Last week, LinkedIn unveiled its annual list of Australia’s top start-ups. As usual, it was a glittering list of prominent, high-growth Aussie companies.
This year, medicinal cannabis company Montu topped the list, with a full-time headcount of 830 employees. Also on the list were home insurance company Honey Insurance (headcount: 140), freight logistics company Ofload (headcount: 138) and telehealth platform Eucalyptus (headcount: 200+).
LinkedIn’s entry criteria of 5+ years in business may seem appropriate for a start-up. But with all entries exceeding 30 employees, the List’s eligibility criteria has baffled some commentators.
“Interesting definition of ‘start-up’ – at least 30 employees and 5 years old,” said one commenter. “I would argue that 90 per cent of start-ups have less than 30 employees and less than 5 years old. Maybe ‘scale ups’? These companies seemed to have moved beyond the start-up phase, impressive though they absolutely are…”
Impressive these companies certainly are. With half of businesses failing in their first four years, it certainly takes some gumption to make it to the “scale-up” mark.
From start-up to scale-up
LinkedIn judges its Top Startups based on four factors: employee growth; jobseeker interest; engagement within the company and its employees; and how well these start-ups have pulled talent from what it considers “Top Companies”. But what else are the Top 20 entrants doing that is ensuring their success?
ISB asked Montu’s Founder & Managing Director, Christopher Strauch, for its scale-up secrets.
“At Montu, our journey from start-up to scale-up has been fuelled by a clear vision and a relentless focus on patient outcomes,” said Strauch. “For companies just beginning their growth journey, my advice is to be laser-focused on your purpose, understand your market deeply, and invest in building a strong team that shares your passion. Scalability hinges on operational excellence – so implement systems early that will grow with you, and don’t be afraid to adapt as you learn.”
“Montu’s success has been driven by our commitment to continuous improvement,” he added. “Whether that’s through expanding our patient support, enhancing our technology, or navigating a complex regulatory environment. We’ve also built valuable partnerships across the healthcare sector, and these collaborations have been key in helping us scale with purpose.”
A clear vision, an understanding of the market, and an investment in employees and partnerships – all key points that are driving Montu toward success.
This year’s Top Startups
This year saw a boom in healthcare start-ups, from Montu to Heidi Health. We also are seeing the emergence of “death tech”, with funeral-related digital services Bare and Safewill, plus “deep tech” in the form of Aerospace and Quantum Computing.
Additionally, many of this year’s entries have been featured in the list before. We’ve previously seen Montu, Vow, Ofload, Howartson+Company, and Honey Insurance all take out top 10 spots.
Below are LinkedIn’s top 10 Australian start-ups.
Montu – an Australian medical cannabis company that connects Australians with qualified doctors through its telehealth platform.
Eucalyptus – a telehealth platform serving patients across four key brands, such as contraception and fertility, skincare, men’s health and sexual wellness.
ProcurePro – creates software for construction firms to manage and consolidate their procurement processes into a single digital platform.
Heidi Health – built an AI tool that enables medical practitioners to automate administrative tasks, such as writing clinical notes, case histories and referral letters.
Constantinople – an all-in-one software and operational platform that helps banks manage everything from customer service and banking products to operations, compliance and anti-money laundering.
Vow – a food biotech company that uses animal cells to grow meat-like products in laboratories and factories, rather than farms and abattoirs.
Ofload – a freight logistics company that aims to digitise Australian trucking fleets into a more sustainable and centralised supply chain. It connects companies looking to deliver products with shippers and carriers.
Howatson+Company – a full-service advertising company that has recorded rapid growth since it was founded in 2021.
Zeller – a payment and financial services start-up for small to medium-sized businesses that helps owners accept and make payments and manage their finances.
Safewill – an end-of-life planning platform where users can digitally create a will more easily.
