Category: Business

It was in the same group as Morse Micro, Black.ai and Mentorloop, and Mr Pike said the cracks in his business quickly became apparent.

“Nick and I formed a pretty close bond, but it was a weird relationship because while Nick had a lot of belief in me personally, he had some major concerns about the business,” Mr Pike said.

‘existential concerns’

“Sitemate was the company he was most concerned about from the cohort. We were probably the worst company in nearly every measurable and immeasurable metric. We had a founder break-up and the product barely worked, but now we’ve been stable for a few years.

“We rebuilt the culture internally, restructured the founding team, and we started chipping away.”

Despite the “existential concerns”, Mr Pike said he kept building the business because the early traction from the company’s first 20 customers was strong.

“There is blind hope, and then there is logical hope. There is a fine line between those things,” he said.

“Looking at it from an outsider’s point of view, things looked pretty bad. But, we looked at it qualitatively – were people using our product? Yes, they were requesting more features, using it more every day and using it to its limits. We knew we may as well see it through.

“But there’s a lot of zombie start-ups out there who have spent money building things no one is using, and that’s a different situation.”

After graduating from Startmate, Mr Pike emailed Mr Crocker monthly updates on how Sitemate was tracking for four years.

Shortly before COVID-19 struck the business found its groove. And then the pandemic propelled the adoption of digital tools among its customers including Lendlease, Downer, Fulton Hogan and Arcadis, which use Sitemate across a variety of projects.

The company now has almost 1000 customers, has expanded to Britain and is in the process of setting up an office in North America.

On the back of its newfound success, in December last year the company kicked off conversations about a capital raise with Blackbird.

“Blackbird principal Tom Humphrey has joined the board, but it was the relationship with Nick that laid the foundation and this feels like coming full circle,” Mr Pike said.

New investors

Blackbird’s cornerstone contribution to the $5.2 million round was locked in three months ago. Since then, the company has also secured funding from existing investor Shearwater Capital and angels including local tech founders Tim Doyle, from Eucalyptus, and Propeller’s Rory San Miguel.

“It is a product-led company bringing real-time collaboration and a seamless product experience to the hundreds of millions of workers who wear hardhats and steel capped work boots – just like Atlassian did for software developers and software companies,” Mr Humphrey said.

Mr Pike would not reveal the company’s valuation, but said it was about five times higher than its previous seed round, which closed shortly before COVID-19 hit.

Having had a rocky start to life, Mr Pike said no investors wanted to fund the business in its early days, so the company was forced to operate profitably and run on a lean budget.

He intends to return the business to break even quickly. But, he said he would consider raising another round at a later date.

“Even though we’ve done this round, it hasn’t changed our DNA,” Mr Pike said.

“The plan is to deploy the funds rapidly – ​​setting up our go-to-market offices and doubling our product and engineering teams – but we’ll be back to break even within 12 months and in a position to decide what we want to do next. We will not be reliant on future funding.

“That was the plan even before the crash. We think you get better results [when you’re capital efficient] and you’re less lazy.”

On Monday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) started the week in fine form. The benchmark index rose 0.7% to 6,993 points.

Will the market be able to build on this on Tuesday? Here are five things to watch:

ASX 200 expected to fail

The Australian share market is expected to open the day lower on Tuesday following a poor start to the week on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is poised to open the day 19 points or 0.3% lower. On Wall Street the Dow Jones fell 0.15%, the S&P 500 dropped 0.3%, and the NASDAQ was down 0.2%.

RBA meeting

The Reserve Bank of Australia is meeting again today to decide on the cash rate. According to the latest cash rate futures, the market sees a 67% probability of the central bank raising the cash rate by 0.65% to 2%. Though, another 0.5% rise to 1.85% appears to be the most likely outcome at this afternoon’s meeting according to the Westpac Banking Corp. (ASX: WBC) economic team.

Oil price sink

It could be a difficult day for energy producers such as Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) after oil prices sank deep into the red on Monday night. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is down 5% to US$93.66 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price has fallen 4.1% to US$99.72 a barrel. Traders were selling oil following concerns about weak Chinese factory data.

Credit Corp results

the Credit Corp Group Limited (ASX: CCP) share price will be on watch on Tuesday when the debt collector kicks off earnings season. According to a note out of Morgans, its analysts are expecting the company to report a full year net profit after tax of $96.2 million. This will be the top end of Credit Corp’s guidance range from $92 million to $97 million. Looking ahead, the broker is expecting management to guide to a net profit of $94 million to $104 million for FY 2023.

Gold price higher

gold miners Evolution Mining Ltd. (ASX: EVN) and Regis Resources Limited (ASX: RRL) could have a decent day after the gold price pushed higher overnight. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is up 0.35% to US$1,788 an ounce. A softer US dollar and weak Chinese economic data increased demand for the precious metal.

