The Times Australia
Fisher and Paykel Appliances
Small Business News

.

Appetiser Apps recognised as Australia’s fastest growing app development company on 2020 Fast Starters

  • Written by Leanne Baker


Web and mobile app development company Appetiser Apps has been named one of Australia’s fastest growing start-ups at The Australian Financial Review’s Fast Starters List.

Appetiser Apps was placed 67th on the list overall following achievement of $1.83m in revenue in the last year. 2020 marks the 30th year of the AFR’s list of fastest growing companies. Fast Starters are ranked on their absolute level of revenue in 2018-19.

Jamie Shostak, co-founder of Appetiser Apps said, “We’re absolutely thrilled to make the AFR’s Fast Starters list. Our momentum has been underpinned by our consistent focus on three key pillars when delivering any product - technology, marketing and design.”

We have found that most app development companies don’t excel in the three criteria of strong apps – they might be strong in one area, but weak in the others. Successful app development companies should bring excellence in development and technology, user experience and design, and marketing and execution,” explained Jamie.

According to Jamie, Appetiser Apps’ diverse client base of mature businesses and start-ups encouraged agility and innovation while ensuring stability for the business.

We think and act like a start-up, while offering our clients the flexibility to get to market quicker, shift resources rapidly and learn from other agency projects. Our quality is always consistent, which has resulted in our uniquely strong client retention and satisfaction,” he added.

Headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, with offices across three continents, Appetiser creates industry-leading apps with a strong focus on beautiful design, backed up by cutting edge technology, and over 8 million users. The Appetiser Apps team has 100+ years of combined development experience and is made up of some of the globe’s best tech talent.

Clients include Youfoodz, Pointsbet, Salvation Army and Sushi Train. The company has developed apps for a broad range of uses including ecommerce, mobile safety, renting, building cost estimating and even dating.

Founded in 2016, they have been awarded Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50 2019’s Rising Star, Young Entrepreneur of the Year and SmartCompany 30 Under 30.

Co-founders Jamie Shostak and Michael MacRae launched Appetiser Apps after a chance meeting at the coffee machine in their shared co-working space.

Originally hailing from Germany, Michael found early success with one of his first apps, First Time Pregnancy, which gained over half a million users in short space of time. Jamie was 19 when he launched his first growth marketing agency, Webhype, which he grew to over half a million dollars in annual revenue over the space of a few short years.

With Jamie’s marketing and sales expertise and Michael’s app development know-how, the pair were able to successfully launch what is now Australia’s fastest-growing app development agency, Appetiser Apps.


Appetiser Apps is Australia’s fastest-growing mobile and web app development company. The agency creates industry-leading apps with a strong focus on beautiful design, backed up by cutting edge technology.

Headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, with offices across three continents, Appetiser creates apps with award-winning designs and over 8 million users. Founded in 2016, they have been awarded Deloitte 2019 Fast Starter, Young Entrepreneur of the Year and SmartCompany 30 Under 30. https://appetiser.com.au/

Property Times

Understanding Kerbside Valuation: A Practical Guide for Property Owners

When it comes to property transactions, not every situation requires a full, detailed valuation. In many cases, lenders, investors, or homeowners simply need a quick, efficient assessment of a property’s approximate market value. This is where a ke...

Why the Prevailing RBA Mortgage Interest Rates Are Not to Blame for the Continuing Rise in Residential Dwelling Prices

Australia’s housing market remains one of the most debated economic issues of the decade. Despite successive Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) interest rate hikes aimed at cooling demand, residential dwelling prices across most capital cities and man...

How Real Estate Agent Commissions Work in Australian States and Territories

When buying or selling property in Australia, one of the biggest costs—beyond the property price itself—comes from real estate agent commissions. These commissions are the fees agents charge for marketing, negotiating, and finalising the sale of ...

Understanding Centrelink Investment Property Valuation: A Guide for Australian Property Owners

Introduction Owning an investment property in Australia can bring financial stability — but it also comes with responsibilities, especially when it comes to Centrelink assessments. Whether you’re applying for age pensions, disability benefits, or ...

Food & Dining

How healthy are the hundreds of confectionery options and soft drinks

Walk into any big Australian supermarket and the first thing that hits you isn’t the smell of fresh bread or the neatly stacked veggies – it’s walls of chocolate bars, lolly bags, energy drinks and two-litre bottles of cola staring you down from ...

Menulog is closing in Australia. Could food delivery soon cost more?

It’s been a rocky road for Australia’s food delivery sector. Over the past decade, major platforms and a smattering of daring, minor players have been jostling for market share. That’s brought rapid change – and also seen several high-profile bus...

Restaurants to visit in St Kilda and South Yarra

Here are six highly-recommended restaurants split between the seaside suburb of St Kilda and the stylish inner-east locale of South Yarra, Melbourne — perfect if you’re planning a food-lovers outing. I’ve included details about what makes each sp...

How early is too early’ for Hot Cross Buns to hit supermarket and bakery shelves

Every year, Australians find themselves in the middle of the nation’s most delicious dilemmas - when is too early for hot cross buns? As soon as the first packs appear in supermarket aisles on Boxing Day, the country divides into two camps: the d...

Business Times

Partnership repaints approach to tradie mental health crisis

Haymes Paint Shop has supercharged its commitment to blue-collar counselling service TIACS to encourage Aussie tradies to ‘...

YepAI Emerges as AI Dark Horse, Launches V3 SuperAgent to Revolut…

November 24, 2025 – YepAI today announced the launch of its V3 SuperAgent, an enhanced AI platform designed to streamlin...

What SMEs Should Look For When Choosing a Shared Office in 2026

Small and medium-sized enterprises remain the backbone of Australia’s economy. As of mid-2024, small businesses accounted f...

The Times Features

YepAI Emerges as AI Dark Horse, Launches V3 SuperAgent to Revolutionize E-commerce

November 24, 2025 – YepAI today announced the launch of its V3 SuperAgent, an enhanced AI platf...

What SMEs Should Look For When Choosing a Shared Office in 2026

Small and medium-sized enterprises remain the backbone of Australia’s economy. As of mid-2024, sma...

Anthony Albanese Probably Won’t Lead Labor Into the Next Federal Election — So Who Will?

As Australia edges closer to the next federal election, a quiet but unmistakable shift is rippli...

Top doctors tip into AI medtech capital raise a second time as Aussie start up expands globally

Medow Health AI, an Australian start up developing AI native tools for specialist doctors to  auto...

Record-breaking prize home draw offers Aussies a shot at luxury living

With home ownership slipping out of reach for many Australians, a growing number are snapping up...

Andrew Hastie is one of the few Liberal figures who clearly wants to lead his party

He’s said so himself in a podcast appearance earlier this year, stressing that he has “a desire ...

5 Ways to Protect an Aircraft

Keeping aircraft safe from environmental damage and operational hazards isn't just good practice...

Are mental health issues genetic? New research identifies brain cells linked to depression

Scientists from McGill University and the Douglas Institute recently published new research find...

What do we know about climate change? How do we know it? And where are we headed?

The 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference (sometimes referred to as COP30) is taking pla...