What EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Winners Teach Us About the Future of Australian Business
There is a moment in every founder's journey that is almost impossible to describe. It's a moment that comes after years of solitary, unseen, and often thankless work. It's after the sleepless nights spent staring at the ceiling, the gut-wrenching payrolls you weren't sure you could make, the crushing rejections, and the thousand small, hard-won victories that no one else ever sees.
It is the moment you look up and realise you are not alone. It is the moment you are welcomed into a community of your peers, a tribe of fellow travellers who know, intimately, the weight of the burdens you have carried and the scale of the mountains you have climbed.
For me, that moment was in 2011 when I had the immense honour of being named the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year. To stand on that stage was not just a personal validation; it was a profound acknowledgement of the entire RedBalloon team and the thousands of small business partners we had supported. It was a moment that said, "We see you. What you are building matters."
Every year since, I have watched the announcement of the new winners with a deep sense of pride and excitement. The EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ program is so much more than an awards night. It is the nation's most prestigious and important snapshot of our entrepreneurial health. It is a living, breathing showcase of the incredible innovation, resilience, and ambition that is quietly powering the future of the Australian economy.
This year's winners, as detailed in the fantastic coverage by Startup Daily, are an extraordinary group. But I want to go beyond just celebrating their names. I want to dissect their stories. I want to look at the powerful themes that emerge from this class of leaders, because within their journeys lie the most valuable and timely lessons for every single founder and business leader in Australia today.
The Visionaries - Architects of Entirely New Realities
One of the most exciting themes to emerge from this year's winners is the sheer scale of their ambition. These are not founders who are just building a better mousetrap. They are the visionaries who are reimagining the entire house. They are looking at established industries and asking the powerful, disruptive question: "What if there was a completely different way?"
In the Technology category, we see this in spades. The national winner, Ben Thompson of Employment Hero, is a brilliant example. He is not just building HR software; he has an "AI-first" vision for the very nature of work. It’s a bold, audacious bet on a future where technology doesn't just automate tasks, but fundamentally augments human capability. It’s a lesson in the courage it takes to skate to where the puck is going, not where it has been.
We see a different flavour of this vision with Paul Anderson of Orthocell. He is operating at the very frontier of human biology, leading the charge in regenerative medicine. This isn't about incremental improvement; it's about restoring function, about giving people back the lives they thought were lost. It's a powerful reminder that the biggest opportunities often lie in solving the most profound human problems.
And then there's Anthony Baum of Tiimely. His journey is a masterclass in visionary resilience. He began by trying to disrupt the consumer home loan market, a notoriously difficult industry to crack. But instead of giving up when that model faced headwinds, he pivoted, transforming the technology he had built into a powerful B2B/SaaS platform. This is the essence of a visionary mindset: being passionately committed to your long-term mission, but ruthlessly pragmatic and flexible in your short-term strategy. It’s a core tenet of what it takes to scale a business successfully.
The Lesson for Founders: Are you just improving on the status quo, or are you brave enough to imagine a completely new one? A truly great business doesn't just compete in the market; it creates a new one.
The Builders - Crafting Brands with Heart, Soul, and Community
If the visionaries are the architects, the builders are the master craftspeople. These are the founders who understand that in today's transparent, connected world, a great brand is not built with a massive advertising budget; it is built with a deep, authentic, and obsessive commitment to its culture and its community.
In the Industry category, I was so thrilled to see Jason Daniel of LSKD recognised. I have watched their journey, and it is a masterclass in modern brand building. This is not just an activewear brand; it is a movement. Their "culture-led" approach and their deep roots in their community are not "soft" marketing initiatives; they are their most powerful and most defensible competitive advantage. They have built a tribe, not just a customer list.
We see this same DNA in Dani Atkins & Alex Babich of Kulani Kinis. Their story of bootstrapping a swimwear brand to global scale is a testament to the power of grit and a genuine connection to their audience. Their focus on inclusivity and sustainability is not a marketing tactic; it is an authentic expression of their values, and their customers feel that.
