Aussie businesses are making their mark, as Culture Amp, Canva and Airwallex named in Forbes lists

Australia is finding itself well-represented in Forbes lists this week, with three leaders in the tech scene appearing in the Cloud 100 list, and three women named in the Asia’s Power Businesswomen list.

Canva co-founder and chief Melanie Perkins, Airwallex co-founder and president Lucy Liu and Carman’s Fine Foods founder and chief are each recognised as leading businesswomen in the region.

Liu is also the youngest woman on the list. At just 29, she’s heading up a fintech unicorn, now valued at some $2.85 billion.

Canva, of course, is also a leading Aussie unicorn, with an $8.7 million raise in June valuing it at $8.7 billion.

Outside of the tech scene, the list acknowledged Carolyn Cresswell’s longevity in Aussie business, after she first bought into Carmen’s in 1992, aged 18, and went on to buy out the business and grow it to 80 products sold in 36 countries.

Both Canva and Airwallex also appeared in the Cloud 100 list — an annual ranking of the top privately owned ‘cloud computing’ businesses in the world.

“The companies on the list are selected for their growth, sales, valuation and culture, as well as a reputation score,” the introduction to the list states.

Canva is the only Aussie business in the top 10, taking seventh place. Airwallex comes in at number 61.

Aussie ‘larrikin unicorn’ Culture Amp has also been named on the list for the first time, debuting in 80th place.

Culture Amp raised $120 million last year, giving it a valuation of US$1.04 billion and just nudging it into unicorn territory.

But, it’s since felt the pinch of the COVID-19 pandemic, and laid off 8% of its workforce in May.

Making the Cloud 100 list is “a special moment” for the startup, Culture Amp co-founder and chief Didier Elzinga said in a statement.

“It is further validation of our culture-first approach and the absolute importance of employee experience in building a great company … particularly at this moment in time when company culture is more critical than ever,” he added.

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