In a glittering celebration of entrepreneurial excellence, First Education, founded by Harry Mavrolefteros, was awarded ‘Business of the Decade’ at the 2025 Australian Small Business Champion Awards, held at The Star Sydney on Saturday, 29 March.
The prestigious awards program — now in its 27th year — honours the most outstanding small businesses from across Australia. This year, more than 5,500 entries were received from all corners of the country, with only 1,423 finalists selected across 106 categories, making the win for First Education a truly remarkable achievement.
Attended by over 1,000 guests, the evening was hosted by Channel Nine’s Jayne Azzopardi and included live entertainment, with many in attendance dubbing the ceremony the “Oscars of Australian Small Business.” Among the crowd were Harry and his wife Tania, who proudly accepted the trophy and official certificate on behalf of the entire First Education team.
Speaking exclusively to The Greek Herald, Harry said: “Winning ‘Business of the Decade’ for the Australian Small Business Champion Awards is the Everest (the Olympus?) of recognition for First Education.”
“I’m honoured and humbled and immensely grateful to my wife Tania, my parents and siblings, our managers, our tutors, our parents and our students who all believed in the power of building our students’ passion and confidence!” Harry added.
First Education has become a household name in Sydney’s eastern and inner west suburbs, offering tailored, one-on-one tutoring to students from Kindergarten to Year 12, as well as group debating classes and HSC study support sessions. With centres in Bondi, Earlwood, Maroubra, Mascot, and Randwick, the organisation supports more than 1,000 students with the help of over 200 tutors.
The journey began in 2005, when Harry, then a university student with a passion for mathematics, started tutoring students from their homes. Despite advice to the contrary, he left a job in financial planning at age 22 to pursue tutoring full-time.
In October 2010, the first Maroubra centre opened above his parents’ optometry practice on Anzac Parade. From humble beginnings with just 10 students, the business has flourished, guided by a core ethos of nurturing confidence, passion, and hard work.
Despite opening multiple centres — even during the height of the COVID pandemic — Harry’s vision has remained steadfast: to create a learning environment where students not only succeed but thrive.
With this award win, First Education has cemented its place as not just a leader in the tutoring industry, but as a cornerstone of educational support and community empowerment in Australia.