And then there's Ruby Wang of Nudie Glow. Her journey is a brilliant playbook for any modern e-commerce founder. She didn't just start by selling K-beauty products; she started by educating the market. She built her authority and her community first, through valuable content. The commerce followed. This "education-led" approach is one of the most powerful and sustainable ways to build a brand today, because it is built on a foundation of trust, not just transactions. It’s a core component of building your personal brand as a founder, which ultimately becomes the soul of your company's brand.
The Lesson for Founders: Are you just selling a product, or are you building a community? In a world of infinite choice, the emotional connection your customers feel to your brand and its story is the only real, lasting loyalty there is.
The Operators - The Unsung Heroes of Grit and Excellence
Not all of entrepreneurship is glamorous disruption and cool branding. So much of it is the unsexy, day-in-day-out, relentless hard work of operational excellence. It's about showing up, solving hard problems, and having the grit to endure. This year's winners are a powerful tribute to this essential quality.
The Services winner, Matt Rear of PPS Water Group, is the embodiment of this. His is a story of a "gritty turnaround," of taking on a tough challenge in a critical infrastructure industry and succeeding through a relentless focus on his people and his customers. This is the kind of leadership that doesn't always make the headlines, but it is the very backbone of our economy.
In the same vein, Grahame Aston of PPC Moulding Services represents the power of steady, consistent, and innovative execution over decades. In an era where so much manufacturing has gone offshore, his commitment to advanced prototyping, robotics, and re-shoring is a powerful story of Australian capability and resilience.
And then there is Laurent Boillon of Laurent Bakery. His story is a fascinating case study in scaling a craft. He took an artisan skill—the creation of authentic sourdough—and had the vision and the operational discipline to deliver it at a mass-market scale, first across Australia and now with global ambitions. It’s a lesson that quality and scale do not have to be mutually exclusive if you have a deep mastery of your craft.
The Lesson for Founders: Are you as obsessed with your operational processes and your team culture as you are with your product? A great idea is just the starting point. It is the relentless, daily commitment to excellence in execution that builds a truly enduring business.
The Heart of It All - Entrepreneurs as a Force for Good
Finally, and for me, most importantly, this year's winners are a powerful reminder that a business can, and should, be a profound force for good in the world. The line between "business" and "social enterprise" is becoming increasingly, and beautifully, blurred.
The Social Entrepreneurship winner, Ashley van de Venne of LifeFlight, is simply awe-inspiring. This is an aeromedical service that saves lives at scale, built on a foundation of innovation and deep cultural inclusion. It is a powerful example of a high-performance, high-stakes operation driven by a deep and unwavering purpose.
I was also so moved to see Deborah Thomas of Camp Quality recognised. I have known Deb for many years, and to see how she has transformed this vital organisation, doubling its reach through creative fundraising and a relentless focus on its purpose, is a masterclass in not-for-profit leadership.
And then you have Tim Jarvis of The Forktree Project and Jason Trethowan of headspace. One is tackling the existential challenge of climate change and biodiversity loss; the other is at the forefront of the national youth mental health crisis. These are not just entrepreneurs; they are leaders who have chosen to take on our society's biggest and most complex challenges. They remind us that the entrepreneurial mindset—the curiosity, the bias for action, the resilience—is one of the most powerful tools we have for creating a better world. This is the very definition of a business with purpose.
The Lesson for Founders: What is the deeper impact of your work? A business built solely for profit is a business with no soul. A business that is also a vehicle for positive change is a business that can create a real, lasting legacy.
A Source of Inspiration for Us All
As I look at this incredible list of winners, I am filled with a profound sense of optimism for the future of Australian business. They are a diverse, brilliant, and deeply inspiring group of leaders who are not just building great companies; they are shaping a better, more innovative, and more compassionate Australia.
Their stories are not just for them. They are for all of us. They are a playbook of what is possible. They are a reminder that whether you are a visionary, a builder, an operator, or a social change agent, the path of the entrepreneur is one of immense challenge, but also of immense opportunity and reward.
I want to extend my heartfelt congratulations to every single winner and finalist. Welcome to the family. Your journey is an inspiration to us all.
