Today on StartupSmart, we celebrate the winners of the 2012 StartupSmart Awards, including Target Media Australia, which was named the country’s fastest-growing start-up.
Target Media, which operates the TopBuy.com.au retail portal, was founded by Peter Xie, Mike Xie and Richard Liu.
The founders ditched their electronics wholesale business when they realised their margins were being squeezed, in favour of jumping onto the online retail boom.
It paid off – Target Media has recorded revenue of $14.1 million, putting it comfortably ahead of runner-up SCO Recruitment, with revenue of $12.7 million.
Separate award categories included Best Online Strategy, Best Product, Best Service, Best Green Start-up, Best Young Entrepreneur, Start-up Hero, and, for the first time, Best Start-up Investor.
The awards were judged by some of Australia’s leading entrepreneurs including Philip Weinman, Fred Schebesta and Amanda Gome.
According to Gome, the companies on this year’s list have proved themselves as “remarkable”, surviving the global financial crisis and challenging traditional business models.
Be sure to read our extensive profiles on the StartupSmart Top 50, and take inspiration from their diverse and successful business ideas.
