15. Megaphone

Revenue: $16.74 million
Growth: 88%
Founders: Max Hertan, 33; Lauren Oakes, 31.
Head Office: Richmond, Victoria
Employees: 125
Industry: Marketing and advertising
Website: https://www.megaphone.com.au
Year Founded: 2013

How it started

Co-founders Max Hertan and Lauren Oakes started marketing agency Megaphone in 2013 with the ambition of being the best in Australia — both as an agency and a place to work.

Now, the business has 350-plus clients and boasts a 90% retention rate.

This year’s 15th place ranking follows a strong performance in the 2021 Smart50 awards.

Growth

Megaphone now has 125 full-time employees, having hired 30 in the past 12 months, with specialists across Google, Facebook, TikTok, SEO, lead generation, email marketing and content creation.

Growing revenue by an average of 122% year-on-year over three years requires scaling and updating processes fast, helped by promoting long-time employees into newly created positions.

This approach saw more than half of Megaphone’s employees promoted, and 73% of leadership roles are now filled by women.

Where to next?

Megaphone knows exactly where it wants to be in the future — $50 million in revenue and 1000-plus clients.

It expects to achieve that by strengthening its reputation in the UK and US and maintaining its learning-driven innovation culture.

The founders say they don’t have an exit plan but do have a vision to build the world’s premier digital marketing agency, and won’t stop until they’ve achieved it.