SCO Recruitment

Runner-up for the second year in a row, it’s hard to believe that SCO Recruitment is still only little more than two years old.

The business was founded by young entrepreneur Larissa Robertson, who took over the wreckage of her previous employer that was in the process of being liquidated.

Believing that she could save the jobs of many of the 250 people at the firm, Robertson managed to take on 180 of them.

But not only was she facing the challenge of running her first business, she also had to deal with the immediate complications of becoming pregnant and, less happily, losing a multi-million dollar client.

Robertson’s determination and management style helped her over these hurdles, successfully guiding the business into the profitable niche of being a public sector recruitment specialist.

Revenue has grown to $12.7 million and Robertson is continuing to drive the business forward, with SCO Recruitment recently becoming preferred supplier to local councils in South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria, adding to its presence in the NSW market.

Her advice for other budding start-ups? “Don’t ever give up or be afraid to go for it. No-one knows what they are doing at the start but you can work it out pretty quickly if you listen and learn.”