Innovation

If you can read this text, your browser is not interpreting this page as the designers intended. This may be because you are using an obsolete, non-standards compliant browser or you have Cascading Style Sheets disabled. Read more about Web Standards at Reactive.

text size: A- A+

Home

Innovation

Start up Guide

Smart Co Awards

Smart co blogs

Govt assist

Govt assist

Links

Our Partners

New Products

Email Alert

Sign up to receive an email each weekday alerting you to the latest news, tips, blogs, trends and big issues

More information

Podcasts

View > Case study: Smartpack Kitchens: Monday, 18 February 2008 How Australian manufacturer Smartpack Kitchens survived and thrived in the face of the onslaught of Chinese competition. By MIKE PRESTON.

View > Case study: Rubicon Systems Australia: Tuesday, 12 February 2008 Rubicon Systems is building an innovative global business through trying to solve the world's water problems. He gives his export tips. By AMITA TANDUKAR.

View > Case study: CargoWise: Thursday, 17 January 2008 Success in Australia does not automatically translate globally. But know-how – and the gumption to give it a go – helped logistics software business CargoWise do just that. By MIKE PRESTON.

View > Case study: Kitchen Warehouse: Thursday, 29 November 2007 A strong focus on the core business, but a wide ranging view of its distribution, has been the key to this ‘bricks and clicks’ company. By TIM TREADGOLD.

View > Case study: Big Air: Thursday, 15 November 2007 Jason Ashton is tackling Telstra head-on in broadband, and using Telstra’s bulk to his advantage. He and partner Patrick Choi are ensuring their Big Air remains nimble and responsive to customers. By MIKE PRESTON.

View > Case study: Wiliam: Thursday, 8 November 2007 Being ahead of the pack has been a winning edge for online design company Wiliam founder Robert Beerworth. Now that the web has caught up, Wiliam can take the next leap. By MIKE PRESTON.

View > Case study: Kidspot: Tuesday, 23 October 2007 SMEs on a shoestring could learn something from one of Australia’s most respected marketing gurus, Kidspot chief executive Katie May. She reveals her secrets for big impact marketing to EMILY ROSS.

View > Case study: Absolute Data Group: Tuesday, 16 October 2007 Two thriving tech companies are being driven to success by a 38 year old who knows where she is going and how she's going to get there. Tammy Halter talks to MIKE PRESTON.

View > Case study: Daily Deals: Monday, 8 October 2007 The three entrepreneurs behind Daily Deals have parlayed a stall in shopping centre aisle into a TV shopping business and two online retail sites turning over $10 million a year. Their supplier relationships are one of the keys to their success. By JACQUI WALKER.

View > Case study: Kingfisher International: Tuesday, 18 September 2007 Kingfisher International developed its winning technology concurrently with a wide global network – and the world is steadily catching up. By MIKE PRESTON.

View > Case study: Neptune Marine: Thursday, 13 September 2007 A smarter, longer-lasting, underwater welding technology launched Neptune Marine Services, but it is clever and sustained marketing and management that has kept it afloat. By TIM TREADGOLD

View > Case study: IR Gurus: Thursday, 6 September 2007 Heroes of the Pacific was a huge gamble for IR Gurus, and the big risk brought a big reward. By MIKE PRESTON.

View > Case study: Safe Effect Technologies: Thursday, 30 August 2007 After taking shareholders on a rough ride, Safe Effect Technologies is turning its fortunes around. It is now preparing to export its fail-safe braking systems especially for heavy-duty vehicles. By TIM TREADGOLD.

View > Case study: Mimco: Friday, 24 August 2007 Amanda Briskin is a true innovator. She started Mimco 11 years ago with $5000 and a design for two handbags and just sold the company for $45 million. She bucked the norm many times while building her handbag and accessories company and now tells Amanda Gome that she will be leaving Mimco in a few months and is very excited about future possibilities.

View > Case study: Unity4: Thursday, 23 August 2007 The tighter the labour market, the more it pleases Daniel Turner. It only extends the competitive advantage of his Unity4 virtual call centre. By MIKE PRESTON.

View > Case study: Yooster: Tuesday, 7 August 2007 Harnessing the power of word-of-mouth with an online portal and using ‘trend spreaders’, Yooster is spreading the word about products – sometimes before they launch.

View > Case study: Rising Sun Pictures: Wednesday, 1 August 2007 Rising Sun Pictures has gone from teetering on the brink of business oblivion to being at the forefront of the global film visual effects industry. By MIKE PRESTON.

View > Case study: Gemcom: Friday, 20 July 2007 The mining industry software house scrapped its own awful slogan, only to have new labels imposed on it. By TIM LEVIEN.

