Great variety among winners

In 2003, when WA Business News and Deloitte ran the first Rising Stars survey, the top-ranked business was advertising agency Gatecrasher.

In 2004 it was software firm Empired and this year it is engineering consulting firm Calibre Projects.

The diversity of winners is one of the great things about the Rising Stars survey, which showcases fast growing private businesses in Western Australia.

It shows that people with bright ideas and determination can find many different ways to succeed in Western Australia.

The diversity is also reflected in this year’s top 10 firms.

They include ‘new economy’ technology firms like Change Corporation and PIVoD Technologies and others that operate in very traditional sectors like building materials (AGI Plasterboard & Insulation) and food production (Total Catering Solutions).

This suggests that high growth can be achieved even in very mature industry sectors, so long as the business can find a competitive edge.

The survey is structured to ensure the winners have a substantial business (minimum turnover of $3 million) and have achieved sustained growth over the previous two years.

The ability of some firms to sustain high growth rates is highlighted by their appearance in the Rising Stars survey more than once.

This year’s top 10 includes five companies that have appeared in previous years – scaffolding supplier and construction services firm Blackadder Group, marketing company Messages on Hold, wholesale finance broker Australian Finance Group, financial software developer ThinkSmart and multimedia technology innovator PIVoD.

This year’s number one firm Calibre Projects has succeeded by breaking into a market with no shortage of well established and well credentialed competitors.

The three joint founders relied initially on their professional reputations to get a start. The challenge now facing managing director Jack Rowley is to sustain their growth.