Case Study: How Australia's Top Young Entrepreneurs grew a $50 million+ business - HiSmile

Young Australians have the brightest minds and are changing the meaning of innovation and success across Australian industries today. In this post, we take a look at one Australian company who built their great idea into an organisation which took the world by storm. Just like you, they started with a real-world problem, one they faced themselves, and continued to develop and commercialise their vision by implementing a unique marketing strategy.

Their entrepreneurial journey was not without hurdles and hard work, inevitable occurrences when growing a business. But with resilience and new experiences, your expertise will grow, allowing you to extend your business in size and scope.

Alex Tomic (24) and Nik Mirovic (22)

Company: HiSmile

In 2014, the Gold Coast entrepreneurs invested $20,000 into launching their teeth whitening company HiSmile. By producing a vegan-friendly and cruelty-free range, they created a unique value proposition. Over the next 3 years, they grew into a $40 million business, in large part due to their clever influencer marketing strategy. Tomic and Mirovic emphasised that, "we provided more value to [our customers] than they were giving us."

At first, they focused their marketing strategy on their domestic demographic; targeting influencers in the Gold Coast and nearby suburbs. Further, the entrepreneurs continually prioritised the quality of their product. After capturing the domestic market, HiSmile went global by engaging with big name influencers and celebrities such as Conor McGregor and Kylie Jenner to promote their product to their millions of followers on their social media channels. According to the entrepreneurs, there is 'no secret sauce' to getting these contacts, rather, they suggest that:

1) Visualisation is key: Having a genuine belief that you will get there one day

2) Taking meaningful steps: Ensuring that every action you take maps all your goals

According to Tomic and Mirovic, following these steps will lead to things falling into place. They also hold an interesting perspective by viewing their company as not only a product based company, but a media company. Thus, instead of simply viewing influencers in terms of ROI or reach to their followers, they focus on how they can use the content which influencers produce on their own marketing channels.

The successful entrepreneurs provided 3 tips for us entrepreNERDS:

1. Understand your target market clearly in order to ensure that you are not wasting your budget on irrelevant channels

2. Focus on where your audience's attention is e.g. social media

3. Listen to yourself and don't be swayed by what others think. Stick with what your heart and head say and believe in your ideas.

Have a read of our Case Study on Canva for more EntrepreNERD inspiration! Let us know your own Entrepreneurial journey in the comments below or in our Discussion Forum!