View > Case study: Alfasi Construction Group: Friday, 13 July 2007 A steel fabrication and construction company has turned a subcontracting headache into a valuable asset via business model innovation. By SARAH BELFIELD.

View > Case study: Park Assist: Friday, 6 July 2007 A system of easy-to-understand signs and lights guides drivers to the nearest empty spot in a car park. It has also led Daniel Cohen to a very profitable niche. By MIKE PRESTON.

View > Case study: Pure Hacking: Friday, 22 June 2007 How does computer cop Robert McAdam keep one step ahead of hackers? By getting his hands dirty. He talks to MIKE PRESTON.

View > Case study: Sage Automation: Wednesday, 20 June 2007 The lessons learnt here should be noted by all Australian SMEs thinking about entering the world’s hottest market. By TIM LEVIEN.

View > Case study: Clear Blue Day: Thursday, 14 June 2007 Clear Blue Day is an online marketing firm that now has enough runs on the board to give founder Peter Bray real momentum. By JOHN COOK.

View > Over-planning can stifle creativity: Wednesday, 30 May 2007 Adaptability can so often be lost when any business takes a one-pointed view of operations. Take off the blinkers, says Kym Martin, and look around. By TIM LEVIEN.

View > Case study: Essential Baby: Friday, 18 May 2007 Australia's largest parenting and baby site began before the dot-com crash, but survived and prospered. Essential Baby's entrepreneurs share their secrets with EMILY ROSS.

View > Case study: e-channel: Monday, 7 May 2007 Search engine marketing is a hot area for hot innovators, and with the big retail names yet to realise its potential, it is one market that is on a roll. By JAMES BENNETT.

View > Case study: Australian Kitchen Industries: Sunday, 6 May 2007 Acquisitions, an international business model and a custom-built operating system have proved successful building blocks for Australia’s only multi-state kitchen retailer. By LAURA COCHRANE.

View > Australia’s fastest-growing startups: Friday, 4 May 2007 We set Emily Ross a hard task: to find five of Australia's hottest start-up entrepreneurs and get them to talk warts and all about how they did it. Did she succeed? You decide!

View > Case study: Steel Blue: Thursday, 3 May 2007 The resource boom in WA has been only one of the motivators behind the burgeoning Steel Blue safety footwear success. By LIBBY-JANE CHARLESTON.

View > Case study: DTDesign: Monday, 30 April 2007 Entrepreneur Online David Trewern, founder of specialist web design firm DTDesign, made a successful business, career and life out of knowing and using the web.

View > Case study: Traffic Technologies: Saturday, 28 April 2007 Con Liosatos and Con Scrinis saw an opportunity in Australia’s fragmented traffic services sector – providing signs, signals and road marking. They have built a $120 million operation, but are thinking bigger. By MIKE PRESTON.

View > Case study: Inspiro Bags: Tuesday, 3 April 2007 A casual observation led one entrepreneur into a business that just won’t stop. By LIBBY-JANE CHARLESTON

View > Case study: Wotif.com: Monday, 2 April 2007 A big idea in a tiny office has been turned into a multi-million dollar, debt-free business. For entrepreneur Graeme Wood, innovation has been the key to success. EMILY ROSS reports.

View > Case story: TechnologyOne: Tuesday, 27 March 2007 The founder of software developer TechnologyOne learnt a big lesson early on – don’t be shy about competing with the biggest companies in the world. By KATE CARROLL

View > Case study: Red Room DVD: Tuesday, 27 March 2007 A long adventure began when the founders of Red Room DVD found they couldn't rent a movie in the middle of the night. They decided to look into it and a business idea was born. By KRISTEN LE MESURIER.

View > Case study: Imagination Entertainment: Tuesday, 20 March 2007 Things were especially tough for a start-up in the capital-thirsty games market. And breaking into the DVD gaming arena required not just an innovative mind, but a fierce determination. By EMILY ROSS.

View > Case study: Freshtel: Tuesday, 13 March 2007 A plumber with an interest in how things work survived the tech crash to come back with an internet product that is changing the telecommunications industry. By KRISTEN LE MESURIER

View > Case study: Trade Me: Tuesday, 20 February 2007 How a New Zealand internet entrepreneur took on a global giant — and won. By EMILY ROSS.

View > Case study: Waverley Australia: Wednesday, 14 February 2007 A Tasmanian woollen was close to the brink when Bruce Grant stepped in and targeted China, through exports and TV home shopping. By KRISTEN LE MESURIER.

View > Case study: Quickflix: Thursday, 1 February 2007 Quickflix is learning the hard way that it’s tough being first. Especially when you are competing with a "big elephant" like Telstra. By TIM TREADGOLD.

TOP OF PAGE