Establishing an edge: How tech can get you to think creatively

Taking the plunge from a corporate role to launching a startup requires creative thinking. For Adelaide-based Kelly Jamieson, it also required courage. Leaving a top-tier law firm in order to juggle a job as consultant and part-time entrepreneur, Kelly fit the running of her new venture in alongside her existing 30-hour working week.

A decade on, the business is in cities across Australia and New Zealand, with a view to a European presence in the near future.

Edible Blooms is a gift delivery service that specialises in bouquets made entirely from fresh fruit and chocolate. When Kelly started the venture in 2005, getting noticed meant more than a social media presence: she needed creative ways of getting Edible Blooms’ message out to the public.

In a quiet period after the opening of their Sydney store, Kelly took matters into her own hands and donned a strawberry suit and strolled up and down Oxford Street handing out flyers.

It worked. The business grew fast and by the end of the full financial year had topped $1 million in sales.

“Innovating is an essential,” says Kelly.

“In the early days, competitors would bother me. But now I see that competitors help increase awareness for our category. We actually have about 60 per cent of the traffic for our category.”