On 5 December 2017 leading blockchain-powered peer-to-peer renewable energy marketplace, Power Ledger, was named as the top trending startup in Western Australia at the Techboard 2017 WA Awards and online platform for managing loan agreements, Credi was named as Highest Trending Up and Coming Company.
Over the course of 2017, Techboard has been tracking metrics on Australian Startups and publishing monthly rankings that rank companies on the extent to which the metrics indicate they are trending or gaining mindshare. Â The Techboard 2017 Awards are a culmination of those monthly rankings and comprised two company categories, the highest trending company overall and the highest trending up and coming company.
Power Ledger was named one of the top 10 trending Startups and Young Tech Companies in Australia (at the National Awards which took place on 30 November) and the top trending Company in the Western Australian Awards.  In addition to Power Ledger, the balance of the top ten trending Western Australian companies were Credi, Cycliq, DigitalX, Family Zone, Fastbrick Robotics, Hazer Group, HealthEngine, LiveHire and Nuheara.
The Techboard Awards cap a hugely successful year for Power Ledger, which saw multiple pilots in market; the appointment of prominent Silicon Valley VC Bill Tai a board advisor; and the successful completion of a Token Sale, which raised A$34M from over 15,000 buyers.
During the token sale, Power Ledger also announced two new major deals that have undoubtedly added to the momentum of Australia’s highest trending company. The first, with Origin Energy in Australia, that will run until the end of 2017 and see customers using the Power Ledger platform to either buy or sell excess energy. The second with Tech Mahindra in India, which will see Power Ledger’s trading platform used in conjunction with microgrids at sites across India for development of autonomous distributed energy markets.
“We are honoured to be named the highest trending startup in Western Australia, and in the top ten nationally,” commented David Martin, co-founder and Managing Director of Power Ledger.
2017 has been a brilliant year for Power Ledger, and a banner year for both WA and Australian startups. We’re excited to celebrate the successes we have had, and to bring this momentum with us as we move forward into 2018 and beyond.”
Credi.com an online platform for managing loan agreements took out the Up and Coming Company Category in both Western Australian and National Techboard awards. The award category is for unlisted companies that have not raised more than  a series A investment. The Credi win comes  after launching this year and gaining early traction with friends and family already managing over $50m of loans between themselves on the platform that has generated plenty of media attention.  Credi is not itself a lender but instead promotes itself as powering the “bank of mum and dad”, providing a platform for formalising loans between family members and others. On the back of this success the company has completed an oversubscribed $ 500K first round, and has launched in New Zealand with a planned release to a further 67 countries in December.
After winning the award Tim Dean Co-founder and CEO of Credi said:
“A couple of years ago I took another call from my son and I always knew how much money he wanted by the pause, long pause I was in for a lot of trouble. So two years later after working with RMIT to understand the global opportunity and the platform build we launched . Since April we already have about $50M dollars of parents money on the platform. – which has positioned us for a global rollout. Thank you very much for this great award, we are honoured.”
Peter van Bruchem co-founder of Techboard said:
“Both Power Ledger and Credi have had significant achievements this year but what has really put them above their competitors in the Techboard rankings is the extent to which the companies successfully raised the profile of their activities through effective and regular use of PR, media, social media including using the Techboard platform itself to amplify their successes.”
In addition to Credi, the balance of the top ten trending up and coming Western Australian companies were Tap into Safety, Black Lab Games, Spacetoco, Formalytics, Feedmee, Jugglr, Quizjam, Soter Analytics and Stirfire Studios.
Nathan Sturcke was awarded the Techboard Startup Community Award which celebrates an individual who made a significant contribution to the the person’s local entrepreneurship community. The objective of the award is to acknowledge and celebrate individuals who work to support and improve their local startup ecosystem.
Read more about the Techboard 2017 Awards:
