Passion, persistence, profit: how 30 young guns made their names and their fortunes
From launching a business at 10 years of age to inventing high-tech gadgets and making $100,000 in six weeks, these young entrepreneurs have achieved success, redefined industries and helped communities across the globe.
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Not everyone knows what they want to do when they leave school including many of Queensland’s brightest and most successful young entrepreneurs.
Success did not come immediately to many of these 30 young guns, who followed their passions and learned from their mistakes to turn their side hustles into their main gig.
These young Queensland businessmen and women turned casual jobs into bona fide empires raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.
What began as ways to make a bit of pocket money on the side of their studies, exploded into successful business ventures, setting up some of these school students and graduates for life.
Here are the remarkable achievements of 30 young entrepreneurs under the age of 30 who have made an impact in education, fitness, extreme sports, social initiatives, fashion, entertainment, and lifestyle ventures.
Taj Pabari, 24, The ASE Group, Logan
Taj Pabari, 24, CEO of The ASE Group, Logan, is a highly successful Australian social entrepreneur, recognised for leading a community-focused business that provides education, entrepreneurship, and employment programs to over 180,000 Australians through partnerships with government, private sectors, and educational institutions. Pabari, named The Australian Young Innovator of the Year in 2014 and Young Australian of the Year for Queensland in 2017, has garnered attention for his achievements, including interactions with notable figures like Al Gore and Will Smith. His journey from launching Fiftysix Creations at 10 to addressing schools, conferences, and festivals globally reflects his commitment to youth entrepreneurship. Taj Pabari is one of Australia’s youngest and most successful social entrepreneurs. He is the group chief executive of The ASE Group, a community-led business that aims to deliver education, entrepreneurship and employment programs to Australians of all ages. The ASE Group has partnered with government, the private sector and educational institutions, teaching more than 180,000 Australians.
Pabari was named The Australian Young Innovator of the Year in 2014, and in 2017, was awarded Young Australian of the Year for Queensland. He is the youngest recipient of the award since its formation in 1979.
Pabari has presented to the former US Vice President Al Gore in Brisbane, joked with Hollywood Tycoon Will Smith in Hong Kong and sipped tea with the Prime Minister of Australia in Canberra. His story has been featured by Sunrise, 60 Minutes, The Today Show, National Geographic, ABC, Nickelodeon and CNBC.
His work in education and background in youth entrepreneurship has led him to speak at schools, conferences, festivals and corporate functions around the world. He has appeared as an education commentator on Channel 9 and Channel 10. He has given three TEDx talks and has been a keynote speaker at the World Science Festival alongside Nobel Laureate Brian Schmidt.
Pabari was born in London and moved to Brisbane with his family when he was one. He was educated at Logan’s John Paul College and was frequently suspended during school. He became interested in business and started his first online venture when he was 10.
He launched Fiftysix Creations in 2014 by selling do-it-yourself electronic tablets for kids.
In 2016, Fiftysix Creations began running digital literacy programs for indigenous students in Australia. The next year, he was appointed by Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to the Queensland Plan Ambassadors Council and the Premier’s Anti-Cyberbullying Task Force.
Alexander Bell, 29, Milton Rum Distillery, Milton
Brisbane entrepreneur Alexander Bell is reshaping the narrative around Australian rum. As the co-founder and head distiller of Milton Rum Distillery, Mr Bell faced a setback when the Cribb St distillery in Milton was flooded in February 2022. Undeterred, the award-winning distillery rebuilt from scratch and relocated to a new home in the Craft’d Grounds precinct on Collingwood St at Albion.
Despite a six-month hiatus, Milton Rum Distillery was back on track.
Operating with a miniaturised continuous column still, one of the most energy and resource-efficient in Australia, Milton Rum Distillery can now produce an impressive 70,000-150,000 bottles annually. Mr Bell, a former elite amateur golfer who shifted gears to complete degrees in chemical engineering and business management, found his calling in the world of rum.
Choosing to diverge from the conventional chemical engineering path into the oil and gas industry, Mr Bell contacted experienced hospitality entrepreneur Asa Boardman to join him as a partner. As one of the youngest awarded Master Distillers globally, he is now determined to alter the perception of Australian rum.
“Australian rum has a distinct connotation, which is more negative than positive, and we aim to change that,” he said. Through resilience, innovation, and a commitment to quality, Mr Bell and his Milton Rum Distillery have overcome many challenges to forge a path to redefine the reputation of Australian rum on the global stage.
Stanley and Winson Lam, 26, Tarragindi and Eight Mile Plains, Cali Studio
A stint on the popular TV show Australian Ninja Warrior catapulted brothers Stanley and Winson’s Cali Studio into the social media stratosphere.
