From processes to products: how innovative thinking is reshaping small business

We catch up with some of our entrepreneurs from last year’s Innovators competition to road test the role of innovation in their business growth.

In 2021, Kochie’s Business Builders in partnership with PEUGEOT Professional embarked on a mission to discover the nation’s most innovative small business owners. Ahead of the launch of the 2022 competition, we caught up with our winner and some of our finalists to see how innovation continues to power their brands.

FoodByUs Innovators 2021 winner

FoodByUs co-founder Ben Lipschitz says the food tech startup was created to streamline the ordering process for hospitality businesses. It operates as a one-stop-shop for restaurants, caterers and more, to order wholesale food from hundreds of suppliers.

Lipschitz says he and his co-founders discovered many inefficiencies in the hospitality industry when it came to ordering supplies. FoodByUs aimed to solve this issue by providing a central marketplace for business owners.

The founder says FoodByUs is about more than service, technology or product range. From search to payment to issue resolution to accounting and everything in between, the startup aims to provide simply the best ordering experience for their users. To do this, Ben and his co-founders have focused on listening to the changing market needs.

Since launching the company with two friends, FoodByUs has grown to a team of 60, and Lipschitz anticipates it will continue to grow to 80 by year’s end.

Innovation is still at the heart of the business.

“Innovation is at the core of what we do. How do we innovate? We test the boundaries of what we think our technology can do, listen to what the customer needs, and develop an elegant solution that will work for them.

“During COVID, we helped hospitality businesses with procurement by allowing them to get in control of their ordering and their costs. This was critical during COVID, I when every dollar counts.”

For Lipschitz, going the extra mile to assist his customers is a no-brainer.

“I always think it’s very helpful to solve a real problem. It’s something that drives me every day.”

Innovators Australia winner Ben Lipschitz talks about FoodByUs

Brain Changer – Innovators 2021 ACT winner

Tina McIntosh had been living with chronic pain for years when she decided to take matters into her own hands. The result was Brain Changer, the ACT winner of our 2021 Innovators competition. Brain Changer is a program that uses neuroscience to help pain sufferers manage their pain by retraining neuropathways in the brain.

Since developing the program, McIntosh has helped 1000s of people alleviate their chronic pain.

“It took about a year of experimenting with putting together the first version of Brain Changer. When I shared it with my health care team (a GP, physiotherapist and a pain psychologist), they told me it was brilliant and that I could help a lot of people.

“My goal when I started was to fix myself – but if I could help some others along the way, then that was a bonus,” she says

“For me, innovation is when you are creating new value,” says McIntosh. “We constantly run a design test and learn loop. I think you know you are onto a winner when you have a solution to a problem that needs to be solved. ”

Street Science QLD 2021 winner

Determined to make science more interesting for disengaged kids, former high school teacher Steve Liddell launched Street Science to bring his passion for the subject to life. A travelling roadshow of science facts coupled with experiments and audience participation, Street Science has entertained 1000s of kids around Australia. It uses the national curriculum as a launchpad to make science facts fun again and has evolved from a one-person show to a team dozens of equally passionate science geeks.

When the pandemic hit and ended, face-to-face teaching and touring roadshows became a no-no, Liddell realised he had to pivot his offering.

He launched a Street Science channel on YouTube to continue delivering science facts for kids and set up a one-stop-shop for parents and teachers to shop for science kits to allow kids to experiment at home.

“As business owners, we always need to be looking for opportunities to change the way we do business,” says Liddell.

“I think without innovation, we’d stay stagnant. Innovation is ingrained in our business model. We’re always trying to push the limits. We’re never happy with where we are at.

“It’s a bit of a mix of: the skies the limit and backing yourself and giving it a go,” he concludes.

Innovators competition

Kochie’s Business Builders and PEUGEOT Professional are proud to bring you Innovators, a national competition to find Australia’s most innovative small businesses disrupting the norm in 2022. We asked you to nominate and vote for inventive, creative businesses that are disrupting the norm. From 1000s of votes, you selected your winner! It’s all thanks to PEUGEOT Professional vans, made for businesses driving their own roads to success. See more at peugeot.com.au.