This was published 6 years ago
Win a prize, buy a blimp - one small business shows how its done
By Cara Waters
A blimp is not a standard small business purchase but when payments startup Qpay got a surprise cash prize that's where the company parked its money.
Qpay were the winners of last year's $50,000 American Express Shop Small grant, offered in partnership with Fairfax Media, and as well as buying a six foot blimp from China with the money it bought two tonnes of goodie boxes to promote its latest product.
QPay startup team members Andrew Clapham, Moe Satti, Ahmed Elshearif and Zakaria Bouguettaya Credit: Elesa Kurtz
"We filled it up with helium and took it to university campuses," says Qpay co-founder Zakaria Bouguettaya. "It's not actually the blimp that's expensive, it's the helium."
Now another Australian small business can look to cash in with the launch on this year's grant on Monday.
The grant is for $50,000 and entry is open to all Australian small businesses which have been in operation for three or more years with an annual turnover below $10 million.
The winner will also receive mentoring from entrepreneur and Shark Tank judge Andrew Banks.
The grant recognises the hard work behind running a small business and will be awarded to Australia's most promising small business.
QPay used the winnings from the American Express Business Explorer grant to buy a blimp.
Entries will be reviewed by an expert panel of judges and one winner will be announced.
Bouguettaya says winning the grant, which was called the American Express Business Explorer Grant last year, was "definitely pretty useful" for Qpay which spent the cash on marketing its Qpay swipe card.
The card launched earlier this year and is used by over 2000 people.
"It's just in Canberra for now but we want to launch nationwide next year," says Bouguettaya.
QPay's Zakaria Bouguettaya with Steve Baxter.
Alongside the grant Qpay also won a mentoring session with Shark Tank judge and entrepreneur Steve Baxter.
"We met Steve through that experience and then kept in touch after the competition and he recommended we go through Shark Tank which aired in July," he says.
On the final episode of the television show Qpay secured a $380,000 investment from Baxter and Naomi Simson for 8.4 per cent equity in the startup.
Bouguettaya and his co-founders used this money to close a $1 million funding round.
Qpay appears on the television show Shark Tank.
"All of it kind of stemmed from that competition so I guess it was pretty good for us," he says.
"The combination of the publicity from that and Shark Tank gave us a lot of legitimacy winning an award from American Express and Fairfax."
Qpay turned over $5 million last year and Bouguettaya says the startup is "on track" to turn over $20 million this year.
His advice to other small businesses thinking about entering the competition is to "just do it".
"A lot of the time you keep things behind closed doors until it is right and nine times out of ten you the only way to sort it out is to get it out there," he says.
Entry is free and entries are now open. Entries close on 25 November 2018. Enter here.
The American Express Shop Small Grant is offered in partnership with MySmallBusiness.