CHANGEMAKERS AND INFLUENCERS - MEET THE - Kochie's Business Builders

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CHANGEMAKERS AND INFLUENCERS - MEET THE - Kochie's Business Builders
CHANGEMAKERS AND INFLUENCERS
MEET THE
CHANGEMAKERS AND INFLUENCERS - MEET THE - Kochie's Business Builders
CHANGEMAKERS AND INFLUENCERS - MEET THE - Kochie's Business Builders
Inspire Impact
Innovate.
                                              Role models shape our behaviour.
                                              They influence our actions and inspire us to
                                              uncover our potential and push us to do our
                                              best. But who are the role models for startups
                                              and small business?

                                              Having mentors and role models to look up to helps us all strive to be
                                              better. With this in mind, in partnership with our friends at Google Ads,
                                              we created our inaugural Kochie’s Business Builders Power List.

                                              The KBB Power List shines the spotlight on the most influential
                                              players in Australia’s small business and startup sector. Our Power List
                                              showcases the movers, shakers and influencers who are making their
                                              mark. From entrepreneurs to activists, business owners and thought
                                              leaders, each one has changed the landscape, impacting our nation’s
                                              SMEs for the better.

                                              The list was handpicked by our Publishing team and features the 50
                                              people we believe are inspiring, influencing and innovating in the small
                                              business and startup ecosystem, whether that is locally, nationally or
                                              globally.

                                              Congratulations to all those included. We believe you are paving the
                                              way and embrace all the key elements of what it means to be a powerful
                                              influencer within the small business and startup sectors.

                                              For the rest of us, I reckon these are the people we should be following…
                                              through their LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, media coverage and
                                              events. I already follow many on this list and am constantly inspired by
                                              their achievements and informed by their experiences. I learn so much
Google is proud to be partnering with
                                              from their advice.
KBB to shine a spotlight on the most
influential players in Australia’s small      Australia is a nation of startups and small business owners and
business and startup sector.                  the people on this list all had humble beginnings… I believe their
Small businesses are the backbone of
                                              achievements will ignite your fire too. I hope those on the list persist in
our local economy, and they make our          leading the charge - that they continue to inspire and influence more
communities special. We’ve seen what          Australian small businesses and startups to follow their dreams and
small business owners can accomplish
                                              reach for greatness.
when they combine their strengths with
the power of digital tools. That’s why
Google is more committed than ever
to helping small businesses succeed
through digital skilling, as well as free &
paid online advertising tools. Because
when small businesses succeed, it
creates a positive ripple effect that
helps all of us.
                                              David Koch

                                                                                    www.kochiesbusinessbuilders.com.au/powerlist   3
CHANGEMAKERS AND INFLUENCERS - MEET THE - Kochie's Business Builders
Carolyn Creswell.
Proving delicious can be good for you too.

Carman’s founder Carolyn Creswell is an               muesli brand along with being a leader
inspirational leader whose success proves             of deliciously good for you bars and
that you can run a multinational business,            nutritional snacks.
love what you do and have a genuine
work-life balance.                                    From humble beginnings where Carolyn
                                                      used to park her tiny hatchback alongside
As an 18-year-old university student,                 semi-trailers in supermarket loading
Carolyn Creswell founded Carman’s in                  docks, Carolyn’s determination and focus
1992. She bought the tiny business for                on producing quality products using whole
$1,000. In December 2018 Carman’s                     foods, has seen Carman’s build a strong
proudly celebrated its 26th birthday                  following in more than 35 countries around
and is Australia’s number one selling                 the world.

Abigail                                               Ben                                            Brad
Forsyth.                                              Pfisterer.                                     Krauskopf.
Leading the global campaign to                        Helping businesses run, build                  Innovating and transforming the
inspire reduce and re-use.                            and grow their operations.                     way Australians work.

As the co-founder and managing director               The Head of APAC for global payments           Brad Krauskopf is an international authority
of KeepCup, known worldwide for its                   provider Square, Ben is responsible for        on coworking and flexible work. Brad is the
bright, bold and instantly recognisable               building, deploying and managing Square’s      pioneering founder and CEO of Australia’s
reusable cups, Abigail is passionate about            business and operational capabilities          largest locally owned coworking operator,
improving the take-up of sustainable                  across the Asia Pacific region.                Hub Australia. As part of Brad’s vision to
alternatives to disposable single use items.          In his role at Square, Ben is focussed on      connect people and organisations with
KeepCup is the world’s first barista-                 providing more businesses with access          talent, ideas and resources to achieve their
standard reusable cup, used in cafes and              to affordable payment tools and services.      goals, Hub Australia has become home to
coffee shops the world over. Since June               Throughout his career, Ben has played          over 2500 members.
2009 over ten million KeepCup users have              an important role in Australia’s innovation    With a reach across seven locations Brad
diverted billions of disposable cups from             and technology sectors, particularly in the    and the team at Hub Australia continue
landfill. In this same time, approximately            fintech space. He founded and ran his own      to build a nationally engaged coworking
5 trillion disposable cups have been made             business, Kinetik Innovation, before joining   community for growing businesses while
and discarded to landfill.                            Square in 2015..                               providing premium coworking spaces.

