DIGITAL MEDIA

Entrepreneurial, passionate and defying conventions, this eclectic group of digital talent embody the essence of the Web 2.0 creed.

The collective we have selected to profile as the rising stars of the new digital economy have widely disparate business pursuits yet are unified by a singularity of purpose – using, engaging and re-structuring existing digital platforms to create new businesses in an altered playing field.

Endowed with creativity, chutzpah and boundless passion for their causes, this sample of Australia’s burgeoning digital alchemists, strategists and pioneers have international expansion firmly in their view with many already established in offshore digs.

This crew also shares an individualistic commonality, maintaining a belief in their own vision, often at the expense of a traditional highly paid career paths and defying received wisdom in the pursuit of executing their dreams. For many profiled here, their lucrative businesses began as hobbies or personal passions, such as Aquabumps’ founder Eugene Tan, or Conversant Media’s Zac Zavos. While for others such as Essential Baby’s Kylie Little, a multi-million dollar business concept was forged by the absence of a much needed online service, one that tapped into the needs of thousands of others. Gratifyingly, women are emerging in the digital economy as a powerful force, see The Topia Agency’s Nyree Corby and Pearl PR’s Hollie Turner. Refreshingly, and hopefully an indication that the sins of the dot.com boom and bust will not be repeated, most of these players have created these independent organisations to remain as such and not just as online acquisition strategy. In the current climate its doubtful such maverick independence can be maintained but the journey will be fascinating to watch.

Natalie Apostolou

The video guy: Ian Gardiner, 36, managing director/co-founder, Viocorp

Founded in Sydney in 2002 with fellow Scotsman, Ron McCulloch, Viocorp was built on the premise that online video streaming was the way of the future. The company started as a video production company specialising in online delivery. It has since created proprietary video software publishing service Viostream allowing content owners to upload, manage and deliver their content to any user on any device at any time. A raft of corporate and creative clients heeded the call including AMP, Motorola, News Digital Media, Tourism Australia and Deloitte. In January 2007, Viocorp sold its successful short film portal Nice Shorts to Destra for an undisclosed sum and continues to work on its music portal Defhead. The crew doubled its staff and moved to the emerging online production ghetto of Woolloomooloo following a strategic investment from Peter Holmes a Court’s Passionate Group. The new investor is collaborating with Vicocorp on new projects including the Rabbitohs website, sharing offices with Russell Crowe and a freshly minted live production studio base.

The strategist: Alex Hall, 32, COO, TigerSpike

The last four years have been an expansive ride for TigerSpike. Delivering major digital media solutions to Telstra, Fairfax and the UK’s Daily Mail whilst opening offices in New Zealand, London and soon New York is a world away from the early days when, with the help of his band, CEO Luke Janssen recorded mobile phone ringtones in inner city bedrooms. Co–founders, Janssen, Oliver Palmer and Dean Jezard created Phoenix, a platform originally designed to distribute mobile content to phones. That platform has been the basis of TigerSpike’s success and now extends across both online and mobile arenas. Capping off 2007 as B&T’s Best Digital Services company, they also secured Best in Show at IAB and MMA, and scored wins at the MIXX awards (NYC), ADMA, and AIMIA. Hall believes 2008 will bring a continued shift by major brands towards digital, but with more of a focus on usability and genuine engagement. “It will be a year where costly online executions really have to start showing strong ROI, which means scalable and replicable back end infrastructure, will play a key role.”

Mantra: “Leave no stone unturned.”

The ingenue: Nyree Corby, 27, CEO, The Topia Project

A Singo protégé, Corby devised indie consultancy, The Topia Project six years ago in a bid to educate the post dot com crash market on how to use digital channels to actually yield results in a nervous marketplace. As an agency it has evolved to something beyond digital.

“We see ourselves becoming a mini Photon (but with a digital focus) crossed with a mini Bluefreeway,” Corby says.

“We have some unique ideas about how this can work from an integration perspective which the advertising industry has been trying to get right for years.” In 2008 Topia plans to launch brand, content and PR specialist divisions.

Cornerstone wins for Topia include Coca Cola Amatil, RM Williams, Centrebet, Lastminute.com and creating Speedo Australia’s first ever online campaign.

Topia also garnered Finalist for B&T Best Emerging Agency 2007 and Corby was Highly Commended for Young Achiever of the Year 2007.

