2023 National Winners

Footage: Upbeat music plays as the video moves from a blue opening screen with the Telstra logo to the Award presenter.  

Presenter, CEO, Vicki Brady speaks: Here we go. The 2023 Telstra Best of Business Awards, Business of the Year is Winyama Digital Solutions Proprietary Limited. 

Footage: Recipient wearing a dinner suit walks past tables of well-dressed people and onto the stage to accept his award.  

Audio: Upbeat electronic music, audience cheers and applauds. 

Recipient speaks: I haven't got my other speech. Oh, no. Okay. And I've written it, too. Oh, my. Two speeches in one night. That is not something you ask me to do. That is an absolute honour to receive that award. I cannot believe that this is obviously a win for the indigenous community tonight. And I would say to our to our community, ‘dream big, guys, dream big.’ 

I mentioned before that Winyama's story is about Indigenous inclusion in the digital economy, and I think we can truly say that Telstra is obviously aligned with our purpose and our work. I can't say thank you enough to the Telstra judges who had obviously the difficult task of looking across all the businesses in the room and then just saw something special in our business. 

So, thank you so much judges, um, to, to see the broad range of inspiring businesses in the room tonight and to pick Winyama as a winner that's truly humbling. So, thank you so much. 

Um, Winyama, at its core, is about Indigenous employment in the tech sector and our mission is to bring more Indigenous people into this tech workforce. Our social initiatives like the Indigenous Mapping Workshop, really act as that gateway for that sector. And our employment strategy that we've had over the last couple of years has really opened up new worlds for the Indigenous staff that we've employed to become more techie in their in their role.  

Again, I want to thank our amazing employees who inspire me and everyone else around them. They're the ones who are at the frontlines of the Indigenous digital inclusion space, but also the Indigenous innovation space as well. So together we dream up these amazing programs to do in the community and solutions that we that we make for our own community. So, like, how good does that sound as a job, right? It's amazing. 

In particular, I want to thank again Paul, my business partner, and the GIS team when we formed Winyama, I think our confidence levels sort of wavered and I think yours never did. But this is obviously just an amazing space and a recognition in this forum is amazing. Thank you for your belief and your support. Paul, it's been fantastic. 

So lastly, I just want to say thank you again to Telstra. Winyama is absolutely honoured to receive this prestigious award and I'll be taking it home to Perth to show my kids and my partner and the rest of my staff back home. So, thank you so much. 

Footage: The audience applauds and cheers as the video transitions to a blue end screen with the words ‘Best of Business Awards’ and the Telstra logo.  

Audio – music: Telstra jingle plays. 

Footage: Upbeat music plays as the video moves from a blue opening screen with the Telstra logo to the Award presenter.  

Presenter speaks: Okay. Hello, everybody. It is such an honour to be here and so nice to be back again this year. So without further ado, the 2023 Telstra Best of Business Awards, National Accelerating Women Award winner is. FBW Gynaecology Plus. 

Footage: Recipient wearing a formal dress walks past tables of well-dressed people and onto the stage to accept her award.  

Recipient speaks: Wow. I am so honoured to receive this award on my Persian New Year. Happy Nowruz to those who have a Nowruz. Thank you to the Telstra Best of Business Award Committee for recognising the importance of accelerating women. I was only 12 years old when the Islamic Republic put me on the wrong side of politics to study medicine. I moved to Germany, for love, I came to Australia.   

Having lived in three different continents. I realised that women's health issues are a taboo subject globally. I vowed to be a voice for women, so I became a gynaecologist, which was a male dominated field. But my generation became a bridge between the past and the future with kindness, tenacity and leadership of mentors. The glass ceiling was shattered, and today more than 60 of our trainees are women. 

In 2009, I founded FBW for women by women, where we treat, treated women holistically and not as a condition. FBW evolved to a centre of excellence in minimally invasive procedures and regenerative medicine, which encouraged the paradigm shift from surgical to nonsurgical management. Because of my skill set and my values, I was asked to be a voice for female genital mutilation survivors, which led to the establishment of Desert Flower, South Australia, with the assistance of my daughter Nadia, and my great friend Dr. Tran Nguyen.

Every 16 seconds, a child is mutilated. Two hundred million women are FGM survivors in the world. 100,000 FGM survivors are living in Australia. FGM is happening in our own backyard. Desert Flower Centre has been one of my greatest achievements and I thank Segment and Ashford Hospital for their unfailing support. 

