Meet the 40 Under 40 alumni forging innovative paths in the world of technology
The tech industry has exciting times ahead with these talented minds steering us into the future.
Ryan Norris
Vayeron Pty Ltd: Founder and CEO
The key to a successful business is identifying a need and then servicing it. Ryan Norris, 34, discovered critical productivity and maintenance issues in belt conveyors used in mining operations, which led to downtime, fires, maintenance inefficiency and, as you can guess, costs. After selling his fishing boat to help raise capital, Ryan founded Vayeron – a business that uses a world-first, autonomous monitoring solution to “sensorise” the roller components to remotely track their condition over time and get ahead of failures. It’s a complicated idea, but one that’s proven to have significant impact in the mining space. Vayeron now exports to Chile, USA, Canada, Italy, South Africa, India, Taiwan, China, Malaysia and Hong Kong, and is recognised as best practice mining tech in the bulk handling belt conveyor sector globally.
Three books that changed your life?
Shoe Dog by Phil Knight, Factfulness by Dr. Hans Rosling, Sapiens by Noah Yuval Harrari
Sarah Moran
Girl Geek Academy: Co-founder and CEO
Sarah Moran, 39, helped establish Girl Geek Academy in 2014 as a place to learn, connect and inspire change. The social enterprise is dedicated to achieving gender equality across the tech industry as a whole, making the industry welcoming and enjoyable for women through programs in sectors such as games, startups, 3D printing, design and aviation. The business arranged the first all-women hackathon in the world, worked with more than 1000 teachers in delivering the National Digital Technologies Curriculum, and recently released a series of middle-grade fiction books with Penguin Random House about girls exploring the world of STEM. Sarah and her team continue to strive towards lofty goals – Girl Geek Academy seeks to bring one million women and girls into technology careers by 2030.
Favourite podcast?
My one – Download This Show on Radio National, of course!
Nathan Schokker
SafeCo – Co-founder
SafeCo was born to address a swathe of newfound problems brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Nathan Shockker, 36, and his team initially devised SafeVisit, Australia’s first community-led contact tracing solution. It was an immediate success – adopted across every state and territory of Australia within 60 days after launch. Since then, Nathan and the SafeCo operation has diversified profoundly. Under the SafeCo umbrella, the organisation offers everything from digital ticketing solutions that incorporate contact-tracing capabilities to revolutionised business cards that use NFC chips and QR codes, thereby reducing single-use waste.
One rule you live your life by?
Always say, ‘yes’, then figure out how to do it later.
Tim Hall
GreaseBoss: Co-founder and CEO
Did you know that up to 70-percent of industrial equipment failures can be attributed to incorrect lubrication? It might not be a point of information that has ever crossed your mind, but when 43 hours of a mine shutdown incurs $34 million in downtime costs, you best believe a lot of people take notice. Tim Hall, 36, is the co-founder of Sunshine Coast-based GreaseBoss – a digital lubrication management service that uses pioneering solutions to ensure that every grease point gets the right grease, in the right amounts, at the right time. Uptake of GreaseBoss’ technology has been swift, with companies across mining, manufacturing and heavy rail sectors signing on as clients. GreaseBoss is now looking to become a key player in the digital era of lubrication on a global scale.
One rule you live your life by?
Don’t give up because the going gets hard. Dig deep, focus on what there is to gain and continue to push through.
Alastair Blenkin
ProcurePro: Founder and CEO
Put simply, ProcurePro is a specialised procurement software for head contractors in construction. The business, co-founded by Alastair Blenkin, 32, circumvents the antiquated and disconnected procurement methods for trades used at the outset of construction projects. ProcurePro does this by offering a sleek end-to-end platform that reduces inefficiencies, data leakage and human error, which typically amount to millions of dollars in costs every year. Users can streamline tendering processes, compare subcontractors, identify supply chain risks and improve profitability. In the two years since launch, ProcurePro has been used by more than 60 major builders in Australia and New Zealand across more than 600 projects worth more than $15 billion in total construction value.
