Industry: Other
Head Office: New South Wales
Employees: 3
Website: www.hungrygiant.com.au
Chris O'Brien, founder of waste management firm Hungry Giant, was 22 years old and working in an electronic goods store when the site of truck after truck carting away polystyrene to landfill gave him and idea - he decided to invent a machine that compacts polystyrene foam.
Given polystyrene is 98% air, O'Brien saw the opportunity to reduce bulk polystyrene packaging down into small bricks that were easier to transport and recycle. With just $300 in start-up capital, he went for it.
"I was like a bull at a gate. At the age of 22 I had this crazy idea, and then before you knew it I was in a factory in rural China welding pieces of metal together to create our Hungry Giant machine," he says.
Two years after formerly launching his company, O'Brien's crazy idea is now a genuine business, with revenue in 2008-09 of $350,000. The Hungry Giant machine has found a particular niche in electrical goods retailers such as Harvey Norman and The Good Guys, where packaging often contains vast quantities of polystyrene.
As well as the Hungry Giant machine, the company offers a variety of waste management solutions. But instead of charging on the volume of waste collected from a client's workplace, the company charges companies to use its onsite recycling equipment, thus reducing processing costs and, in many cases, trips to landfill.
This allows the small company to compete with global waste management giants who typically drive down prices to squeeze their rivals.
The company took on private equity funding in 2008, but O'Brien admits getting the initial capital was difficult.
"The hardest thing was funding it. At that stage we didn't have any investment funding, and all research and development costs were borne by me - my commercial cleaning company essentially funded the development. "
O'Brien says the best part of starting a business has been the adrenalin rush.
"I like treading on ground that hasn't been stepped on before. I like creating an atmosphere that is enjoyable, and I like having the ongoing dream of what could be."
WHAT IS YOUR BEST START-UP TIP?
"I learnt through the process that business planning and due diligence is far more important to your success than what most people realise. Many people get excited by their concept, and they don't realise limiting factors like competition, scalability and intellectual property. All vital stuff."
