Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) came into public consciousness during the #MeToo movement after multiple women spoke out with sexual harassment allegations against film producer Harvey Weinstein. Weinstein systematically used NDAs to silence victim-survivors. It’s a major reason it took years for his behaviour to be made public. Because of the secrecy involved, it’s also how he… Read more »
Women launching startups in South Australia will have access to government funding in a new grants program launched at _SOUTHSTART in Adelaide today. The Fearless Innovator Grants Program will offer funding to women-run early stage startups. The Malinauskas government has committed $110,000 from the Research and Innovation Fund to support Women in Innovation (WINN) to… Read more »
Statistically speaking, my daughters are underrepresented. They’re female, regionally located, and one has a disability. Recently, I asked them what they wanted to be when they grew up. One wants to work in an office and drink coffee “like Mummy”, and the other wants to be a doctor. I asked them about being a scientist,… Read more »
There’s no I in team, the saying goes, and according to Atlassian’s gender gap pay figures, no W either. The difference between base salaries for men and women at the software company, reported to the federal government’s Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) report, released this week, show the blokes are paid 17.4% more as a… Read more »
The 10 startups in Startmate’s Summer24 accelerator cohort go a long way to addressing a key concern for the sector, with six of them featuring women founders, including two all-female teams. Support for female founders has been a sore point for the sector, despite recent improvements, such as VC funds pledging to report their investment… Read more »
Plant-based leather substitute startup Alt. Leather has raised $1.1 million in an angel round to replace the alternative of petroleum-based synthetic leathers. The Melbourne-based startup, founded in 2022 by Tina Funder, was backed by Startmate, The Austin Group, Robyn Denholm’s family office Wollemi Capital Group, and LaunchVic’s Alice Anderson Fund, along with strategic angel investors. … Read more »
An AI-based Sydney software startup that checks sewer pipes for preemptive maintenance has raised $5 million in a Series A to ramp up its push into the US market. VAPAR, cofounded in 2018 by engineers Amanda Siqueira and Michelle Aguilar, was backed Dutch water technology specialist VC PureTerra Ventures, supported by US engineering and construction… Read more »
Last year Blackbird Ventures made a massive bet on a New Zealand rental accommodation app, just six months after it had turned down a $200,000 pitch for cash. In August 2023, Blackbird instead tipped $7 million into a A$9.5 million Seed round for Kiki. The startup’s cofounder Toby Thomas-Smith, said Blackbird’s New Zealand partner, Samantha… Read more »
Bootstrapped brand collaborations startup Collabosaurus has been acquired by marketing guru Lauren Swidenbank. The terms of the M&A deal were not disclosed. Swidenbank is CEO and founder of Cali Social, a performance marketing agency specialising in female-first brands. She said the acquisition as a strategic move to expand into tech and leverage Collabosaurus’s unique position… Read more »
For two years we have seen both a criminal and a civil court case, play out to its sad completion, the result of a workplace safety issue, which led, allegedly to rape. Despite the vulgarity of the trials, which are the bluntest of instruments for remedy, through these trials, we have had the very rare… Read more »
Online wholesale marketplace Andisor has raised a $1M pre-Seed funding round. The raise was backed by Antler, LaunchVic’s female founder-focused Alice Anderson fund, Jam Pad Investments, and several prominent retail operators and leaders. Andisor emerged out of the Antler program in 2021, with founder and CEO Vandana Chaudhry, building a platform to connect enterprise-level buyers… Read more »
In the fast-paced world of tech, conversations around menopause may seem out of place. However, with women making up half the population and retiring on average seven years earlier than men (largely due to the effects of menopause on their health), this is not just a problem for individuals, but for business and the whole… Read more »
Founder Edwina Sharrock says the decision to exit from her 8-year-old edtech startup Birth Beat is like selling a child. The childbirth education platform has been acquired by Device Technologies for an undisclosed sum. Birth Beat offers comprehensive, interactive digital childbirth education, as well as baby and child first aid courses, that have helped more… Read more »
Financial industry professional development platform Nuggets Academy has raised $700,000 in a round led by Antler Australia. The edtech, which deals with the mandatory Continuing Professional Development (CPD) training people are required to undertake annually, emerged out of the Antler program last year with its initial pre-seed funding from the accelerator and VC. Also backing… Read more »
The last decade in corporate Australia has seen a much greater acknowledgement of toxic workplace practices and their impact. In the startup sector in particular, over recent weeks we have seen many women come forward to share their experiences of gender discrimination, sexism, harassment and abuse, a subset of toxic behaviour. I am in the… Read more »
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