Michael RosenbaumCompany: DealsDirect
Age: 30
At the tender age of 30, Michael Rosenbaum is an internet veteran. He co-founded online department store DealDirect with partner Paul Greenberg in last 2004 and has built the company into one of Australia’s best home-grown online retailers, with revenue believed to be above $80 million.
It’s been a particularly big few months for the business.
In February, DealsDirect launched a daily deals site called DealMe. In early April, the company sold a stake to the James Packer-backer fund Ellerston Capital. A few weeks later, it announced it had acquired children’s wear retailer The Kids Store for an undisclosed amount.
The investment by Ellerston means Rosenbaum and Greenberg need to keep one eye on an exit strategy for their new investor. An IPO or trade sale is an option, but the pair say they are in it for the long haul.
Matthew SampsonCompany: Aspect Personnel
Age: 25
Matthew Sampson says there were plenty of raised eyebrows when he started his own HR and recruitment firm at just 22 years of age. When his older and more experienced partner pulled out at the last minute, the challenge seemed immense.
But a few years later, Aspect Personnel is bringing in almost $3 million in revenue, and specialises in the recruitment of engineering, architecture and planning staff for organisation in the private and public sector.
“Bravery, determination, ambition, persistence – they are key characteristics that are important to success, not age,” Sampson says.
Brett SaundersCompany: Hiflow Industries
Age: 29
Getting a foothold into key markets was a 24-hour job for Queenslander Brett Saunders. The founder of air conditioning and mechanicals services business Hiflow Industries says he was effectively on call for a year and a half to get an ‘in’ with larger clients.
Plenty of persistence and a few challenges later, Hiflow Industries is pulling in more than $3.3 million annually, and has recorded growth of 55% over three years.
Saunders is looking to increase full-time staff numbers from 18 to 60 as Hiflow enters the Sydney and Melbourne markets, and says his company is now known as a “major threat” to its bigger competitors.
Nick ShelomanovCompany: MegaBuy Group
Age: 28
There’s nothing new about selling technology online, but there always seems to be new ways of doing it better. This might explain the phenomenal rise of MegaBuy Group and its 28-year-old co-founder Nick Shelomanov.
MegaBuy Group was founded in 2008 by former engineers Shelomanov and Yury Karpowicz with $50,000 and the goal of using their technical backgrounds to create a website and business that was more user-friendly than those already out there.
Now the business is turning over more than $15 million, and will head to $20 million for the coming year, with the duo looking towards expansion internationally and into other categories.
Along the way they survived a near-death experience for the business when their web hosting provider was knocked offline for a week, taking their website with it, and teaching a valuable lesson in not underspending on the critical parts of the operation.
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