A business class passenger on an Avianca flight has been left with a sour taste in his mouth. He recently took to the Internet to share his experience of an unclean toilet, packaged dessert and breakfast “served in an economy class container.”

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Leviticus may not have said “no one has wrath like a business class passenger scorned” but he really should have. why? A pointy end passenger recently took to the Internet with yet another bashing of a London-Bogota Avianca 787 flight, where the experience failed to live up to its billing as a premium service.

The “comically bad” experience was skewered by avid traveler Matthew Klint, who writes for the aviation website Live & Let’s Fly. Klint recently flew on Avianca, a Colombian airline which has been the flag carrier of Colombia since December 5, 1919, when it was initially registered under the name SCADTA.

Though Avianca isn’t renowned as one of the world’s leading luxury airlines (for the airlines which have the best business class offerings in the world right now, head on over here), when booking an international business class ticket, you still expect the basics – certain industry standards – to be upheld.

Unfortunately for Klint, this, particularly when it comes to food, did not prove to be the case. He went as far as to call it “deplorable.” Speaking about his in-flight meal of him, Klint complained that they gave him a lukewarm crew meal “with a packaged sandwich and packaged dessert.”

“Hot on the sides, cold in the middle.”

matthew klint

He added: “Breakfast was served before landing – again, in an economy class container. At least this time the omelet was warm. Sadly, the coffee was just brown water without much flavor and the bread was cold and hard.” He then pointed out it was a relief to get onto his connection from him to Houston and “actually receive a properly plated meal.”

RELATED: Business Class Jerk’s ‘Infuriating’ Complaint Stinks Of Snobbery… But Also Sparks Crucial ‘New Normal’ Debate

On top of that, Klint was not impressed by the state of the bathroom (which he says is not the fault of the crew, but nevertheless an indictment on them), which did not appear to have been kept clean all throughout the flight.

Klint then said the reason the airline provided for the altered service (Avianca left a note on his seat that said, basically, sorry for the altered service, we’ve had 12 months off and are now still getting our sh*t together) was not good enough, writing: “blaming your poor catering on the long hiatus in London service is simply absurd.”

“Avianca had weeks to prepare for its return and could have easily worked with its caterer to supply proper business class meals, including salads and appetizers. Instead, we received a lukewarm crew meal.”

matthew klint

This isn’t the first time there has been a mismatch between airlines’ adaptations to the pandemic (and other disruptive factors) and passengers’ expectations – particularly when it comes to business class. One Singapore Airlines passenger got into a right stoush on Facebook after champagne was removed from Singapore Airlines’ menu in 2020, for instance. And who could forget Virgin Australia’s Noodlegate incident and Qantas’ paper plate gate scandal…

RELATED: Business Class ‘Slammertime’ Ritual Sparks Outrage At 40,000ft

Just another day in this post-pandemic world. And yet another thing to think about (beyond baggage handlers destroying your luggage, airlines losing your luggage and massive flight delays) before your next flight.

It’s also worth noting that in previous reviews of Avianca business class (back when they were using plates), the food has got a mixed reception. In 2018 to Forbes writer called the meal presentation lackluster (“rather than coursing it out, the flight attendants put both the starters and the cheese plate on the same tray, then came through later with the main course”) while The Blonde Abroad once wrote “Avianca’s food and drink menus for their business class passengers are exceptional.”

Maybe the next time you get the chance you ought to book a ticket and try it for yourself.

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With that in mind, Cbus Property went back to the drawing board last year to rejig its plans for the 48-storey at 435 Bourke Street, on the corner with Queen Street in Melbourne.

While the developer already had an approval in hand for an office development across the four sites it had amalgamated, the “flight to quality” theme emerging out of the pandemic prompted a rethink.

“Given people are still trying to get their minds around coming back to the office, of course it’s a challenging market. But if you’ve got the best product out in the market, it should attract the right caliber of tenants,” Mr Pozzo said.

Freshly approved by the state government, the Bates Smart-designed tower will comprise 60,000 square meters, enough room for about 5,500 city workers.

A key improvement to the design is a “solar skin” wrapping around the façade, that will generate about 20 per cent of the base building electricity requirements. The balance of the building, which is designed to achieve net-zero carbon in operation, will be powered by off-site renewable electricity.

Adding to the post-pandemic appeal of 435 Bourke will be a sky garden, along with several landscaped open-air and mixed-mode terraces as well as an atrium.

Such areas are a recognition that many staff are now more accustomed to working in informal settings, according to Mr Pozzo and Colliers’ Andrew Beasley, who is managing the leasing for the new tower.

“We took the time to interview major occupiers over the COVID-19 lockdown period to learn what these organizations would like to see in a new development in a post-COVID world,” Mr Beasley said.

• All going to plan, demolition will finish by early next year, allowing construction to begin on the tower which could be completed by late 2026.