The Tracker: Ian Lyons, 38, communications director pure profile/sales director, The Cool Hunter

A digital raconteur, and dotcom survivor and consummate networker, Lyons is trying to make cash from cool at eclectic culture web trawler The Cool Hunter (launched in 2005). In his day job at digital research and participation marketing outfit pure profile (launched in 2000) Lyons is an evangelist for combining highly targeted and relevant communications with real time research to improve results. The Cool Hunter is currently being syndicated and translated in offshore markets such as Turkey, UK, NZ, Japan and the US and this year will be introducing TheCoolHunterTV. Expect to see some cool nextbutton invitations in your pureprofile account.

“There will be a convergence between media and research,” predicts Lyons.

“Real time insights will become a more integrated part of the brand building activities, improving the digital experience for consumers.”

Tech goddess: Hollie Turner, 30, founder/CEO, Pearl PR

Armed with 10 years specialist technology PR experience working with tech giants Apple, Vodafone, Cisco and Microsoft, Turner went solo in 2006 launching Pearl PR with the timely vision of forging a “creative and boundless consumer technology agency that focused primarily on online communications”. Concentrating on emerging digital entrepreneurs including Nick Holmes a Court, The Topia Agency and established players such as BSI, Sagem, NEC and Readify. Turner practices what she preaches engaging heavily in social media networks to get her clients message across and specialises in digital communications consulting and training. “Working with the best of the best is simply amazing. Every company, every person is unique and that is a main driving force for setting up an agency like Pearl.”

The alchemist: Nick Holmes a Court, 26, director and CTO, Shifted Pixels

Forged in March 2007, Shifted Pixels is the result of the merger of a web development company, new media video production house and marketing agency. Holmes a Court (yes from that family) started the company with the aim of helping companies embrace the business benefits of the changing nature of the web. Business services clients include Microsoft and Colliers, while on the product side of the business, the company recently launched its first offering BuzzNumbers.com.au an online media monitoring platform that allows brands to analyse and report on what is being said about them and how influential the discourse is. More products and services are slated for release this year and the group is poised to open offices in San Francisco and London in late 2008.

The internationalist: David Barrett, 34, CEO/MD/creative director, Demonz Media

Barrett is taking Demonz global. The web and multimedia agency has already opened an office in Germany bolstered by a string of international client across UK, Denmark, Japan, NZ and the US.

Their innovative work developing an international, multilingual e-learning platform with shipping giant Maersk Line has already garnered an AIMIA nomination for best B2B applications.

Other projects include, Triumph Motorcycles, Yahoo!, V-Energy Drinks, Mitsubishi, Samsung and web 2.0 development for NSW Health and Everywhere Internet.

Tip for 2008: “Australia will see an increase in offshore work as vendors move away from outsourcing to traditional places such as India.”

The booker: Dean McEvoy, 30, CEO and Founder, Booking Angel

A foiled email dining booking which destroyed McEvoy’s attempt to celebrate an anniversary with his girlfriend provided him with the inspiration for Booking Angel. The girlfriend may be gone but Booking Angel – a pay per booking system for local search directories and online booking system for any appointment based business – is thriving securing angel funding, a presence and customers in the US and partnerships with restaurant.com, eatability.com.au, Nine MSN’s site YourRestaurants.com.au and my247.com.au. In 2007 Booking Angel was voted one of the top 100 private companies in the Always On Top 100.

A year from now McEvoy plans on being US based with 2000 sales staff enabled to sell the service in Australia, the US and South America.

Le chic geek: Jeremy LeBard, 28, founder, Amity Agency

With a penchant for creative social networking strategies and a solid backgroud in blue chip IT infrastructure consultancy, LeBard forged the Amity Agency to realise his vision of creating and fostering relationships or “sticky content” between community, brands and people. Consulting in the dot.com days to Microsoft, St George and Unisys LeBard succumbed to his craving for creativity ditching top end of town in favour of niche creative online solutions. His current projects include bibliophile site BookTagger.com and is developing sites for online

women’s magazine Embrace, and a physical fitness and health portal. “We converge the various mediums for expression found on the internet and bundle them into a single package,” Lebard says.

The aesthete: Dave Gravina, 37, founder and creative director, Digital Eskimo

Forging his ethically driven digital design agency from his Bondi digs in 2001, Gravina’s work ethic embraces sustainable thinking and practices innovative, contextual design. He credits his online strategy and execution of union website Rights at Work Campaign as helping “rid the country of the Howard Government”. A designer with a conscience, he assisted Amnesty International repel refugee law changes last year with viral campaign “Message in a Bottle” and was behind the – “Raise the Bar for NSW” viral liquor law reform campaign at the end 2007. He aims for Digital Eskimo to be at the forefront of the new (ascendent) global movement of sustainable design, and for its considered design process to be influential in this push. Mantra: “You cannot leave your ethics and values at the door.”

