sold more than $100,000 in November alone.
“At the moment the sky is the limit and we have not really touched the US and UK market yet,” she said.
“Pixxie was founded to connect, unite, and inspire. We’re driven by the desire to ensure that technology doesn’t divide us with screen time but unites us to create magical memories that last a lifetime.”
ADAM HALL, 33, and MATT CARROLL, 33, AH Fencing
Two best mates – Adam Hall and Matt Carroll – who started their own fence contractor business more than six years ago are expecting to almost double their revenue in 2023-24.
This year they moved into a new headquarters in Northgate, have opened an office in Melbourne and have increased staff from about 30 people at the start of the year to 43.
The company focuses on the commercial sector and supplies and installs permanent security fencing and gates. They have had more than 70 per cent year-on-year growth since they started.
In 2022-23 they notched up $6.8m in revenue and having turned over $5m in the first five month of FY24 they expect revenue of $12m with a wave of regional energy projects to keep them busy.
Hall said the secret was systemising everything in the business.
“We’ve coined ourselves as the McDonald’s of fencing. You get the same product every single time. We’re very consistent and we are able to get a lot out of the door which is a massive advantage for us,” he said.
“The smaller commercial projects of around $100,000 or under is where we fit. We turnover a lot of them and the only reason we’re able to do that is because of the system and process we have.”
JOSH FIDRMUC, 27, Dial A Vet
The light bulb moment for Dial A Vet founder and CEO Joshua Fidrmuc was a friend’s pet medical emergency which sparked the realisation that the growing telehealth sector could cater for more than just humans.
The Cairns based 26-year-old who sold his house to fund his dream said since the launch of the app in October 2022, interest from the veterinary industry has been “insane” and now has a network of 340 vets and nurses.
“We have now partnered up with employers and we’re looking at expanding our offering he said. “We have about 11,000 pet owners on our app.”
Fidrmuc said the idea for Dial A Vet was sparked by a late Saturday night phone call from his best friend who was studying in Adelaide whose dog was sick and the nearest emergency vet was 30 minutes away.
“I wondered, `why isn’t there a vet service you can ring and ask for their opinion before bringing the dog to the clinic?’,” he said.
“I told him to go to the vet. They were told that it was most likely due to them changing their dog’s food and just to monitor the dog and his diet. He told me he spent $140 he couldn’t afford and waited over an hour for that.”
It was then he began planning the mobile app which was to become Dial A Vet.
ROB JOSEPH, 27, Anti-Ordinary
Rob Joseph loves nothing more than being whacked over the head with a lump of timber.
But it is all in the name of testing the 26-year-old’s patented snow beanies that are designed to prevent serious injury or even death for skiers and snowboarders.
Joseph, who grew up in tropical North Queensland and studied medical engineering at QUT, points out that 88 per cent of snow-related deaths are due to head injuries.
A snowboarding trip to New Zealand a few years back was the genesis for the beanie and his business Anti-Ordinary. Not wearing a helmet Joseph tumbled on the slopes and received a concussion.
“I was always an action sports kid and never had problems until I got to the snow,” he says. “I just got so frustrated that I left the helmet in the locker one day.
One bad accident later and I was left questioning whether those couple of runs of freedom were worth my future. I looked around the slops and saw heaps of people not wearing a helmet and that’s when I realised the opportunity to modernise brain protection.” Joseph says the current snowboard helmets are ungainly and uncomfortable whereas his product is stylish and form fitting featuring a merino lining and magnetic buckles.
“We knew there was a need to develop a science that could address comfort, fit and form for the modern snowboarder and skier. Helmet aren’t the best in these areas and especially on the slopes they tend to bounce around and are hard to use.”
Joseph, who founded the business with mate Brodie Robinson from his parent’s garage, did not initially have the funds for proper drop tests, instead relying on his mate hitting him over the head with the snow beanie to measure its effectiveness.
Joseph claims the beanie, called the A1, is the first fully approved flexible composite helmet on the market. It uses non-Newtonian components meaning sections of the beanie harden on impact making it robust when it is needed the most.
The beanie, which has received American Society of Testing Materials certification, claims to have achieved safety results 35 per cent higher than international helmet standards.
MAY BANDI, 32, and LACHLAN HILL, 33, Tirtyl
Two university mates who took a punt with their life savings are making a splash in the emerging just-add-water home cleaning and personal products sector and now have their eyes focused on making waves around the world.
For May Bandi and Lachlan Hill, the founders of Tirtyl, which produces and sells zero-waste concentrated tablets and reusable dispensers, it was an idea whose time had come.
“We believe just-add-water products are the future, and we’re proud to be leading the mainstream adoption of this technology in Australia and abroad,” Bandi said.
“Tirtyl products eliminate single use plastic, reduce both transport and manufacturing emissions and are undeniably better for the environment. Just-add-water – it just makes sense.”
Since launching their online business in January 2021 as an initial bootstrap, Tirtyl has averaged 17 per cent month-on-month revenue growth, and now has more than 150,000 customers in Australia and the US and they are looking at further expansion.
In the calendar year for 2021, they notched up $1.6m in revenue, in 2022 $3.76m and in 2023 the business will reach $10m. They have forecast $22m in revenue for 2024.
From day one, Tirtyl have been donating proceeds of every sale to social causes, proving first-hand that small businesses can be commercially successful, while delivering better outcomes for people and the planet.
Hill said they became inspired after walking through their local Bunnings hardware store and seeing plastic bottles with various cleaning products.
“We saw the major ingredient was water so we thought why can’t we get the water out and create a tablet. It was not that easy but it was in a way as simple as that,” he said.
Originally published as Top 20 Under 40: Young Queensland entrepreneurs taking on the world
First look: Major plans for $300m twin tower residential project
A leading property developer has submitted an application to developfor a $300m South East Queensland twin tower apartment project in Australia’s largest greenfield CBD. SEE WHAT THEY’RE PLANNING
Spicetown introduced to Sydney’s Little Italy
The creators of Burwood Chinatown have redeveloped the old Leichhardt Hotel, transforming the old venue which has been shut for eight years into an Asian-themed food precinct.