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11. Andrew Holder (33)
Revo Fitness
Perth
Driven by a desire for a gym with all the necessary equipment but without lengthy, complex contracts, Andrew Holder started Revo at the age of just 21. From what began as a 200-square-metre warehouse in WA, Revo now has 52 locations around Australia and many more in the pipeline.
This has all been achieved without needing to adopt the franchising model that is so common with fitness chains, keeping all studios in-house and company owned.
“The gym industry is stereotypically very complicated and misleading. It is rife with hidden fees, and long complex contracts that are impossible to understand or get out of,” Holder explains.
“I wanted the Revo Fitness membership to be simple and straightforward - everything I could not find for my own fitness journey.”
Holder says members undertook more than 10 million workouts across Revo’s clubs nationally in 2024, a 65 per cent year-on-year increase, attracted by its model of no lock-in contract combined with large, open-plan gyms that are open 24/7 and filled with quality equipment.
He adds Revo Fitness started the high-value, low-price segment of the gym and fitness industry in WA and “has become the market leader for this style of offering nationally”.
“An important aspect of selecting each location is an awareness and connection with the local community,” he says.
Holder's ambition is to grow Revo's national footprint to 77 gyms by the end of the year with more than half the openings set for Victoria, while the plan is to hit 100 locations by 2027.
This expansion, which also includes four new locations in South Australia and seven in Western Australia this year, builds on the launch of 16 new sites and five major refits completed in 2024.
"We are not just opening gyms, we are changing the way Australians access fitness," Holder adds.
12. Jordan Cullen (29)
Cullen Jewellery
Melbourne
While looking for an engagement ring for his wife-to-be, Jordan Cullen struggled to find the right kind of design, or at least at an accessible price as a student at the time.
Instead, he bought a lab-grown gemstone and found a jeweller to custom-manufacture the ring.
As a business student, he wasn’t about to let a great opportunity he’d discovered slip through his fingers, so he set about ramping up the process into a legitimate online-to-offline custom-made jewellery retail venture.
The group has grown and glistened since then, recently conducting a hiring blitz with showrooms in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Auckland, and 15 international showrooms slated for launch in 2025.
Part of Cullen Jewellery’s success lies in its combination of lab-grown diamonds being more environmentally and socially friendly than conventional diamonds, the importance placed on in-house design, and a key focus on customers and quality backed by lifetime warranties of "profit-free repair".
The company also plants trees every time it sells a ring, sponsors a child in a developing nation for every employee it hires, and offers an additional week of annual leave each year to staff so they can focus on volunteering their time to a charity or cause.
Staff grew rapidly to 107 last year, and the company now plans to open its own training school to educate the next generation of qualified craftspeople.
“Australia currently has a huge amount of students qualifying as jewellers from TAFE courses, however a very low percentage of them are able to find employment as there are no jewellers to take them on board as apprentices,” Cullen explains.
“Jewellers who take on apprentices are far less productive as a result as they are teaching and trying to work at the same time. This means so many with dreams to become an artisan are simply unable to reach their dream.
“Through our school students will be able to gain practical experience in relevant skills and become far more employable.”
Related story: Cullen Jewellery to shake up global industry as lab-grown diamond ring offering dazzles
13. Argylica Conditsis (32) and William Conditsis (29)
BABYBOO
Sydney
Founded by Argylica Conditsis at just 17 years' old together with her brother William, Babyboo has grown from humble beginnings in a garage into a global fashion e-commerce empire.
Without any external funding, Babyboo has been growing at a rapid click annually thanks to a compelling and accessible product, savvy social media and an eye for opportunity, with its dresses sold in more than 150 countries.
“Babyboo's strategic vision is to empower women to look and feel incredible and sexy, head to toe,” says Argylica.
“We are here to be her go-to reliable brand, providing timeless and stand-out looks, for all their events no-matter the occasion.”
