Nambour IT business builds its own answer to big tech

Astra IT founder Josh Thorpe: “I’d love to see something we’ve built right here in Nambour helping small businesses throughout Australia and potentially beyond.”

Business Feature: Astra IT

A Nambour technology business is developing a home-grown system designed to make life simpler for small business owners tired of juggling disconnected websites, booking systems, emails, invoices and sales software.

Astra IT founder Josh Thorpe is developing Astra Genesis, a platform intended to bring many of the everyday technology needs of a small business together in one system.

The project is being developed in Nambour by Astra IT, which provides computer support, business IT services, websites and automation.

For Josh, the journey began when he was just eight years old, teaching himself to build webpages using Microsoft Publisher.

“I grew up with a computer but without an internet connection, so I started teaching myself how to build webpages using Microsoft Publisher,” he said.

“Looking back, it’s pretty funny that I was creating websites before I even had access to the internet!”

That childhood curiosity eventually became a passion for computers, web design and technology, leading him to establish Astra IT.

The inspiration for Genesis came from recognising a problem faced by many small business owners – the cost and complexity of managing multiple technology systems that don’t necessarily communicate with each other. “The problem we’re working on is straightforward: a business can have a website, booking system, email and invoicing tools that all work separately, leaving the owner to join everything up,” Josh said.

“I wanted to change that.”

What began as an idea for a more integrated website solution has grown into a much larger project.

Genesis now incorporates the development of Astra Shop, an in-house e-commerce system, and Astra POS, a point-of-sale system, designed to work alongside websites, bookings, quotes, invoices and other everyday business tools.

The wider platform is being progressively developed, with additional tools tailored to individual business needs.

Josh said affordability was central to the project. “We deliberately chose a modest $59 per month starting price because I believe everyone deserves a fair go, regardless of the size of their business,” he said. “Small businesses and sole traders shouldn’t need enormous budgets to access professional websites and modern technology. My goal is to make these tools accessible to the people who could genuinely benefit from them.”

While the technology is being developed locally, Josh has ambitions well beyond the Sunshine Coast.

“Ultimately, I’d love to see something we’ve built right here in Nambour helping small businesses not just across the Sunshine Coast, but throughout Australia and potentially beyond.”

For more information visit www.astrait.com.au.