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Christie                                       Dean                                             Dianna
Whitehill.                                     Foley.                                           Somerville.
Inspiring and educating women                  Leading the way in indigenous                    Building stronger and more
across the tech and startup sector.            entrepreneurship and social good.                vibrant regional communities.

Christie Whitehill is an award-winning         From humble beginnings growing up within         Dianna is a frequent commentator on
entrepreneur and mentor in the Australian      the Aboriginal community in Gunnedah, to         regional issues, ranging from the future of
tech space, dedicated to empowering and        serving 5-years in the Royal Australian Air      work and state of the regional ecosystem,
educating women in startups, tech and          Force, Dean Foley eventually discovered his      through to agri-tech and the need for
innovation. She is the founder and CEO of      calling as the CEO and founder of the first      greater connectivity. She was the founder
Tech Ready Women which is an education         Indigenous Accelerator program, Barayamal.       of Regional Grants, Tenders and Corporate
platform and community for women               Today Barayamal leads the way in Indigenous      Services (RGTC); is the co-founder of
wanting to create, build and grow tech         entrepreneurship. Under Dean’s guidance          several co-working spaces; and a series
startups. Tech Ready Women’s mission is        indigenous entrepreneurs are thriving. Dean      of regional events accelerating innovation
to provide women with tech and business        believes Indigenous entrepreneurship and         (Regional Pitchfest, Agrihack and 8point8).
education, access to world class mentors       economic development will help close the         She is Community Manager of Bridge Hub,
and connections to startup communities,        disparity gap between Indigenous and non-        a regionally based, globally connected
enabling them to create the businesses of      Indigenous people and create a better world .    innovation hub for the Agrifood Tech
tomorrow.                                                                                       Industry.

Carrie Kwan.
Inspiring women, especially mums, to succeed in business and life.

As the co-founder and Managing Director        Carrie advocates for more investment
of Mums & Co, Carrie Kwan is a speaker,        in women-led ventures and in 2018
communicator and mentor who advocates          initiated a national pitch competition
for women in business, particularly mums.      to champion more women leaders in
She launched the Mums & Co. business           business, close the gap in pitching
community hub in 2016, which is backed         knowledge as well as reduce the
by IAG, Australia’s largest general insurer.   challenges with funding a business.
In 2017 she commissioned the first             Carrie founded DailyAddict.com.au in
Australian Mums in Business Report and         2008. Prior to this she spent more than
in 2018 launched MPowered, an innovative       a decade in corporate marketing roles
annual business conference attended by         at State Street, Ernst & Young and Cap
women and children.                            Gemini Ernst & Young.

                                                                                               www.kochiesbusinessbuilders.com.au/powerlist   5
Flavia Tata                                            Fred                                          Jane
Nardini.                                               Schebesta.                                    Cay.
Taking businesses to the                               Helping everyday Australians                  Taking regional business to
great beyond.                                          find the best options.                        global heights.

Flavia Tata Nardini began her career at the            Fred Schebesta is a serial entrepreneur,      As the founder of birdsnest, Jane
European Space Agency as a Propulsion                  award-winning digital marketer, author,       Cay should give hope to many small,
Test Engineer. She then joined TNO, the                media commentator, mentor and active          independent businesses trying to adapt
Netherlands Organisation for Applied                   member of the startup, crypto and             to this new global and technology-led
Scientific Research to work on advanced                small business communities. He is the         world. Hatched in Cooma, in regional NSW
space propulsion projects. In 2015,                    co-founder of Finder, a global personal       in 2004, birdsnest, Jane’s little retail store,
Flavia co-founded Fleet, a connectivity                finance comparison website, which             has grown beyond all expectations. Since
company set to maximise the resource                   operates in 10 countries with a further       launching online in 2008, birdsnest has
efficiency of human civilisation through               10 planned in the next year. As one of        become one of Australia’s most respected
low cost, low power remote massive IoT.                Australia’s most successful entrepreneurs,    online women’s fashion retailers. Fast
Fleet launched four of over 100 planned                Fred has countless accolades to his name      forward eleven years, the business is
nanosatellites in 2018, enabling the next              including Entrepreneur of the Year and        now 30 times bigger, employs 150 locals
industrial revolution with a free, ubiquitous          ADMA Australian Young Direct Marketer         in a town of 6,500, with 95 per cent of its
connectivity platform.                                 of the Year.                                  revenue coming from online sales.

