In 2012, I listed my home in Robe on Airbnb a popular seaside town not yet swept up in the digital accommodation boom. It was one of the first local listings, and what began as a side venture quickly grew into a thriving backpackers’ hub. AirBnB named me as a Superhost and I gained global recognition for hospitality. But amid the buzz and bookings, I saw the cracks forming beneath the surface and the need for local digital empowerment.
It became clear that the same platforms helping me grow were also quietly siphoning value from the local economy. Charging high commissions, hoarding customer data, and offering little visibility into where the money flowed or how community benefits were shared. Feedback from my peers in the local tourism association made me realise, this wasn’t innovation. It is extraction dressed up as convenience.
Leap don’t Balk;
In 2016, launched the first Minimum Viable Product (MVP) App an early prototype of what would eventually become the South Australia App. It wasn’t built in a glass tower with venture capital it was built from the ground up. Through grassroots engagement, live testing, and years of direct feedback from local businesses and users.
Using data from six MVP apps and three locally operated websites, I was able to map out what the South Australian business residents and tourism community actually needed: a commission-free platform that gave control back to the operators. The mission was clear to design a digital ecosystem that enabled direct bookings, local retail sales, service discovery, and community-driven events without relying on global middlemen.
In 2018 I was in the inaugural NVI/Flinders University Accelerator for startups in Mount Gambier. That introduced me to the contemporary business development tools and ethos for now. Added to my preparation doing the 2020 FOMENT Wine Tech Tourism accelerator and in 2021 joined the Uni SA ICC program. These were excellent experiences that introduced me to the principles needed to succeed today.
By 2019, the South Australia App MVP had become a working model for a broader vision: a region-first marketplace with the potential to become state-critical infrastructure. And in 2025, that vision is about to scale. The updated platform will serve thousands of businesses from retailers, accommodation providers and artisans to mechanics. Equipping them with the digital tools to thrive, promote, and transact in real time, with no gatekeepers.
This leadership in Digital Empowerment hasn’t gone unnoticed:
- App Development Company 2025 – Innovation & Excellence Awards
- Business Development 2024 – Innovation & Excellence Awards
- Most Visionary Business Development CEO (Australia) – AI Global Media, 2023
- Most Innovative Digital Ecosystem & App CEO (Australia) – Innovation in Business Awards, 2023
The South Australia App delivers digital empowerment by handing the tools of the digital economy back to local people. No middlemen, no algorithmic gatekeepers. It gives businesses the ability to list, promote, and transact directly with their audience. While maintaining full control over their data, pricing, and customer relationships. From accommodation and retail to services and events, the platform enables everyone from sole traders to regional associations to participate equally in the digital marketplace. It levels the playing field, turns every mobile device into a shopfront. Helping communities compete on their own terms in a world that too often favours platforms over people.
My journey from Airbnb trailblazer to tech ecosystem architect speaks to a larger shift that’s underway across the nation. While most regions are being smothered with global platforms, my South Australia App proves there’s another way to get Digital Empowerment. Local-first, commission-free, and built on trust. https://southaustraliaapp.com/contact/
At its core, my work doesn’t just solve for tourism. It solves for economic resilience, platform sovereignty, and digital equity. It’s a blueprint that proves, “When you build the rails, you decide where the train goes.”
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