“Babyboo has not only built a demand for exclusively designed garments that are trend-based yet timeless, and of impressive quality yet affordable, but mastering the building of a brand that provides impeccable service of accuracy and speed, resulting in our cult-like audience and customer base,” adds William.
The company’s growth and increased brand awareness have translated to an Instagram following of three million and staff numbers that almost doubled to 85 last year to keep pace, including an offshore team that tripled in size to 11.
Babyboo is no stranger to triple-digit turnover growth, but in 2024 it saw a 177 per cent lift in sales in the US alone.
14. Umar Farooq (32)
Burk
Perth
Since 2020 Umar Farooq has been busy with his challenger startup in a market dominated by giants, establishing Burk as a rising star in fuel distribution, transport and retail.
In addition to a network of 15 operational fuel stations and a further 16 in development, Burk has become a robust, independent fuel transport and supply network that is taking the West Australian market by storm.
More recently, Farooq has been expanding its operations in Victoria with plans to open four sites in the state, in addition to six service stations in Queensland.
This expansion on the east coast is complemented by the growth of Burk’s fuel transport and wholesale distribution network in Victoria.
“Our primary customers include motorists, independent fuel retailers, and commercial enterprises across three Australian states,” Farooq says.
“We are dedicated to meeting the growing demand for energy solutions with a strong focus on sustainability and innovation, setting new industry standards.”
15. Michael Christidis (31), Nicholas Greco (35), Christian Serrao (32) and Filippo Palermo (32)
Untitled Group
Melbourne
As the Australian music industry reels from high-profile iconic festivals either closing down abruptly, pressing the pause button or singing their swan songs, locally-owned cultural powerhouse Untitled Group offers a blazing strobe light of hope.
Untitled Group, Australia’s largest independently owned music and events company, sold 630,000 tickets across its events and tours last year and is gearing up for an even bigger 2025.
“Kicking off the new year, the team is already celebrating major wins from their New Year’s festival run, featuring Beyond the Valley and Wildlands as well as experiencing sell-out results across the board with AO Live,” says Nicholas Greco, who co-founded the business with Michael Christidis, Christian Serrao and Filippo Palermo.
“Beyond the Valley has continued to prove itself as Australia’s largest camping and music festival, hosting 35,000 attendees over four unforgettable days, making it the festival’s most successful edition yet,” he says.
“Highlights included a New Year’s Eve performance by FISHER, a special reunion set by Sugababes, and Natasha Bedingfield’s first-ever Australian performance.”
Meanwhile, Wildlands drew more than 85,000 attendees across Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide, further cementing its status as one of Australia’s biggest one-day festivals, featuring artists like Ice Spice, Tinashe, Fisher, Marlon Hoffstadt, RL Grime and more.
“This momentum carried into January 2025, with AO LIVE, the only music festival at a grand slam, selling out all three shows. The festival featured a world-class lineup including Kesha, Armand Van Helden, Kaytranada and Benson Boone,” adds Serrao.
“Untitled Group’s success extended beyond the New Year’s festivals. Dom Dolla’s Australian tour set a new record, with 170,000 tickets sold — the highest ever for an Australian electronic artist.
“The company also orchestrated an impressive 515 shows throughout 2024, with sold-out tours by Ben Böhmer, I Hate Models, Solomun, and Anyma.”
Looking ahead, Untitled Group’s next major event will be Pitch Music & Arts, taking place over four days in March. The company is also promoting the RÜFÜS DU SOL tour this November, as well as upcoming tours from Rudimental, The Kooks, Groove Armada, Mallrat & more.
Festivals and big acts make up a major part of Untitled Group’s business, but the multi-faceted company has a range of divisions that intersect in various ways including a touring agency for Australia and Asia, booking agency Proxy, marketing agency Underscore and UGLY vodka made from apples that would be rejected by wholesalers and supermarkets.
