SmartCompany Crown Lager Business Start Up Awards winners revealed

Canberra-based project management firm, Point Project Management has taken out the top prize at the inaugural SmartCompany Crown Lager Business Start Up Awards, held on Wednesday night at Melbourne’s Crown Casino.

Point Project Management won the Crown Lager Start Something Special Award, which recognises the fastest growing start up in Australia.

The company, which was started in 2006 by former army engineers Michael Snare, 37 and Brendan Bilston, 34, has quickly established a strong reputation with government and private sector clients, and recorded revenue of $13.4 million in 2008-09.

The awards attracted hundreds of entries from companies all over Australia and highlight how start up entrepreneurs have been able to defy difficult economic conditions to produce strong growth.

The awards also underline how important start up businesses will be in driving Australia’s economic recovery.

While many would consider the typical start up business to be a one or two person operation, the companies in the SmartCompany Crown Lager Business Start Up Awards employed an average of nine people – an extremely impressive result considering the companies on the list were, on average, just 2.4 years old.

The biggest employer was outsourcing firm Job Capital, which employs 80 people. In total, the companies that entered the awards employ over 950 people.

The average revenue of the 50 fastest growing companies was an impressive $2.3 million. The 50 companies had total revenue of $117.7 million. (To read a full profile of the company, click here).

SmartCompany founder and publisher, Amanda Gome says Point Project Management led an impressive group of start up businesses, with hundreds of companies entering the awards.

“You need to be smart, brave and a little bit crazy to start up a new business, but the companies who entered the awards prove that it is possible to grow very quickly if you can find the right niche.”

While start up costs vary wildly, from as low as $300 to as much as $1 million, most entrepreneurs start out with between $20,000 and $50,000. To help keep costs down during the early stages of a business’s life, more than half of the entrants started their business from home.

The average age of the founders was 36, while 30% of the companies that entered the awards had female founders or co-founders.

Other major award winners include:

• Start Up Hero – Rupert Imhoff, 199BUDDY

This award recognised the start up entrepreneur with the best back story. Imhoff, who is in his mid-20s, has built an extremely profitable business from home and now has operations around the world. Read the full profile here.

• Best Start Up Product – Slim Secrets

Founder Sharon Thurin noticed a gap in the market for a range of healthy snack foods and has developed a business with $1.5 million in revenue. Read the full profile here.

• Best Start Up Idea – 99designs

Online community website 99designs is one of the global leaders in crowdsourcing. Founder Mark Harbottle runs the business from Melbourne with a team of 15 people. Read the full profile here.

• Green Start Up – Hungry Giant

Young entrepreneur Chris O’Brien was just 22 when he had the idea for the Hungry Giant machine, an invention which helps reduce waste from polystyrene. He eventually commercialised his idea and has built a thriving waste management business. Read the full profile here.

• Best Services Start Up – Job Capital

Founder Jo Burston could see in 2006 that more companies were bringing in consultants for short bursts to get their expertise and control their costs, and developed a business to help those consultants manage complex financial and taxation affairs managed for them. Read the full profile here.

• People’s Choice – Inspired Adventures

Justine Curtis is part of a new breed of social entrepreneurs who have managed to combine business with philanthropy. Her company, Inspired Adventures, is a travel company that organises and operates adventure trips – including treks, marathon bike rides and mountain climbs – that also raises money for charities. Read the full profile here.

To read profiles of our 50 fastest growing start ups, see below. To see our list of up-and-coming start ups, click here.