Shares in software as a service (SaaS) business Atlassian soared around 33% on their first day of trade on the world's second-biggest stock exchange the technology focused Nasdaq.
The firm was founded in 2002 by two University of New South Wales graduates who are now expected to have a net worth around $1.5 billion each as US investors bid the stock as high as US$28.50 in trade today up more than one third over the US$21 IPO pricing.
The company's flagship Jira software as a service (SaaS) product helps its clients software development teams develop their own software and its blue-chip global client list suggests the business is a market leader in providing this genre of software development software.
In-house IT teams at private enterprises or government bodies will use the software to help develop, test, launch and track their own software solutions and it's Jira's popularity that has largely powered the Sydney startup's success.
The business also operates software named Confluence for team content sharing and HipChat for team messaging and communications. HipChat in particular is part of a new breed of workplace style digital message boards (designed to disrupt email) being developed by startups like US giant Slack and Aussie hopeful Reffind Ltd (ASX: RFN).
Many of these listed tech startups trade on eye-watering multiples of actual earnings including Atlassian which is valued at more than $5 billion despite only posting net income of US$6.8 million in the last financial year on total revenues of US$319.5 million.
Atlassian also does not intend to pay a dividend in the forseeable future, which many ASX investors would consider a sacrilegious act, although re-investing for growth is a practice more widely appreciated in North America.
Anyone looking for the next Atlassian could consider a couple of fast-rising SaaS businesses listed on the ASX including building management software provider Urbanise Ltd (ASX: UBN) or electronic payment processor Touchcorp Ltd (ASX: TCH).
