2015 was Atlassian’s year. Who will own 2016?
2015 saw Australia’s most successful technology startup, Atlassian, going public. The federal government introduced its “ideas boom”. There is a renewed sense that Aussie startups have a chance of making it big.
The new year brings new challenges, but there is more excitement in the local startup scene than ever before. Here are 5 Australian startups that will create waves in 2016.
Eora 3D
3D printing has been and will continue to be a game-changer in manufacturing, and Eora 3D is looking to capitalise on that. The Sydney-based startup raised nearly $600,000 on Kickstarter last year after originally only seeking $100,000 for their 3D printer scanner.
The scanner itself works by plugging into your smartphone and captures objects from every angle so you can recreate them with a 3D printer. The final product is expected to ship in June and costs $439 for both the scanner and turntable. We’ll have to wait until then to see if it lives up to the hype.
Canva
The graphic design startup has been around since 2012 and has around 5 million users. 2015 was big for the company, raising $21 million from several big investors. Even Hollywood actors Owen Wilson and Woody Harrelson chipped in to the raising, which pushed its value up to around $225 million.
Thanks to the new round of investments, there is a lot of speculation on what Canva will do next. Will they go public? Will they be acquired? Will the founders grow goatees? 2016 will hopefully have the answer.
Sociabl
Ever wanted to chat with your favourite sports star or actor? Well, a 20 year old from Adelaide has made an app that will allow you to do just that. Sociabl is now worth around $5 million after a series of investments, including an initial seed funding round of $150,000. The service which launched in December 2015 already has big names available for fans to talk to, including boy band 5 Seconds of Summer, actor Chris Lilley and several big name AFL players.
The service’s founder, Brandon Reynolds, is so confident in his product that he rejected a $2.5 million offer for 50% of the company.
Townske
Launched in June last year, Townske is a Sydney-based app that allows locals across the world to help create city guides to their cities for travellers to use and experience an authentic time in those cities. That local knowledge is what Townske is hoping will set it apart from other travel services which mainly rely on the input of other tourists.
The app has been placed in the featured apps section of Apple’s App Store across several countries and has since seen growth in the tens of thousands in just six months. The company will be looking to secure investors and partnerships to bring in a solid revenue stream and build its user base in 2016.
Showpo
Founded in 2010, Showpo has become one of Australia’s biggest online fashion retailers, bringing in over $1 million in revenue each month. It has a social media presence bigger than online rival The Iconic, as well as traditional retailers Myer and David Jones. That social media presence has been the reason why the company has been so successful and is currently valued at around $10 million and ships its clothing to 45 countries across the world.
Founder Jane Lu has over 143,000 followers on Instagram, and the Showpo account has over 816,000 followers, which is used as its main marketing and growth channel.
Via: Business Insider
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