Start Up Rank: 13
Revenue: $3,200,000
Founder(s): Mark Harbottle, Matt Mickiewicz
Industry: Internet
Head Office: Victoria
Employees: 15
Website: www.99designs.com
Crowdsourcing has grown incredibly popular over the past few years, and design marketplace 99designs has taken advantage of the trend.
The company is among the largest design marketplaces currently on the internet. Users launch a design project bid on the site, and wait for members of the site's community to pitch ideas. Clients then instruct designers on what the project needs, and then only pay for the project they believe has the best fit.
"At the end of the project, the client chooses the design they like best and leaves with the finished design and a relationship with a designer. The average project gets between 70-80 custom designed submissions."
Most of the company's business now comes from overseas, with the biggest projects from the US, Canada and Britain. Its online community is huge, boasting 250,000 forum members and 50,000 designers with a new project pitched every 10 seconds.
And while Harbottle says the business has encountered trouble finding staff who fit with the company's culture, the company recorded turnover of $3.2 million last year, and "remains the most successful" design community on the internet.
TIP TO ENTREPRENEURS:
"We learned very early on that it pays dividends to hold out for the right person rather than hire simply because the need is there. It's a challenge at times, but I believe it's the only way to create a high performing team with a fantastic company culture."
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