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Explorate wins Trailblazer Award at the Brisbane Young Entrepreneur 2023

Marie von Koeller
Marketing Associate Manager - Media Team
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Published
23 October 2023
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2 min read
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BRISBANE, QLD — October 20, 2023 — Digital freight forwarding trailblazer Explorate has continued its impressive streak within the Australian tech ecosystem, with co-founders Alex Ewart and Conor Hagan taking home the coveted Young Entrepreneur Trailblazer Award at the 2023 Brisbane Young Entrepreneur Awards.

The annual awards ceremony, hosted by Business News Australia, highlights the city's most formidable young business leaders who demonstrate exceptional commercial acumen, disruptive innovation, and market leadership. Selected from a highly competitive pool of elite finalists, the Trailblazer Award is uniquely presented to an entrepreneur who has achieved exponential business growth over a remarkably short period of time. It is awarded to the venture that the judging panel believes will make a major name for itself and possesses the highest potential for global success.

The prestigious accolade caps off a banner year defined by rapid platform optimization and massive structural scale. Since securing their $7.5 million Series A round, Ewart and Hagan have successfully transformed a traditionally rigid, legacy-driven industry by scaling an end-to-end digital freight infrastructure that manages real-time multimodal tracking, instant automated quoting, and complex customs tasks under one unified operating system.

"Taking home the Trailblazer Award is an outstanding nod to the velocity and execution of our entire team," said Conor Hagan, Co-CEO of Explorate. "It's one thing to build an innovative product, but it’s another to achieve the kind of exponential growth that changes the fabric of global trade. This recognition from the judging panel validates that we are on track to make a massive name for ourselves globally."

With a collective finalist pool generating hundreds of millions in local revenue, the event serves as a premier gathering of the region's elite change-makers. For Explorate, the 2023 win matches a series of top-tier accolades received across the year—including a prominent placement in Deloitte's Tech Fast 50 index—cementing the venture as one of the country's most closely watched logistics tech plays.

"We built Explorate to take the blind spots out of international trade," added Alex Ewart, Co-Founder. "Being recognized as the region's top trailblazer reinforces that our mission—giving modern shippers absolute transparency over pricing, transit tracking, and carbon impact—is hitting a massive market need."

About Explorate

Explorate is a digital freight forwarder that makes global logistics management remarkably straightforward. Combining a cutting-edge platform—featuring instant bookings, real-time track and trace, and smart workflow dashboards—with a concierge-style team of logistics experts, Explorate provides modern shippers with the agility and supply chain control required in today’s volatile market.

Conor Hagan, Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Explorate, said: “It’s been a fantastic journey working alongside the team at Nick Scali to bring this project to life. Collaborating with such an iconic Australian brand to transform their supply chain into something not only industry-leading but capable of supporting innovative thinking for years to come has been a privilege.”

Marie von Koeller
Marketing Associate Manager - Media Team

Bringing 10+ years of experience across international marketing, business administration, and strategic brand management, Explorate's media lead has directed corporate communications within competitive industrial and tech sectors to expertly navigate reputation across the digital supply chain landscape.

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References
  • Business News Australia. (2023). Brisbane's Best and Brightest Celebrated at the 2023 Young Entrepreneur Awards. Link
  • Skalata Ventures. (2023). Founder Stories: How Explorate Scaled Its 4-Office Digital Freight Network. Link
  • Frequently Asked Questions

    Explorate gives supply chain managers one real-time view across ever forwarder, lane and mode without replacing your current process, partners or systems.

    What is Explorate?
    What types of freight do you handle?
    What’s the best method for shipping my goods?
    My forwarder already gives me tracking. What’s different?
    Can I request my own quote?
    How often is the shipment data updated?
    How hard is it to get started?