Judges praise “exceptional” winners of 2023 Smart50 category awards

“Exceptional”, “outstanding” and “remarkable” are just some of the words our expert judges used to describe the winners of the 2023 Smart50 category awards.

Revealed alongside the Smart50 list of Australia’s fastest-growing SMEs in Melbourne on Thursday night, the specialist Smart50 categories recognise excellence in retail, marketing and  sustainability, along with an award for a startup Rising Star, a Community Hero, and our Smart & Lasting hall of fame prize. 

And despite there also being dedicated categories for Innovation and Resilience, these two themes were prominent across all the award categories and remarked upon by our judges. 

This year, our panel of expert Smart50 judges were asked to assess shortlisted entries. Judges included Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Bruce Billson, HEX co-founder and CEO Jeanette Cheah, BlueRock managing director Bevan McLeod, Mash co-founder and CEO Natasha Menon, and Fifo Capital CEO Wayne Morris. 

Smart50 winner scoops marketing gong

Untitled Group took home top place as Australia’s fastest-growing SME on Thursday evening, while also scooping up the Marketing Award for its stellar portfolio of successful events and ability to keep its finger on the pulse of Australia’s music and events scene. 

The Victoria-based business is already a familiar face in the Smart50.

Last year, Untitled Group ranked third on the Smart50 list and won the Resilience Award thanks to its steadfastness during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Innovators step forward

This year’s Smart50 Innovation Award was presented to Advanced Mobility Analytics Group (AMAG), a Brisbane-based tech company that focuses on preventing road accidents.

Also placing 45th on the 2023 Smart50 list, Advanced Mobility Analytics Group has developed a cloud-integrated, AI-driven analytical platform that has the potential to revolutionise traffic safety.

But AMAG wasn’t the only category winner to impress the judges with its innovative approach.

Judge Christina Gerakiteys, CEO of UtopiaX, praised Rising Star Award winner al.ive body for its “continuous innovation and the relentless pursuit of excellence in product, ethics, sustainability and aesthetic”.

The Rising Star Award goes to a fast-growing startup that is up to three years old. 

Al.ive body, which was founded by Alisa and Lysandra Fraser of The Block fame in 2020, produces a range of premium, ethically produced personal care items, such as hand and body washes, that also champion sustainability. 

The brand has more than 50 product lines, 750 stockists, and an estimated $22 million turnover in the 2024 financial year, and Gerakiteys said such “experienced growth can only happen with intense attention to all detail”.

Similarly, independent brand counsel Michel Hogan labelled the tech developed by Sustainability Award winner Goterra as “a standout innovation”.

Founded in 2016 by Olympia Yarger, Goterra has developed a way to use maggot-based robotic systems to process organic waste and has partnered with the likes of Woolworths and Brisbane hospitality precinct Howard Smith Wharves. 

“Food waste is a significant and growing problem, making the world literally theirs to munch on,” Hogan said of Goterra’s waste ‘robots’.

“And by-product fertiliser and protein-laden meal-worm food for animals closes the eco loop.”

Resilience and standing the test of time

The past few years have been a test for all Australian businesses, including our winners at The Smart50 Awards. But their resilience in the face of adversity has put them ahead of the pack.

The 2023 Smart50 Resilience Award went to StudioHawk, an SEO agency founded by entrepreneur Harry Sanders when he was only 17 years old and homeless.

The socially minded agency has grown by close to 30% over the past three years, securing it number 26 on this year’s Smart50 list, and judge Bruce Billson, Australia’s Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, was impressed by the company’s ability to “pivot its business to incorporate new AI technologies while still retaining and redeploying staff to add value through content driven by genuine human interactions”.

“I applaud its efforts in giving back to the community and supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs,” he added.

Consumer goods retailer MoveActive, ranked 16th on this year’s Smart50 list, took out the Retail Award, with judge Richard Li — co-founder of last year’s Smart50 winner July – celebrating the “outstanding business” and its “remarkable journey from [founder] Melissa Pain’s personal struggle to a global success story”.

“Her passion for creating functional and attractive grip socks to meet a genuine market need set the foundation for the company’s excellence,” explained Li.

Like Li’s own luggage brand July, MoveActive also needed to adapt quickly during the pandemic, and Li says this “showcases its resilience”.

“MoveActive’s commitment to nurturing community connections, listening to its customers, and swiftly pivoting in the face of adversity has been essential to its survival and continued growth.”

This year’s Community Award was presented to SHE-com, a 5,500-strong community of women brand owners, which is ranked 42nd on the Smart50 list. 

SHE-com embodies a true sense of “community spirit”, said judge Adriarna Nunn, head of people and culture at Cobild. Nunn said the community is a “truly standout nominee for The Smart50 Awards”.

“This collective of fierce, passionate women recognise the transformative power of collaboration and its profound impact on businesses in the world of e-commerce,” she added. 

Last, but certainly not least, this year’s Smart and Lasting Award – a hall of fame award for a business that has appeared in the Smart50 on multiple occasions – was presented to the Association of Professional Builders.

Founded by Russ Stephens and Sky Kolade, the association has earned a spot on the Smart50 list in 2023, 2022 and 2021 – which is not an easy thing to do, said SmartCompany special features editor and Smart50 judge Ben Ice.

“To achieve the sustained revenue growth required to land on the Smart50 list is an exceptional feat at any time,” said Ice.

“To do so multiple times – three, by my count – in years of bushfire, coronavirus and economic downturn, is nothing short of extraordinary.”

To read more about all of the 2023 Smart50 winners, click here.