They have been tipped as companies that could have bright futures. Here's what you need to know about them:

Booktopia Group Ltd (ASX: BKG)

Booktopia is a fast-growing online book retailer which recently listed on the Australian share market. Late last month it released its half year update and revealed that it had a very strong finish to the calendar year. The company delivered both a record month in December and a record half.

According to the release, Booktopia shipped a massive 728,000 units during the final month of the half, bringing its total shipments to 4.2 million units for the six months. This was a 40% increase in shipments on the same period last year and underpinned a 52% increase in unaudited half year revenue to $113 million and a 506% increase in adjusted EBITDA to $8 million.

A key driver of its growth was its investment in additional automation and the increased capacity of its distribution centre. The first stage of its $20 million expansion and automation project at the Lidcombe Distribution Centre in Sydney was completed in November. It increased Booktopia's outbound capacity from 30,000 units to 60,000 units per day.

Cluey Ltd (ASX: CLU)

Another small cap to watch is Cluey. Like Booktopia, the education technology company is recent listing on the Australian share market.

Cluey integrates personal tutoring with its scalable technology platforms. It then utilises data and learning analytics to support the delivery of quality learning to thousands of Australian students.

Last month it released its second quarter update, which revealed cash receipts from customers of $3.2 million in the second quarter and $7 million for the six months to 31 December. This represents an increase of 298% and 366%, respectively, on the prior corresponding periods. Management advised that its growth was driven by a significant increase in learning sessions over the period.

Looking ahead, Cluey is forecasting revenue of ~$15.5 million in FY 2021. This will be a 218% year on year increase.

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Two ASX shares that are at the start of their journeys are listed below. Here's what has investors watching them closely:

Cluey Ltd (ASX: CLU)

Cluey is a recently listed education technology company. It describes itself as an innovative edtech company. It integrates personal tutoring with its scalable technology platforms and utilises data and learning analytics to support the delivery of quality learning to thousands of Australian students.

Last week the company released its first update since its IPO and revealed cash receipts from customers of $3.2 million in the second quarter and $7 million for the six months to 31 December. This represents growth of 298% and 366% on the respective prior corresponding periods.

This was driven by a significant increase in learning sessions over the period. While no second quarter figure was provided, in the first quarter the company recorded 52,700 learning sessions. This was up 338% on the same period last year and up 41% compared to the fourth quarter of FY 2020.

Cluey is forecasting a 218% increase in revenue to ~$15.5 million in FY 2021.

Whispir (ASX: WSP)

Whispir is a software-as-a-service communications workflow platform provider. Its popular platform automates communications between organisations and people. This enables users to improve their communications through automated workflows to ensure stakeholders receive accurate, timely, useful, and actionable insights.

Whispir was a very strong performer in FY 2020. For the 12 months ended 30 June 2020, it posted a 25.5% increase in revenue to $39.1 million and annual recurring revenue (ARR) growth of 34% to $42.2 million.

This positive form has continued in FY 2021, with the company recently revealing strong second quarter growth. Whispir posted a 29.2% increase in ARR to $47.4 million. Management advised that this was driven by ongoing demand for communications software to automate processes and improve stakeholder engagement.

This is still only a small slice of its overall market opportunity. Management estimates that the Workflow Communications platform as a Service market could reach US$8 billion per year by 2024.

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Some ASX shares, however, have managed to firmly outperform the wider market during this period. Here we take a look at 3 such companies that have experienced significant growth over the last year.

Jindalee Resources Limited (ASX: JRL)

At the close of trade today, Jindalee Resources shares were trading 5.5% lower at $1.37. Over the past twelve months, however, the Jindalee share price is up nearly 400%. Jindalee Resources is an exploration company focused on lithium, gold, iron ore, base and strategic metals, uranium and magnesite.

In a shareholder update provided on 14 January, Jindalee announced positive results pertaining to its McDermitt lithium project. Summarising the highlights, the company stated: "Metallurgical testwork to date has been very encouraging, indicating high lithium recoveries from conventional sulphuric acid leaching at low temperature and atmospheric pressure."

The company also advised it is exploring further options regarding the possible listing of its lithium assets on a North American stock exchange. 

Jindalee currently has two lithium projects in the United States: the McDermitt flagship project in Oregon and the pre-exploration Clayton North project in Nevada.

The company believes that the demand for lithium-ion batteries will increase significantly as the adoption of electric vehicles continues to accelerate.

Openpay Group Ltd (ASX: OPY) 

The Openpay share price gained more than 3% on Friday in contrast to the wider market, which was trending lower. Openpay shares have also increased an impressive 118% over the past twelve months. 

Openpay offers 'no interest' payment services to customers and competes alongside big-name players, such as Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) and Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT), in the buy now, pay later (BNPL) industry.

The company refers to itself as "a fast-growing and highly differentiated player in the global 'buy now pay later' payment solutions market." Openpay operates in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdowm and, as of December 2020, the US. Openpay even invited investors to watch a video recording of its US launch. The Openpay share price rocketed up by more than 27% on 16 December 2020 when the company broke news of its US expansion. 

Openpay will provide a FY21 second quarter update next Thursday 28 January.

Cluey Ltd (ASX: CLU)

The Cluey share price finished Friday's session up 2.3% and around 8% higher over the past year. Whilst this represents a much more modest gain than the abovementioned shares, Cluey has still managed to decisively outperform the wider market over the same timeframe.

Cluey defines itself as "an Australian education technology company that supports the learning growth of students by bringing together expert educators, cutting-edge technology and proprietary learning data to offer students a range of targeted learning services."

The company posted cash and cash equivalents of around $13 million in its 30 June 2020 annual report. In a January 2021 update, Cluey advised it has forecast a 218% increase in revenue to ~$15.5 million in FY2021.

The post 3 ASX shares that have outperformed over the past year appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Continuing with that theme, here are two more small caps to watch in 2021:

Cluey Ltd (ASX: CLU)

Cluey is a recently listed education technology company. It landed on the ASX boards in December after raising $30 million at $1.20 per share. This gave it a market capitalisation of approximately $143.5 million. Since then, the Cluey share price has dropped below its offer price and closed the year at $1.10.

Cluey describes itself as an innovative edtech company. It integrates personal tutoring with its scalable technology platforms and utilises data and learning analytics to support the delivery of quality learning to thousands of Australian students.

The company recorded 52,700 learning sessions in the first quarter of FY 2021, up 338% on the same quarter in FY 2020 and up 41% compared to the prior quarter. It is expecting this strong growth to continue and to underpin a 218% increase in revenue to ~$15.5 million in FY 2021.

Openpay Group Ltd (ASX: OPY)

Openpay is a small buy now pay later provider that delivered strong sales and customer growth in 2020. Last month the company revealed that its total transaction value (TTV) in November reached a record of $35.7 million. This was driven by strong Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, with the former representing the best day of trading in Openpay's history.

At present the company operates in Australia and the UK, but has recently announced plans to enter the lucrative US market. If this expansion is a success, it could give its TTV a major boost in 2021.

One broker that is bullish on the company is Shaw and Partners. Its analysts have a buy rating and $5.00 price target on its shares at present. This is more than double the current Openpay share price of $2.26.

The broker points out that Openpay's shares are trading at a significant discount to rivals such as Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) and Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P).

The post 2 more small cap ASX shares to watch in 2021 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.