Related story: Untitled Group ups the tempo on 'non-negotiable' festivals as sales records broken
16. Blair Vega Norfolk (39)
Biome Australia
Melbourne
Listed on the ASX in 2021, Biome Australia (ASX: BIO) is the highest-growth complementary medicine brand in the country with a footprint in more than 6,000 domestic practitioner and pharmacy locations.
This represents growth of 1,000 locations within six months for the company and its evidence-based live biotherapeutic products, which target specific health concerns including mild eczema, irritable bowel syndrome, cholesterol, bone health and more.
In FY24, Biome Australia launched three new live biotherapeutic products targeting dental health concerns, muscle inflammation, and constipation.
After almost doubling earnings in the December quarter, in February the company signed a co-investment agreement with Australia’s Food and Beverage Accelerator (FaBA) to develop Biome Australia’s novel probiotic strain BMB18 with partner universities UQ, QUT and UniSQ.
Studies to date have shown BMB18 has an ability to effectively modulate immune responses and inflammation, reduce oxidative stress and maintain intestinal barrier integrity.
Founder Blair Vega Norfolk’s career initially began with 10 years in the fashion industry before completing a master’s degree in marketing at Monash University, which led to a consulting business to the health care industry in the United States.
“During this period, I was diagnosed with my second autoimmune disease. While searching for answers to my health challenges, I grew a major interest in clinical research, specifically in microbiology and the microbiome,” he says.
“This research initially into paediatric allergic asthma resulted in a world-first probiotic that reduced asthma attacks by more than 60 per cent versus the placebo. From this point, we decided our future was research on probiotics, and education of health professionals targeting some of the world’s leading health concerns.”
The founder’s goal is to make Biome Australia’s products available to all, and the group is heading in that direction as it shakes up the prebiotics space not only at home, but also in New Zealand, the UK and the EU.
17. Sam Gordon (34)
Australian Property Scout
Gold Coast
Sam Gordon’s journey from high-school dropout to a leading property expert is one of perseverance and vision.
He dived into the world of personal property investing from a very early age, and from his teenage years until he turned 29 he “worked extremely hard making close to minimum wage" whilst pursuing a professional soccer career.
“This didn't come to fruition, however I bought my first property at 19 and instead my focus went very heavily into this,” he says.
“I knew property would be my vehicle of wealth creation and I studied everything I could to become as adept and knowledgeable as I could.”
The impetus to start Australian Property Scout came after he was “burnt” by a buyer’s agency at the age of 26.
“After engaging with this other buyer's agent and realising they were a churn and burn company, focused on ad spend and presenting low quality deals at high volume as opposed to looking after their clients, I had to walk away from my non-refundable $9,900 fee,” he says.
“Instead of allowing this loss to define me, I instead used it to mould me in a positive way and push me to succeed, helping people with property investing the right way.”
Within two years he had replaced his income through strategic property investing, and made it his mission to help others in their journeys towards property success.
“The market need we are addressing is showing people how to actually retire through property, via diligent and strategic portfolio planning and then extremely high-level property acquisition by sourcing the correct assets to fulfil the strategy," he says.
Gordon's ambitious goal is to help 500 investors retire early by 2030, and as an education-driven buyers’ agency the company has also launched its School of Property Course that has been very well received by students.
Another educational piece has been the Scouting Australia Podcast, which has achieved great success in the charts and has been a strong source of lead generation for the company whose staff numbers have more than doubled in the past year to keep apace.
Related story: Samuel Gordon takes top honour at 2024 Gold Coast Young Entrepreneur Awards
18. Chris Baptista (37)
Homes by CMA, No Limit Developments
Brisbane
From a very early age Chris Baptista knew he wanted to be an entrepreneur, and it was a family visit to Australia while growing up in France that convinced him this was the place to build a life and start a company.
Since founding Homes by CMA in 2009, Baptista has struck a balance between affordable price points, customer service and strong margins, delivering 326 homes sold in 2024.
“Unlike other builders of our scale, we provide a custom home service that involves intricate details and a high level of personalised customer care,” Baptista explains.
