31. Media33

Revenue: $14.3 million
Growth: 96.1%
Founder: Michael Lambert, 39
Head office: Port Melbourne, VIC
Year founded: 2013
employees: 10
Industry: Advertising, Arts, and Media
Website: www.media33.com.au

The “Sunday night blues” are pervasive among people heading back to work in many jobs, but for Michael Lambert, founder of Media33, that simply isn’t good enough.

The media buying agency – one of three used for the UFC brand around the world – is adamant that staff are engaged, challenged and passionate. So much so that Lambert makes sure his nine employees are pumped and ready to go to work on Monday morning.

“As soon as staff get the ‘Sunday night blues’, I think you’ve lost productivity,” he says.

“Give them full autonomy to do what they need to do, with the level of trust you should have in them when you make the decision to employ them in the first place.”

The Smart50 alumnus, which came in at number 12 last year, has secured $14.3 million in revenue in 2017, contributing to a three-year revenue growth rate of 96%.

The business was founded with clients’ interests as the number one priority, something Lambert didn’t see enough of in the industry prior to that.

“For too long we saw clients who don’t have huge budgets, not getting the service they deserved. To me all budgets are relative to the individual or company spending the money,” he says.

With a flat hierarchy, the entire Media33 team is encouraged to bring in new ideas. It’s the responsibility of paying that team that keeps Lambert awake at night – that, and keeping up with growth. Investing in staff, he says, is the number one way the company will continue to grow and give clients the service they deserve.

“We are challenged every day to be better, to find new ways of doing things, to find new ways to grow partners’ businesses. The solution is good staff that agree with our philosophy, direction and purpose,” he says.

“For the next 12 months, our growth strategy is to continue to develop our team members in learning, efficiency and productivity. With this in mind I believe our partners’ businesses will continue to benefit.”