As technology evolves and becomes more sophisticated, we are starting to hear the word "disruptor" on a regular basis.
In business the word disruptor comes from the term disruptive innovation which was coined by Clayton M. Christensen. Disruptive innovation is loosely defined as being an innovation that helps create a new market and eventually disrupts an existing market, displacing an earlier technology.
One of the prime examples of a disruptor is the ride-hailing app Uber. Thanks to the rise of smartphones it has been able to shake up the taxi industry worldwide, ruining the near monopoly of Cabcharge Australia Limited (ASX: CAB) domestically in the process.
Its rise has been nothing short of phenomenal. It has gone from being officially launched as an app in March 2011 to a multinational company valued at US$62 billion five years later.
To put this in perspective, if it were listed on the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) it would be the third largest company on the index behind only Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC).
The big question now is whether the Australian Stock Exchange has any disruptors amongst its ranks. Well, it turns out that it does. Whilst they may not be destined to become the size of Uber, there are a number of shares on the exchange which are worth keeping a close eye on.
1-Page Ltd (ASX: 1PG)
1-Page is a provider of a cloud-based software-as-a-service platform. It develops and markets software products for human resources departments in order to support them in sourcing and qualifying job candidates, as well as engaging their current workforce.
Aconex Ltd (ASX: ACX)
Aconex provides an online collaboration platform for construction and engineering projects. The company continues to go from strength to strength and has delivered over $1 trillion worth of project value through its platform. It currently has over 60,000 user organisations using its services.
Freelancer Ltd (ASX: FLN)
Freelancer connects small businesses with freelancers through the world's largest outsourcing marketplace. It currently connects over 18 million employers and freelancers in over 250 countries across the world for jobs that include software development, web design, data entry, and accounting.
Mint Payments Ltd (ASX: MNW)
Mint Payments is a mobile payment solutions and mobile transactions provider which brings flexibility to businesses and their customers. It does have a lot of competition from the likes of Paypal and Square, though. This means it has a real battle on its hands if it wants to win a decent slice of the market.