The networker: Belinda Cordina, 30, MD Myinvites.com.au

A natural social networker and brand marketer by trade Cordina hatched her concept 3.5 years ago out of the simple desire the make co-ordinating catch ups with people easier.

Since launching in October 2007 the site which empowers the uses to manage and maintain lists and extend invitation for events of any size grew virally to over 40,000 users within months.

In the year ahead she has her sights set on developing www.myinvites.com.au as the leading events website in Australia … “then total world domination”.

Mantra: “Bravery never goes out of fashion.”

The blogger: Zac Zavos, 33, CEO/founder, Conversant Media

A sports/pop culture junkie, Zavos has created a rare blogging business that generates revenue and traffic by seizing on well defined niches.

Conversant Media, founded in 2007 with a dash of angel investment, publishes trend spotting site www.lostateminor.com and sports opinion website www.theroar.com.au, the later embracing a unique model of reader-generated content. Securing a deal with MySpace to power its local sports content was a huge validation for the publishing model. Passionate about the importance of medium-tier websites in an environment where the five leading portals have close to 80% of internet traffic, Zavos hopes The Roar will be another Australian independent bucking the trend and gaining critical mass.

The surfer: Eugene Tan, 33, founder/CEO, Aquabumps

Frustrated by living in Bondi yet never getting to the beach courtesy of the long hours devoted to a web design agency, Tan turned his photographic hobby into a new business sending surf shots with surfing conditions to friends around the globe.

The daily email to mates is now sent to 20,000 registered members worldwide, and www.aquabumps.com gets 5000 unique visits a day, garnering a swell of advertisers keen to access this global professional and often expat audience. In 2006, Tan opened an Aquabumps Gallery in North Bondi with his photographs fetching anything from $150 to $3500. His days begin with a dawn surf shoot equipped with waterproof camera and ends with the satisfaction that a unique vison of Australia has seen.

The driver: Christoph Doerfel, 34, founder, Smartdrivers/Smartpilots.com.au

Austrian marketer Doerfel launched Australia’s first fleet of low emission vehicles in July 2007 boasting a slash in transport costs of 70% for businesses and individuals. The concept began in 2005 as SmartPilots pitched as a mobile advertising concept where on car advertising offsets the cost of car rental. The fleet is permanently stationed in CBDs allowing members to use as needed on an hourly basis. Free CBD based parking spaces were approved by the City of Sydney in December 2007. With members surpassing 1000 individuals and advertising partners include Commonwealth Bank, IKON Communications, Expedia.com.au, and Elizabeth Arden. The company is currently looking for investors to grow the business within Australia, US and the UAE.

The deal maker: Bardia Housman, 33, founder/CEO, GoodBarry

Selling his first enterprise start.com.au (Australia’s first free web based email) to LookSmart for $20 million at the height of dot.com fever, he resurfaced in 2004 with online business solutions service Business Catalyst.

Branded GoodBarry the service gives SME’s a single application that encompasses all the tools they need to run a successful online business.

With the US clearly in his sights, Housman will go stateside this year with the GoodBarry concept, launching it globally. Seeking nothing les than incumbency in the space he competes in, Housman’s ultimate goal is a gig in politics or buying the Fox Network – whichever comes first.

The paparazzo: Dean Weinbren, 20 something, Click Ventures/Munky.com.au

Venture capitalist for digital start-ups by day, paparazzi for Generation Y by night Weinbren’s background in Organisational Psychology, Industrial Sociology and Network Marketing has primed him well for both.

Securing seed sponsorship from VisaEntertainment, Sony and Seafolly at launch in November, Munky.com.au is a social networking/entertainment portal featuring permission based photography of Sydney’s clubbing and entertainment scene. Monetised through venues, site sponsorship, advertising, brand activation and various marketing activities it has already amassed 5000 members.

Weinbren is still rolling out site functionality over the next two months ahead of an accelerated social networking

platform.

Cybermom: Kylie Little, 38, founder, www.essentialbaby.com.au

Noticing an absence of quality local websites dealing with parenting during her own pregnancy, Little seized the gap in the market in 1999 to create one herself despite scant web or baby knowledge. The site quickly found its niche attracting 100,000 members and the interest of Fairfax Digital which acquired Essential Baby and Little – as GM of business within Fairfax Digital – in Jan 2007 for a rumoured $4 million. While Little will remain consulting to FD for now she is gestating more online business concepts. “Our greatest achievement is the amazing community that has developed through Essential Baby (both online and offline). Its great to have been involved with creating a website that makes such a positive difference to peoples lives in this way.”