The brothers started their Cali Studio training facility to coach people in callisthenics so they “can look good in and out of the gym”. The venture was a passion project in 2018 with the brothers never imagining it to be the profitable success it is today.
Little did they know that within five years they would be one of southeast Queensland’s young gun financial success stories and on track to hit over $600,000 in revenue this financial year.
Before starting out on their own, the pair taught themselves callisthenics and were so good, they were invited to demonstrate their skills at gyms across the state.
“When we realised there was a market, we decided to open our own,” younger brother Stanley said. “By year two, it was mostly just friends or friends of friends training at our facility. It grew exponentially after Covid hit because everyone was doing body weight workouts, but we were the experts.”
The business took on stratospheric proportions when they appeared on Australian Ninja Warrior and their bookings website went viral on social media. That allowed them to double their membership when lockdowns ended and they have had consistent growth ever since.
“We’ve been really fortunate with the members and support of everyone around us. Our community is crazy strong — not just in muscle but in heart as well,” said Winson.
Stephanie Maguire, 27, Sort It Out Sustainably, Mount Gravatt
Decluttering professional Stephanie Maguire had always loved being organised and tidy but never realised that it was a career option. However, she took the logical step to set up her own decluttering business while working in hotel management at Byron Bay.
She was 25 and her child was three weeks old when she took the plunge and has never looked back.
“It was a job that I liked doing and it started out as a side hustle, to help friends,” she said.
“I wanted to help people rebel from the consumerist culture and take back true ownership of their stuff and their space. I didn’t even know it was a job but soon learned about it in a DIY apprenticeship. While I was on maternity leave, I spent time planning my business and started out a few sessions a week.
“I slowly built my business to a point of working with clients four to five times a week, and have now surpassed the income of my old full-time job, while working fewer hours.”
She is now considering growing a small team in 2024 and increasing business revenue beyond six figures.
Her income comes from selling packages of organising sessions where she visits a cluttered space and transforms it into a functional home environment.
She said her success stemmed from her drive to create value and her passion for helping people. She also invested heavily in learning. It was that attitude that landed her a dream project working on the Channel 9 show Space Invaders as the assistant to industry leader Peter Walsh.
Dylan Conway, 29, Brothers and Books, West End
Captain Dylan Conway is a 29-year-old Australian Army Officer who created the not-for-profit organisation Brothers and Books LTD in 2020 after enduring nine gruelling surgeries on his back. He was bedridden for more than 18 months but found solace, perspective and resilience in the books he was reading when he was physically incapable of walking. He then wanted to inspire other people facing hardships to also use reading as a tool for resilience and so created his company. He began a social media platform where Australians, who had also faced hardship, could share their stories about the books that had impacted their lives.
He has since been setting up community libraries around Australia in organisations that support men and women in the defence force, fire and emergency services and police. He also has set up community libraries in hospitals, domestic violence centres and homeless shelters. During this time, he has also raised more than $150,000 for veteran charities on top of his other programs. His organisation has been able to support leaders and teams looking to support their members with professional development, stress reduction and education by encouraging more communities to use “bibliotherapy” as a means to tangibly help their members deal with their sometimes-overwhelming workloads.
Brothers and Books has established more than $130,000 in community libraries in the past year and has a strong online community of more than 20,000 members.
Daniel Clarke, 27, Tears In The Jungle, Thornlands
Thornlands man Daniel Clarke, is a passionate conservationist for the critically endangered orang-utans of Borneo and Sumatra. Daniel has cerebral palsy but this has never stopped him achieving his goals. Since 2008, Daniel, with the help of his brother, William, has highlighted the species’ plight and raised nearly $1 million to help protect the animals and their habitat. The brothers have also sponsored more than 50,000 hectares of orang-utan habitat.
The pair started their business, Tears In The Jungle, in 2011 as a way to sell their two books, Tears In The Jungle and, Fight For Survival. Their literary work on orang-utan conservation has been incorporated into the NSW Department of Education Curriculum for stage 3. Fight For Survival was awarded an International Independent Book Publishing award in New York and the book was also named on the Notable List of The Children’s Book Council of Australia in 2019.
Daniel is regularly invited to speak at schools and conferences and has spoken to 100 schools and at events to more than 120,000 people across the nation.
The brothers’ combined conservation efforts have been recognised by former US President Barack Obama, Dame Dr Jane Goodall and Sir David Attenborough.
Daniel donates proceeds from his books and speaking engagements to registered Australian orang-utan charities to help fund orang-utan rescue, rehabilitation and release programs.
