Manon founded Little Green Panda in Melbourne while completing her university studies. The sustainable packaging company is disrupting the packaging industry with innovative home compostable alternatives designed to disappear like a piece of fruit. Manon now has customers across Australia, in Canada and in the United States. Passionate about innovation, sustainability and entrepreneurship, she has helped replace millions of single-use plastic items and is committed to supporting the next generation of Australian business owners through practical insights, resilience and founder-led growth.

Jooli is the co-founder and creative force behind Tara Treasures, an Australian brand specialising in ethically handmade felt toys and children’s products. Passionate about thoughtful design and storytelling, Jooli leads product development, creating playful collections inspired by childhood imagination and nature. Since founding Tara Treasures in 2010, she has grown the brand from local market stalls into an internationally recognised fairtrade business loved by over 90,000 homes. Jooli remains committed to supporting women artisans in Nepal and India while creating beautiful, educational toys that inspire imaginative play for children worldwide.

Sarah’s focus at Piccolo PR is building brands through PR, digital marketing, social media, and strategic communications. She is an expert in building memorable brand stories and implementing data-driven strategies to help brands stand out in competitive markets.

Sarah has extensive experience in marketing and reputation management, having led assignments with major corporations and family businesses. Her approach is centred on credibility, strategic messaging, and long-term reputation management rather than short-term publicity. She also consults brands and businesses on PR strategy, brand positioning, and the evolving creator economy.

Known as Your Pricing Queen, Jasmine has spent 15 years as a freelancer and now teaches other freelancers how to logically and creatively put a dollar figure on their own creative genius. Over 6,000 clever creatives have accessed at least one, if not multiple, resources served on her website, Creative Business Kitchen, each focused on pricing for freelancers and mastering all the spinning plates of running a successful business. She takes pride in being the little voice in hundreds of freelancers cheering them on and asking the question, "What could you do if you charged a little more?"

Ben has spent most of his adult life building and growing small businesses. He launched his own plumbing business at the age of 18 before establishing a highly successful underground infrastructure company in the power industry. Together with his wife Lee, they navigated the challenges of scaling the family-run “mum and dad” operation into a respected industry leader, developing strong systems and processes that ultimately positioned the business for sale. Ben and Lee recently co-founded The Good Oil Club, importing premium Italian extra virgin olive oil directly to Australian consumers through their online store and monthly subscription model.

Tim is responsible for the content on the ISB website and the quarterly magazine. Tim brought a passion for start-ups and small businesses to his journalism after a long career – including management roles – in hospitality, insurance and credit management. The latter provided him with first-hand experience of the dealing with the issue that small-business owners regularly cite as their biggest challenge – getting paid by those to whom they have delivered goods or services! His working highlight every year is the enthusiasm with which Inside Small Business Top 50 Small Business Leaders Report is received.