A Launceston-based finalist in a national business award program has praised the region and says the drive that has taken them where they are runs deep in the family.
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Talitha Devadass, of The Van Diemen Project, has been announced as a finalist in the emerging leader category of the Telstra Women in Business Awards, and will be judged against others across the state and country ahead of an event later in the year.
Ms Devadass manages the company's entrepreneurship facilitation program and sees the biggest part of her role as helping other people tap into the opportunities and pathways the state's North has to offer.
"The Van Diemen Project is all about helping Tasmanians to do great things,” she said.
"I'm lucky to work with such a passionate and hard working team.”
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The company provides services to drive economic growth, innovation and entrepreneurship, helping both upcoming and established businesses.
Nominated by her best friend, Ms Devadass said the process had been a grueling one so far - totaling almost 20 hours and a number of phone and panel interviews.
“It’s kind of like the longest job application you have to write,” she said.
“But it’s been amazing. It’s been a really good process because it made me thing about why I do what I do and how I think about it.
“I think for me anyway the biggest realisation I've come to is that I feel really lucky to be a first generation Tasmanian living in Northern Tasmania and all the opportunities I have in the region.”
Ms Devadass referenced her parents who migrated from Malaysia in the 1980s as a big influence in her work.
“One of the first things my mum did was set up a restaurant with her sister,” she said.
“It’s sort of in my blood”
The region is well represented among the award finalists, with a number of prominent figures named across a wide range of industries.
Rebecca Duffy of Holm Oak Vineyards is also among that field, nominated for the small business award.
"Being a part of Tasmania's growing reputation for producing world-class wine and food, it is important that we are able to make premium quality wines that add to and enhance this reputation," her statement reads.
Since 2006, the business has experienced increasing sales from 1200 cases of wine per year, to 15,000.
Other Northern nominees in the small business category include Michelle Williams of @home Property Management and Tameka Smyth of Key2 Property.
New Horizons Club chief executive Belinda Kitto is nominated in the for purpose and social enterprise category.
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