To the judges, thank you for your time and efforts. To my FBW team who are the backbone of my business. Thank you. Thank you to my research and development team who worked tenaciously on our product and which may help millions of women with prolapse and incontinence. 

To my husband, John, my greatest achievement of my life, my daughter Nadia, my friends, mentors and colleagues. Thank you for everything. To my father, my hero, and my mother. To my brothers and sisters, my family. Thank you for letting me go, but still holding me in your hearts. 

You may have heard in the news that Iran is going through the largest woman led revolution in the world, but the Islamic Republic is brutally suppressing this movement by imprisoning and torturing the peaceful protesters. But as Rumi, the Persian poet, says, it is not the thunder that makes the flowers flourish, but it is the nourishing rain afterwards. And that nourishing rain is all of us men and women globally. I am one of those droplets of rain outside of Iran who continues to peacefully advocate for women's rights. Together, we can be a collective monsoon that supports change for women in Iran and globally. 

To all women and my patients who put their lives and trust in me. This award is for you. To those brave and courageous humans who risked their future and lives in my homeland, Iran, for speaking their truth. This award is for you.

Zan, zendegi, azadi - Women, life, freedom.  

Footage: The audience applauds and cheers as the video transitions to a blue end screen with the words ‘Best of Business Awards’ and the Telstra logo. 

Audio – music: Telstra jingle plays.

Footage: Upbeat music plays as the video moves from a blue opening screen with the Telstra logo to the Award presenter.  

Presenter speaks: Um, the 2023 Telstra Best of Business awards, national Building Communities winner is. Blank. I'm just kidding. It's Region Group.  

Footage: Recipient walks past tables of well-dressed people and onto the stage to accept her award. 

Recipient speaks Well, well, well. Thank you. Thank you to Telstra for creating such energy and space for small business to flourish and such meaningful recognition for the huge engine that small business creates in our community. Thank you to the judges for their time, their energy, their effort for putting us through our paces and for being extraordinarily encouraging. 

About seven years ago, two tech business blokes from Canberra had a dream and it was a pretty improbable one. In the middle of the biggest industry disaster we've ever seen, they thought. I wonder if we could build a media business. Could we find a way to ensure that instead of stripping news and journalists out of communities, we put them back in? Instead of centralising stories and information, sacking the experienced staff, filling the news pages with stories from somewhere else. How about we make it completely local? How about we serve our community? And instead of saying to themselves over a beer, nah, that it would never work, they went out and did it. 

And here we are. Dreams do come true. Region is now a financially sustainable, community focused media business that is disrupting the industry for public good. 

Thank you to Region's co-CEOs, Tim White and Michael McGuigan for daring to have very big dreams. And then the brains and the courage and the sheer chutzpah to make them real. Region is a very special place to work. It's a good business, but that's because we have such good humans making it work. 

So, thank you to Team Region, our magnificent, quirky, eclectic team of people who live, work and breath service to our community through their strong relationships, their high standards and their good values. It's a business where we eat a lot of cake. We pat a lot of dogs. We laugh constantly and we could not be prouder of the culture we've built of respect, of flexibility, of coming to what we do with a good heart in service of others and being good neighbours. 

Thank you to all our partners business and not for profit. To everyone in Canberra, Wagga and now the Illawarra who's come with us on this journey and believes that we can challenge deeply ingrained old industry models to make a better, more effective storytelling platform for business and the community. 

We believe that trust and truth telling build real communities. That's why we built Region, because balanced independent media is the only business that can make change for everyone. We're a bit of a unicorn in the busted up, broken down Australian media industry, where 70% of closures in the past decade have been in regional communities. 

Our journalists are local, our content is local, our partners are local. And we think that independent, effective, strong local media is a cornerstone of democracy. That's because it creates equality of opportunity. It creates a democratic voice for all citizens, not just the educated elite. It provides access to justice and fair process by calling power to account. 

Good media matters. We are so proud we are doing our part to change the narrative in this country. Thank you to the other state finalists. And when Region arrives in your neck of the woods and we're coming, let's talk. We can help you with your big ideas. 

That's what we do every day. 

Footage: The audience applauds a cheers as the video transitions to a blue end screen with the words ‘Best of Business Awards’ and the Telstra logo.  

