Opinion
The category killers that defy any slowdown
Michael BaileyRich List co-editorNow in their 33rd year, The Australian Financial Review’s Fast 100 and Fast Starters lists have long provided a fascinating insight into the parts of the economy growing quickest.
And surprisingly, given the battering the technology sector has taken over the past 12 months as high interest rates deterred investors, the makers of software and widgets still occupy their fair share of the slots on this year’s lists.
That includes the most prestigious berth, the top of the Fast 100 celebrating the fastest growing Australian company over five years old. This year, that honour has gone to Fleet Space Technologies.
The Adelaide-based inventors of a satellite-enabled sensor system for detecting critical mineral deposits, with a fraction of the drilling traditionally required, Fleet Space’s growth was supercharged by a $50 million investment in May, led by its earliest investor Mike Cannon-Brookes.
It goes to show that category-killing technology can catch on quickly no matter the economic weather.
That rule could also be applied to Acusensus, which placed 8th on the Fast 100 with its solution capable of detecting drivers speeding or improperly using their mobile phones, using only mobile cameras and artificially intelligent software.
It would also appear to be true for money transfer service EzyRemit, which took out 60th place on the Fast Starters list for companies less than five years old, yet boasted revenue for 2022-23 of $127 million. That is higher than all but three of the Fast 100 companies – and yes, we doubled-checked and it’s real revenue, not gross transaction turnover.
This remarkable achievement came from Vietnamese migrants Quoc Ngo and Allan Nguyen zeroing in on a particular problem – the cumbersome process for sending money to and from their homeland – and solving it with a tech-driven solution now embraced by the Vietnamese diaspora.
If you can’t kill a category, this year’s Fast Lists show that surfing the zeitgeist will also do nicely.
It would explain why a couple of service providers to the burgeoning electric vehicle market, Applied EV and EVSE, have charged up the Fast 100. And why Cannatrek, which has brought recently legalised medical cannabis to Chemist Warehouse, almost took out the top prize.
Then there are the companies in recession-proof industries. Mad Paws’ fifth ranking is a reminder that even in tough times, people are reluctant to deny their pets the best. Gratifii’s third place underlines the attractiveness of discounts as inflation rages. MCoBeauty in 32nd proves that affordable luxuries like lipstick can actually sell better in downturns.
We hope you draw inspiration from the stories of the Fast 100 and Fast Starters finalists that appear in the following pages. Congratulations to them all.
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