Tears In The Jungle has raised about $967,000.
Xantheia Pennisi, 24, cliff diving instructor, Holland Park
While in year 12, international cliff diving coach Xantheia Pennisi was not sure what life after school would hold. She loved sport, but never made the elite program. However, her career path changed when she was introduced to the highly-competitive sport. The now-seasoned athlete, travels the world as part of the multimillion-dollar Australian team, pursuing her love of the sport and coaching, all with the help of global sponsors Aussie brands Budgy Smuggler, BeforeYouSpeak Coffee and LSKD.
The professional cliff diver, content creator, and mentor is dedicated to pushing boundaries and has dived from as high as 22.5 metres.
After creating her own business, she built up a community on social media and now has a massive 284,800 TikTok followers, 29,300 on Instagram and 27,600 on YouTube.
The superstar carved her name in the elite sport and has represented Australia since 2018 as a permanent diver in the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series and a consistent presence at the FINA World Cup and FINA World Championships.
“I did gymnastics from age four and then started club diving at age 14,” she said. “I loved sport but wasn’t progressing into the elite program — I wasn’t getting anywhere with it. I graduated from high school and had no idea what I wanted to do. I got introduced to cliff diving at 17 and then decided that was what I wanted to do. I learned by joining diving shows across Australia and then eventually Europe. In 2018, I learned my first high dive and three months later, in September 2018, I got asked to compete with the Red Bull Cliff Diving Series. I was a wildcard for three years, working really hard.” She secured her first two podiums in 2021 and earned her permanent position in the Series in 2022. She is now a diving coach who aims to inspire the younger generation. Cliff Diving doesn’t fall under the Australian Institute of Sport funding, so Pennisi has been self-funded, building up her business so she can pursue her international competitions.
This year, she took out bronze in events in the US, Italy and Japan and is often named in the top four women cliff divers in the world.
Cody Schaeffer, 29, Borderline Australia, Hillcrest
When Cody Schaeffer was 15 and living in Goondiwindi, he struggled with mental health issues in a town where there were no support systems for teens.
But he was ahead of the time and decided to create support services for young people that were different, open, supportive and free. His big idea was to create youth camps that were exciting but yet offered education, support and would change people’s lives.
His first effort was a charity concert to raise money for a child in the Goondiwindi community. Then, at 16, he launched G-YOUTH, short for Gundy Youth Studio, a weekly after-school event to get teenagers off the streets and teach them hip-hop dance moves. That initiative won him the Community Event of the Year award at the local Goondiwindi Australia Day Awards in 2011. This year, he was the youngest Australian to receive an Order of Australia Medal on the King’s Birthday List.
While working as a radio presenter, he founded Borderline Australia, a non-profit organisation dedicated to changing the lives of teenage Australians through youth mental health education and programs, including his popular Borderline Youth Camp. For his efforts, he was named Brisbane’s 2020 Young Citizen of the Year.
“To me, an entrepreneur is someone who identifies opportunities and takes calculated risks to create, develop, and manage a business,” he said. “In my case, I’ve combined business awareness with social innovation, merging entrepreneurial principles with a charitable cause.”
Now, nearly five years on, Borderline Australia has a team of 80 volunteers bringing to life six youth camps around southeast Queensland and has supported thousands of young people.
The not-for-profit charity brings in more than $100,000 a year and continues to grow.
Schaeffer makes his own money via personal brand deals, partnerships with businesses and government initiatives through the state departments. He also emcees and hosts events and school talks.
Dr Heidi Walkden, 29, That’s RAD! Science, Ipswich
Ever since high school science competitions piqued Dr Heidi Walkden’s interest in neuroscience, the Young Australian of the Year nominee has made outstanding contributions in the field.
From humble beginnings in Ipswich, Dr Walkden has made incredible discoveries and achieved international recognition for her accomplishments.
She made a groundbreaking discovery when she found a new path by which bacteria can quickly move from the nasal cavity to the brain. In recognition of her research, she was named in the Forbes Asia 30 Under 30 list in the category of Healthcare and Science, as one of only three Australians in the category.
Alongside her neuroscience research, Dr Walkden has worked on the That’s RAD! Science engagement outreach project, producing children’s books to promote women in science. Since 2017, the project has released four books and distributed more than 6000 copies to children, schools and libraries across the country. She has consistently supported her colleagues in promoting science to Australians.
James Mabey, 25, Melt Brothers and Karmably, Holland Park
New Zealand-born James Mabey, arrived in Australia when he was 16 to pursue a rugby league career. But that all changed when he set up Brisbane’s first licensed eatery specialising in gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches. Over the years, he found mentors and did a lot of personal development and decided he wanted to be part of a bigger vision. He started Melt Brothers and Karmably as a casual enterprise. But over time, he added value and proved he had what it takes to be a business owner.
