Investor Rayn Ong pointed out recently that “VCs (and angels) say no to 95% of the founders they meet with”. That’s ignoring the many more no responses over emails and even DMs (from some brave founders). As anyone in startup land will attest, the no comes in many forms. There is of course the quick,… Read more »
Government-backed investment fund Breakthrough Victoria has defended itself against critics wanting it abolished saying it wants to “fundamentally reshape the innovation landscape”. The $2 billion VC fund, launched in 2021, and chaired by former Labor premier John Brumby, has been subject to a sustained media campaign for it to be dismantled, led by Adir Shiffman,… Read more »
Grok Ventures, the private investment fund of Atlassian cofounder Mike Cannon-Brookes, has named global asset management executive Tan Kueh as CEO, joining chief investment officer Jeremy Kwong-Law. Cannon-Brookes said that Grok is entering a new phase of growth, having refined its investment strategy to make a bigger impact on addressing the global climate challenge. “Having… Read more »
Last week, the Federal Government revealed plans to raise qualifications for sophisticated investors. Investors would now need $4.5 million or more in assets, or to earn more than $450,000 for two consecutive years to be able to access certain types of investment opportunities such as venture capital. Under existing rules, a sophisticated investor qualifies as… Read more »
Brisbane based investor Daniel Gavel is known for his down-to-earth and innovative approach to investing through angel investing, Black Sheep Capital Fund, and the Flock Syndicate. The Black Sheep portfolio includes Airtasker, Sendle, Amber Electric and Llama Life. Gavel recently sat down with Cheryl Mack from Aussie Angels and Maxine Minter to talk about his… Read more »
My venture partners and I are raising money for new venture funds at the moment and there’s an awkward moment every time I have an initial conversation with anyone who’s considering investing in VC for the first time: the moment when I have to raise the question of holding a sophisticated investor certificate. When I… Read more »
Jessy Wu helps lead Afterwork Ventures, a community-powered VC deploying $20 million across Australia and New Zealand. Previously, Wu was a Senior Investment Analyst at NAB Ventures. Outside of work, Wu volunteers as a Telephone Crisis Supporter for Lifeline and as an ethics teacher for Primary Ethics. A person dedicated to giving back, Wu has… Read more »
● Increases to the sophisticated investor qualification thresholds are planned ● The startup sector is worried it will dramatically cut access to early stage investment capital ● Floated changes increase the thresholds by 80% after 22 years ● Around 16% of Australians currently qualify ● The bigger issue is education for investors ● A broad… Read more »
Federal Labor’s recent suggestion of increasing the income and assets tests for the sophisticated investor exemption is one of the most infuriating examples of trying to fit a round peg in a square hole I’ve seen in a while. Currently, to qualify as a sophisticated investor, you need at least $2.5 million in assets or… Read more »
If you believe that bad things come in threes, then it was a big week for geopolitics, music and investing. A prominent trio paid the ferryman within days: Henry Kissinger, the controversial former US Secretary of State and security adviser to presidents Nixon and Ford, died aged 100; Shane MacGowan, the charismatic Irish poet and… Read more »
The ANZ climate tech sector is booming, and with good reason. The world’s leading scientists are telling us – or getting arrested to warn us – that we only have until the end of the decade to secure a safe climate future. Our mission? To limit global warming to under 1.5 degrees Celsius. To put that into… Read more »
Venture capital can be a solo, transactional game: meeting founders, building conviction, and making a case to an investment committee before allocating capital. Some firms learn how to exploit the aggregated super-power of their whole group to discover unique investments and unlock value. What we don’t talk about enough is how the firms themselves collaborate… Read more »
The growing wealth of the top end of town has seen an explosion in the creation of family offices over the last decade, according to new analysis. That boom is good news for anyone looking to work in the space, since it’s a lucrative role according to the KPMG Australian Family Office Compensation Benchmark Report… Read more »
As a woman founder and investor, I’ve thought a lot about how best to increase the number of women founders who raise capital and scale businesses. Antler is uniquely positioned to impact the gender mix of founders by virtue of our investment volume and stage at the very top of the funnel as a day… Read more »
The annual CapTech2023 conference will return to Sydney in October, bringing together innovators, investors, and industry leaders together over four days. Raman Bhalla, President of Sydney Investors, Professionals and Business Networking Group Incorporated (SIPBN), and founder of CapTech, said last year’s gathering resulted in four companies successfully raising major deals with more than $180 million… 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 
Daily startup news and insights, delivered to your inbox.
