Sydney
Business

Digital twin startup Willow cuts 99 staff on Christmas eve, just a week after raising $42 million

- December 23, 2022 2 MIN READ

Nearly 100 staff at real estate and infrastructure digital twin startup will be looking for next jobs in the new year after the company cut 22% full-time employees and contractors, less than 10 days after announcing it had raised US$28.8 million (A$42m). The Sydney- and US-based startup is backed and chaired by former Macquarie CEO Nicholas… Read more »

The Daily Edited
Business

The administrators of The Daily Edited found a buyer in veteran retailer Bernie Brookes

- December 23, 2022 3 MIN READ

Monogramed luxury fashion startup The Daily Edited (tde.) has new owners, with the owners of budget fashion brand Colette by Colette Hayman (CBCH), acquiring the brand from administrators KordaMentha. Parent business BJM is owned and chaired by former Myer boss Bernie Brookes. The sale price was not disclosed. Founded in 2014 by Perth-based former corporate… Read more »

Brosa cofounders Richard Li and Ivan Lim.
Business

Kogan snaps up failed furniture retailer Brosa for $1.5 million

- December 22, 2022 3 MIN READ

ASX-listed online retailer Kogan.com has swooped on another distressed asset, acquiring failed furniture brand Brosa a week after it was placed in voluntary administration. Administrators KordaMentha reached a deal with Kogan.com (ASX:KGN) to buy Brosa’s assets for $1.5 million after more than 30 parties expressed interest in the 48 hours after the business was placed… Read more »

Business

DEHORNED UNICORN: The Superhero-Swyftx merger is over

- December 21, 2022 3 MIN READ

The deal to merge share trading platform Superhero and crypto exchange Swyftx, which was supposed to create a fintech unicorn, is over. Superhero founders John Winters and Wayne Baskin are resuming control of their business as Swyftx grapples with the fallout from the collapse of US crypto exchange FTX and concerns of money laundering by… Read more »

Business

TEG, the entertainment giant behind Ticketek, takes a majority stake in sports star marketplace FAN+

- December 20, 2022 2 MIN READ

Global live entertainment and ticketing giant TEG has taken a majority stake in three-year-old Sydney startup FAN+. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. FAN+ was founded by former Sydney Kings CEO Rod Hary in 2019, getting its initial momentum as part of the Qantas AVRO accelerator, and the following year, the sports-focused HYPE… Read more »

Business

Melbourne delivery service YourGrocer is the latest startup to go under

- December 19, 2022 2 MIN READ

Longevity has not been enough to save nine-year-old Melbourne delivery service YourGrocer, which shuttered its doors on Friday, just weeks after seeking to raise more than $1 million via crowdfunding. YourGrocer CEO Morgan Ranieri, a cofounder of profit-for-purpose venture, Thankyou, launched his grocery venture in 2013, taking a more boutique approach, working with around 85… Read more »

Brosa cofounders Richard Li and Ivan Lim.
Business

Airtree Ventures and Bailador-backed ecommerce venture Brosa hits voluntary administration

- December 16, 2022 2 MIN READ

Online furniture retailer Brosa is up for sale after the business was placed in voluntary administration this week. Richard Tucker and Michael Korda of KordaMentha were appointed Voluntary Administrators of the 8-year-old ecommerce company, which raised more than $7 million in venture capital from the likes of Airtree and ASX-listed Bailador Technology Investments. While Bailador… Read more »

Deliveroo rider
Business

Deliveroo puts $18.8 million on the table as it leaves town – after losing $33 million this year

- December 14, 2022 2 MIN READ

Deliveroo was losing around $3 million a month on its Australian operations, administrators KordaMentha found, with revenue sliding this year in the wake of 2021’s pandemic lockdowns. The business has put a Deed of Company Arrangement (DOCA), backed by the administrators, on the table offering a total of $18.8 million to staff, delivery riders and… Read more »

Business

Tank Stream Labs launches business services suite for startups

- December 13, 2022 2 MIN READ

Technology community Tank Stream Labs has launched a portfolio of business services spanning areas such as recruitment and law to help founders build their business. The Tank Stream Labs (TSL) Group is a collection of service companies providing startups and SMEs with specialised services to support business development, audio and video content production, talent acquisition… Read more »

Kangaroo Valley property, Heggy's
Business

It looks like the Metigy liquidators have broken even selling the houses bankrupt founder David Fairfull bought with company funds

- December 12, 2022 2 MIN READ

The liquidators of failed adtech startup Metigy, which collapsed into administration in July, just 20 months after raising $20 million in a Series B, have taken a $1.45 million hit on the sale of a country property bought using company funds by the startup’s now bankrupt founder, David Fairfull. Fairfull bought the 48-hectare 4-bedroom property in the… Read more »

Business

Delivery service DoorDash cuts staffing by 6%

- December 2, 2022 2 MIN READ

American food delivery company DoorDash, which launched aggressively in Australia in 2019, is cutting 1250 staff globally as the sector more broadly tries to stem  potential financial haemorrhaging amid a global downturn in discretionary spending. Company CEO Tony Xu broke the news to staff on Thursday, Australian time, saying it was “the most difficult change… Read more »

Drive Yello founder Steve Fanale and his co-CEO at 4YouInnovation, Asheesh Chacko
Business

Cafe ordering app merges with Sydney courier service

- December 1, 2022 2 MIN READ

In an early sign that merger and acquisition activity is about to ramp up in the startup sector in order for companies to survive, Sydney-headquartered courier delivery service Drive Yello has merged with the cafe payments platform Hey You. The merged entity is known as 4You Innovation, and hopes to hit up the market for… Read more »

Business

The Ignition Lane Wrap: Sunrise. Demise. No more pies.

- November 28, 2022 5 MIN READ

Welcome to Ignition Lane’s Tech Wrap, where they cut through the noise to bring you their favourite insights from the technology and startup world.  Ignition Lane works with ambitious business leaders to apply the Startup Mindset to their technology, product and commercialisation problems.  This wrap goes out free to subscribers. Don’t forget you can catch Gavin Appel every… Read more »

Business

Menulog cuts jobs in wake of Deliveroo demise

- November 28, 2022 2 MIN READ

Menulog, one of the few surviving meal delivery companies left in Australia following the failure of Deliveroo and grocery delivery startup Voly, is shedding jobs in Australia as part of a global restructure of its Dutch parent company. The Australian-born business, which was acquired UK-based Just Eat for $855 million in 2015, cut stuffing at… Read more »

Nick Lissette
Business

Kiwi tech acquisition company Blackpearl is the NZX’s only IPO for late 2022

- November 25, 2022 2 MIN READ

Kiwi tech company Blackpearl Group (BPG) will list on the New Zealand stock exchange next month – the only IPO for the NZX in the second half of 2022. Blackpearl builds, acquires, and markets data-driven cloud services involving productivity and demand generation applications for small and medium-sized businesses (SMB). Its proprietary data platform, the Pearl… Read more »