A medical cannabis business has topped LinkedIn’s list of Australia’s top startups for 2024.
The list, now in its eighth year, showcases the depth of young Australian companies disrupting sectors such as health, construction and banking.
Topping the list for 2024 was Montu, an Australian medical cannabis company based in Melbourne.
Founded in 2019, Montu uses technology to improve the medical cannabis patient experience, including connecting Australians with qualified doctors through its telehealth platform.
The ranking follows Montu achieving first place in the Deloitte Tech Fast 50 in 2023.
“We’re so proud to have come first this year, after such a great placement on the same list last year [when Montu ranked 5th],” Christopher Strauch, Montu’s Managing Director said.
“It’s also an honour to once again be listed among the best companies in Australia.
“Continuing to attract top-tier talent means we can focus on putting our patients first.”
Top five start-ups
According to LinkedIn Australia career expert Cayla Dengate, LinkedIn’s 2024 Top Startups list showcases Australia’s vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem and features dynamic companies across a wide variety of industries.
“Based on unique LinkedIn data, the list can help Aussie professionals discover emerging companies across multiple sectors and help provide valuable insights for those looking to grow their career.”
Eligible companies need to be headquartered in Australia, be fully independent and privately held, have 30 or more full-time employees, and founded no more than 5 years ago.
The top five start-ups on the list also included Eucalyptus, ProcurePro, Heidi Health and Constantinople.
Eucalyptus run digital healthcare clinics on a telehealth platform focused on men’s health, fertility, dermatology, weight loss and menopause.
Since 2019 it has facilitated over one million consultations across Australia, UK and Germany.
ProcurePro create software for construction firms to manage and consolidate their procurement processes.
Melbourne-based Heidi Health has built an AI tool which enables medical practitioners to automate administrative tasks such as writing clinical notes, case histories and referral letters.
Coming in at 5th place was Constantinople which was founded in 2022. It is an all-in-one software and operational platform which helps banks manage everything from customer service and banking products to operations, compliance and anti-money laundering.
Familiar faces make a return
While more than half of the top start-ups featured in the list are new entrants, companies making a return appearance on this year’s list include: Montu; biotech food company Vow; Ofload, a freight logistics company; advertising company Howatson+Company, and financial services start-up, Zeller.
There was also Orde Financial, entertainment provider Dabble, and Honey Insurance.
Where are the women?
Out of the 42 founders and co-founders identified on the list, there is just one woman: Constantinople co-founder Dianne Challenor
This trend has been cemented in several reports including the 2023 State of Australian Startup Funding Report, which was released earlier this year.
This report found the proportion of women gaining a share of funding from venture capitalists remains low.
It found only 12 percent of deals involved funding to female-only founders, up from 9 percent in 2022.
The report also found female-led startups, on average, raise less capital than male-only-led companies at all stages of funding
First published in 2018, the annual LinkedIn Top Startups list has featured many well-known Australian companies including Canva, Koala and YouFoodz.
LinkedIn’s Top Ten Australian Startups for 2024, with founders and co-founders:
- Montu – Pharmaceutical manufacturing - Christopher Strauch, Raphael Strauch
- Eucalyptus – Government administration - Benny Kleist, Charlie Gearside, Tim Doyle, Alexey Mitlo
- ProcurePro – Software development - Alastair Blenkin, Tom Newby, Nathan Dench, Jesse Dymond, Tim Rogers
- Heidi Health – Software development - Tom Kelly, Waleed Mussa, Yu Liu
- Constantinople – Software development - Dianne Challenor, Macgregor Duncan
- Vow – Biotechnology research - Tim Noakesmith, George Peppou
- Ofload – Truck transportation - Geoffroy Henry
- Howatson+Company – Advertising services - Chris Howatson
- Zeller – Financial services - Ben Pfisterer, Dominic Yap
- Safewill – consumer services - Adam Lubofsky, Dan Bennett
