Australian tech entrepreneurs are shining bright in this year’s BRW Young Rich list, which recognises the nation’s wealthiest individuals aged under 41.
Obliterating the list in top spot are Atlassian co-founders Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar with $4.6 billion in combined estimated wealth.
Envato co-founder Cyan Ta’eed, worth an estimated $184 million with fellow co-founder Collis Ta’eed, and Canva co-founder Melanie Perkins, worth an estimated $124 million with co-founder Cliff Obrecht, made the top 20, well ahead of supermodel Miranda Kerr and Grammy-winner Sia Furler.
Vinomofo co-founder Justin Dry, worth an estimated $30 million, also ranked in the top 100, giving savvy startup founders building great tech solutions a sign of what may lie ahead.
But the humble beginnings of many of these founders and their underlying mission to add real value to the world is is what makes their success so sweet.
Speaking to StartupSmart, Ta’eed said she and partner Collis Ta’eed put everything on the line and lived in her parents’ basement when they first started building Envato.
“Back when we started and we said we were launching an online business, people would say ‘what?’” she said.
This year, they celebrated Envato’s 10th birthday and to date, its members have generated $400 million in earnings worldwide.
“When the community succeeds, we as a business succeed,” Ta’eed said.
Here’s a round up of home-grown startup founders in BRW’s Young Rich 2016‘s top 25 and their estimated wealth:
- Atlassian founders Mike Cannon-Brookes, 36, and Scott Farquhar, 36: $4.68 billion
- Campaign Monitor founders Dave Greiner, 38, and Ben Richardson, 37: $543 million
- Startive Ventures founder Simon Clausen, 40: $479 million
- Life Letters and Zambrero founder Dr Sam Prince, 32: $294 million
- Envato founders Cyan Ta’eed, 35, and Collis Ta’eed, 37: $184 million
- Catch Group co-founder Hezi Leibovich, 40: $129 million
- Canva founders Melanie Perkins, 29, and Cliff Obrecht, 30: $124 million
- Marketplacer founders Sam Salter, 37, and Jason Wyatt, 37: $93 million
- Kogan founder Ruslan Kogan, 33: $90 million
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