Audio – music: Telstra jingle plays. 

Footage: Upbeat music plays as the video moves from a blue opening screen with the Telstra logo to the Award presenter.  

Presenter speaks: So, the 2023 Telstra Best of Business Awards National Championing Health Award winner is: FBW Gynaecology Plus. 

Footage: Recipient wearing a formal dress walks past tables of well-dressed people and onto the stage to accept her award. 

Recipient speaks: Wow. Does this microphone detect heart rate? Thank you to the Telstra Best of Business Awards Organising Committee and our fantastic judges. Thank you to my loyal team, my family and my dear John, friends, Ashford Hospital. We have come so far. 

My 12-year-old self in Iran vowed to champion women's health. I witnessed the embarrassment and suffering that my mother experienced around her prolapse and incontinence and how it affected our family. Now, as a gynaecologist, I witnessed the negative impact of women's health issues on family and society every single day. 

Every person is born to a woman. Why are women's health issues still a taboo subject in 2023? Almost 1000 babies are born every day in Australia, and 500 of these mothers will experience prolapse and incontinence conditions which greatly impact their quality of life. 

Performing conventional pelvic floor surgery may have a failure rate of 30 to 50% because the mesh, vaginal mesh was withdrawn from the market. And you have heard that because of its debilitating effects on women. As a result, FBW Group has been developing a device which may help women with this condition. 

With a global market of 1 billion women, as an Iranian Australian woman, a gynaecologist, surgeon, wife, mother, daughter, I hope I can be a beacon of hope for all women and all practitioners who are championing health. 

Thank you to Australia for providing me with opportunity as a migrant woman. I am here to give back one hundred fold. Thank you to my patients, this award is for you. To women in Iran, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Stay strong, we have heard you. 

I am one of you and I stand with you. Zan, zendegi, azadi. 

Women. Life. Freedom. 

Footage: The audience applauds a cheers as the video transitions to a blue end screen with the words ‘Best of Business Awards’ and the Telstra logo.  

Audio – music: Telstra jingle plays. 

Footage: Upbeat music plays as the video moves from a blue opening screen with the Telstra logo to the presenter for the National Indigenous Excellence Award. 

Audio – presenter: The 2023 Telstra Best of Business award in the National Embracing Innovation Award winner is: the Mullion Group. 

Audio – music: Upbeat music plays as the audience cheers and applauds.  

Footage: The recipient walks past tables of well-dressed people and onto the stage to accept their award. 

Audio – recipient: Wow. Well, thank you, everybody. I'll start by saying that I realize I'm holding everyone up from dinner. 

So, one of the advantages here is I'm very fortunate to have my fantastic mum here with me tonight.  And one of her favourite sayings was always: “have something to say, say it, and then”, I'll paraphrase and say, “be quiet”, rather than the general statement. 

But it's truly a privilege and an honour to have won this award. Firstly, I'd like to congratulate and thank all of the other businesses here, not just in our category, but everywhere. I think one of the things I found most exciting about this was actually taking the time to stop and look at the other businesses that were in these categories. 

And to me, that was just absolutely exciting because not only was it fascinating to see the range of innovation, but actually going: you know what, there's some fantastic opportunities for collaboration here. We can actually work together to solve some of Australia's biggest problems. It's not just about being an individual group, it's how we all work together to solve these problems. And that was an absolutely fantastic thing to see. 

Of course, I'd love to thank Telstra. This has been an amazing experience, it really has. And of course, all thanks goes to Margo, she's been an incredible ambassador for The Mullion group and driving this forward over that entire time. 

At The Mullion group we are absolutely passionate about the role that our land can play in reducing emissions, in driving sustainable land management and giving us a sustainable future. We started the company nearly ten years ago. 

Ten years ago, climate change wasn't really a popular thing. It was very, very tough. And before that we'd worked in it. My co-founders and I had worked in it for over ten years before then. It's been a really long road, but all of us held knowing that this was absolutely vital, not just to Australia but to the entire globe. We must reduce emissions. We must do something about this. We must meet net zero commitments. And again, it was fantastic to hear that Telstra now has a net zero commitment and hopefully that several of the companies here will actually be able to help Telstra to drive that forward. Thank you very much. 

So with that, I'll let everyone get to mains. If anyone, of course, is extremely interested in land sector emissions and all of the exciting things that satellites and models and all of those things can do, please come and see us. But it's absolutely fantastic. 

