Smart50 rank: 32
Revenue: $5,300,000
Growth: 57.01%
Founders: Chris Dance, 35, Matt Doran, 35
Head Office: Victoria
Employees: 14
Industry: Information technology
Website: www.papercut.com
Copious printing has for decades been an unavoidable expense of a productive office. But as things become digitalised and we become more aware of the environmental costs of paper usage, a market exists for software that helps offices control and manages how much paper and toner they are using.
It was this realisation that struck Papercut founder Chris Dance while he was working as a part-time network administrator in a Melbourne high-school. He teamed up with Matt Doran, and together they developed the first version of Papercut in 1999.
They sold it on a website for the next five years while working in software development on the side. Come 2004 however, and they were making more money from Papercut than they were from their day-jobs, so they quit those and worked full-time with the company.
Operating in an online retail environment isn't easy, and they knew when they started that they were competing with the large software companies. To stand a chance, they decided that openness and simplicity would be their trademarks. Office software often requires on-site installation, but Papercut can be downloaded and installed easily by the customer.
The company also offers support to anyone that asks it, even those who are using their free, striped-down product. Customers have full access to their pricing on the website, and are able to download their software for a trial period of 40 days before purchasing.
As they are an export business, the rising dollar has had a big effect. Their sales to $USD countries have dropped by up to 25% this year. They've tried to respond to this by pricing their products in local currencies, and not immediately converting their assets to Australian dollars.
In the next few years, the founders expect cloud computing and mobile devices will revolutionise the IT industry, but hope to stay ahead of the curve by continually being open to new ideas and new ways of doing things.
“We regularly have Friday Whiteboard sessions where the entire business sits around a whiteboard and discusses trends, issues and anything at all related to our customers and our industry. It is amazing how many great ideas come from staff members when you just take the time to ask them,” Dance says.
In the future, they hope to take PaperCut more into print analytics, using their vast databases of how their customers use printing to help vendors and organisations monitor the usage and environmental impact of their print products.
