25. Mackay Goodwin

Revenue: $5.9 million
Growth: 126.8%
Founders: Domenic Calabretta (42), David Hill (49), Andrew Ngo (39)
Head Office: Sydney, NSW
Employees: 40
Industry: Accounting
Website: mackaygoodwin.com.au

Insolvency and business turnaround practitioners Mackay Goodwin are no stranger to what makes or breaks a good business, having dealt with hundreds of struggling businesses throughout their four-year tenure.

The business was founded by David Hill, Domenic Calabretta and Andrew Ngo, who aspired to take a fresh approach to insolvency management and corporate turnaround. The company says its focus is to “create something extraordinary out of distressed situations” via better treatment of clients and innovative approaches.

Striving to uphold the “utmost ethical and moral principles” has worked wonders for Mackay Goodwin as a company, but provided the business with challenges when it came to hiring insolvency experts.

“[It was challenging] recruiting insolvency professionals who were open to our way of working. And hadn’t been ‘tainted’ by working methods or the experience of working in established insolvency firms,” the founders say.

Right now, the business boasts a revenue of $5.9 million and three-year growth of 126%. Looking to the future, the company is keen to expand the number of staff on its books while also increasing revenue to upwards of $10 million.

As for staff, the pair intends to “disrupt the status quo” and thin out the male-dominated insolvency industry by hiring as many women as they can into roles at the firm.

“One of the biggest lessons we have learnt is that of never giving up — and playing the long game,” the founders say.

“A business has good days and bad days, but as long as you rebound from the bad days and learn from them, then the overall objective of the business will be met.”