Vibrant founders to vie for Australian Young Entrepreneur Awards

Following hotly contested events across four cities, a community of high-achieving founders from all over the country will converge on the Gold Coast tomorrow to celebrate Australia's leading media-led initiative that finds, recognises and fosters outstanding examples of entrepreneurship amongst under-40s.

Now in their fifth year on a national level and their 15th since the first instalment in Queensland, the Australian Young Entrepreneur Awards were established by Business News Australia founder and managing director Camilla Jansen, attracting a culturally diverse cohort filled with ambitious visions, grit and outstanding business acumen.

The winner of the top prize will have some big shoes to fill after ed-tech unicorn Go1's founders Vu Tran, Andrew Barnes, Chris Eigeland and Chris Hood were crowned Australian Young Entrepreneurs of the Year 2021, having nominated over the course of a decade before reaching that peak.

The calibre and accomplishments of some of the participating entrepreneurs are bound to evoke a sense of imposter syndrome for some, including yours truly, but for the most part the awards are a meeting of minds with a chance to unwind, and serve to inspire everyone present regardless of their background. 

What is surprising is how often the award winners are, themselves, surprised at the recognition. 

It is a joy for us here at Business News Australia to compile the programs for these awards and soak up the snippets of entrepreneurs' stories all at once, because our team has been interviewing them and following their stories over the course of months, and often years for a portion of the Young Entrepreneur Awards community. 

To then see everyone in the same room - their support of one another, the jubilation, the connections being built, and the insights and journeys shared on-stage - is a wonderful way to round out the year as we lead into the holiday season, after living and breathing tales of entrepreneurship in their cornucopia of forms since nominations first opened on 1 July.

The awards will be taking place at JW Marriott at Surfers Paradise, with 20 award categories up for grabs including the overall prize and the coveted Trailblazer Award. 

The Australian Young Entrepreneur Awards 2022 are sponsored by Go1, Venture Crowd, City of Gold Coast, OSW, and iVvy.

Award categories up for contention are:

• Arts & Culture
• Digital Disruptor
• Fashion & Design
• Finance
• Fitness
• Food & Beverage
• Health & Medicine
• Hospitality & Tourism
• Manufacturing, Wholesale & Distribution
• Marketing
• PR, Media & Events
• Professional Services
• Property & Construction
• Retail & Services
• Specialist Services
• Startup
• Sustainability & Social Responsibility
• Technology 
• Trailblazer

The finalists of the Australian Young Entrepreneur Awards 2022 are as follows (categorised alphabetically by location and company name)

Adelaide

• Vikram Palit – Consultmed
• Nilan Mihindukulasooriya & Nisal Karunathilaka – Firehouse Technology, Brick & Mortar 
• Craig Lock, Alexandra Karatassa & Ross Osmon – Five Four Entertainment, Plus One Co, Lion Arts Factory, Super California, Hindley Street Music Hall, Spin Off Festival 
• Tim Wilson & Earl Kellie – La Haute
• Tyson Hoffmann & Jess Davis – Mr Potato
• Hinney Lo – PixelForce
• Geoffrey Steele – Steele Building Group
• Misagh Zarei – Zarei Construct

Brisbane

• Nof Hamze & Alex Hamze – Alamour the Label
• Maddison Lawrence – Bushwrapz, Slick Azz Protective Films
• Carl Hartmann – Compono
• Shannah Bradshaw – Disrupt Digital, SponsoredLinx, GetMore Traffic, Search Marketing Experts, Disrupt Music Group, Deep Future 
• Alex Ewart & Conor Hagan – Explorate
• Peter Hull – Fitstop
• Chris Baptista – Homes by CMA
• Daniel Wessels – Jacaranda Finance
• Joe Zhou – Joe Zhou Pty Ltd, Kedron 7 Day Chemist, Aceso Group, Picture Lock Studio
• Nic Blair & Matt Anderson – Midnight Health
• Thomas Fu & Tom Mcpherson – Motor Culture Australia
• James Mutton – Motorcycle Trading
• Lucas Patchett & Nicholas Marchesi – Orange Sky
• Peter Dodeja – SAI Security Group, SAI Investments Group
• Alex Harper & Angus Goldman – Swyftx
• Nicholas Mitrossillis – The Yiros Shop
• Sam James & Laurie Malone – VALD
• Joshua Spurway & Myrrah Balasabas – Vision Made Co

