Business

Why backing women founders is the smartest bet for investors

- October 24, 2024 3 MIN READ

LinkedIn News Australia recently interviewed me about the underrepresentation of women in the startup ecosystem. At first glance, the statistics paint a bleak picture; according to the Q3 Cut Through Venture report, only 4% of total capital raised in Australia went to female-only founded teams, and just 13% to female co-founded ventures. These dismal numbers… Read more »

Business strategy

Startups 101: Understanding secondary share sales  – why not all fundraising is created equal

- October 15, 2024 3 MIN READ

In recent years, the media has increasingly blurred the lines between true capital raises and secondary sales, distorting the actual amount of new funding startups are receiving.  This confusion often misleads founders and investors, making it harder to understand the real financial position of a company. For first-time founders, navigating the complexities of capital raising… Read more »

resilience, tree on rock, survivor
Investing

Giant Leap’s Will Richardson says now that funding is returning for startups, it’s time to focus on the ’emotional runway’ both founders and investors need

- August 1, 2024 3 MIN READ

Spring has come early for Australia’s startup industry. Signs of life are now starting to return to the industry, with funding levels starting to show signs of normalising. According to the latest Cut Through Venture data, funding is up 30% from the previous year, albeit with fewer, larger deals. It has us, as well as… Read more »

Scrooge McDuck
Investing

ESIC – why these four letters get angel investors excited and what founders need to know about them

- May 14, 2024 8 MIN READ

Startup investing is risky AF and it’s also very beneficial to the Australian economy so the government has a number of different incentives to encourage it. Today, we are going to talk about one of these incentives called “Early Stage Innovation Company” (ESIC) which targets angel investors. If the stars align, then ESIC could mean… Read more »

Euphemia CEO Judy Anderson-Firth
Investing

How Judy Anderson-Firth turned Dom Pym’s family office into an impact investor

- May 7, 2024 3 MIN READ

Judy Anderson-Firth is CEO of Euphemia, the family office of serial entrepreneur Dom Pym, founder of UpBank. She recently sat down with Cheryl Mack from Aussie Angels and Maxine Minter from Co Ventures to talk about her experience as an investor on their podcast, First Cheque. It’s both an aspirational and practical discussion, where Anderson-Firth shares… Read more »

Investing

The ‘small scale offering’ exemption is a problem that needs to be addressed alongside any changes to the sophisticated investor test

- February 20, 2024 3 MIN READ

Rumoured changes to the sophisticated investor test will create more holes in funding for technology founders to navigate when we should be bringing more people into startup investing with education pathways.  While jostling over whether the changes can be tweaked to lessen the damage on early-stage startup investing, the whole episode seems to fundamentally misunderstand… Read more »

Angel
Investing

Let’s not clip the wings of angel investors by changing the Sophisticated Investor test

- January 24, 2024 3 MIN READ

Late last week we felt compelled to start a petition urging the Australian Government to reconsider the ‘Sophisticated Investor’ test. This petition has now been signed by over 700 leaders in the Australian startup ecosystem who represent the diverse aspects of the startup community. United, these signatories agree that we should reject not just the… Read more »

Steve Maarbani - VentureCrowd
Investing

Australian investors deserve access to revolutionary startups and ventures

- January 23, 2024 4 MIN READ

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 »

Dan Gavel
Investing

Black Sheep Capital founder Dan Gavel talks about building a diversified investment strategy in VC

- January 23, 2024 2 MIN READ

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 »