Thank you so, so much. I can't believe this has actually happened. So brilliant. Cheers. 

Footage: The video transitions to a blue end screen with the words ‘Best of Business Awards’ next to the Telstra logo.  

Audio – music: The Telstra jingle plays.  

Footage: Upbeat music plays as the video moves from a blue opening screen with the Telstra logo to the presenter for the National Indigenous Excellence Award. 

Audio – presenter: The 2023 Telstra Best of Business Awards National Indigenous Excellence Winner is… the winner is Winyama Digital Solutions. 

Audio – music: Upbeat music plays as the audience cheers and applauds.  

Footage: The recipient walks past tables of well-dressed people and onto the stage to accept their award. 

Audio – recipient: Weiba. And good evening. 

Firstly, look, I want to acknowledge Wurundjeri and Bunurong Country and their community and elders here tonight. I also want to acknowledge my other indigenous brothers and sisters here in the room and to those finalists as well. 

So I am a Ngarluma traditional owner from the Pilbara region in WA and I want to pay homage to my, my elders and my community and the family watching back home. It's an honour to be here receiving this award for Indigenous Excellence. 

But I just want to take a personal note to say, you know, that as a small business owner, there are always sacrifices that we've had to make. And so I'd like to thank my beautiful partner and our two kids who are obviously watching at home, and they've allowed me the freedom to build a company with such a social purpose. 

Winyama's story is about inclusion in the digital economy, and I want to take the time to thank Telstra for recognising the work that we've done in that space. We see a growing digital sector in our communities, and from Indigenous Ranger programs to native title organisations and the use of digital technology and tools is really accelerating. 

But it's crucial that those Indigenous-led organisations have a really firm grasp on what the benefits are of those tools. And so we're really educating people about how to use it to assert sovereignty, how to encourage data governance and use it for community good. 

I want to take time to thank the judges for recognising our various programs that we run and our social initiatives, in particular our Indigenous mapping workshop that we hold all around Australia. 

Winyama was founded on the idea that we needed to provide more jobs, opportunities for Indigenous people in the tech sector and I'm really proud to say that we're doing that. 

And on that note, I really want to thank my amazing employees back home who are the driving force behind our success. It's their passion, it's their hard work and their dedication that have not only brought us to winning awards like this, but they've inspired young Indigenous people to enter the tech sector as well. Yeah, they are awesome. 

Audio – sound effect: Applause from the audience. 

Audio – recipient: Furthermore, I want to acknowledge the support from our customers and our partners, in particular the ones who are with us tonight at the table. You guys have believed in our mission and you've helped us to strengthen the business that we are today. And I want to acknowledge my business partner in that, Paul, for helping me with that. 

Audio – sound effect: Applause from the audience. 

Audio – recipient: So this this award is really a testament to our mission and our impact in indigenous communities. But there's such a long way to go and we seek allies and partners to continue the work that we do, so please reach out if our work inspires you. We'll continue to strive to create a more inclusive and diverse tech sector where indigenous people can thrive and reach their full potential. 

Once again, just let me say thank you so much and I want to express my gratitude for this award and the recognition that it brings us. So thank you so much. 

Footage: The video transitions to a blue end screen with the words ‘Best of Business Awards’ next to the Telstra logo.  

Audio – music: The Telstra jingle plays.  

Footage: Upbeat music plays as the video moves from a blue opening screen with the Telstra logo to the presenter for the Outstanding Growth Award. 

Audio – presenter: The winner of the 2023 Telstra Best of Business Awards National Outstanding Growth Award Winner is: Valenhold. 

Audio – music: Upbeat music plays.  

Footage: The recipient walks past tables of well-dressed people and onto the stage to accept their award. 

Audio – recipient: Uh, good evening, everyone. It's been an amazing few days, and I'm honoured to accept this award on behalf of Valenhold. My name is Garth Chester. I'm the managing director and co-founder. 

Audio – sound effect: Applause and cheering from the crowd. 

Audio – recipient: Thanks. 

So firstly, I want to thank Team Telstra and the judges for giving us this opportunity and recognising the achievements that we've been able to do. A big shout out to the organising team. Herding this many cats into one room is a pretty remarkable effort, so we thank you. These awards are a celebration of the outstanding contribution that businesses make every day to the community. 