Dr Stephanie Fahey.
Leading the way for Australia’s global trade relations.

Dr Stephanie Fahey is the Chief Executive              region, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Global
Officer of Austrade, the Australian                    Engagement) at Monash University and
Government agency responsible for                      Director of the University of Sydney’s
promoting trade, investment and                        Research Institute for Asia and the
international education, and tourism policy,           Pacific. Dr Fahey brings an international
programs and research.                                 perspective to her work and a wealth of
                                                       experience across business and academia.
Dr Fahey has over 30 years’ experience                 As Austrade’s first female chief executive,
both as an academic and executive                      Dr Fahey has also served on the Australia
working in Australia and overseas. Prior               China Council, the NSW International
to joining Austrade she was EY’s lead                  Education Advisory Board and the
partner for education in the Oceania                   European Australian Business Council.

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Kate Carnell AO.
Advocating for the needs of the nation’s small and family businesses.

Since being appointed Australian                 and made over 200 submissions to
Small Business and Family Enterprise             government to ensure the voice of the
Ombudsman in March 2016, Kate                    small business owner is heard.
Carnell AO has been a powerful
independent advocate for small                   Kate is no stranger to the small
business. The Ombudsman has                      business sector, In fact, small business
provided direct support to thousands             has been a constant throughout her
of businesses involved in disputes.              career. Carnell ran her own businesses
She has delivered 18 inquiries, reviews          for 15 years and previously served as
and research reports into key issues             the CEO of the Australian Chamber of
impacting the small business sector              Commerce and Industry.

Jane                                             Jo                                              Julia
Lu .                                             Palmer.                                         Bickerstaff.
Using the power of social media                  Connecting Australians with the                 Assisting small business owners
to engage and thrive.                            remote workforce.                               to grow their business and
                                                                                                 achieve their dreams.
Jane Lu founded Showpo in 2010 from her          Jo Palmer founded Pointer to help
parents’ garage having previously worked         her talented friends who had married            Julia Bickerstaff is a business author,
in accounting and corporate finance. After       farmers find meaningful work, remotely.         speaker, mentor, adviser and coach. She’s
returning from a year abroad, she was            Businesses all over Australia are now able      the founder of The 100 Day Goal and The
inspired to ditch the “cubicle life”, to start   to benefit from access to a talent pool that    Business Bakery.
her own venture. Despite her enthusiasm,         is relatively untapped - professionals in       A former economist and mother of four,
Lu’s first business failed spectacularly.        the regions who can work from home. Jo          Julia spends her days helping people grow
Undeterred, she got right back on the            aims to level the playing field for remote      their business via her goal setting program
horse, starting the online fashion brand,        work as location no longer needs to be a        The 100 Day Goal; and turning their small
Showpo the following month. What began           barrier to stimulating and rewarding work.      ventures into profitable businesses, via
with a laptop and two shelves of clothing,       With a lower cost per chair, employees          The Business Bakery. She is an advisor to
is now an online global fashion empire.          who don’t sit in peak hour traffic and have     a portfolio of medium sized businesses,
Showpo now boasts a cult social following        an actual work life balance, businesses         and the author of the book ‘How to Bake a
of over 3.3 million engaged followers            can now find the best person for a job,         Business’.
collectively and ships to over 100 countries.    regardless of where they live.

                                                                                                www.kochiesbusinessbuilders.com.au/powerlist   7
Matt Barrie.
Expanding and changing the employment landscape for freelancers.

Matt Barrie is an award-winning                        to creators and creatives from all over
entrepreneur and the CEO and Chairman                  the globe. Recognised as a leader in
of Freelancer.com, the world’s largest                 entrepreneurship, Matt is regularly invited
freelancing and crowdsourcing                          to speak at the world‘s leading technology
marketplace. This serial entrepreneur                  and business forums including the Summit
has changed the way businesses engage                  Series, and has been a featured speaker at
creatives and developers for work forever.             South by Southwest. He is also one of 100
Freelancer.com now operates in 247                     worldwide Linkedin Influencers, alongside
countries and has more than 32 million                 Richard Branson, Barack Obama and
users on the platform. With Freelancer.                Deepak Chopra, where he writes on the
com Barrie was able to provide small                   topics of entrepreneurship, economics and
business owners unparalleled access                    technology.

