It’s Bronze Snake’s 10th anniversary this year, and although the founders have previously told SmartCompany the first half of the business’ life was at times a struggle, the pair now looks back on what they have done well to build the brand.

The founders of Noosa Chocolate Factory eschewed the typical approach taken by confectionery retailers, choosing to offer “take home and share with the family” products rather than “over packaged” gifting products. This model has proven successful for the business, which landed in the top 10 of last year’s Smart50 despite being only three years old.

Domain name and hosting solutions provider VentraIP features its mascot, the “Ventrasaurus Rex” proudly on its home page. The dinosaur has been invaluable for the tech business, and is “by far the biggest marketing draw we have,” says co-founder Angelo Giuffrida.

In the early days of their business, Alex Macpherson and Brad Down were “not great” salespeople. It’s a concern many entrepreneurs can relate to but instead of continuing to poorly pitch their product, the duo decided to take a different approach and change the product entirely.

The creative team at S1T2 know that virtual reality is going to be the new frontier for their clients – and since the creative agency appeared on last year’s Smart50, the game plan has involved heavy investments in the VR space.

When Alborz Fallah began CarAdvice in 2006, it was the 12th business he had started, telling SmartCompany last year he just wanted to “do things my way.

Adore Beauty marks its Sweet 16 by hitting the $15 million revenue mark for the first time – and with 124% growth rate over the past three financial years, the online beauty retailer has booked yet another spot on the Smart50.

This year has been a good year for Development Finance Partners, with the business having more than doubled its staff and launching its own equity fund in July.

Husband and wife team Anna Corosa and Stewart Koziora have spent the past 10 years dominating Melbourne’s food and bar scene with their popular venues, including the likes of Father’s Office and Asian Beer Café, and now the hospitality entrepreneurs have their sights set on the world.

Tim McNamara is the brains behind Powerpod, a vending machine business that provides battery packs, headphones, and charger cables for people to use with their mobile phones in times of need.

The founders of aged care health and wellbeing services operation Blisscare saw Australia’s “Silver tsunami” approaching and wanted to create a system to support people through it.

At the age of 15, Jordan Grives was already stoking the entrepreneurial flames; he previously told SmartCompany in 2014 he would sell cans of soft drink to kids at school.