11. Signifi Media

Revenue: $7.3 million
Growth: 263%
Founders: Matthew Cahill (49), Nick Sertis (45)
Head Office: Perth
Employees: 17
Industry: Advertising, arts and media
Website: https://www.signifimedia.com.au/
Year Founded: 2015

How it started

Co-founders Matt Cahill and Nick Sertis developed a marketing automation platform to help large website publishers and portals automate their advertising and generate new revenue at the same time. The platform, known as ‘Loopa Automate’, is now sold through Signifi Media.

With just $250,000 to start the business, the founders had to grow quickly so they wouldn’t run out of funds. The company’s early days were focused on customer acquisition in Australia before Cahill and Sertis eventually landed their first large client, Hemnet, the top real estate publisher in Sweden.

Growth

Using Hemnet as a base to find new clients, the business has grown well since. The co-founders’ software is now running in more than 10 countries with partners across real estate, the automotive industry and large classified job portals.

The past three years have been particularly stellar for the business, which finished the 2018-19 financial year with $2 million in revenue. The following year, revenue grew to $3.5 million, before reaching $7.3 million for the 2020-21 financial year.

Where to next?

Cahill and Sertis are now looking to expand Signifi Media into more countries and are working on a new product in a bid to double their client base over the next 12 months. This will be achieved through new partnerships across the Middle East, Portugal, Cambodia, the US and South Africa.

The founders told SmartCompany they’re aiming to sign up a media organisation in Singapore, and to roll out their automation product to its large client base. Once borders reopen, they’ll also travel to international real estate conferences to present their tech in person.