Our clients

EGS works with companies over many industries and has particular skill in areas including IT, finance, biotechnology, manufacturing, mining and creative industries.

Find out more about what our clients have said on the testimonials page.

Case Studies:

Snowsports Interactive

Snowsports Interactive

Snowsports Interactive develops technology designed to revolutionise ski resort management, measure performance, and increase snow sport safety. Their innovations include personal tracking and performance analysis devices as well as intelligence and wireless network technology for ski resorts.

Mike Wallas began his involvement with Snowsports Interactive in the early stages of business development as a highly recommended mentor with Brisbane technology incubator i.lab. The company subsequently hired Mike as a consultant to assist in raising capital, strategic development, developing international growth strategies, capitalisation and corporate governance.

Initially, attracting investors to a Brisbane-based company developing tracking solutions for a global ski industry proved to be a challenging task. With his extensive capital raising experience, Mike was able to overcome this issue and secure more than $2 million in initial private investment and is currently negotiating further funding in North America.

Snowsports Interactive Managing Director Steve Kenny said Mike’s continual push in capital markets had been key to the company’s international success.

Another significant challenge was directly entering a global market with fledgling technology during the early stages of business development.

Using his knowledge of channel distribution and international networking, Mike developed effective market entry strategies. He successfully identified and established alliances with important players in the international market, and negotiated contracts with major Canadian ski resorts, telecommunication companies and international hotel chains.

Mike will continue his involvement with Snowsports Interactive in 2008, helping increase international expansion by driving product distribution in the US and seeking further capital from US venture capitalists.

Steve Kenny, Managing Director of Snowsports Interactive, said:

“In working with Mike, I have found a unique mentor. He has contributed substantially to my personal growth. I progressed from a starry-eyed, bullet-proof Gen-Xer with an idea, to an entrepreneur capable of putting together strategic alliances with major foreign telecommunications companies. I now negotiate substantial distribution agreements with major ski resorts and hotel chains throughout North America.”

The DPSA Group

DPSA is a rapidly growing services and supply group of companies catering to the Australasian mineral resources and industrial sectors. DPSA companies possess highly regarded technical knowledge and have a reputation for quality, reliability and guaranteed performance.

In 2005, DPSA CEO Neill Clur appointed Mike Wallas to a newly created advisory board to facilitate growth and expansion of the company.

With his extensive expertise in capital raising and strategic development, Mike was able to guide the company through the processes of acquiring investment. He developed a business plan and investment strategy which successfully raised nearly $1.5 million in initial funding from private investors. In 2007, Mike became a director on the DPSA Board and was instrumental in securing a funding facility with NAB/Investec, worth more than $11 million which facilitated rapid growth.

The DPSA Group was awarded 20th place in the 2007 Business Review Weekly’s Fast 100 listing. Of the companies which entered, DPSA was the fastest growing mining services company in the country in 2006-7 and the fifth fastest-growing company based in Queensland. The company achieved its place based on an increase in turnover of 123%, in its first attempt at entering this prestigious competition.

A challenge faced by DPSA throughout the growth period was negotiating the rapid transition from a small locally based consumables company, to a large company providing diverse services and managing operations throughout Australia. Drawing on his extensive management expertise, Mike was able to help Neill maintain his company’s employee driven culture and commitment to customer service throughout business expansion.

Mike has also provided the DPSA Group advice and assistance in the areas of:

Evaluating acquisition opportunities and assisting with negotiations
Negotiating agreements and arrangements with international suppliers
Negotiating equity and debt funding arrangements

Mike assisted with the development of the DPSA Group’s IPO strategy and is helping with preparations for the company’s public listing in October 2008.

Managing Director, Neill Clur said:

“Mike has provided invaluable help to DPSA. He is an incisive, strategic thinker with an excellent network of contacts. He has used his extensive experience in capital fundraising to expedite the process of raising the necessary funds so crucial to a growing business like DPSA. His knowledge of the mining sector has deepened as the company has grown and he is an important member of the DPSA Board.”

Lync Software

Lync Software provides data loss prevention solutions for businesses, reducing the risk of accidental data loss caused by removable media and other mobile storage devices.

Mike Wallas was a member of the board from 2006-2008. His involvement allowed Lync Software to expand its business into global markets. It now supplies nearly 2,000 organisations, including major international companies such as Pepsi and Boeing.

Mike’s assistance was critical in developing an effective position for Lync Software in a competitive global IT market which is dominated by large multinational companies.

With expertise obtained as a senior executive of Hewlett Packard and as a former Managing Director of a $400 million distribution company, Mike developed a comprehensive channel distribution strategy in the US.

