Online shopping community Cashrewards, which connects shoppers through to ecommerce platforms and provides them with cashback on purchases, has been named top dog on this year’s Deloitte Tech Fast 50 list thanks to a growth rate of almost 12,500 percent over the last three years.
Ranking the 50 fastest growing public and private tech companies based on percentage revenue growth from 2014 to 2016, this year’s Fast 50 featured a number of companies working in the fintech sector, with MoneyMe Financial Group, online provider of personal loans, and brokerage services provider OpenMarkets Australia coming in second and third place respectively.
Also well-represented on the list is ecommerce, with the likes of Stylerunner, Vinomofo, Redbubble, and Adore Beauty also making the cut.
Andrew Clarke, founder of Cashrewards, said, “The Cashrewards business is made possible because of technology and this technology is enabling people to put extra cash into their pockets without any extra effort, simply by shopping online.”
Clarke said the business has delivered over $13 million in cashback savings to more than 200,000 members since launch three years ago. Its growth has been the fastest of any company on the Fast 50 list since 2004.
In analysing this year’s list and the state of the local tech landscape after the launch of the National Innovation and Science Agenda, Deloitte stated that though Australia is home to a huge number of growing startups with world class ideas, tech, and potential to become ‘gazelles’, ahead lies a challenge to keep it that way as the global war for talent heats up.
“Our advantages in Australia are having a stable economy, strong rule of law, well-educated population and the diverse nature of our society, all fuelling the tech landscape with innovation and big ideas,” the report stated.
However, we are warned Australia “needs to cultivate an ongoing culture where there are favourable incentives, opportunities to network with like-minded gazelles, and the ability to attract potential investors.”
In pointing to Silicon Valley, Israel, Singapore, and the UK as examples of tech hubs Australia can learn from, the report also highlighted Australia’s strengths, including the diversity of its population and its proximity to Asia as the global landscape pivots towards the region.
“Australia has a lot of natural attributes adored by many. We have a well-educated population and access to a lot of resources. We can also attract other technology companies here, to use Australia as a base and vibrant heartbeat, when thinking about Asia and how they might move into that space,” the report stated.
Looking to the future, towing company Tow.com.au came top of the 2016 Rising Star list with growth of 21,600 percent, while Vocus Communications won the Leadership Award with growth of 805 percent.
Also recently released was the UK Fast 50 list, which saw media agency Brainlabs take out top spot with a growth rate of 8,255 percent over the last three years. The agency creates pay-per-click (PPC) and programmatic advertising campaigns.
Fintech also featured strongly on the UK list, with four of the top 10 companies working in the sector. Direct debit provider GoCardless came in second place with growth of 6,661 percent, while online sports betting exchange Smarkets was listed fourth thanks to a growth rate of 2,763 percent.
Image: Andrew Clarke and Chris Gardner of Cashrewards. Source: Twitter.
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