The map quest: Chris Bartlett, 26, MD, Mokoki

Spinning off from regional web developer Spectrum Wired, Bartlett has seized on the buregeoning demand for mobile mapping and location based service solutions. Operating for just one year locally, Bartlett has launched Mokoki India offering a complete mobile mapping solution with clients including Tata Telecom.

Taking Spectrum Wired from annual revenues of $100,000 to $1m in two years, 2008 will be focussed on rolling out to multiple carriers and handset manufacturers in India in addition to developing a social networking platform built on the Mokoki technology for global release.

Mantra: “Partnerships beat competition. Let’s do business.”

The rocker: Paul Buchanan, 42, GM, Soundbuzz Australia

With Motorola announcing its intention to acquire the pan-regional assets of digital music aggregator Soundbuzz in January, the company has fulfilled its launch objective in 2000 to turn the burgeoning digital and internet industry and the beleaguered music industry into a new and viable business model. Locally under Buchanan’s watch, Soundbuzz manages Optus’ online and mobile music suites, provides content management for Telstra Bigpondmusic, launched www.ripit.com.au – Dick Smith and Woolworth Group’s online music store, helped create 193123 – a ringtone and mobile music service that involves all major record labels and recently partnered with Network Ten’s Video Hits to help grow their digital business. Buchanan is an advocate for making sure music is easily consumed.

The Godfather: Alan Milwidsky, 45, principal and director, BSI and ADI

Equiped with a seasoned eye for technology ventures that work Milwidsky has acquired a Midas touch for digital investments.

Providing the platform for start-ups and entrepreneurs to access funding via events such as the BSI Investor forum and BSI global gateways, BSI has backed a host of emerging and established digital oufits such as RedBubble.com, email cash and Vroam, Milwidsky is inspired by the innovation currently blooming in the Australian market and is driven by smart ideas and being part of them but still dissapointed by “investors wary of early stage” investments. A year from now he will be “successfully existing our ventures and raining heaps of capital for deserving ventures”.

His ultimate goal: To list five early stage ventures.

The developer: Darren Neimke,39, development centre manager, Readify

Driving the R&D for Australia’s exclusive Microsoft professional services consultancy, Neimke thrives on driving local innovation for an international customer base.

Readify is a virtual organisation with 60 employees that can be found consulting globally anywhere at any time. Achieving consistent 51% YOY growth over the last three years, the group credits its emphasis on staff talent acquisition as driving its success.

Mantra: “The key to success lies in turning your hobby into your job. In other words, enjoy what you do for a living.”

The benefactor: Kerry Graham, 35, CEO Inspire Foundation

As CEO of Australia’s only non-profit organisation using technology as the premise to create opportunities for young people, Graham’s goal is to improve the lives of one million young Australians by 2010.

Inspire created Australia’s largest suicide prevention site Reach Out, with 250,000 hits per month.

Undaunted by lack of funding Inspire will look to expand offshore in 2008.

Graham is driven by “an acute awareness of the need for our services – young Australians are experiencing more psychological distress and greater social disconnection – and an unshakeable belief that technology is the most effective way to reach, engage and connect with young people”.

Hot property: Jim Vasseleu, 49, CEO, BRS Online www.buyrentsellonline.com.au

This start-up plans to revolutionise the real estate market by empowering individuals to buy, rent or sell real estate online. Driven by a belief that DIY property transactions will achieve better results than the entrenched method, if consumers are given the right tools to manage the process themselves.

The only thing standing in his way: “Peoples reluctance to change” the way they do things.

Giving himself a target of 12 months to shake up the domestic property market, Vasseleu plans to go global. Predictions for digital market in 2008?

“The emergence of more and more sites that provide value added web-based services as compared to web sites that simply promote traditional services.”

Highflyer: Robert Chamberlain, 24, MD, AirfaresFlights.com.au

Turning a university project in 2003 into one of Australia’s top 10 travel sites (Hitwise Q4, 2007), Chamberlain has managed to maintain profitability for the last four years for his online independent travel comparison site. Secret to success?

“The key is to offer the right product to the right audience at the right time.”

On the map for 2008 is the introduction of new services and international expansion.

He warns that overseas economic issues will impact the Australian market in 2008 – with only the most innovative and efficient models continuing to grow.

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