Melbourne-based Bodd wins Company of the Year at the 2022 Pause Awards

A Melbourne tech company that has developed 3D body scanning technology is among the list of 50 winners in the 2022 Pause Awards, which have shone a spotlight on the key role businesses play in creating a more equitable and regenerative world.

Bodd walked away with the Company of the Year honour at the sixth annual awards on Monday night thanks to its body scanning technology that captures ultra-rich body data, enabling brands to deliver highly personalised consumer experiences.

The company was just one of 50 winners across the six categories of the Pause Awards, which included the Grand Prix awards. This year’s top 10 winners included Verve, Great Wrap, Bare Cremation, Circle In, The Separation Guide, TernX, Evee, Wisr, Pentanet and Music Health.

Bodd co-founders Dave McLaughlin and Rob Fisher described the recognition as “the perfect way to cap off a sensational year”. 

“We are so proud of the team we have here and the culture we have built,” McLaughlin told SmartCompany. 

“The people in the Bodd business are simply the best group of people I have ever had the privilege of working with — it’s really quite amazing what a group can achieve when you all align on a shared mission and guiding values.” 

McLaughlin says it is more important than ever to pause and reflect on the wins and achievements of the next generation of Australian businesses. 

“It’s tough out there for startups and early-stage businesses — no doubt about it,” he said.

“There really are some amazing things bubbling away right here in Victoria alone — Pause provides a great opportunity to shine the spotlight on some of these businesses that are on their way to doing great things.”

Bodd on the up

Fisher told SmartCompany 2022 has been a breakout year for Bodd. 

“You’ll hear us talk a lot about our people, culture and mission at Bodd,” he said.

“Over the course of 2022 this has been a real focus for our group of extraordinary people. How we help use the incredible power of human body data as a force for good in people’s lives is the lens that shapes every decision we make, the types of organisations we work with and the ultimate solutions we provide.”

The Bodd team has scored some big wins this year, he says, including bolstering the company’s manufacturing capabilities through a global partnership with Bosch, bringing on more supporters and investors, and scaling the team across North America, Europe and Oceania.

Bodd’s body scanning technology captures ultra-rich body data. Source: Supplied.

“We have a few big announcements coming up including our first regional deployments with military/defence. Also some major product updates including enhancements to our health/wellness and vitals data capture — head to toe, we capture an immense set of incredible data on the human body,” he added.

Fisher says 2023 is already shaping up to be an exciting one for the tech company, which the team plans to tackle after a”some much-needed time off over the break to recharge”. 

“We have a lot happening across all the major sectors we operate in — uniform, retail, health — in every corner of the globe,” he says, nominating rollouts with big box sporting retailers in North America and fashion retailers in Asia as among the highlights. 

“More excitingly, some of our first major deployments [will take place] with North America and Australian health/wellness and pharmacy brands, tapping into our extended health and wellness data capabilities.”

Companies that enter into the Pause Awards are mostly small businesses and startups with less than 10 employees, closely followed by medium-sized businesses of up to 100 employees, while there has been a significant growth of businesses with more than 100 employees applying.

The average founder age this year was 29, compared to 37 in 2021. 

To see the full list of Pause Awards winners, click here.