Leanne                                                 Lisa                                                 Kate
Faulkner.                                              Messenger.                                           Morris.
Championing workplace wellness                         Disrupting traditional media                         Empowering consumers and
and mental health support.                             channels and pushing for change.                     disrupting the retail space.

Leanne Faulkner works at the intersection of           Lisa Messenger is the vibrant, game-changing         After realising that most women found
small business ownership and mental health             CEO of the Messenger Group, as well as               department stores intimidating and
support. As the former business owner and              Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Collective Hub.       unpleasant, Kate Morris was inspired
founder of Australian skincare business                She previously worked globally in events,            to create a disruptive beauty shopping
Billie Goat Soap, she understands the strains          sponsorship, marketing, PR and publishing,           experience that empowered consumers.
and pressures faced by SMBs. It was this               has authored and co-authored 25 books and            As the CEO and founder of Adorebeauty.
lived experience that led her to advocate              is now an authority on disruption in both the        com.au, Kate started Australia’s first beauty
for more resources to be made available                corporate sector and in the start-up scene.          e-commerce site in 1999 from a garage in
to support the wellbeing of small business             With fans including Sir Richard Branson, New         Melbourne at the age of 21 with a $12,000
owners in Australia. Today she is recognised           York Times best-selling author Bradley Trevor        investment and just two products. Adore
as a thought-leader in this very unique small          Greive and a highly engaged social media             Beauty has since grown to more than
business space. She is the Council of Small            following of 190,000+, Lisa’s vision is to build a   160 brands, and 12,000 products, She
Business Organisations Australia (COSBOA)              community of like-minded people who want             was inducted into the Business women’s
Mental Health Ambassador.                              to change the world.                                 Network Hall of Fame in 2015.

 8      www.kochiesbusinessbuilders.com.au/powerlist
If you really
look closely,
most overnight
successes took
a long time.
Steve Jobs

             www.kochiesbusinessbuilders.com.au/powerlist   9
Professor Jo                                           Richard                                        Trent
Barraket.                                              Flanagan.                                      Innes.
Leading the campaign for social                        Upskilling small businesses on                 Bringing people and numbers
enterprise in Australia.                               the power of digital.                          together for more powerful
                                                                                                      business.
Professor Jo Barraket is Australia’s leading           Richard Flanagan is Head of SMB Ads
researcher of social enterprises and is                & Brand Marketing at Google Australia          Trent Innes is the Managing Director of
passionate about their contributions to an             where he helps Aussie businesses grow          Xero Australia, the global small business
inclusive economy. Now the director of                 and find new customers through Google          platform. Guided by a strong people-focus,
the Centre for Social Impact Swinburne,                My Business and Google Ads. He launched        he has developed and grown Xero’s teams
Jo co-founded her first social enterprise              Grow with Google, a free digital skills        to help small businesses thrive.
when she was just 20, and has been                     training platform to help business owners,     Passionate about the power of using data
actively involved in developing the field for          job seekers and students learn the skills      to help policymakers make informed
25 years. Jo regularly advises governments,            needed for today’s digital economy. He         decisions, Trent launched Xero Small
businesses, and international bodies on                also leads a national live training roadshow   Business Insights in 2017, the first true
developing social enterprises, and has written         that has been to dozens of locations           snapshot of the sector’s health. Since
more than 60 publications on the topic. She is         in every state and territory showing           launch, the insights have helped to shape
Chair CERES Environment Park, and a board              thousands of business owners how to make       thinking on the Australian small business
member of the Westpac Foundation.                      Google tools work for their business.          economy.

Peter Strong.
Advocating for the needs of the small business community.

Peter Strong is the CEO of Council of                  member of the SBR Board; a member of
Small Business Organisations of Australia.             the Australian Tax Commissioner’s small
He is a passionate advocate for the                    business stewardship group.
small business community representing
business owners on issues of importance                He also participates in a series of Mental
to government and industry agencies.                   Health Advisory groups as well as the
Peter participates in various advisory                 Business Advisory Forum for ASIC. Peter
groups to the Australian government                    is passionate about workplace relations
including: Chair of the Digital Business               and actively campaigns for the removal
Council, former Chairman of Treasury’s                 of government red tape and centralised
Business Advisory Forum on Standard                    decision making to greater empower the
Business Reporting (SBR); a Board                      small business community.