"Following the stabilisation of costs after the home builders' grant rush, we have successfully implemented various systems to control expenditures at project sites, resulting in a significant reduction in cost overruns.
"As an entrepreneur that is continuously learning, I've come to realise that knowing your numbers with precision is more important than anything else."
Baptista has also been reinvesting all free cash generated into No Limit Developments, which involves buying premium land and building luxury high-end homes for speculative sales, with all projects currently located in prime locations on the Redcliffe Peninsula north of Brisbane.
Related story: Two in a row for Brisbane Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award winner Chris Baptista of Homes by CMA
19. Matt Anderson (32) and Nic Blair (38)
Midnight Health
Brisbane
With a background in marketing, Nic Blair’s entrepreneurial journey began with search engine optimisation (SEO) and performance agency Search Factory, which he founded in 2011 and sold to global media group Dentsu in 2016 to become iProspect Brisbane.
With a successful exit already under his belt, Blair hit the ground running on his next venture Midnight Health in partnership with Matt Anderson who had previously worked for him at Search Factory.
The telehealth pivot started with women’s health brand Youly in February 2021, with a strong initial focus on contraceptive pills, morning-after pills, and treatments for conditions such as thrush and HSV-2.
This was followed by men’s health offering Stagger for treating a wide range of conditions, and then the health.hub providing everyday healthcare for all Australians in mid-2022.
Soon after launching its men’s health range the company secured cornerstone investment from health insurer nib (ASX: NHF), and that relationship has grown over time with progressive raises with more than $40 million in capital secured to date.
Now Blair looks set for yet another successful business exit after nib reached a deal with the founders to acquire the remaining 20 per cent of shares it does not already own, with plans to merge Midnight Health with its data science and health management company Honeysuckle Health. Blair and Anderson are expected to remain with the business for the next few years as part of the buyout agreement.
Midnight Health currently assists roughly 20,000 customers per month, and has high hopes for a more recently launched hubPass for Business offering, which has already locked in some large enterprises customers in its infancy.
Related story: Midnight Health founders look to exit as insurer NIB moves to full control of startup
20.Hartley Pike (33) and Sam McDonnell (31)
Sitemate
Sydney
No-code software startup Sitemate doubled its headcount in 2024 as its tailored offering for built world companies in heavy industries continued to attract new customers, finishing the year with a $27.5 million Series A raise ahead of a Texas office opening this year.
The office, planned in the startup hub of Austin, will add to existing global offices in Sydney, London, Vancouver and Toronto.
Sitemate’s platforms are made up of a series of flexible no-code building blocks, which can be configured and combined to meet the needs of thousands of unique processes across specific industries, regions and compliance requirements.
“Since we launched Sitemate in August 2018, over six years ago - the company has grown every single month consecutively, and its growth rate is still increasing year over year,” says co-founder and CEO Hartley Pike.
“In the last 12 months, the company doubled its headcount from 70 to 140 employees including two offices (Vancouver and Toronto) and dedicated teams in North America.
“In 2024, there were over two million forms/documents completed in the software, 8.5 million photos captured on the app, and 2.85 million electronic signatures signed.”
Rather than trying to build an "all-in-one" software with rigid modules, Sitemate is a multi-product Software as a Service (SaaS) company with a series of tools that all sit beneath the one brand.
This allows built world companies – for example large engineering projects, commercial construction, power and utilities, mining, agriculture, manufacturing - to solve their specific pain points and workflows.
The group claims that much like Atlassian builds software tools for developers and software engineers, Sitemate designs and builds its tool for built-world workers and their teams.
“We don’t want to compete with general business softwares or build ‘horizontal’ software tools, we are focusing solely on designing built world specific tooling and then plugging into the general business stack like accounting software, CRMs (custom relationship management) and the Microsoft suite through seamless integrations” says Sitemate co-founder and VP of product strategy, Sam McDonnell.
Related story: Heavy industry no-code software group Sitemate raises $27.5m Series A
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