Tria Investment Partners
Smart50 rank: 13
Revenue: $2.15 million
Growth: 82.24%
Founders: Andrew Baker, 40
Based: New South Wales
Employees: 8
Industry: Finance and insurance
Website:
www.triapartners.comIn 2004, Andrew Baker saw a gap to provide fund management companies with external support services in product development and management. He set up his business Tria Investment Partners from home. He now has eight employees and revenue is now $2.1 million, up from $1.3 million in 2006-07.
He says the worst part of the start-up phase was dealing emotionally with the ups and downs of the first year. “But if you have a good proposition, it will happen; you just have to be patient,” he says.
He also learnt a lesson in cash flow management when a major client decided to stop paying invoices a month out from their year end. “That caused some serious pain on our side and reinforced the need for lots of working capital,” he says. He also found it hard to find staff for a fast growth entrepreneurial situation. “Most people coming from corporate life are not suitable for a small fast growth business – they are too used to expense accounts and all the corporate support. Also they are not often driven enough to get the growth you need,” he says. “If you want talented people to choose the start up over a big institution, you have to offer fast growth.”
He says his industry is being severely affected by the credit crunch. “But in the medium term, it should offer strong growth due to solid local fundamentals and Asian growth. We see much more of an Asian perspective now than before,” he says.
He has opened a representative office in Singapore and plans to build the offer in Asia. “We also see significant possibilities in the UK where we operate already, and the US where we don't,” he says.