 10     www.kochiesbusinessbuilders.com.au/powerlist
Naomi                                           Melanie                                        Nic Marchesi &
Simson.                                         Perkins.                                       Lucas Patchett.
Disrupting the experience                       Making beautiful designs possible              Making homelessness part of the
marketplace and driving                         for everyone.                                  national conversation.
innovation.
                                                Melanie Perkins is CEO and cofounder of        In October 2014, two best mates had a
An entrepreneur and business leader,            Canva, an online design and publishing         crazy idea to put two washing machines
Naomi Simson co-founded the Big Red             tool which makes graphic design simple.        and two dryers in the back of a van, and
Group (BRG) with business partner David         Since launching in 2013, Canva has             wash and dry clothes for free.
Anderson in 2017. The BRG’s purpose is          grown to over 15 million users across 190      Nicholas Marchesi and Lucas Patchett, the
to shift the way people experience life         countries, with more than 1 billion designs    2016 Young Australians of the Year, founded
and is at the forefront of digital disruption   created, at 36 designs per second - it is      Orange Sky – a world-first, free mobile
for experiences in Australia. As the third      used by more than 80% of the Fortune           laundry service for people experiencing
largest experience gifting business in the      500, plus small/medium businesses,             homelessness. On a mission to improve
world, BRG has grown to become a                nonprofits, teachers and students. With        hygiene standards, Nic and Lucas stumbled
a customer-centric, $100m enterprise.           over 600 team members - across offices         on something more significant –the power
In her role as a judge on Shark Tank            in Sydney, Manila and Beijing - Canva is       of a conversation. Now facilitated by more
Australia Naomi’s passion for innovation        working to empower everyone to design          than 1,600 volunteers, Orange Sky aims to
has assisted dozens of entrepreneurs.           anything and publish anywhere.                 positively connect the community.

Peta Ellis.
Driving change & innovation within the startup and entrepreneur ecosytem.

Peta is a change maker and community            (YEN), which is a community focused on
leader in the entrepreneurial landscape.        connecting young entrepreneurs with
With more than 20 years of experience           industry, schools, course providers and
under her belt she has launched and             program facilitators.
exited four ventures before turning 30. In
the last six years she has mentored over        In 2019 she has managed the national
1000 entrepreneurs and hosted more than         expansion of the RCL brand to Sydney
1500 startup events at River City Labs.         with HarbourCityLabs and to Melbourne
As CEO of RCL, Brisbane’s leading               with BayCityLabs in partnership with the
Innovation and Startup Hub she founded          Australian Computer Society (ACS).
the Conduit Corporate Innovation Program        Peta is passionate about innovation in
and the Young Entrepreneurs Network             the entrepreneurial space.

                                                                                              www.kochiesbusinessbuilders.com.au/powerlist   11
Steven Marshall.
Driving tech and startup innovation on a national scale.

Steven Marshall is the Premier of South                Australian Space Agency and mission
Australia. Responsible for the portfolios of           control headquarters in Adelaide.
Defence and Space Industries, Aboriginal               While other Premier’s talk about innovation,
Affairs and Reconciliation, the Arts, Veterans’        Steven Marshall walks the talk. He is
Affairs and Multicultural Affairs, Marshall            personally connected with the startup
has been setting an agenda of innovation               community, built the Lot 14 innovation
for South Australia that is the envy of other          hub and established Australia’s first space
states. As premier, Marshall rolled out                centre in Adelaide
the launch of the Skilling South Australia
program to create 20,800 new traineeships              Marshall’s message to investors and
and apprenticeships; he initiated a record             emerging industries is – South Australia is
infrastructure program, and secured the                open for business

Zoe                                                    Maggie                                          Tim
Lamont.                                                Zhou.                                           Reed.
Setting the agenda for women’s                         Helping small business conquer                  Delivering solutions and driving
financial security.                                    the Chinese market.                             change across small business
                                                                                                       management.
Driven by a passion for women’s financial              Maggie Zhou is Managing Director for
wellbeing and equality, Zoe is a pioneer of            Australia and New Zealand Alibaba Group.        Tim Reed has been CEO of MYOB since 2008.
women’s financial education in Australia. A            As one of the key veterans of the company.      He’s passionate about the potential of digital
fellow of the School for Social Entrepreneurs,         she is responsible for establishing a local     technology to transform society and help
in 2009 she founded the 10thousandgirl                 presence for Alibaba in Australia and to        businesses succeed. Tim has overseen MYOB’s
campaign and over the next eight years ran             further develop infrastructure to help local    transformation to become an innovative
financial wellbeing programs for over 10,000           merchants enter the vast China consumer         accounting and business management solution
women, many across regional and remote                 market. She works closely with the Australian   to more than 1.2m businesses across Australia
Australia. Zoe recently launched Verve                 Trade Commission (Austrade), showcasing         and New Zealand. Tim has been instrumental
Super, Australia’s first superannuation fund           the value of the China e-commerce market        in driving changes to simplify tax compliance,
designed for women, by women. Verve Super              to Australian brands and businesses. Maggie     leading the work with Business Council
aims to close the retirement savings gap and           has been a key contributor to Alibaba Group’s   Australia to introduce the Australian Supplier
grow the collective financial power of women           international strategy - to make it easy to     Payment code and advocating for e-invoicing
to change the world.                                   do business anywhere.                           and digitisation to make life easier for SMBs.

