Dynamiq

Anthony Moorhouse

Smart50 rank: 12
Revenue: $2,650,000
Growth: 132.25%
Founders: Anthony Moorhouse, 31
Based: New South Wales
Employees: 12
Industry:

WINNER: Top Exporter

Anthony Moorhouse of property and business services firm Dynamiq says it was his arrogance, and naïveté, that helped him launch a successful business.

"I was working for the London office of the world's biggest operational risk management company. I also had dealings with another competitor who was also one of the world's biggest. I saw how they were treating clients, the near monopoly they had and the potential in our market... it seemed obvious. I also had the perfect mix of arrogance to think I could do better and ignorance of not knowing how hard it was going to be."

The company, which offers emergency management, corporate travel insurance and security advice, recorded 2008-09 revenue of $2.6 million and 132% average growth. But Moorhouse says getting the business off the ground was harder than he thought.

"After about 18 months in business, Dynamiq was not progressing as planned. Our creditors were starting to outweigh our debtors and we basically were not convincing potential clients to leave the big boys and engage us. They all liked the direction we wanted to go in, but no one had the confidence in us to take the risk."

"One day I had a chance meeting with the managing director of Accident and Health International, David Epper... 15 minutes later a deal was done for Dynamiq to support their 150,000 travel and 20,000 expat clients."

So it was a stroke of luck that got this business off the ground, but Moorhouse says it's taken a little more than that to keep it going, with clients including BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, ABC and the Australian Government.

Moorhouse says the company's services, which support organisations to manage their risk, have to change as the industry develops.

"As business sees the difference in cost, reputation and reputation of how they manage a particular crisis situation, they are prepared to dedicate more resources toward achieving a robust risk mitigation and response strategy. Moreover, as businesses become savvier in this area, the less professional firms providing such support are dropping by the wayside."

As the company prepares for recovery, Moorhouse says adhering to basic business principles will keep him on the road to success.

"Always put yourself in your client's position. Don't talk about the services you offer, talk about how you are going to make their life easier. Whatever you think starting a business will cost in terms of money and time... triple it. A business plan is essential, but make it flexible and constantly evolving. Sometimes you just have to act and see what happens."