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After more than six years in California, 99Designs has relocated its global headquarters back to Richmond, Melbourne to prepare for its next stage of growth, creating 30 new jobs
(AUSTRALIA 2017)
99designs, originally founded in Melbourne in 2008, is a global creative platform that makes it easy for designers and clients to work together to create designs they love.
In 2010, 99designs opened an office in San Francisco to kick off its international expansion and access funding. The company raised US$35 million from Accel the following year. In 2017 – with an annual revenue run rate of around US$60 million and having reached profitability – 99designs decided that its long term future was in Melbourne.
99designs enjoys a Richmond/Cremorne location with other technology firms such as REA, Carsales.com, MYOB, Tesla, Rome2rio, and soon SEEK.
A meeting with Victoria’s Premier, Daniel Andrews, two years ago persuaded CEO Patrick Llewellyn to run the global business from his home city.
I could see how much he cared about the sector. The government is very progressive, and the ecosystem has changed dramatically over the past 10 years. An influx of accelerators and incubators and the creation of high-quality local VC funds have transformed Melbourne into a city that can compete internationally. I see crowds building at start-up conferences, and there is a new wave of founders benefiting from this increased investment and supportive infrastructure. The ASX is more achievable, its friendly, and its proven to be effective for businesses in technology with market capitalisation under $1 billion.
Patrick Llewellyn - CEO, 99designs
Invest Victoria assisted 99designs in its move back to Melbourne by contributing to their business case development and providing Ministerial support.
An influx of accelerators and incubators and the creation of high-quality local VC funds have transformed Melbourne into a city that can compete internationally. Melbourne feels like the great tech cities around the world.
Patrick Llewellyn - CEO, 99designs