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Mike Cannon
Dawn                                           Brookes and
                                                                                             Annie
Hough.                                         Scott Farquhar.                               Parker.
Setting the agenda for diversity               Driving digital innovation for all            Accelerating Australian startups
and inclusion in the workplace.                businesses.                                   and assisting founders to connect.

Dawn Hough is the Director of ACON’s           Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar        As the global head of startups at Microsoft,
Pride Inclusion Programs. All the programs     are the co-founders and co-CEOs of            Annie Parker brings a wealth of experience
provide employer support for all aspects       Atlassian. Arguably Australia’s first tech    in the digital startup and technology
of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and     billionaires, Mike and Scott are leading      space. Recognised by the Australian
Intersex (LGBTI) inclusion either within the   the agenda for digital innovation across      Financial Review as one of the 100 Women
workplace, Australian Sport or through         the business space. Their platform            of Influence in Australia for 2018, Annie
health and wellbeing service provision.        Atlassian allows developers to collaborate    is passionate about helping founders to
In 2009 Dawn established the Australian        like never before. Both Mike and Scott        achieve their full potential. Prior to joining
Workplace Equality Index, a national           have been recognised as Australian            Microsoft Annie was the co-founder of
benchmark on LGBTI workplace inclusion.        Entrepreneurs of the Year and are             muru-D; a startup accelerator program.
Since that time, the program has grown         members of The Forum of Young Global          She is the director of Code Club Australia
substantially and gained an international      Leaders. They remain active contributors      and cofounder of Techfugees, a global
reputation for its leading practice and        to Sydney’s startup scene via seed fund       movement connecting newly arrived
gold standard index.                           StartMate and VC Blackbird Ventures.          refugees with the technology ecosystem.

Daniel Flynn.
Striving for social good and making a difference to people in need.

Daniel established Thankyou alongside a        the organisation is going, you probably
group of co-founders at the ripe old age       won’t get much more out of him than “it’s
of 19 and every day he continues to drive      just the beginning”.
Thankyou’s vision to see global poverty
eradicated with the goal to help millions      What you won’t hear him talk about are
of people in need.                             epic achievements that include writing
                                               a bestselling book called Chapter One,
A self desrcibed ‘ideas man’ through           and winning some cool awards like 2014
and through, Daniel is a big advocate for      Victorian Young Australian of the Year.
living out your dreams. You’ll often hear      Go Daniel!
him say, “Impossibility is only someone’s
opinion, not a fact” and if you ask him how

                                                                                            www.kochiesbusinessbuilders.com.au/powerlist   13
Justin                                                 Nick                                         Sean
Dry.                                                   Molnar.                                      Ashby.
Championing consumers in the                           Delivering new finance options to            Leading product innovation in
retail space.                                          consumers and small businesses.              the global retail space.

Justin Dry is an entrepreneur, investor and            Nick Molnar is a serial entrepreneur with    Sean Ashby is founder and managing
co-founder plus CEO of Vinomofo, one of                extensive experience in online retail.       director of the highly successful Australian
Australia’s fastest-growing companies.                 Nick is co-founder and CEO of Afterpay,      underwear and swimwear brand, aussieBum.
Launched in April 2011 from a little garage            a leading Australian retail payments         Combining his passion and drive with a
in Adelaide, Vinomofo now operates in                  innovator and one of Australia’s fastest     unique idea, saw aussieBum succeed and
Australia, NZ and Singapore where it has               growing fintech companies. Afterpay          become one of Australia’s most iconic brands
grown quickly to turnover $50million in                facilitates commerce between retail          internationally. Since launching 15 years ago,
annual revenue, has a membership base of               merchants and their end-customers            aussieBum is now sold in more than 120
500,000 and employs a team of 100 staff.               - offering a ‘buy now, take now, pay         countries around the world and turns over
Justin has been named one of the Top 50                later’ service that does not require end-    more than $20 million each year. aussieBum
People in E-Commerce 2016, 2017, 2018 and              customers to enter into a traditional loan   was the first Australian fashion brand to
2019 by Internet Retailing. He is a proven             or pay any upfront fees or interest to       sell online to an overseas audience. In
game-changer in the wine industry, taking              Afterpay. Afterpay currently has over 3.1    recognition of his work, Sean has twice been
on retail giants and challenging the ‘Bowties          million customers and over 20,000 retail     awarded Australian Exporter of the Year for
and BS’ attitudes of elitist wine snobs.               merchants.                                   Manufacturing.

