Smart50 rank: 13
Revenue: $25,827,030
Growth: 123.52%
Founders: Hamish Leighton, 34; Jamie Duffield, 36; Michael Quill, 40
Based: Victoria
Employees: 198
Industry: Information technology
Website: www.revolutionit.com.au
Hamish Leighton, Jamie Duffield and Michael Quill of software testing company Revolution IT have found that creating a successful business requires looking outside the box - and the country - for good talent.
"One of the biggest challenges we have faced has been finding the right staff, although we have always been very good at retaining them once they're onboard. What we found was that we had to search internationally and not just limit ourselves to the talent pool in Australia," Leighton says.
The company offers software testing and application quality management services, and is continuing to expand into the Asia-Pacific region.
As with many IT companies, Revolution IT is struggling during the downturn. Despite recording $25.8 million in revenue during 2008-09 and average growth of 123%, Leighton says the environment is difficult.
"We have found that most companies are continuing their projects that are in progress but have been much slower in starting new projects. We expect the effects of this to be felt for some time. We have also noticed some customers putting additional pressure on rates."
"Yes, we have slowed the growth of the company somewhat from well in excess of 100% per year to 50% per year. We will ramp this up again progressively as the economy recovers."
The company is involved in some interesting marketing techniques, including the use of social media to ensure it doesn't fall behind its target market.
"We have a Facebook page for the company, and some of our offices have their own. These are a slightly less official way to share photos and arrange networking with staff, but we still keep an eye on them to make sure they don't have anything that could be detrimental to our brand."
But the company isn't sitting back waiting for the good times to roll in. Leighton says Revolution IT is taking a practical approach, preparing for the inevitable recovery to get a running start.
"We are making sure that we come out of the global financial crisis stronger than we went in. We are investing heavily on training our staff and hiring to increase the skill base in our organisation. We are also investing in marketing, branding and promotion so that we come out with significant momentum."
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