The fast track to global business success

A new generation of savvy start-ups is cracking the global market in record time.

Evolve Skateboards

A new generation of savvy start-ups is cracking the global market in record time.

Gold Coast residents Jeff and Fleur Anning took a leap not many would. They sold their family home to start their business, making and selling motorised skateboards. The business, Evolve Skateboards, went international in a matter of weeks. Just seven years later, with 70 per cent of its total sales coming from approximately 30 international markets, it’s fair to say they’ve landed on their feet.

The Anning’s story is remarkable but not unique. Evolve Skateboards is one of many young Australian businesses that are “born global” according to a new PwC Australia report, Connecting Benefits. The term refers to the emerging trend of small and medium businesses (SMBs) successfully expanding into international markets within their first two years, thanks to the support of social platforms such as Facebook and Instagram.

Mr Anning says using Facebook to reach new markets has played a substantial role in the success of his business, especially as it’s based outside a major city. “When we decided to do this, we said, right, we’ve got to get the word out there,” Mr Anning said. “We decided to create a Facebook page and our strategy was simply to get some images and videos and put them on there. The word started to get out pretty quickly.”

The response from consumers, even in such a niche market, was fast and far-reaching. “We started getting interest from other countries,” Mr Anning said. “People were seeing these videos and sharing their own videos on their feeds. We found they just love getting out there and filming themselves using our product.

Evolve Skateboards now has Facebook pages and growing online communities across Australia, the UK, Europe, the Middle East, North America, Asia, New Zealand and South Africa. Its hundreds of thousands of followers now act as unofficial ambassadors by engaging with and sharing the business’ content, and making and sharing their own.

As well as assisting SMBs to expand into international markets, Facebook is helping them hire more staff and drive economic value in Australia. Connecting Benefits states that in 2017, aided by their growth from using Facebook, SMBs in Australia hired approximately 120,000 employees who generated approximately $16.8 billion in additional economic value (GVA).

Brett Wade, owner of Brisbane-based, born global business Photzy, has seen these benefits firsthand. The online photography tutorial business began as a side-gig for Wade in 2012, and he quickly developed an active online community on Facebook. Within the first two years, about 90 per cent of its sales were coming from overseas markets and Photzy now has 22 staff based around the world, an online community with 180,000 members, and more than 300,000 photographers accessing the businesses services every month.

Wade credits Facebook directly with helping Photzy’s revenue grow by 300 percent in the past year. “It allowed us to test new ideas quickly, which has greatly sped up our product iteration and marketing processes, and it’s helped us reach new demographics,” he said. “It’s been the key driver in our recent growth and success, we’d be nowhere near our current level without it.”

Like Photzy, Evolve Skateboards has experienced revenue boosts thanks to Facebook, and in this case, Instagram too. At the launch of its ‘GT’ model, teaser content released only on the two social sites generated enough buzz to help the product sell out within 24 hours and gain net sales of more than $1 million. This success allowed the Annings to expand their team and they now employ 15 people at the Gold Coast headquarters, four more in UK and two in New Zealand, taking its staff global along with its customer base.

Facebook is where people and businesses connect. The Connecting Benefits report explores the economic and social benefits of the social platform for businesses and communities.

Originally published as The fast track to global business success