The fledgling Australian airline has moved towards welcoming its first paying passengers on board. The airline’s first plane, a gleaming Boeing 737 MAX 8, is touching down at Bonza’s Queensland HQ on Monday morning local time. The plane’s arrival marks a milestone for founder Tim Jordan who has always remained resolutely upbeat despite many skeptics suggesting this day would never come.

Bonza’s first MAX 8 hops across the Pacific

Some keen planespotters spied Bonza’s first plane around a month ago, jetting between airports in the western half of the United States, progressively having the final touches applied to its new livery. The 737 MAX 8 was built in later 2019 and initially destined for LOT Polish Airlines but never taken up. Since then, the jet has mostly sat idle. Bonza’s financial backers, the Miami-based 777 Partners, later took the plane up through their own aircraft leasing company. SP-LVO became VH-UJT and swapped a potential home in Warsaw for Queensland’s Maroochydore/Sunshine Coast Airport (MCY).

VH-UJT is due to land mid-morning Monday into MCY as flight AB001 after a series of ferry flights from the US. The MAX 8 flew the final 1,671 miles (2,690 kilometers) from Nadi (NAN) on Monday morning. The final leg followed a flight from Boeing Field (BFI) outside Seattle to Honolulu (HNL) on Friday and a second leg from Honolulu to Nadi on Saturday. Monday’s arrival at MCY also marks the first time a MAX aircraft has landed at that airport.

“We are beyond excited to welcome our first aircraft to Sunshine Coast Airport,” says Bonza’s Tim Jordan. The CEO added that VH-UJT would primarily work as a spare plane, supporting Bonza’s remaining fleet and minimizing disruptions. Bonza is reticent about timelines for its next aircraft arrivals. “More aircraft will follow,” says a statement from the airline.

Bonza is holding onto a late September launch date

Bonza’s first anticipated a mid-year launch date, but that’s been and gone. A few months ago, the airline said September was a more likely start date, so they’ll need to get their skates on aircraft-wise if that’s still to happen. But on Monday, there was a message out of the Bonza camp suggesting a September start date was looking less certain.

“The airline is working towards wheels-up, potentially as soon as late September but noting the regulatory process is one that is highly respected,” says Bonza’s statement. Bonza tells Simple Flying they hope to get their second plane in August and the application for the air operator’s certificate is “progressing well.”

Once VH-UJT lands in MCY, it will receive a cabin refit. “It seems only right that we bring home our first aircraft to have its final touches put on by Australians locally,” said Mr Jordan. LOT’s three-class 186-seat 737 MAX 8 configuration is likely too roomy for Bonza’s high seat density, low-cost fare operating model. Bonza will also probably inject a little of its brand color and flavor into the cabin .

Bonza hasn’t named its first plane yet. In a slightly risky strategy for an airline operating MAX 8s, it wants the public to provide naming suggestions on the airline’s social media pages. There have been quite a few examples of such promotions going wildly off-piste in Australia and elsewhere. Knowing Bonza, they’ll probably make a virtue out of the ridiculous, but the potential nicknames for a Boeing 737 MAX 8 at an airline called Bonza might even test the humor of the always smiling Mr Jordan.

“Without knowing the details I imagine that there are a number of components in the communication chain, so they would have to diagnose, identify the fault and test and restore,” Dr Nesci said.

“What is surprising however is that such a critical system does not appear to have a high level of redundancy – ie a backup system on hot standby. This would allow a failover to the redundant system in a few minutes while the primary system is restored.”

The outage was unrelated to long lines and a slew of canceled flights at Sydney and Melbourne airports on Monday morning.

At Sydney Airport, 23 flights were canceled across multiple airlines as a result of engineering issues and COVID-related staff shortages that have plagued airlines since Australia reopened its domestic borders.

Twenty flights were canceled at Melbourne airport on Monday, about 7 per cent of the 286 scheduled departures, including nine flights from Qantas, seven from Virgin, and four Jetstar flights.

Virgin was forced to change its schedule over the weekend due to crew sickness, and a spokeswoman said the airline apologized to travelers impacted by delayed or canceled services.

The most recent government data from June showed just 63 per cent of all domestic flights arrived on time and 5.8 per cent of scheduled flights were canceled by local airlines.

The Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics said Australia’s aviation sector posted the “worst on time performance figures recorded since recording commenced in November 2003″, followed by the Easter holidays in April 2022.

Bad weather, congestion and other COVID-related issues dragged down the time arrivals figure in June, which was significantly lower than the long-term average performance for all routes of 82 per cent while the rate of cancellations was more than double the long-term average of 2.1 per cent.

Recent extreme weather events have underscored the need to cut the CO₂ emissions that are driving up global temperatures. This requires a rapid transition from the energy economy to renewable energy sources, the cheapest being solar photovoltaics (PV). And our newly published research points to a way we can drive down costs of the shift even further using cheaper forms of silicon for highly efficient solar panels.