This year, the young entrepreneur opened his fourth Melt Brothers store with the fifth set to open in January.
He also created the highly popular Toastie Boy, a business which opens at the Ekka.
Karmably, which operates at Brisbane and the Gold Coast, will expand to Melbourne next year.
So far, his ventures have generated more than $2 million collectively in revenue in the past financial year.
“I saw in the market that these two businesses are unique in their own way and that there’s a lot of opportunities for growth,” he said.
“I surrounded myself with like-minded people and it also helped that I was obsessed with what I was doing.
“I always ensure that we are delivering an unforgettable experience for our customers and I believe I have a great team backing me which is what it takes to build a great business.”
Charles Kimmorley, 24, NGU franchise, Ipswich
Charles Kimmorley is the number one realtor in the Ipswich and greater Ipswich region — and he’s only 24.
His rise in the real estate world is remarkable as well for someone who has only been in the field for a mere four years.
In the past 12 months, as a director and sole agent of his NGU franchise, he has sold more than $55 million dollars worth of Ipswich real estate.
Mr Kimmorley is a proud Ipswich local and attended Ipswich Boys Grammar school before completing his Bachelor in International Business at the Queensland University of Technology.
Through his undergraduate studies he completed an exchange to South America where he volunteered at local businesses.
For someone so young, Mr Kimmorley has achieved so much, but he attributes his success to the hard work of his parents.
“Watching their work ethic growing up and observing how they conducted their business has certainly steered me in the right direction,” he said.
“I was able to gain an understanding that to be successful in whatever path you choose, you need to work hard for it.”
His advice for other young realtors was to network with those already in the field and practice patience.
“Finding an agent/mentor in the area that you would like to work in and reaching out to see if you can follow along in their footsteps to learn the basics of the industry,” he said.
“Key things to remember is that becoming successful in this industry takes patience, consistency and passion.
“It‘s a marathon, not a sprint.”
Elliott Booth, 29, Lazco Tattoo Removal, Stones Corner
Young entrepreneur Elliott Booth is an expert when it comes to the flesh.
The 29-year-old, who runs Lazco Tattoo Removal at Stones Corner, is branching out into meat of a different kind as the manager of a new company called Wonder Claws, which has taken the barbecue world by storm.
It specialises in meat tearing implements that allow large chunks of cooked meat to be reduced to bite-sized pieces ready for the table.
It also allowed hands-on cooking without the messy fingers.
Mr Booth said the Wonder Claw, a fist-sized utensil that features forklike prongs, may look like a prop from Wolverine but he is already selling several hundred online each week.
His ambition is to get the product, which is manufactured and packaged in China, into major retail chains including Bunnings. Coles and Woolworths. He also is seeking the endorsement of a celebrity chef to push sales of the product.
Mr Booth already has a distributor in Victoria that supplies the Wonder Claws to barbecue shops but wants a big deal with a major retailer to obtain the required scale.
“I’m contacting all the right people in those companies but it is really hard as you can imagine,” Mr Booth said.
“I’m in contact with a few celebrity chefs to gain their endorsement so we can put their photo on the packaging.”
He said his tattoo removal business remained strong but Wonder Claws had more potential in the long-term to be more profitable.
A dollar from each sale of Wonder Claws, which sell at $29, would go towards a domestic violence charity.
“With my tattoo removal business, I am capped at how many clients I see each day,” Mr Booth said. “With Wonder Claws, the potential is huge.”
Mr Booth also plans to develop an app for Wonder Claws that will provide recipes and content for barbecue fans. “The whole idea of the app is to build a community around cooking and recipes, he said.
Kamran Kasaei-Nejad, 24, Funky Food, Springfield Lakes
Iranian-born entrepreneur Kamran Kasaei-Nejad, 23, launched his online fresh produce empire Funky Food from the garage of his family home in Springfield Lakes in April 2022 and has amassed a huge client base in just 11 months.
Blowing up online, Funky Food is winning over shoppers with a business model that delivers fresh and nutritious produce to shoppers’ doors every week at hugely reduced prices compared to supermarket chains.
By purchasing “ugly” produce that supermarkets won’t touch, Mr Kasaei-Nejad is able to combat food wastage and provide shoppers with low-cost, quality produce.
Funky Food offers small boxes that serve two people a week starting from $35.
It also offers larger, family-sized boxes that serve up to five people a week starting from $55.
