James Tuckerman
Founder, Publisher and Editor-in Chief, Australian Anthill Magazine

As founder and Editor-In-Chief of Anthill Magazine, James Tuckerman is responsible for numerous initiatives and programs dedicated to the promotion and development of new and innovative Australian businesses.

Trained in law at the University of Melbourne, James commenced his career as a public relations consultant for Weber Shandwick Worldwide, where he specialised in corporate finance and investor relations communications, providing consultancy services to some of Australia’s largest and most respected corporate institutions, including Telstra, Holden, AAMI and JB Were.

During his investor relations career, he contributed to the success of numerous finance and venture capital public awareness campaigns, for both government and private enterprise, and has provided consultancy services to assist with the introduction of several fast-growth companies to the Australian stock exchange.

At the tender age of 26, James launched Anthill Magazine from the spare bedroom of his parent’s home in September 2003, with $28,000 in personal savings and no experience in the publishing world. Since then, he has grown Anthill from the seed of concept to become Australia’s leading business magazine specifically focussed on innovation and entrepreneurship. Importantly, it is Australia’s first magazine by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs.

Anthill’s success was recently recognised at the Australian Bell Awards, presented by the Australian Specialist and Business Publishers Association. Anthill Magazine received the award for Best Small Publisher (for the second year running) and was a Finalist for Consumer Magazine of the Year and Best Consumer Magazine Graphic Design (a first for a business magazine).

Before the launch of Anthill Magazine, the bulk of existing business titles in Australia were mainly concerned with issues of relevance to small/micro businesses or large corporations (one or the other).

James understood that a magazine was needed to bridge this gap, appealing to highly innovative and ambitious ‘fast’ growth businesses - SMEs with rapid growth potential and larger companies that realise the value of reinvention to stay ahead. Importantly, James built Anthill on the premise that business can and should be fun. This ethos is reflected in Anthill’s cheeky culture.

Following the success of Anthill Magazine, James has extended his activities to support entrepreneurship and innovation in Australia by launching the Cool Company Awards (to recognise rule changing behaviour), 30under30 (an awards program to support young entrepreneurs), Pitch Club (a networking series to facilitate investment in new companies) and the Ant’s Nest (an online resource to improve financial literacy in secondary schools).

Through these and similar initiatives, James hopes to foster a culture of entrepreneurship in Australia and help Australian innovators achieve commercial success on the world stage (two areas needing support).

James holds bachelor’s degrees in Law (with Honours) and Arts from the University of Melbourne Australia.

Listen to James Tuckerman and Paul Ryan chatting about Anthill with The Podcast Network founder Cameron Reilly. (mp3)