Karl Brown has won Australian Trailblazer of the Year!

On Saturday night we joined the elite of the elite, the crème de la crème of entrepreneurs in Australian business, at the annual Australian Entrepreneur of the Year Awards for 2019, by Business News Australia.

The nominees consisted of state-level award winners in 21 categories across Australian business. They were all in the running for the same categories they had won at the state level, along with the national ‘Trailblazer’ and ‘Australia’s Entrepreneur of the Year’ awards. A night that was set up for a tonne of success and celebration for all involved.

The event commenced with a mingle and few welcome beverages at the Marriott Resort & Spa at the Gold Coast, followed by a 3 course sit down dinner. The champagne was flowing as the opening act entertained with an interesting song & dance routine. 

As the awards commenced and were handed out one-by-one, our team became more and more anxious as the night was rolling on. Our sister company Rokkit Performance Marketing were up first, & they were nominated for best new Startup. 

Unfortunately for Rokkit, they were out-won by the very talented team at Verus Global [Jackson Meyer].

A few more awards passed, before the category of Retail & Services was presented. Karl & the team were now hoping that this would be our time, to win a category for both Instyle Solar & Rokkit. We knew we were a strong contender against our competition, we just didn’t know how good. 

As the award was read out, our hearts sank a little as the name was not Instyle. Instead, it was a very successful business and entrepreneur by the name of New Aim [Fung Lam and Werner Liu]. New Aim also went on to win the biggest award of the night – Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2019, across all categories for Australia. 

At this point, we were sure we had missed out on our chances for winning at the national awards. Next up was the awards for Trailblazer and CEO of the year. After a short intermission, we were back for the final 2 big ones. 

The room was silent. Nerves kicking in…

‘And the winner for the 2019 Trailblazer of the Year award goes to Karl Brown & Instyle Solar!

The room erupted as Karl stood up & was congratulated by his wife Mel, his family & his business partners at the table before he joined the stage for his official interview and thank you speech. 

What a win. An unexpected category that holds huge weight in the business world as a statement of an established business with huge potential and exponential future growth. 

We were THRILLED!

The win means a lot to Karl, Jonah and the Instyle team. This year marks the last year that Karl is eligible to nominate for the awards with his 40th birthday approaching. It’s been a huge year for the team and for business growth. 

Karl was presented with 3 awards at the Brisbane event, taking out best new Startup [Rokkit PM], Retail & Services [Instyle Solar] & the overall Brisbane Young Entrepreneur of the Year for 2019. 

The wins validate the huge amount of hard work that’s gone into the team and the business over the last 4 years and it paves a clear pathway forward with the confidence to push harder and faster than ever before. 

See the full list of winners, here.

Previous to Saturday night, Instyle Solar was also up for Energy and Resources Executive of the Year, in the CEO Magazines, Executive of the Year Awards for 2019 on Thursday 14th Nov. We were up against some big names and businesses. The winner of the award went to mining queen Gina Rinehart. You can see the full list of winners, here.

On Friday night, 15th Nov, the team were then whisked away to Sydney to be a part of the MyBusiness awards where Instyle Solar was up for Energy Business of the Year. We were once again up against some incredible businesses and leaders in the energy space. The award was won by Solar 4 RVs. You can view the full list of winners, here.

It’s safe to say this year’s awards season has been incredible. To be nominated alongside some of the biggest names in business in this country, along with the Solar industries’ finest, is definitely an achievement to take away on its own. 

We are humbled and so proud to be amongst the winners of the Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards for 2019, for both the Brisbane and national levels – awards we will keep on the mantle for many years to come. 

We could never have achieved this level of success without the valued support of our customers, so THANK YOU to everyone for coming on this Solar Journey with us so far. A huge congratulations to Karl Brown for taking out Trailblazer of the Year.