A small Funky Food box contains about 10kg of 20 mixed varieties of seasonal fruits and veggies such as kale, lettuce, arugula, squash, cauliflower, broccoli, tomatoes, potatoes, apples, peaches, plums, celery, cabbage, bananas, capsicum, lemons, limes, zucchini and cucumber.
Mr Kasaei-Nejad estimated savings with Funky Food was up to 40 per cent.
“Every week, we look at the amount that we actually put into the boxes and we compare it to the supermarket chains and create a blended average of what the supermarket chains are selling their goods for,” he said.
“On a small box, we’re averaging about 20 per cent, and on the big box we’re averaging about 40 per cent savings.”
Funky Food now employs 19 people and occupies a warehouse in Rocklea, delivering produce to thousands of customers from Brisbane to the Gold Coast.
“We’ve had some pretty crazy growth for one year, and we are profitable,” he said.
“We’re doing about 2600 customers per week now.”
Since the debut of his business, Funky Food has amassed thousands of online followers.
Mr Kasaei-Nejad advised young entrepreneurs setting out, to be prepared to experiment, and most importantly, learn from their failures.
“I think the thing that makes the most sense is you do something … you’ll learn a few things, you’ll most likely fail … so you take all your lessons from your first failure and put it into your next one … and then you repeat that cycle again and again and again.”
Joshua Poole, 23, Coffee By Josh, Haigslea
A successful small business owner at Haigslea, Joshua Poole’s coffee van has been a favourite with Ipswich residents since 2017.
He opened Coffee by Josh after completing a hospitality course in high school.
He has since built a loyal following of more than 20,000 Facebook fans, with many regular customers.
Mr Poole has an intellectual impairment and finds working at the coffee shop allows him to socialise comfortably.
He hoped to inspire other young hopefuls to never give up their dreams and reminded them to continuously work hard.
“Just try your hardest to chase your dreams,” he said.
You can keep up with Mr Poole on Facebook and test out his coffee shop between 7am and 11am Wednesday, 8am and 11am Thursday, 7am and 11am Friday, or 8am and 12pm Saturday.
Jack Growden, 26, LiteHaus International, Townsville
When Jack Growden visited Papua New Guinea in 2017, none of the 3500 rural primary schools had a functional computer lab. Realising the impact of not having access to digital technology on students, he donated his own laptop to the Kuta Primary School. He also promised to come back with 12 more.
After rallying volunteers and supporters back home, Jack returned six months later to fulfil his promise, under the not-for-profit he founded called LiteHaus International. The organisation has gone on to provide digital-learning opportunities to more than 40,000 students across four countries.
Growden also understands the digital divide isn’t limited to the developing world. When COVID-19 hit and home schooling became the norm, he put out a call for students who needed a digital device. One Facebook post yielded 1400 applications from 45 schools, and 649 students now have their own digital device.
Growden said he hoped his work inspired people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds to make a difference.
Charlie Johnstone, 19, Kid to Kid, Logan
Logan’s Charlie Johnstone founded a program called Kid to Kid when he was 15, to help build the entrepreneurial capabilities of young people.
As a 14-year-old he won the national Origin LittleBIGidea competition and as part of the prize he flew to NASA to have lunch with an astronaut.
The former Canterbury College student received the 2019 Young Citizen of the Year Award for Logan.
At school, Charlie competed in Australia’s largest open government and open data hackathon GovHack.
Using his understanding of language-based code for web oriented algorithms, Charlie successfully developed an app to help tackle the issue of common waste items affecting sea life. Charlie was short-listed for the Premier’s Climate Change Ambassador Position and is a Gold Medal winner in the International World Scholars Cup.
The 18-year-old is now a student at QUT studying a bachelor of laws, working as a law clerk at Right Law.
Jeremy Hunt, 24, Co-founder, The VacSeen Project, Spring Hill
Rhodes scholar elect and medical student at The University of Queensland, Jeremy Hunt co-founded The VacSeen Project in early 2021 to help homeless people access vaccines for free.
The catalyst was when Mr Hunt, then a second-year medical student, became aware that a Brisbane homeless health service couldn’t afford flu vaccines for many patients.
People experiencing homelessness face higher rates of illness, so Mr Hunt and some fellow students founded The VacSeen Project and helped 200 people from marginalised groups get free flu shots within its first four months.
Mr Hunt saw the need to take preventive medicine into non-medical settings. He led The VacSeen Project to deliver flu and COVID-19 vaccines through outreach programs, helping more than 800 people access vaccines at 75 clinics.
The 70-strong volunteer team has spent 11,000 minutes of conversation with marginalised people about their health.
