World View balloon
Funding

Breakthrough Victoria invests $37 million to lure US near-space exploration platform World View to Melbourne

- May 3, 2024 2 MIN READ

State government-backed investment fund Breakthrough Victoria is backing US stratospheric exploration company World View with $37 million to entice it to Melbourne. The strategic investment will see World View establish its Indo-Pacific headquarters in the capital, as well as building an advanced manufacturing facility in Victoria, creating up to 200 jobs in engineering, mission control… Read more »

knights, joust, horse
Venture Capital

‘More than just a venture capital firm’: $2 billion sovereign fund Breakthrough Victoria hits back at critics who want it abolished

- March 23, 2024 5 MIN READ

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 »

Tan Kueh & Jeremy Kwong-Law
People

Mike Cannon-Brookes names former Macquarie banker Tan Kueh as Grok’s CEO

- February 12, 2024 2 MIN READ

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 »

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 »

Breaking Bad, money pile
Investing

VC partner Alan Jones on sophisticated investor changes: ‘I won’t be the only one wondering if I’m a downturn away from being excluded from investing in the fund I run’

- January 17, 2024 5 MIN READ

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
Venture Capital

Afterwork’s Jessy Wu on the importance of bravery and building a personal brand

- January 16, 2024 2 MIN READ

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 »

Bobby Axelrod, Billions
Investing

Australia plans to raise the bar on who can invest in startups – and it reveals the country’s investment regulations are a dog’s breakfast

- January 16, 2024 7 MIN READ

● 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 »

Eddie Murphy/Trading Places
Investing

Why the federal government’s plan to increase the sophisticated investor threshold is terrible news for Australia’s startups

- January 15, 2024 4 MIN READ

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 »

Funding

VC Blackbird’s now invested $1.15 billion in the last 5 years – and delivered just as much back to investors in 2024

- January 9, 2024 2 MIN READ

Venture fund Blackbird has surveyed its investment efforts in 2024, and deployed almost the same amount last year as it has annually, on average, since 2020. Blackbird’s annual year in review reveals they deployed $229 million across 20 new and 30 follow-on rounds in 41 companies. That’s an increase on the 38 cheques in 2023,… Read more »

Dog, money, nurture
Investing

5 things Main Sequence’s Phil Morle learnt about venture capital from hanging out with 100 other investors

- August 29, 2023 4 MIN READ

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 »

money tree
Venture Capital

New analysis reveals a key source of early stage startup funding, family offices, have boomed in the last decade

- August 23, 2023 3 MIN READ

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 »