46 Academic Transcription

Sometimes, the mark of a good business is one which does exactly what it says on the tin. And that’s the idea behind founder Laura Meldon’s university transcription service Academic Transcription, which boasts a three-year revenue growth rate of 69% and revenue of $1.5 million.

Meldon founded her business in 2015 after eight years of experience in the transcription industry helped her identify a niche opportunity to help the disability support departments of each major Australian university.

Academic Transcription allows university lectures to be audio or video recorded, and then transcribed, captioned and sent out to students for “equal and accessible learning”.

At just 27 years old, running a business with 20 employees is not where Meldon says she expected to be, telling SmartCompany it’s been a hell of a learning curve.

“Going from freelancing to actually running a small business, then suddenly a really big business, has been learning curves every step of the way — more like a learning slippery slide really,” she says.

“But every day I get to learn something new, and now I am building our team to be able to have expertise in every facet of the operation rather than bootstrapping each new thing myself.

“It is such a privilege to grow and expand.”

Although it is already working with over 28 universities across Australia, Academic Transcription is hoping to eventually partner with every university and education institution in the country.

And after appearing on the most recent season of Shark Tank, Meldon might even be nabbing a $300,000 investment from shark Glen Richards if the deal passes due diligence.