Australia has been leading the way with solar PV installations, but our solar energy journey is just beginning. This year, humanity hit a milestone of 1 terawatt (TW) – 1 million × 1 million watts – of installed solar capacity. However, experts predict 70TW of solar PV may be needed by 2050 to power all sectors of the economy.

To help drive this rapid uptake of solar PV, we need solar panels that are high efficiency and low cost. Over the past ten years, some new solar cell designs have led to record high efficiencies. The problem is these designs also need higher-quality materials, which cost more.

Our recent research suggests we might be able to rethink the type of silicon needed to make these high-efficiency solar cells.

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Read more: Australia is the runaway global leader in building new renewable energy

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Not all silicon is equal

More than 95% of solar panels are made using silicon. The silicon used to make solar cells is similar to that used in computer chips. It’s effectively very pure sand.

To make a solar cell work, we need to form an electric field so the generated current can all flow in one direction. This is done by adding impurity atoms into silicon, a process known as “doping”.

In commercial panel manufacturing, the most commonly used type of silicon is “p-type” silicon. This material is doped with atoms that have one less electron than silicon, such as boron or more recently gallium.

We can then introduce a very thin layer on the surface full of atoms with one extra electron relative to silicon, which is called “n-type” silicon. Placing these two types of silicon together forms what is called a “pn junction”. The massive difference in the number of electrons between the p-type region and n-type region forces electrons to move rapidly, creating an electric field that drives the current in our solar cell.

Conventional solar panels on Australian roofs today are overwhelmingly made using p-type silicon, as it is about 10% cheaper than the alternative “n-type” silicon, doped with phosphorus.

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Read more: The sunlight that powers solar panels also damages them. ‘Gallium doping’ is providing a solution

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Higher efficiency comes at a cost

Researchers are continually pushing to drive up the efficiency of solar panels so they can generate more power for consumers. In 2017, a record efficiency of 26.7% was achieved for a silicon solar cell. Last month, LONGi Solar announced an efficiency of 26.5% – very close to the world record – for the same type of solar cell made in a manufacturing environment, rather than in a laboratory.

This type of solar cell is called a “silicon heterojunction”. The special element of silicon heterojunction solar cells is that the surface is capped with a very thin layer – about 1,000 times thinner than a human hair – of amorphous silicon. This thin layer smooths the surface and reduces a lot of the energy losses.

Sanyo developed this cell design in the 1990s. At the time, high-quality n-type silicon wafers were used to make silicon heterojunction cells, even though these wafers are more expensive.

The main reason for this is that sunlight degrades cheaper p-type wafers. However, our understanding of this phenomenon and how to treat it has come a long way since the 1990s.

Our light-bulb moment

For the past 30 years, all silicon heterojunction solar cells, including the record-breaking cells, have been made using n-type silicon wafers. In our research project, we wanted to test whether cheaper, p-type wafers could also be used.

Through comprehensive testing, we found heterojunction solar cells made with p-type silicon did not perform as well. We were puzzled by this. But one day we had a literal light-bulb moment.

We realized that accidental exposure to room lighting for as little as ten seconds before testing reduced the voltage of p-type cells by as much as 30mV, which can cut their efficiency by a percentage point (ie from 22% to 21%). This was causing our cells to perform much worse than expected. Much like someone who has severe allergies is more sensitive to pollen in the spring, we realized these high-efficiency silicon heterojunction solar cells made with p-type wafers are much more sensitive to light-induced degradation.

Problem identified, we now have the solution

We believe this observation is the reason high-efficiency cells have only previously been explored using expensive silicon. Past researchers were unaware of the sensitivity of p-type wafers to degrade and did not have the knowledge to overcome it.

Fortunately, we now know the bonding of boron and unwanted oxygen in the silicon wafer causes this degradation. Treatments with a high-intensity laser have been shown to stabilize cells in a matter of seconds.

The laser illumination can make hydrogen, which is already floating around in the silicon, more mobile to move around and “passivate” the unwanted boron-oxygen defects. Exactly how hydrogen does this is still an active area of ​​research, but we know it solves the problem. Our research confirms a short laser treatment can stabilize the performance of p-type silicon heterojunction solar cells.

Armed with this new knowledge, we can further develop high-efficiency technologies with cheaper raw materials. This will reduce the cost of every watt of solar electricity produced. In March this year, solar panel manufacturer LONGi Solar announced an efficiency of 25.47% for a silicon heterojunction solar cell made using p-type wafers.

To see manufacturers making high-efficiency solar cells that are potentially cheaper means our findings have a tangible impact on industry. Reducing solar cell costs will provide cheaper electricity to millions of consumers while addressing climate change.