Secondly, what an amazing 23 cohort of business founders, owners and leaders. It's been an incredible journey. Learning about what you're doing, the problems you're solving, and the communities you're helping. 

In the morning services business, we focus on solving critical issues for our clients and for us, focusing on the small details have a big impact. Our team work hard to ensure that our clients get what they need, get innovative solutions and deliver real value across their businesses, which in turn is what is driving ours. 

It's important to recognize that small companies can have a really big impact, not only in Australia but also globally. So for all of you, keep pushing, the world stage awaits you. 

Winning the award for outstanding growth is truly a testament to the dedication and hard work of our team. I'm grateful to have such a talented and committed group of individuals working with us. It's been an amazing journey and the Valenhold story is only just beginning. We believe keeping our culture and our values close to our heart, it's not just about the bottom line, but about creating opportunities, a place where people can be themselves, where they can drive innovation and deliver great results. 

To the business owners, founders and leaders out there grinding away every day while we are racing for an ever-evolving finish line, whatever that may be for you, make sure you take the time to enjoy the journey, celebrate the little wins, and congratulate yourselves every once in a while. One day I too shall follow this sage advice that my wife gives me. Not quite there yet, but I'm a work in progress. 

And finally, to our amazing team and partners, we thank you and to our families, we can't do it without you. You put up with the crazy 1 a.m. idea sessions and being away on travel. So thank you and we really appreciate your support. 

Well done to the 23 Telstra Business Award cohort and keep doing amazing things. 

Thank you. 

Footage: The video transitions to a blue end screen with the words ‘Best of Business Awards’ next to the Telstra logo.  

Audio – music: The Telstra jingle plays.  

Footage: Upbeat music plays as the video moves from a blue opening screen with the Telstra logo to the presenter for the Promoting Sustainability Award. 

Audio – presenter: So, the 2023 Telstra Best of Business awards for the National Promoting Sustainability Award Winner is: FONZ. 

Audio – music: Upbeat music plays as the audience cheers and applauds.  

Footage: The recipients walk past tables of well-dressed people and onto the stage to accept their award. 

Audio – recipient: Hello. Well, you might not know this from my pink dress, but I'm actually a tomboy. And one of the reasons that I started FONZ is because I love motorbikes. 

Text: National Promoting Sustainability Award Winner - FONZ 

Audio – Recipient: And our motorbikes go from 0 to 100 in 3.9 seconds and they're Australian made and they're very, very fun to ride. But that is not why I started this business. 

As a child, I always knew that I wanted to do something impactful. I just was one of those kids that didn't know what the hell that was. And a lot of things led me to the path that I'm on today. 

But I'm so proud that I get to be a woman in STEM standing here, in the automotive industry and accepting this prestigious award that I'm so, so grateful to accept, and honoured. 

One of the biggest emitters of carbon emissions is transport. And my mission is to change that. And your mission is to join me to change that right to your local councils. 

Speak up. Speak out. It doesn't have to be an electric motorbike or a road scooter, but we all need to make the switch. And this incredible platform is my opportunity to do that. And again, thank you. 

I'd like to firstly thank my incredible leadership team here. 

Footage: Recipient points to her leadership team, who have joined her on stage. 

Audio – recipient: I can't tell you, when you first start out in the automotive industry, the crap you get. So having these guys today is an honour. 

I have my mentors, my advisors, my advisory board and my board of directors here supporting me tonight, and my incredible partner. 

I want to especially thank my dad who inspired me in a very roundabout kind of way. Also a small business owner and entrepreneur. 

And I also want to really thank my community of customers who - our community, our FONZ, its team FONZ - these guys are at every event I speak at supporting and pushing and driving what I truly believe in and what they truly believe in and what I was believing in 13 years ago, when Tesla was not yet a household name, that we need to make the switch to electric vehicles. And it's really happening, and everyone believes it now and that is awesome. 

So thank you for giving me this platform. Thank you, Telstra. Thank you to the amazing, incredible finalists, not just in my category. Like, I have become a customer of about six of the companies that are in the Telstra Best of Business awards, and I will continue to do so. Yes. 

So, thank you for this incredible platform. 

Footage: The video transitions to a blue end screen with the words ‘Best of Business Awards’ next to the Telstra logo.  

Audio – music: The Telstra jingle plays.