Sam Hughes, 20, The Travelling Jackaroo, Maleny
Sam Hughes, known as The Travelling Jackaroo, embarked on an extraordinary cross-country journey across Australia to raise money for the Royal Flying Doctor Service, Dolly’s Dream, and the Lights on the Hill Trucking Memorial.
Accompanied by his trusted 1957 Chamberlain 9G Tractor affectionately named Slim, Hughes has managed to raise a remarkable $43,172 on his mycause page, a testament to the kindness and generosity of those who recognise the significance of his trip.
Since departing from his hometown of Maleny in 2021, when he was 18, Hughes has covered more than 13,500km, engaging with individuals from diverse backgrounds and sharing their stories.
He was named one of the four finalists for the esteemed Queensland Young Australian of the Year 2023 award.
Hughes’s efforts have made a tangible difference in the lives of many. His journey, spanning from Maleny to Brisbane, Townsville, Mt Isa, Alice Springs, Darwin, Broome, Perth, and Port Augusta, has garnered significant online support, with more than 43,000 online followers.
But his journey was not without challenges, as he faced criticism and scepticism from online communities.
Paulina Schuuman, 18, musician, singer-songwriter, Ipswich
With 43,010 monthly Spotify listeners, Paulina Schuuman is on track to becoming the next big thing in music.
Her Spotify song Mindgames (Jyrymy remix) has more than 2 million streams and is a certified techno-pop bop.
Schuuman started playing guitar and singing at a young age, following in her dad’s musical footsteps.
She has been in the studio creating music since 2019, three months after a workshop at Ipswich’s studio 188 with the I Heart Songwriting Club.
The Ipswich Girls Grammar 2022 graduate was born in Hamburg, Germany and got the chance to record her EP in Lisbon, Portugal.
Schuuman is not currently signed to a record label but says she has the best manager in the world, her mum, Nicole.
“We always say she’s like my Kris Jenner 2.0,” she said.
“We are not billionaires yet.”
Her musical influences include Tracy Chapman, Raye and Amy Winehouse.
Next year, she will pursue a Bachelor of Music at the Queensland University of Technology.
Toby Hendy, 28, science communicator, Youtuber, filmmaker, Brisbane
Toby Hendy, 28, is an award-winning science communicator who brings physics, mathematics and astronomy to millions.
The keen science student, her love of science entertainment on television and YouTube led her to start her own channel in 2011, at age 15. It took five years for the channel, Tibees, to reach 100 subscribers. Today, it has more than 1.1 million subscribers and her videos have been watched more than 130 million times.
Hendy continued with her YouTube channel while she studied at university, where she completed other extra-curricular projects that celebrate STEM and bring science and mathematics to the wider community. Eventually, she decided to put her PhD on hold to focus on the success and educational reach of her YouTube channel.
In 2022, Hendy released Finding X, a stop-motion short film that she co-created and produced. The award-winning film tells the story of X looking for meaning in a mathematical world.
Curtis Rayment, 25, It’s a Man’s Issue, Townsville
When a close friend was sexually assaulted, Townsville Brolgas rugby union captain Curtis Rayment channelled the helplessness and anger he felt into creating It’s a Man’s Issue, a program he founded in 2021.
In the aftermath of his friend’s assault, Rayment, born on his family’s cattle property, reflected on the way he and his peers referred to women. He also realised that as a teen, no one had spoken to him about his emotions or broader societal issues.
It’s a Man’s Issue travels to schools and clubs around Queensland to help young people understand consent, rape culture, victim blaming and toxic masculinity – plus other social issues that they have questions about.
The program recently won funding from Project Speak Up!, a Townsville not-for-profit organisation that addresses domestic and sexual violence. This means 25-year-old Rayment, who is also a final year medical student and volunteer at his local rugby club, can reach more students and train other young men to deliver the program.
Grace Sholl, 21, mental health advocate, psychologist, Daisy Hill
Grace Sholl decided to become a psychologist in her early teens. She wanted to help people like her parents, who were both in the military, and later, people like herself who struggled with their mental health.
Now holding a Bachelor of Psychology and completing a Master of Suicidology, the 21-year-old is putting her lived experience of physical illness, mental illness and suicide at the service of others.
She is involved in government and non-government advocacy programs including Headspace, Beyond Blue, Roses in the Ocean and Queensland Health. She is also a youth advocate with the Queensland Family and Child Commission and sits on the Queensland LGBTIQ+ Roundtable.
Sholl was appointed as a Millenium Fellow for the Class of 2020 by the United Nations Academic Impact and Millennium Campus Network. She is a recipient of the Out For Australia – BCG 30 Outstanding Individuals Under 30 award, celebrating contribution to the LGBTQI+ community.
