40. Pulse+IT Magazine

Founder: Simon James

Revenue: $500,000

Started: 2006

Head Office: New South Wales

Employees: 3

Industry: Healthcare & Medical

Website: https://www.pulseitmagazine.com.au

Many veteran entrepreneurs will tell a start-up to calculate how much money they need for a business, and then double it just to be safe. But Pulse+IT magazine founder Simon James ran into trouble when he miscalculated just how much money it would take to begin.

James says while he was able to pre-sell enough advertising to publish the entire first edition, his main challenge was having to forgo a decent salary to run the business for the first two years.

“My business plan told me I’d actually make more money than my salary from day one, but the assumptions I made in my modelling were not properly tested with the benefit of hindsight. “

James identified the need for a dedicated publication for medical software products after realising there was nothing in the market that catered to Australian health professionals.

Seeing that similar projects achieved success overeseas gave him the courage to press on, even though he admits it took “longer than expected”.

Now, James says the company has become profitable and its circulation eclipses all other health mags in the country – 220,000 copies were printed in total in 2010. And thanks to his knowledge of advanced software, he’s able to spend six months overseas, updating the business while away.

Looking ahead, James plans for more international expansion, having already distributed 20,000 copies through New Zealand last year.