1 Hunter Mason

Hunter Mason founder Matthew Callender attributes his company’s rapid growth to looking after his clients and unsurprisingly, a lot of hard work.

Callender founded Hunter Mason just three years ago but the construction management firm has taken out the top spot in this year’s Smart50 thanks to a year-on-year growth rate of 1740%.

Hunter Mason turned over more than $11.2 million last financial year, compared to $3.5 million the year before and approximately $612,000 the year before that.

The firm specialises in providing interior fit-outs and refurbishment services to corporate clients across New South Wales.

Callender told SmartCompany his approach to winning new clients and ensuring their needs are met is holding his company in good stead.

“Every job we win, whether its worth $25,000 or $4 million, we treat it as the most important job we have,” he says.

Hunter Mason has also been able to win new customers thanks to a unique marketing opportunity.

“Delivering a major project for a very popular software company that attracts a lot of media attention – Atlassian,” says Callender of his company’s most successful marketing effort in the past 12 months.

But that’s not to say the company’s impressive growth has come without challenges.

Callender nominates employing the right staff for the different stages of the company’s growth as the most challenging aspect of establishing Hunter Mason.

“I learnt that I would be better off if I filled senior positions early and reduced the daily reliance on myself within the business,” she says.

Finding ways to reward his employees is at the front of Callender’s mind as he continues to grow Hunter Mason, along with working on a forthcoming national joint venture.

When asked what his next big move is, Callender says he plans to “refine the team in Sydney” and “establish a shareholder system for the business’ current key staff”.