Zane Sabre, 26, and Omar Sabre, 29, Maison de Sabré, Gold Coast
Brothers Zane and Omar Sabre found success in the face of adversity. In 2014, their father was diagnosed with leukaemia, putting a halt to his parents funding Zane’s studies in dentistry, which cost up to $50,000 a year.
The brothers joined forces and decided to set up their own business selling top-quality personalised leather goods to get Zane through university.
But what started as a side hustle to pay university fees soon blew out into something much more.
In the first year of operating, their company, Maison de Sabré, clocked $1.9 million in revenue, and after two years of operation, the company hit $10 million.
But it all started with a humble phone case.
Fuelling the growth, according to Zane Sabre is a notable uplift in the purchase of brightly coloured products, and the company’s drive to stay ahead of trends.
Zane moved to Sydney to oversee a new office there for the Gold Coast-based brand, which targets young professionals.
The first release of AirPod cases was a huge success with two months’ worth of units sold in two weeks.
Zane said their products were now shipped to 75 countries and recently hit $250,000 in sales in 48 hours during a click frenzy sale period.
Maison de Sabré, which started with the two brothers in 2017, now has 35 full-time staff and is a full-time concern with the business fully moving to online retail in 2018.
Sean Melis, 27, Bot Hello, Brisbane
Sean Melis, a tech entrepreneur, founded Bot Hello in 2017 with just $720 in starting capital. Despite early setbacks, including burnout from a demanding job at Deloitte, he persevered. During a three-month leave of absence, he learned valuable lessons from mistakes such as copyright issues with an offshore web company and losses in the 2017 crypto crash. Undeterred, Melis launched Hello Bot, specialising in cutting-edge chatbot platforms. Today, the company thrives, generating more revenue in a month than its first two years combined. With a team expanded from three to 12, Bot Hello aims to capitalise on the growing demand for technology deployment assistance in Australia. Melis is confident in scaling the product to meet this opportunity.
Alex Harper, 28, Swyftx founder, Milton
Tech expert Alex Harper was quick to see the opportunities in crypto currencies.
The 28-year-old didn’t go to university after beginning his business career as a 12-year-old selling fruit juice at a local farmers’ market. Mr Harper now runs a Milton-based cryptocurrency exchange with business partner Angus Goldman, with a goal to democratise financial freedom for everyone.
Mr Harper, who grew up in Brisbane’s northern outskirts, built on his initial business career as a computer repairer while in his teens.
“I would ride my bike around the neighbourhood to fix computers for little old ladies,” he said.
Swyftx, which allows investors to trade 180 cryptocurrencies, has more than 40,000 customers and trades over $120 million a month after starting in 2019 with a trading volume of between $10,000 and $20,000 a month.
Mr Harper said there were plans to expand over the next few years, after having a rocky rollercoaster in the past year.
Jack Bloomfield, 20, Disputify, Brisbane
Young Brisbane entrepreneur Jack Bloomfield has always loved pitching or promoting a business.
The “entrepreneurial child” launched his first business, selling greeting and gift cards, when he was 12.
Early success paved the way for Mr Bloomfield to expand and launch multiple e-commerce stores under his new Bloomfield Group.
“It took six months to make the first sale but it was the most exciting thing to ever happen to me,” he says.
However, Bloomfield dealt with customers who would falsely claim a product “never arrived or it was faulty”.
That prompted the 20-year old to launch Disputify, which identifies likely fraudulent transactions before they occur.
“We’ve processed thousands of chargebacks already worth a million dollars,” he said.
Jessica Kahl, 27, Dream Big Australia, Brisbane
Engineer, entrepreneur and gender equality advocate Jessica Kahl loved studying engineering but when she realised that it was a male-dominated industry, she decided to act.
The 27-year-old embarked on a journey of empowering women to dream and succeed in traditionally masculine careers in 2014.
Today, she is the managing director and founder of Dream Big Australia, a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to encouraging more women to pursue careers in the traditionally male-dominated fields of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics).
Dream Big Australia provides workshops and events as well as networking and mentoring opportunities to encourage more young women into STEAM professions.
In 2020, Ms Kahl won the $54,000 QBM Griffith MBA Responsible Leadership scholarship, which allowed her to expand Dream Big Australia.
The chartered civil engineer in 2021, took on the role of project manager corporate development at SunWater.
Her impressive resume also included being a short-listed nominee for the 2021 Young Australian of the Year Award, and being named in the “100 engineers making a difference’’ by Engineers Australia.
“In my experience … diversity within an organisation improves its ability to solve complex problems, collaborate and deliver innovative outcomes,” she said.
