The spotlight will be on the Glitter Strip’s most accomplished young businesspeople tonight, who will be dressed to the nines as they gather for the Gold Coast Young Entrepreneur Awards at the JW Marriott.
Now in its 15th year, the initiative continues to unite the Gold Coast’s savviest young game-changers, allowing them to celebrate their achievements amongst a crowd of like-minded peers.
The 2022 Gold Coast Young Entrepreneur of the year winner will become part of a legacy that includes the likes of LSKD founder Jason Daniel, National Veterinary Care founder Tomas Steenackers, and Grace Loves Lace founder Megan Ziems, as well as returning finalists Tammy Hembrow of Tammy Fit and Dwayne Martens of Amazonia, among others.
Collectively, the Gold Coast Young Entrepreneur Awards finalists generated a combined $250 million in revenue and have created employment for more than 2,360 people. Undeterred by the challenges posed by COVID-19, a quarter of all finalists founded their businesses since the pandemic started.
On top of vying for the top prize - the Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award – all finalists will also be up for the coveted Trailblazer Award, which recognises a founder that has achieved exponential growth in their business over a short period of time. Last year, HomeGuardian.ai founder Kane Sajdak took home the title with his artificial intelligence (AI) tool that provides fall and incident detection in aged care, disability care and hospital settings.
Following a comprehensive judging process and hours of interviews with Business News Australia journalists, the winners will be announced across 16 categories at the gala dinner.
Young Entrepreneur Awards founder Camilla Jansen said she was excited to host tonight’s ceremony and recognise those who took leaps of faith to bring their entrepreneurial visions to life.
"An awards night like this is about celebrating founders who have worked hard to succeed despite the odds and build amazing companies from the ground up. The quality of the nominees blows me away every year and this time is no exception. Congratulations to all the finalists and thank you to everyone who took the time to nominate,” she said.
"I'd also like to thank our sponsors Go1, Venture Crowd, City of Gold Coast, OSW, MGI Accountants and Business Advisors, Study Gold Coast, and iVvy."
Aside from the two major awards of Young Entrepreneur of the Year and Trailblazer, the gala will span a range of sectors with 16 different award categories including:
- Arts & Culture
- Digital Disruptor
- Finance
- Fitness
- Food & Beverage
- Health & Medicine
- Hospitality & Tourism
- Marketing
- PR, Media & Events
- Professional Services
- Property & Construction
- Retail & Services
- Specialist Services
- Startup
- Sustainability & Social Responsibility
- Technology
The finalists in the Gold Coast Young Entrepreneur Awards 2022 are as follows (in alphabetical order by company):
Hayden McEvoy – A Team Tuition
Michael Luker – Ace Health Centre, Ace Health Care, MotionX
Dwayne Martens – Amazonia Global Group
William Hawkins – Appifany Australia
Flynn McFarlane – Arkhi
Carly Fradgley – Baby Give Back
Jordan Hrovat & Jack Murphy – Beyond BnB
Bernard Mangelsdorf – BITS Technology Group
Byron Van Gisborne – Career Building
Alex Volkanovski, Miles Muecke & Selasi Berdie – CMBT
Lachlan Fea & Joshua Heslin – Cloutly
Sam Lindell – COLLAB BAR
Katie Jones – Country Girl Management
Dr Anuj Gupta & Mannu Kala – Covax Australia
Luke Vaughan – Crown Realty International, The Vaun Group of Companies
Darshnakaur ‘Dolly’ Bhathal & Sabir Merchant – Daas QLD, Green Olive, Garlic Clove, Mothers Food Catering
David Lethbridge – DGE Electrcial
Kristie Baird – Drip IV, Mode Medical
Emilly Hankin – Emilly Hadrill Hair
Courtney Scott – Empowered Living Choices
Nikki Mann – Everi-Body
Kelly Weideman – EVOLT
Nova Ward – Fitcover
Joel Prokic, Matthew Nikolai & Jason Smit – G1 Asset Management, Tech to Country
James Carney, Alec Carney & Paul Carney – Gemelli Group
James Gilmour – Gilmour Space
Mark Hawley & Reuben Scheckter – Golf Journeys
Luke Ridden – Granddad Jack’s Craft Distillery
Natalie Durack – Happy Hounds Dog Walking and Pet Sitting
Lincoln De Assis Neto & Kevin Berot – Here Agency
Kane Sajdak – HomeGuardian.ai
Michael Huxley – Huxley Group, MCH Capital
Stacy Marlow & Sian Hull – Hy-Fidelity Dance Design
Selasi Berdie, Miles Muecke – HYPE Group
James Greig – iVvy, Bloomtools, Wildflower Gin
Luke Carruthers & Kacie-Lee Carruthers – Lackon
Reuben Scheckter & James Strathdee – Leadify
Taylor Victoria – Level Up Outsourcing
Diana Awad – Linked Financial Services, Linked Superannuation Services
Joshua Murchie, Mathew Sayed. Craig Gillam & Matthew Shipman – Little Phil, Purplefly.io
Jared Ooi – Maco Electrics
Mike Kellett – Macro Mike, Macro King & Macro Gym
Brock Ford & Siobhan Kelliher – MedaData
Thomas Blake – Media Shark, Double Jab
Gerard Murtagh – MouldMen
James Marshall – MWM Advisory
CJ Nash & Paris Faint – Nash Management
Jasminne Hristic – NGO Training Centre
Jamie Pitt & Ryan Elliott – Partnar
Siobhan Macdonald – Premium Diagnostics, Premium Auto Services, OBD2DIAGTOOLS, Miss Mechanical
Chantelle Geldenhuys & Craig Haywood – Quality Seal Australia
Daniel Quinn – QVolt Solar, QVolt Solar Electrical, Quinns Solar Cleaning
Nejra Karabut – Sash Beds
Paul Billing & Alexandra Rofe – Send Payments
Fabio Dos Reis – Shuttle Marketing Agency
Selasi Berdie, Miles Muecke & Nadia Schilling – Sprout Organic
Amy Hembrow & Emilee Hembrow – SSKIN
Tammy Hembrow – Tammy Fit
Craig Johnston & Lucy Johnston – TCLH Group, TCLH Academy
Dayna Cooper – The Jefferson Restaurant Group (Orzo Restaurant, Social Eating House)
Matthew Srama – The Srama Group
Amelia Gow – Training Evolution
Jacob Ritchie – Two Birds Social, Poly Studios, North Productions
Vasia Vogias & Heidi Peuten – Ulu Hye
Broden Johnson – Yakk, Hello Reviews, 850 Espresso, Treelabs
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