It’s hard to stand out in business world – especially when every Tom, Dick and Kayla Itsines has a start-up that’s making waves – but it’s absolutely happening, and Aussies are damn-well part of the crop.
If you haven’t already heard (oh, the shame), PEDESTRIAN.TV, together with our pals Swarovski, have decided to recognise the best moments in Australian pop culture – including those standing out in business and creativity, by throwing The Inaugural ‘PEZZYS’.
They’re basically a swanky-as-heaven awards night where we’ll be giving the much-deserved love to things that went on throughout 2017. There are eight categories (each with five nominees for a PEZZY) that’ll share the spotlight during the evening which, when viewed collectively, form quite the comprehensive cross-section of the happenings in Australian pop culture not too long ago.
It’s on Feb 28th, so we need your help to make sure the right person takes home the gong.
Without further ado, here’s who we’re nominating for the “Like A Boss” category, otherwise known as the moment makers in Aussie business.
Local Jewellery Label Babyanything Scored Kim K & Miley Cyrus (And Us) As Fans
This year it was Lucie Ferguson‘s jewellery label BabyAnything‘s turn to cop the Kardashian effect, after her sis Elle Ferguson (one half of of influencer duo They All Hate Us) gifted Kim Kardashian part of the range at the KKW Beauty launch in LA.
Kim wore it – because have you seen the stuff, why wouldn’t you – and voila, magic happened in the shape of spiked sales and worldwide recognition. Miley Cyrus is another big name who can’t get enough of the brand, spotted wearing BabyAnything‘s ranges on multiple occasions throughout the last 12 months. Not bad for a little Sydney-based brand.
Afterpay Is Everywhere, Turns Out We’re Super Into Buying Now And Paying Later
It’s crazy to think that a couple of years ago Afterpay didn’t even exist, and now it’s a permanent fixture in so many retailers and, well, people in general’s lives. Sydney-based co-founder and CEO of Afterpay, Nick Molnar, is to thank for this, and it’s pretty darn impressive how he managed to shake up the retail industry in 2017, namely by becoming more and more prevalent throughout it. Afterpay has become like free shipping: if you don’t have it, customers are going elsewhere.
A Festival All About Death & Dying Came To Sydney And Was A Lively Success
We’re All Going to Die, the brainchild of Byron Bay bloke Stefan Hunt, came to being after a successful 2017 Kickstarter campaign. The 30 y/o cooked up the idea after a bout of bad anxiety, and it was unlike anything Sydney had ever seen. Described as an “amusement park for the soul“, it consisted of immersive Groove Therapy, panel discussions on death, art installations and meditation. Fun fact: he has a book of the same name.
Aussie Tech Start-Up Canva Is Now Worth Over $1 Billion & Scored ‘Unicorn’ Status
Aussie tech startup Canva became a private company worth at least $US1 billion in the last 12 months, which is damn rare, after scoring new venture capital funding from Blackbird Ventures. Canva, in case you’re not across it, is a browser-based platform which lets you whack together nice looking visual content collaboratively without needing to know how to do graphic design. It comes with an inbuilt library of design elements you can purchase, which makes it very monetisable. It’s the brainchild of Aussie young gun Mel Perkins, who is a damn genius imo.
Showpo CEO Jane Lu Made Her 1st Appearance On AFR’s Young Rich List With A Cool $32M Profit
Jane Lu, founder of affordable e-tailer Showpo, has been killing it for years – this much we know. But in 2017, the young entrepreneur made her debut of AFR’s Young Rich List and that is not easy feat. How’d she do it? Oh, just by raking in a cool $32 million profit – no biggie. We guess there’s serious cash to be made in clever social media marketing, affordable price points and being ahead of the game in the retail industry. Showpo’s proof.
OH THE COMPETITION. Vote for your fave below.
[ptv_quiz quiz_id=”674015″]
