We did receive actual revenue figures from the iPitch i10 Award applicants that we used to make our decision but did not publish them in the best interests of the startups involved.
Numbers like 25x revenue increase in a year are associated with startup companies starting from a low base, but obviously nowhere near that low!

Revenue, profit and cash flow are vital for any established business, but I’d also point out that at seed or early stage these measures don’t tell the whole story. At this stage it’s more about the market opportunity and the progress of the startup towards realising the opportunity. I’d certainly agree however, that sooner rather than later a startup needs to work out a viable business model.

Australian startups and early stage investors in general are more conservative with regard to the importance of revenue, profit and cash flow than other startup areas around the world. Obviously in the US at the moment we’re seeing exceptionally high valuations of tech startups based on perceived opportunity with little regard to actual revenue, profit, cash flow and a viable business model. So there’s certainly ‘bluster’ with regard to startups achievements overall, but Australian startups are being fairly well appraised.

Cheers,
Gareth Rose
Lead Entrepreneur, iPitch