Kia Dowell.
Delivering innovation & social purpose in the indigenous business space.

Kia Dowell is a Gija woman from Warmun                 As head of Strategy and Innovation, Kia
Community (Turkey Creek) in the East                   oversees the development, implementation
Kimberley of Western Australia. Her                    and performance of IBA’s strategic plan,
traditional Aboriginal name is Wadjbarreyal            market research and insights, impact
and her skin name is Nangala.                          measurement and evaluation, thought
She joined Indigenous Business Australia               leadership and advocacy and strategic
(IBA) in 2017 from Codeswitch, an Indigenous           partnerships.
strategic advisory and consulting firm she             Before co-founding Codeswitch, Kia spent 5
co-founded. Kia is passionate about working            years working with a global mining company
to support the growth of profitable and                implementing Native Title Agreements in
sustainable organisations that serve a greater         the East Kimberley and Pilbara regions of
social purpose for Aboriginal communities.             Western Australia.

 14     www.kochiesbusinessbuilders.com.au/powerlist
Ideas are easy.
Implementation
is hard.
Guy Kawasaki,

                www.kochiesbusinessbuilders.com.au/powerlist   15
Tyson Koh.
Putting the importance of a city’s nightlife & culture back on the agenda.

Tyson Koh is the director of anti-lockout             Government on the future of Sydney’s
campaign Keep Sydney Open and                         night-time economy. Keep Sydney
producer of the ABC’s long-running                    Open has since organised inner-city
music program Rage. Since starting Keep               precinct activations in an effort to restore
Sydney Open in 2015, Tyson has been a                 confidence and participation in the city’s
leading voice on Sydney’s nightlife and               night-time activities.
the city’s cultural vibrancy. He has helped
to make the issues facing Sydney’s                    In his capacity as a music programmer
nightlife a major talking point through a             Tyson has worked on major events such
series of successful rallies and several              as the Sydney Festival, Darling Harbour’s
mainstream media appearances. Tyson                   NYE fireworks and the Commonwealth
is now a key contributor to the State                 Games in Delhi.

Deborah                                               Katy                                           Kayla Itsines
Jenkins.                                              Barfield.                                      & Tobi Pearce.
Driving the tax agenda for the                        Leading the war on food waste.                 Transforming women’s health
nation’s small business owners.                                                                      and fitness journeys.
                                                      Katy Barfield is Australia’s leading food
Deborah Jenkins is the Deputy                         waste warrior. As the founding CEO of          Kayla Itsines and her partner Tobi Pearce
Commissioner Small Business at the                    SecondBite, she assisted in collecting and     are the founders and CEO (respectively)
Australian Taxation Office. As an energetic           redistributing over two million kilograms      of meal-planning and work out app,
leader with multi-national experience                 of fresh food waste. Katy then turned          Sweat. The couple are passionate about
Deborah brings practical governance and               her focus on the commercial food sector        helping women reach their health and
risk management experience to her role at             and in 2014 founded Yume, Australia’s          fitness goals and are considered to be
the ATO. She is passionate about diversity            first surplus food online marketplace.         amongst the most influential people
and inclusion in the workplace and takes              Yume enables food suppliers to sell            in the global fitness industry. In March
a collaborative approach in working with              their quality surplus products to buyers       2016, Time magazine named Kayla one
stakeholders and in leading diverse teams.            in the foodservice industry. Already,          of the 30 most influential people on the
She is committed to working with the                  Yume - which works with hundreds of            Internet. Today Kayla has 11.5 million
government to assist small businesses in              leading food manufacturers - has sold          Instagram followers, more than 25 million
dealing with tax issues.                              over 850,897kg of quality surplus food,        Facebook followers and her app has been
                                                      returning $2.7 million to Australian           downloaded more than 30 million times.
                                                      farmers and manufacturers.

 16    www.kochiesbusinessbuilders.com.au/powerlist
Usman Iftikhar.
Change maker and social entrepreneur inspiring migrantpreneurs.