Byron Bay

• Alexz Parviainen – HUSTL.
• Elliot Hayes & Beau Savage – Smart Energy

Casino

• David McGiveron & Bianca Tarrant – Our Cow

Drouin

• Cam Noble, Keenan Te & Matt Noble – ACTS Music Group

Gold Coast

• Flynn McFarlane – Arkhi
• Byron Van Gisborne – Career Building
• Dr Anuj Gupta & Mannu Kala – Covax Australia
• Emilly Hankin – Emilly Hadrill Hair
• Kelly Weideman – EVOLT
• James Carney, Alec Carney & Paul Carney – Gemelli Group
• James Gilmour – Gilmour Space
• Michael Huxley – Huxley Group, MCH Capital
• James Greig – iVvy, Bloomtools, Wildflower Gin
• Luke Carruthers & Kacie-lee Carruthers – Lackon
• Joshua Murchie, Mathew Sayed & Craig Gillam – Little Phil
• Jared Ooi – Maco Electrics
• Mike Kellett – Macro Mike, Macro King, Macro Gym
• James Marshall – MWM Advisory
• Siobhan Macdonald – Premium Auto Services
• Tammy Hembrow – Tammy Fit
• Jacob Ritchie – Two Birds Social, Poly Studios, North Productions

Melbourne

• Tamara Alaveras – 3 Phase Marketing
• Marcus Kellett & Alex Bottomley – Ampersand Projects
• Cale Donovan & Sam McConkey – Bare
• Bianca Roccisano & Bridgett Roccisano – Bianca and Bridgett, Booby Tape
• Ishu Singh & Anna Dewan – Burger Road
• Dr May Chan & Dr Reuben Sim – Dental Boutique
• Alex Tyson – Found-Space
• Daniel Kitay – FUNDAY Natural Sweets
• Adam Sarfati & Ace Reunis – HeapsGood Packaging
• Paul Jones – Jones Real Estate
• Harry Karefilakis – Kare Group, Ethos Electrical Services, All Steel Designs
• Fergus Creese – My Careers, Go Girls Foundation
• Daniel Pearson – PingCo
• Ellie Vaisman & Giovanni Pino – Sourci
• Michael Ramsey – Strong Pilates
• Nicholas Greco, Filippo Palermo, Michael Christidis & Christian Serrao – Untitled Group

Newcastle

• Ross Anderson – Aviassist
• Abid Khan – Thermalog

Perth

• Chris Morrisey – Ever Nimble, Tech Lane
• Julian Pace – Happiness Co
• Blake Kelleway & Luke Whelan – Perth is OK!
• Cian Brennan – Quantum Contract Solutions, Quantum Legal Solutions
• Matt Lim, Grace Tate & Cale Walsh – Snackr
• Heuson Bak – Solar Naturally
• Brandon Willington – Where U?

Pokolbin

• Courtney Joyce & Zac Joyce – Virtual Spotter

Sydney

• Xavier Orr & Chris Shaw – Advanced Navigation
• Chris Parker – Awaken
• Sam Wood – Azura Fashion Group
• Paul Maric & Alborz Fallah – Carexpert.com.au
• Ben Lipschitz – FoodByUs
• Bishara Hatoum – Fundo Loans
• George Papura – Georgiemane
• Anaita Sarkar & Vikram Davé – Hero Packaging
• Matthew Holloway – Holloway Group
• Brad Manuel – Livewire Group International
• Carl Hartmann – Lyre’s
• Alexis Soulopoulos – Mad Paws
• Abdul Razak & Samira Razak – Maple Community Services
• Sean Crook & Christopher Makhoul – Neolink
• Rob Hango-Zada & William On – Shippit
• Sam Jamsheedi – Trademark Group, Trademark Global

Wollongong

• Christian Pacheco – Virtual IT Group, Pia