Mike represented Lync Software at the Gartner Symposium/ITxpo, a major international technology conference for IT and business professionals held in Orlando, Florida. He assisted in developing and signing the company’s first OEM, Workshare in San Francisco, and subsequently GTB and Code Green.

Mike continues to maintain international networks and strategic alliances which assist Lync Software and other clients.

PloyMe

PloyMe is a new technology company that has developed a revolutionary way to fill the gap in how SMEs source temporary labour. The online matching system assists SMEs in their battle with the skills shortage. Temporary shift job seekers can indicate their exact availability and requirements.

Effectively, the company is an introductory agency bringing employers together with job seekers to fill one-off shifts.

Mike was asked to assist in developing the business plan, financial forecasts, European and Australian roll-out plan, as well as capitalisation strategies.

He raised $ 1million in seed funding from a number of well-known and respected IT leaders, and has joined the Board of Directors.

Spectrum Mining Services

Spectrum Mining Services provides a range of profitable mining services through various businesses. Mike’s primary task with Spectrum Mining Services was raising capital for an initial public offering (IPO) on the ASX. He provided invaluable assistance with devising a pre-IPO strategic statement, negotiating and discussing business acquisitions and familiarising management with debt and equity forms.

Mhelp

Mhelp specialises in the development of multimedia help applications for computer software to improve the user’s understanding of the programs.

Mhelp hopes to become the world leader in software help solutions. The company employed Mike Wallas to assist in the development of a comprehensive business plan. Using his expertise obtained as a senior executive of Hewlett Packard and as a former Managing Director of a $400 million distribution channel company, he was able to develop a successful international distribution strategy, and link the company with a powerful international network.

In addition, he helped develop a financial model and forecasting system and evaluated the company’s strategic alliances and partnership agreements.

Ephox

Mike Wallas was firstly engaged by Ephox Pty Ltd as a consultant in early 2001 with the task of assisting the company to develop global marketing and sales strategies.

In May 2001 he assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer. At that time Ephox faced a number of significant challenges in the face of the worldwide downturn in the demand for Information Technology products and services, and the consequential drought of funds for early-stage IT enterprises.

The Board engaged Mike because of his considerable international experience in Information Technology, confident that he would be able take Ephox from a small Queensland-based enterprise to a globally competitive supplier of valued enterprise software.

Mike was able to grasp the implications of Ephox’s technology and to expertly manage the business so that it survived during the resource-intensive but revenue-low development phase.

This was a very challenging task, and ranged from the need to convince investors that Ephox’s software development efforts would eventually produce profits, through the need to obtain government R&D support, to the need to manage the business on very tight budgets.

During this phase Mike contributed not only the vision but also the route to maintain and grow the business.

At the end of his three-year tenure as Chief Executive Office of Ephox, Mike was able to hand over Ephox to founder Andrew Roberts as a thriving international business with a range of globally competitive content-authoring products.

Ephox can justifiably claim that it is the world leader in Java-based content authoring, and is able to compete directly with major software developers.

Ephox’s customers are some of the world’s largest and most progressive enterprises, including Fortune 1000-type companies, governments and educational institutions.

Mike has been instrumental in success in areas of

Internationalisation of the business
Strategy development and leadership
Large OEM and partnership negotiations
Distribution channel development
Leadership and vision
Set up of USA infrastructure
Sales and Marketing development

Andrew Roberts, CEO, Ephox Corporation Pty Ltd said:

“I have worked with Mike very closely at Ephox for over 3 years and Mike is an exceptional executive and entrepreneur. He clearly understands the challenges that start-ups face and has innovative and dynamic approaches to overcoming them. In his time at Ephox he grew sales over 100%, turned a profit and built an international business.”

i.lab

i.lab was established by the Queensland Government in 2000 as part of its Smart State strategy to encourage investment and create knowledge-based jobs for Queenslanders.

Its purpose is to facilitate the development of high technology industries in Queensland by providing mentoring and support for entrepreneurs. It does this by nurturing start-up technology businesses over a two year period.

Anne-Marie Birkill - CEO, i.lab Incubator said:

“Mike Wallas has been a long-term ‘friend’ and advisor to i.lab Incubator, and a mentor to i.lab member companies, including Ephox Pty Ltd, Taurus Software Solutions Pty Ltd and ICOMMS Pty Ltd.

Mike’s unique combination of business savvy and engaging personal style has added value in all these interactions, helping companies in the difficult start-up phase navigate treacherous waters.

While Mike has an extensive knowledge of a range of business principles, his expertise in the development of distribution strategies, expansion and growth strategies, and distribution chain management has been particularly beneficial.”

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