Start-ups dominate Deloitte Technology Fast 50

Online powerhouses Catch of the Day, Kogan Technologies and RedBalloon are among the companies to appear in this year’s Deloitte Technology Fast 50 list, which also features iiNet, Atlassian and OzForex.

The Deloitte Technology Fast 50 recognises technology companies that have achieved the fastest rates of annual revenue growth, based on percentage revenue growth over the last three years.

Now in its 11^th year, the Australian program is part of the global Deloitte Technology Fast 500 program, run in parallel with a host of other countries including the US and the UK.

Taking out the top spot in this year’s Fast 50 is IT and telecommunications company Anittel, led by Peter Kazacos, which achieved revenue growth of 1,022.22%.

Also in the top five were Observatory Crest Australia, BizCover, SurfStitch and Vocus Communications, all of which achieved revenue growth of more than 500%.

Group-buying site Catch of the Day came in at number seven, with revenue growth of 327.17%, while insurance product comparison website iSelect was ranked number 21.

In 23^rd place was online tech retailer Kogan Technologies, led by StartupSmart blogger Ruslan Kogan, while SmartCompany blogger Naomi Simson of RedBalloon came in at number 38.

Online foreign exchange service OzForex came in at number 43, followed by News Ticketing and iiNet, which came in at numbers 44 and 45 respectively.

Also in the list was Kiandra IT, in 49^th place with revenue growth of 63.83%, while the 50^th spot was claimed by start-up success story Atlassian, with revenue growth of 58.87%.

Kiandra IT managing director Cameron Brookes says appearing on the list “is a reflection of our dedicated focus to providing innovative infrastructure and software development solutions”.

Deloitte also distributed a number of Rising Star awards, recognising high-growth companies that didn’t qualify for the Fast 50.

This was either a result of having less than three years’ existing revenue data or not meeting the new $8 million three-year cumulative revenue eligibility requirement of the Fast 50.

This year’s Rising Stars include online shopping club brandsExclusive, group-buying site Jump On It and financial comparison site Mozo.

brandsExclusive is a private shopping club boasting more than 800 local and international fashion brand partners.

Managing director Daniel Jarosch says his site attracts an average of 70,000 new members every month, adding to an existing member base of 1.6 million since its launch in May 2009.

“This [award] is a major accomplishment for the team at brandsExclusive… It is recognition we are creating an online retail experience like no other in Australia,” Jarosch said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Jump On It chief executive Colin Fabig attributes his company’s win to “constant innovations [and] signing major partnership deals with eBay and Fairfax”.