Usman Iftikhar is a social entrepreneur,     Ready Growth Grants funded by
passionate about utilising the power of      Department of Social Services, providing
entrepreneurship to solve issues such        impact businesses with grants. He is also
as global warming and the global             a WEF Global Shaper, Westpac Social
refugee crisis.                              Change Fellow 2019, AMP Tomorrow Maker
                                             2018, FYA Young Social Pioneer Alumnus,
He’s the CEO of an award-winning             and the Australian lead for G20 YEA.
startup pre-accelerator called Catalysr,
which supports migrant and refugee           For his work Usman was named the 2018
entrepreneurs to launch their own            Commonwealth Young Person of the Year
startups in Australia. Usman also sits on    amongst 1.4 billion young people living in
the expert panel for Impact Investment       the 53 Commonwealth nations.

Robbie                                       Tim                                            Emma
Cooke.                                       Fung.                                          Isaacs .
Bringing the power of fintech                Empowering Aussies to use their                Inspiring women be bold and
to small businesses across                   skills to increase their earning               passionate in business.
Australia.                                   potential.
                                                                                            Emma Isaacs is the founder and Global
Passionate about customer centric and        After recognising the unconscious bias         CEO of Business Chicks, Australia’s largest
technology driven businesses, Robbie         driving employment discrimination in           community for women, and is passionate
Cooke joined Tyro as CEO in 2018 after       Australia, Tim Fung co-founded Airtasker,      about encouraging women to be bold, to
clocking up five years as MD and CEO of      a community marketplace that connects          be courageous and to take risks.
Tatts Group. In his role at Tyro, Robbie     people looking for local services. With a      Business Chicks produces over 100 events
drives the fintech’s strategy of providing   driving mission of empowering people           annually; publishes a magazine called
frictionless banking and access to           to realise the full value of their skills,     Latte and facilitates thousands of new
lending for Australia’s under-served         Airtasker creates $6million each week in       connections every week for its members
Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Tyro      earning opportunities for its Taskers. Fung    and 250K+ social media following through
uses disruptive technology and agile         is passionate about entrepreneurship. He is    its engaging content. In 2016, Emma
methodologies to design innovative           a mentor at the Founders Institute, Sydney     packed up her young family to move to
products together with a better payments     and is also the cofounder of Sydney CBD        California where she launched the USA
and banking experience for its customers.    tech co-working space Tank Stream Labs.        arm of Business Chicks.

                                                                                           www.kochiesbusinessbuilders.com.au/powerlist   17
Matt Hall and Andy Sum.
Putting Aussie game developers on the map.

Hipster Whale is an Australian gaming                  mainstream studios including PAC-MAN
studio founded in 2014 by Matt Hall and                256 in 2015 with Bandai Namco and
Andy Sum.                                              Disney Crossy Road in 2016 with Disney,
                                                       on mobile platforms.
The duo hit the big time when their first
game, Crossy Road, proved an instant                   In 2015 Hipster Whale won an Apple
crowd pleaser. Downloaded more than                    Design Award for Crossy Road, Studio of
200 million times, Crossy Road, made $10               the Year at the Australian Game Developer
million in its first three months of release           Awards and won the Creative Industries
and put the developers on the map.                     category of The Governor of Victoria Export
Hipster Whale have since gone on to                    Awards. The pair continue to innovate in
release further sucesses working with                  the gaming space.

Shainiel Deo.
Expanding the footprint of game development in Australia.

Shainiel Deo is the founder of Brisbane-               and is one of the biggest success stories of
based Halfbrick Studios, the creators of               the local gaming industry. Since founding
some of the world’s most popular mobile                Halfbrick with a group of QUT friends
phone games.                                           in 2001, Shainiel has grown Halfbrick
                                                       to become one of the most successful
After several years developing games for               independent gaming studios in the world.
other companies, on DS and PSP, Halfbrick
struck gold after taking the plunge into               Shainiel is the only founder to remain at
mobile gaming. the company had massive                 the company and after almost twenty
success with two games, Jetpack Joyride                years in the business, he continues to
and Fruit Ninja. Fruit Ninja has since been            be passionate about the future of
downloaded more than 400 million times                 Australian gaming.

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       The Power List is an initiative of Kochie’s Business                                        www.pinstripemedia.com.au
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 18     www.kochiesbusinessbuilders.com.au/powerlist
There are no
secrets to success.
It is the result of
preparation, hard
work, and learning
from failure.
Colin Powell

               www.kochiesbusinessbuilders.com.au/powerlist   19
www.kochiesbusinessbuilders.com.au/powerlist
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