EY Entrepreneur of the Year finalists named

An entrepreneur who turned a $200 company into a $50m revenue defence firm is among 22 finalists in the EY Entrepreneur of the Year awards. See the full list.

Consunet CEO Kuba Kabacinski at the company’s offices in Adelaide. Picture: Tim Joy

As it wraps up one of the most significant projects in its 25-year history, Adelaide defence services firm Consunet is exploring opportunities for a global expansion of its leading edge technology.

The company’s chief executive Kuba Kabacinski admits it was an “all in bet” back in 2022 when the company bid against some of the world’s biggest players for a project to deliver a new electromagnetic battle management capability for the Australian Defence Force.

But it’s paid dividends for the company, which has grown to become a multi-million dollar turnover company, employing 120 highly skilled software, AI and cyber specialists and other staff at its Adelaide headquarters.

Mr Kabacinski, who is among the national finalists in this year’s EY Entrepreneur of the Year awards, said successful delivery of the $61m project proved that Australian defence companies could compete with the world’s very best.

“One of the really proud aspects of that delivery is that, to win it, we competed against six multinational primes – we were the only Australian-owned organisation and we were the only SME,” he said.

“That happened just as Covid hit ... and to win it we invested some $6m to actually play at the table. We didn’t know that we were going to win, but we really backed ourselves and made what was effectively an all in bet to pursue that opportunity.

“We ended up winning and delivering successfully, just demonstrating that Australian industry can deliver on time, on budget, and a capability that’s well respected by the end users in defence.”

Entrepreneur Tyson Gundersen is another of the finalists in this year’s EY Entrepreneur of the Year awards. Picture: Dean Martin

Mr Kabacinski said the company recruited significantly to deliver the project, more than doubling the size of its team, while also investing in the “facilities, processes and general business maturation” needed to be seen as a medium-sized supplier that the Defence Department could rely on.

It’s now about exploring new growth opportunities in the defence industry, which can be a challenge given the inconsistent pipeline of work.

“The absence of continuity is a significant challenge for the Australian defence industry, especially for SMEs such as Consunet where our capital reserves are smaller than those of multinational primes,” Mr Kabacinski said.

“But also, the diversity that we’re able to achieve at our enterprise scale is not as significant as those large multinational enterprises.

“I think there is a need for more community dialogue about Australian national defence need, and we need to observe what our neighbours and peers are doing to ensure that we are not out of step with them.”

Mr Kabacinski bought Consunet – then a fledgling web development business – for $200 while completing his information technology studies at Flinders University.

Shortly after, the dot-com bubble burst, and he pivoted to the defence industry.

Over the next decade the company developed its niche in electromagnetic warfare, and in ‘spectrum management’, where it’s looking to create new, disruptive opportunities for wireless communications and autonomous systems in defence and other industries including telecommunications.

The company is on the verge of being treated as a large company by ASIC, meaning its annual revenues are nearing $50m.

Tim Jarvis has been recognised for his work on The Forktree Project - a rewilding project aimed at restoring 54ha of degraded farmland in South Australia’s Fleurieu Peninsula. Picture: Brett Hartwig

Earlier this year the company secured funding from the state government’s Global Expansion Program as part of an ambition to take its technology to the world.

“We’re looking to transform the IP that we’ve generated into an international product, for the defence market initially, and then translate that out into more commercial success within the telecommunications market,” Mr Kabacinski said.

“The defence business growth is likely to be underpinned by the international investment that’s being made due to the deteriorating geostrategic climate that we’re observing.”

Among its other major projects, Consunet has been working with Lockheed Martin to develop AI-backed technologies to increase the Royal Australian Air Force’s situational awareness on the battlefield as part of the AIR6500 program.

And Mr Kabacinski is hopeful AUKUS delivers longer term opportunities given electromagnetic warfare features as a high priority area within Pillar 2 of the landmark defence agreement.

Winners of this years EY Entrepreneur of the Year awards will be announced on October 15.

EY Entrepreneur of the Year finalists:

Emerging Category:

Tyson Gundersen, Bureau Booths, Central Region (SA)

Steve Dresler, What Ability, Eastern Region (NSW)

David McGiveron and Bianca Tarrant, Our Cow, Eastern Region (NSW)

Sam Gordon, Australian Property Scout, Northern Region (QLD)

Industry Category:

Alex Babich and Dani Atkins, Kulani Kinis, Eastern Region (NSW)

Grahame Aston, PPC Moulding Services, Eastern Region (NSW)

Jason Daniel, LSKD, Northern Region (QLD)

Laurent Boillon, Laurent Bakery, Southern Region (VIC)

Ruby Wang, Nudie Glow, Southern Region (VIC)

Grant Johnston, Westview Group, Western Region (WA)

Services Category:

Kuba Kabacinski, Consunet, Central Region (SA)

Stella Petrou Concha, Reo Group & HiveQ, Eastern Region (NSW)

Chris Behrenbruch, Telix Pharmaceuticals, Southern Region (VIC)

Matthew Rear, PPS Water Group, Western Region (WA)

Technology Category:

Anthony Baum, Tiimely, Central Region (SA)

Ben Thompson, Employment Hero, Eastern Region (NSW)

Edward Adler, Pay.com.au, Southern Region (VIC)

Paul Anderson, Orthocell, Western Region (WA)

Social Impact:

Tim Jarvis AM, The ForkTree Project, Central Region (SA)

Deborah Thomas, Camp Quality, Eastern Region (NSW)

Ashley van de Velde, LifeFlight, Northern Region (QLD)

Jason Trethowan, headspace National Youth Mental Health Foundation, Southern Region (VIC)

Originally published as EY Entrepreneur of the Year finalists named