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The wait is almost over for the 2025 Brisbane Young Entrepreneur Awards as the city's leading founders aged under 40 prepare for a night of celebration, connection and recognition at The Calile tonight, with no shortage of inspiring stories to be shared at the sold-out gala.
Queensland's Olympic city has produced an impressive cohort of finalists for this year's event where competition across award categories will be tight, and all founders will vie for the prestigious Young Entrepreneur of the Year title previously won by such Brisbane business champions as the founders of Go1, Swyftx and NEXTDC, to name a few.
Go1 co-founder Andrew Barnes joins the judging panel in this 17th edition of the initiative, as does digital ads entrepreneur Brad Moran who has twice won the Digital Disruptor award in Brisbane with his company CitrusAd which he exited in 2023.
The esteemed panel of judges also includes Greencross founder Dr Glen Richards, Vita Group founder Maxine Horne, Acusensus co-founder Alexander Jannink, Dental Boutique founders Dr Reuben Sim and Dr May Chan, Zee Zhang from MGI, Loanezi founder Renee Tocco, and Business News Australia founder Camilla Westerlund.
A particularly robust judging process with varied perspectives means it is truly anyone's guess as to who will go home with awards tonight.
As one of Australia's fastest-growing startup ecosystems, Brisbane boasts a Young Entrepreneur Awards finalist cohort whose combined turnover exceeds $500 million - second only to Melbourne nationally - while median turnover is well ahead of any other city and up 70 per cent year-on-year.
Median profit, meanwhile, is second only to the Gold Coast.
In a year that Brisbane teams won titles in Australia's two most popular football codes, the river city's founders are punching above their weight in the business arena too, bringing innovation, grit and deft execution with their ventures that are shaking up traditional industries.
The first award to be announced tonight will be for the inaugural Beauty & Wellness category which has attracted a strong showing in its first year, alongside other vibrant sectors from technology to health, food to finance, retail to manufacturing, and more.
The 2025 Brisbane Young Entrepreneur Awards would not have been possible without the support of its corporate partners - the Australian Government’s Industry Growth Program, UQ Ventures, MGI Accountants & Business Advisors, SUBCO, the Brisbane City Council, and iVvy.
All award winners will automatically go through as finalists to the 2025 Australian Young Entrepreneur Awards, to be held on the Gold Coast on 29 November.
The 2025 Brisbane Young Entrepreneur Awards finalists are (in alphabetical order by company):
Dr Ellie Kim - Adore Dental
Adam Hall & Matt Carroll - AH Fencing
Rob Joseph - Anti Ordinary
Cian Davis & Sinead Davis - Aspira Health
Jaryd Terkelsen & Ash Bisset - Beforeyouspeak Coffee
Tim Black & Stephen Smith - Black Developments
Ben Weedon - BLW Marine Management
Jack Freestone - Buyers Collective Co
Paul Maric - CarExpert.com.au
Chris Baptista – CMA, ARQUE
Dr Christopher Jeffery - Convergence Medical
Chris Allen - CRA Construction
Morgan Wilson - creditte
Sarah Hall - Cymbal Agency
Tristan Woollett & Jason Woollett - Elevate Estate Agents
Mariana Fataccioli - Elysian Cartel
Matthew Wall & Lia Wall - Emerald Developments
Tim Whybourne & Ryan Loehr - Emanuel Whybourne & Loehr
Ashley Robertson - Forward Moves Group
Sam McNamara - Getahead
Taaj Kumar & Cristian Campo - Good Morning Roaster
Ashawani Soni - Holistic Home Care
Zhanna Johnson & Jake Johnson - Homely Flooring
James Sneddon, Luke Fuller & Dr Cris Quitral - Hyphen Health
Nathan Rice - iFab Steel, iFab Direct
Daniel Wessels - Jacaranda Finance Group
Jason Le - JRNY Digital
Tory Ogden - Kompliance, Voltora Industries
Luke Armstrong & Matt Dumars - KSC Claims
Amy Williams - Lash Prodigy
Courtney Lockett - Lockett McCullough Lawyers
Jesse Stowers - Lula Rum
Kyle Macmillan - Macmillan Lawyers and Advisors
Nic Blair & Matt Anderson - Midnight Health
Jae Martin & Bec Martin - Mondaze Burgers & Shakes, Mondaze Media
Thomas Fu & Tom Mcpherson - Motor Culture Australia
Daniel Mikus & James Rolph - MR Group
Dean Leibbrandt, Tegan Leibbrandt & Jaryd Leibbrandt - Nakie
Jake Brown & Lachlan Baxter - Naturally Cooked Sunscreen
Amelia St Baker & Andy St Baker-Radice - Ninja Allied Health
Maria Braun & Emily-Brooke LeBoydre - Rebod Australia, Embod, Mirabele Beauty
Alycia Chapman - TBC Studios, Project C Studios
Jordan Sullivan & Jack Doherty - The Fight Dietitian, Trainade
Jasmine O'Reilly - The Outlier Group
Joshua Spurway - Vision Made Co, Straight Up Energy
Tony Chan - Wagepay
Blake Thompson - x-recruiter
Lane Stockton - Yarn'n
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