These are the incredible young Australians who risked it all to become the nation’s next generation of budding business moguls.

All aged under 45, they are the brains behind some of the nation’s most recognisable brands, who are reshaping modern entrepreneurship.

From tech darlings like Canva’s Melanie Perkins, Cliff Obrecht and Cameron Adams to the guys from HiSmile who started with $20,000 and now rake in $300m-plus a year with their products stocked at more than 20,000 retail sites globally.

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Then there’s the founders behind personal care brand Thankyou.

Daniel Flynn was only 19 years old and had been dating his now-wife Justine for a month when he came across a statistic that changed everything.

“I was in first year uni and I was doing some research when I came across this number that said 900 million people didn’t have access to clean water,” he said.

“The next number I read was 4500 thousand children die every day from waterborne disease.”

Then he saw a figure he could not unsee.

“It said in 2008, we were collectively spending $50bn a year on bottled water. I thought, well couldn’t the money from that ridiculous thing, bottled water, just fund that (people without water)?”

And the idea of Thankyou was born - a movement that’s generated over $18m in profits, all directed toward life-changing projects worldwide.

Some of these young entrepreneurs have quit high-paying corporate jobs to chase their dream, like Danielle Pearce - founder of chic gumboot brand Merry People.

She’s candid about how she felt like she was on a ‘conveyor belt going through the motions’ in her lucrative banking job but felt ‘there had to be more to life’.

Even those closest to her doubted her fashionable gumboot idea, which dawned on her as she walked to work in drenched shoes after one of Melbourne’s downpours.

“People around me were a little bit worried about me, my family and friends, because they knew I had no experience in what I was doing,” she tells News Corp Australia.

Now the footwear brand has a cult-like following, having sold over 500,000 boots worldwide.

See the full list of Australia’s incredible top 250 young entrepreneurs below.

Catch up on the full 250 series