116 VIRGIN AUSTRALIA DECEMBER 2017
EXEC STYLE
It might be an overused buzzword, but it’s also the
best way to highlight the success being forged by
these three forward-thinking Aussie entrepreneurs.The Disrupters
NOT JUST PHONING IT IN
Talking customer service, challenge
and change with David Tudehope
(below), the co-founder and CEO of
upstart Australian telecommunications
company, Macquarie Telecom Group.
Is the plummeting opinion of telcos
the greatest challenge to the sector
and your business? Sadly, my industry
is focused on media and PR, while
lowering costs by sending tens of
thousands to overseas outsourcers.
As the NBN rolls out, the disaster is
accelerating, with complaints up a third.
That’s very honest, and not very
telco-like. Is that what Macquarie’s
about — being different? We’ve
decided to be the ‘SoUnTelco’. When
they have complicated pricing, we
simplify. When they outsource, we
insource. When they ofshore customer
service, we onshore. We’ve brought the
best customer service to our industry
of any ASX company, as measured by
a Net Promoter Score of +68.
So customer service is actually
a priority? Our business purpose
is to make a diference by changing
industries that underserve and
overcharge. We chose the spectacularly
bad telco, cloud and IT outsourcer
industries. Happy
customers who are
willing to recommend
your business are also
more likely to stay and
buy more. Our
experience is
they also pay
their bills in
nearly half the
time. http://www.
macquarie
telecom.com.
HAVE SPACE WILL WORK
Working and travelling as a freelance
professional or simply in need of some
last-minute oice space? Meet Jake
Dimarco (above). The young Brisbanite
is the founder of online start-up Spare
Workspace, a marketplace that allows
businesses to share empty or under-
utilised workspaces with people inneed of short-term
desk space.
“We’re not
just providing
workspaces,
but creating a
community of hosts
and guests of B2B
companies. Part of
our guest experience
is if you have an
active booking,
you’ll get access
to some amazing
perks through
Uber and Microsoft,
and other start-ups to promote their
products and services,” says Dimarco.
Be it a desk for an hour, meeting
room for a day or cavernous warehouse
for a few months, it’s an outfit that’s
seen Dimarco quickly find success,
investment and cut through, largely
built on a no-fee advertising model.
http://www.spareworkspace.com.au.THE BEAUTY OF TECH
See a gap and go for it. It’s a simple
philosophy that’s worked for serial
entrepreneur Fabiola Gomez (right)
— her latest venture, LUXit, is quickly
gaining traction in the saturated
$5 billion grooming and beauty sector.
Put simply, LUXit provides mobile
services — hair, make-up, blow-dry,
tan, manicure, massage and more —
seven days a week. Professionals attend
to customers at a desired time and
place, be it home, hotel or oice.
“I’d become the go-to person
for my friends when they needed
recommendations to get their hair
and make-up done, and I knew there
had to be an easier way,” she says.
A natural-born connector with
a career spanning law, fashion andbeauty, Gomez created LUXit for an
extra level of convenience.
The web platform and app has gone
from covering Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs
to the entire city, plus Melbourne and
the Gold Coast, with plans to be national
by year’s end. http://www.luxit.me.