Women-led startups and others tackling climate and sustainability-related issues are emerging trends Australia’s impact startup ecosystem, a new report from VC Giant Leap reveals. A snippet above a quarter (26%) of the impact opportunities reviewed by Giant Leap come from women-led ventures, a touch above the 23% average in the broader ecosystem. Meanwhile, a majority… Read more »
Brisbane fintech Bloom Impact Investing has raised $525,000 in seed round co-led by Up bank cofounder Dom Pym, with the founders of Envato, Collis and Cyan Ta’eed, doubling down on the investment app. In a sign of the realigned times, the funding is less than Bloom’s $675,000 pre-seed raise in October 2021. That round was… Read more »
Southeast Asian climate tech venture firm Wavemaker Impact has named Monique Conheady as its new Venture Partner for Australia and New Zealand ahead of rolling out locally in 2023. The VC’s mission is to back build and back climate tech startups with the combined potential to reduce global carbon by 10% by 2035. Wavemaker Impact dubs them ‘100×100’… Read more »
Impact Investment Fund founder Geoff Gourley has signed on as the director of ESG at leadership and executive coaching firm Apricot Consulting. Gourley will lead all ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance), social value & impact, NetZero and social and sustainable procurement management consultancy activities. Apricot founder Derek Linsell said the appointment recognised Gourley’s experience as… Read more »
Giant Leap has become the first VC fund in Australia to set a minimum emissions reduction target for climate technology investments. The Melbourne impact investor has set a benchmark of 1 kilogram of carbon emissions avoided per $1 of revenue generated. Giant Leap Associate Charlie Macdonald said the minimum target was developed using data from… Read more »
US billionaire Tim Draper, famed for investments in the likes of PayPal, Tesla, Twitter, Coinbase and Robinhood, has backed Australian-based drone planting eco-tech firm Lord of the Trees (LOTT) in a $US1.25 million (A$1.67m) pre-Seed round. The investment values LOTT, founded in 2019, at A$7 million. Lord of the Trees is a global reforestation company… Read more »
Welcome to Giant Leap’s Small Steps, a newsletter offering global insights and news on the impact startups landscape. We’ll be sharing an edited version with Startup Daily readers every fortnight. Giant Leap is Australia’s first impact venture fund, and they use this newsletter to surface the ideas and businesses that intrigue and inspire them and… Read more »
Nominations for the 2021 Australian Impact Investment Awards are open but you only have until next Wednesday, December 1, to enter. The awards are an opportunity for organisations and individuals to be recognised for their expertise, commitment and outstanding activity in the Australia’s impact investing ecosystem. Entries are in the following categories: Impact Asset… Read more »
Climate-focused fintech Bloom Impact Investing has raised $675,000 in a pre-seed round ahead of the launch of its impact investing app. The round was led by climate tech startup accelerator and innovation network, EnergyLab with Envato co-founders Cyan and Collis Ta’eed also among the angel investors with ACAC Innovation, Palm Beach Ventures, and NOAB Ventures.… Read more »
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report released this week was described as a “code red for humanity”. We’ve been collectively called upon to drastically reduce emissions in order to stabilise rising temperatures that are already beginning to cause natural events of biblical proportions. Meaningful emissions cuts won’t happen unless we come up with strategies… Read more »
For many, COVID-19 has been a time for self-reflection. It’s been a time for understanding who we are and what drives us. A time to consider what’s important. We’ve noticed this changing tide through the growing interest we’re seeing in impact investing and the question of how we can be more conscious with how we… Read more »
‘Have I gone too far?’ How founders can beat their startup demons 
Tassie carbon accounting startup banks $5.3 million Seed round 
Smart hotels get even smarter: 72 Byte to launch in Australia with AI expert backing 
Eucalyptus head of growth Matt Rossi departs to launch his own marketing startup, Oodle 
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