Australia’s top web 2.0 entrepreneurs

 

Chris Kettle – My247 (with Andrew Leask)

 

Kettle (at right) developed the idea for web and mobile-based entertainment information service in 1999. After working for a period at the Queensland power company Energex, he began building the business for real in 2003.

 

In 2005, My247 received its first round of capital, and Kettle is looking to another round now to fund its international growth. Already My247 has added 750,000 restaurants, bars, clubs and other entertainment venues to its online and mobile listings service, covering Britain, the US and Canada in addition to its original listings from Australia.

 

Interest is high, and a recent application for the Apple iPhone has exceeded expectations with more than 6000 downloads in 55 countries in just weeks of release.

 

Marc Lehmann – SaaSu (with Grant Young)

 

Marc Lehmann (pictured) had been working in finance at Deutsche Bank when he saw his opportunity. Having seen the potential of the internet for delivering financial information, he also noticed that many of the smart financial guys he was working with were too busy to do their own accounting.

 

There was an opportunity to combine the two, and together with web developer Grant Young he created an online accounting service, SaaSu. He is now on the verge of bringing on a major investor that he says will significantly reshape the business, adding sales and marketing expertise and providing funding to move more into international markets.

 

In September this year, SaaSu experienced its best month for both revenue and new customer sign-ups, with 46% of new business revenue now coming from offshore.

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