PRESENT THE 2024

Smart50 is SmartCompany’s suite of award programs made to elevate and celebrate exceptional innovation, growth and community in Australian small and medium businesses.

The winners of The Smart50 Awards 2024 are announced below.

Celebrates a business that has supported its clientele or wider community.

Recognises the achievements of high-growth startups younger than three years.

Celebrates initiatives that spark progressive change in an industry. 

WINNER

WINNER

WINNER

First Nations Foundation

Paire

Carma

Recognises a business that has shown adaptability and leadership.

This award celebrates innovations in product offer, outstanding customer service.

Entrant who show initiatives that support environmental conservation or advocacy.

WINNER

WINNER

WINNER

Coolzy.com

Bridgit

Paire

Celebrates the most clever and unexpected campaigns that deliver business impressions.

This award will celebrate a small business with an enlightened and supportive approach to its people and culture

A ‘hall of fame’ category award for an Aussie business that has been a constant fixture of the Smart50.

WINNER

WINNER

WINNER

The Laundry Lady

Tank Stream Labs

The Laundry Lady

Meet the fastest-growing Australian SMEs over the last three financial years.

Prior to joining Optus in 2023 to lead Enterprise & Business Marketing, she spent 10 years scaling for exponential growth at Meta, in Sydney and Singapore. Alex led customer marketing in AU/NZ and APAC for Meta's family of apps and services including Facebook, Instagram and Messenger.

Richard Li is the Co-Founder and CEO of July, the world's largest Australian-owned luggage brand. With a background in e-commerce as the largest seller to Groupon Group globally, he has extensive experience in strategy, business growth and management.

In his role as the ASBFEO Ombudsman, Bruce Bilson is an independent advocate for small and family businesses. He was previously the Australian Government Cabinet Minister for Small Business from 2013-2015 and a founding Director of Judo Bank.

As chief operations officer at Adore Beauty, Sarah Mullen is responsible for the brands, customer fulfilment centre and customer experience teams. Adore Beauty has gone from strength to strength, recorded $200 million of annual revenue and is leader in online retail.  

Ben is the founder of The Local Rag, and Head of Audience Development at Val Morgan Digital. A combination of growing up in regional Victoria, and working in lifestyle publications for the best part of the last decade gave him the idea to launch The Local Rag, a guidebook on the best of regional Australia.

Dr Marian Makkar is a marketing academic whose research is anchored in consumer culture. Marian started her career in luxury brand management as Marketing Manager of Alfred Dunhill Limited. She also worked in public relations handling FMCG brands and luxury products.

Briony Kennedy is the founder, CEO and ‘face of’ Australian made and zero waste luxury cosmetics brand, Adorn Cosmetics. She is a entrepreneur and waste reduction activist, and a Victorian State Finalist in the Telstra Best of Business Awards for 2024.

Rachel Fang has over two decades of experience in advertising. She has worked with boutique agencies and global giants like Publicis, to FMCG brands including L’Oréal. At Vudoo, Rachel applies her deep understanding of the video and commerce space to drive innovative marketing strategies.

Kristi Mansfield is the CEO and Founder of Seer Data. She is recognised as a leading voice for community-led data access and was awarded the Trans Tasman High Growth and Innovation Award in 2022 by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and former Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern.  

Jemma is an entrepreneur and founder of Dak & Co, a boutique marketing agency. Dak & Co was a finalist in the 2024 Telstra Best of Business Awards and Jemma has been shortlisted for the Telstra Women in Business Awards.

Julie Mathers is the CEO of Snuggle Hunny. She is a seasoned retailer and entrepreneur having worked at some of the world’s largest retailers and founded Flora & Fauna, Australia’s largest eco store. She was named Industry Person of the Year in 2022 for the Online Retail Industry Awards.

Christina is CEO of UtopiaX, author of Celebrating Success One Failure at a Time, and Founder of IdeaSparx, an innovation platform. Christina is an advocate for innovation committees, produced the annual Hunter Innovation Festival for 15 years, and lectures in Business, Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

Mark Woodland is the Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Kismet which aims to make healthcare more accessible, and Founder of Xplor. He is a retired Australian Army NCO who served in the Royal Australian Artillery and Australian Army Psychology Corps.

Mia has over 20 years of industry experience. Her strategies have shaped recognisable marketing campaigns for iconic global brands such as L’Oréal, BIC, and Kraft in Australia and Europe. In 2021, she founded Campaign Del Mar, offering marketing training and mentoring to SMEs.

Michel Hogan advises on the risk to their purpose and values of making the wrong promises. Her work is backed by 30 years working alongside organisations and is the author of two books – Between Making Money and World Peace and The Unheroic Work. 

Monique Samara foundedPackQueen which now assists over 70,000 businesses with their packaging needs. Monique has driven the company's remarkable growth, with PackQueen a trusted partner for businesses across various industries, establishing its position as a market leader in packaging.

In the early 2000s, an artisan placed a bar of raw chocolate in Pana Barbounis' hand, and the moment he tasted it, everything changed. Since 2012, Pana Organic has been creating delicious, organic treats for every occasion. The first chocolates were hand-delivered by Pana to Melbourne stores on his Vespa.

Steve Grace is the CEO & Founder of The Nudge Group, empowering high-growth companies to thrive on a global stage with a unique fusion of recruitment expertise and powerful storytelling. He is the host of the Give it a Nudge podcast.

Adriarna Nunn’s expertise is in creating communities of engaged, productive and happy people. Under her leadership, Cobild has been recognised as a Best Places to Work and certified by UNICEF and Parents at Work as a family-inclusive workplace.

Benjamin has a passion for the Liquor and FMCG industry. Based in Melbourne, he’s worked with mainstream to underground brands from local to global. Benjamin’s creative flair has helped spearhead innovative NPDs and memorable campaigns.

Natasha Menon is the CEO & Co-Founder of global creative technology company, Mash which has working with brands such as Netflix and Breitling. Natasha was dubbed the ‘Mighty Mouse’ of the advertising industry by Forbes USA and named one of Campaign Asia’s ‘Women to Watch’.

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