Proud as punch at the Australian Women’s Small Business Champion Awards.

We’re thrilled to announce that Hey Lemonade won “Best New Business” at the 2023 Australian Women’s Small Business Champion Awards.

The award criteria requires new businesses are less than 2 years old and at least 50% founded by women.  The award for Best New Business acknowledges organisations and founders who are contributing, influencing, and leading their sectors and industries.

It considers a range of criteria from the impact, uniqueness, contribution to the economy, growth, diversity, sustainability and scalability of the business, as well as the way a business treats its staff, the development of the product itself (we love our tech team) and the marketing strategies utilised to drive engagement with the business. We were jumping out of our lemon peels when we heard Hey Lemonade had won!

Thankfully, co-founders Lucy Durack and Elise McCann know a thing or two about glamming up for such an occasion from their life in theatre. In their speech, not only did they acknowledge the work of their team and support of their families, but they talked about something interesting. That was, how adopting a “yes and” attitude has become their super power. When faced with a challenge, they’ve adopted a growth mindset where they replace “I don’t know how to do this” with “let’s figure out how to do this”. This is a spirit and attitude the co-founders extend to their team. We hear so much about the hustle and countless hours that make a small business, however, it was nice to be reminded that sometimes leaning into naivety with curiosity and optimism can be a recipe for success. 

See the full acceptance speech below.