Bailey Page, Zip Zap Chargers, Sunshine Coast
In 2020, Bailey Page, a 22-year-old entrepreneur from Coolum Beach faced a common problem after a night out: a dead phone and no way to charge it. This inconvenience sparked an idea to create a small, cableless charger that could fit in his pocket.
At 20, Bailey invested his $40,000 savings into developing the world’s first cableless portable charger. Working with a manufacturer from Alibaba for nine months, he launched Zip Zap Charger in August 2021. The initial batch of 200 units sold out within two weeks, leading to a breakthrough on the morning show Sunrise in September 2021.
After a two-minute appearance, Bailey sold over 1500 units in a day, crossing six figures in just six weeks. Despite juggling his business with the final year of his Bachelor’s degree in Property Economics and Urban Development Construction at Queensland University of Technology, Bailey persevered.
While facing the challenges of being a young entrepreneur, Bailey found support and encouragement from business associates. His advice to budding entrepreneurs: back yourself and take the plunge. With Zip Zap Chargers having sold around 6500 units, Bailey is now gearing up to expand globally, proving that age is no barrier to success.
Angus Healy, 18, Happy Paws by Angus, Ashgrove
Angus Healy is the enterprising 18-year-old behind a thriving dog walking business in Brisbane’s suburbs.
Mr Healy’s journey began when he was in year 7 at Marist College in Ashgrove when he started washing cars for extra cash. One day, a client asked him to walk their dogs, and Happy Paws was born.
Word of mouth fuelled his venture and, with a growing social media presence, Happy Paws became a well-known service in Ashgrove, Paddington, Bardon, Newmarket, and beyond. Angus’s passion for dogs and the desire to pursue something he loved set the foundation for his success.
Today, Happy Paws by Angus offers membership options, including a monthly membership for $570 and a Gold Yearly membership for $5999, providing regular dog walking and sitting services. He also offers casual walks, with pack dog walking priced at $30 and private dog walking ranging from $50 to $60, depending on the number of dogs.
Mr Healy’s entrepreneurial spirit extends beyond dog walking. Through his social media presence, he secured brand deals with premium dog food company Petyzo and dog wear accessory company Twomoodles.
Supported by his family, teachers, and a close circle of friends, Mr Healy successfully balanced business and social life. In 2021, he earned recognition as one of the top five finalists for Teenpreneur of the Year in the Teens in Business Awards.
His words of wisdom: “Just do it,” he said, even when faced with criticism.
He emphasises starting early, as his success with Happy Paws blossomed while he was still in school. With an average of 15 private walks and five pack walks a week, Mr Healy has served more than 700 clients.
Ned Heaton, 16, The Turtle Tribe, Moreton Island
Health and looking after the environment were driving factors for young gun Ned Heaton, a determined 16-year-old entrepreneur making waves with his The Turtle Tribe, a business on a mission to eliminate plastic toothbrushes.
Growing up on the beaches of Moreton Island National Park, Ned witnessed the environmental impact of plastic, especially toothbrushes washing ashore.
At 11 years old, in September 2018, Ned took action and developed his own biodegradable bamboo toothbrush. He secured a factory partner in China and began producing eco-friendly toothbrushes. With design assistance from dentist Dr John Sotis, the toothbrush gained recognition and became the first choice at Gold Coast Holistic Dental Care.
The Turtle Tribe’s success skyrocketed with media coverage and recognition at the Australian National Sustainability Conference in 2019. Ned’s impactful work earned him awards, including Changemaker of the Year in the global Be the Change Awards and the Most Impactful Teen Business at the Teens in Business Awards in 2022.
The Turtle Tribe’s growth was so substantial that Ned’s parents, Shane and Cath Heaton, sold their family business to join as general manager and operations manager. The company, with major clients including Regis Aged Care, is on track to reach a $200,000 turnover this year.
Beyond profits, The Turtle Tribe is committed to a mission, with 10 per cent of all profits supporting the ocean clean-up charity, Ocean Crusaders. The business offers a range of eco-friendly products, including plastic-free toothpaste tablets, corn bioplastic floss, and organic lip balm in cardboard tubes.
Aligning with Ned’s mission to ban plastic toothbrushes, The Turtle Tribe aims to give away one million bamboo toothbrushes. Ned’s advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is simple: “start now, don’t wait for perfection”.
In four years he has been in business, the impact is evident as major brands such as Colgate and Oral B have joined the movement, making bamboo toothbrushes more accessible in supermarkets.
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Originally published as Passion, persistence, profit: how 30 young guns made their names and their fortunes
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