Winner: SmartCompany 2007 Award for Overall Winner sponsored by Your Business Success
SmartCompany50 rank: 2.
Revenue: $28.2 million
Growth: 175%
Founders: Leigh Jasper, 33; Rob Phillpot 34
Based: Melbourne
Employees: 220
Industry: Construction
Website: www.aconex.com
Revenue has more than doubled in a year for this canny pair of born globals – Leigh Jasper and Rob Phillpot, right – from $11.8 million in 2005-06 to $28.2 million last financial year. And they believe they have the right strategy to keep doubling revenue.
Jasper, 33, and Phillpot, 34, who met as boarders at Scotch College, came up with the idea after one of their regular games of squash. Phillpot was a site co-ordinator for Multiplex and noted that construction projects can be a nightmare as hundreds of people create and share thousands of drawings, documents and correspondence.
Jasper was a management consultant at McKinsey & Co. They left their jobs in 2000 and raised $2 million to develop document management software. But its start was rocky. The second crucial capital raising took place just before September 11, 2001. “Investor confidence was very low,” Jasper says. “We had to lay off staff and batten down the hatches until investor confidence returned.”
They also had to change their focus after finding that new procurement software was a big purchasing decision for companies, but software for storing and exchanging documents was an easier decision for companies.
A year later they had their first million in revenue. After a few false starts the pair used the internet to streamline the process, creating a web-based platform for storing and exchanging project documentation and correspondence. “This saves time through fast and easy information access, cuts administration costs such as printing and couriers, and reduces risks such as information loss or disputes and delays,” Jasper says.
An online focus has also brought them new leads. Jasper says they use search engine optimisation with a focus on key words and landing pages that target specific words and phrases, and search engine marketing, with Google Pay Per Click accounting for a third of website leads.
They also get similar sites to provide inbound links to improve the Google ranking and have made sure the architecture and content of the site, with its call to action, provides a powerful lead generator: web leads have increased from 40 a month last year to 200. “Last month we had 840 job applications via the website.”
The key to their success was going global from day one, with most revenue coming from exporting. They are building on existing successful operations in the Middle East and Asia and investing in new opportunities in US, Eastern Europe and Japan.
“The United Arab Emirates is our most exciting market,” Jasper says. “The level of construction in Dubai and Abu Dhabi is phenomenal, with hundreds of billions of dollars being invested in developing the two cities. They are ideal for our solution because they are large, complex and involve organisations based in a number of countries.”
Aconex opened an office in Dubai in 2004 and has more than doubled in size each year. It is working on a $40 billion island development in Abu Dhabi, a $3.4 billion rail system in Dubai and a $15 billion residential/resort in Dubai. “We plan to hire an extra 50 people there by the end of the year.”
The pair take a “cookie cutter” approach to entering new markets. Someone goes ahead and does market research and holds meetings with potential clients and builders. Then a salesperson is appointed, who works form a home office or serviced apartment. Once the sale is secured, a support person is added, followed by more staff.
The pair plan to keep doubling the company’s revenue. The construction industry is becoming increasingly globalised, with most large projects involving companies and consultants from around the world.
The pair see demand for their products increasing as people search for a central online platform to bring them all together. They are also planning to diversify into the engineering and resources industry.
Key success factors:
- If selling to large companies, tweak the product so it is an easy purchasing decision.
- Let the customer’s business influence the technology development.
- Invest heavily in customer service and training.
- Don’t rush into export markets too quickly.
<< Previous company / SmartCompany50 list / Next Company >>