Overnight Success, the startup newsletter and community founded by Will Richards in 2021, has launched an angel syndicate with Aussie Angels to give more Australian startup operators a pathway into early-stage investing.
Richards boasts having a 5,000-member strong network that will now let eligible wholesale investors participate in pre-seed and seed deals via the Overnight Success Syndicate on the Aussie Angels platform.
The syndicate will start by focusing on early stage AI-first companies.
Richards said his syndicate will aim to reduce investment requirements so more people can get in at the ground floor.
“I’ve made several personal angel investments on the Aussie Angels platform, which I’m really excited about, but I was often in the awkward position of messaging syndicate leads to negotiate below the minimum,” he said.
“I’d hate to think how many operators are sitting on the sidelines, not participating in Australia’s best early-stage innovation despite working inside the industry.”
Unlike traditional syndicates, Overnight Success plans to lower minimum cheque requirements in order to expand participation rather than optimise for speed of capital aggregation.
The trade-off will mean more backers per deal instead of a handful of investors with larger amounts.
“Sure, you’ll need more people to fill the same quantum of money, but that’s more supporters for the founder,” Richards added.
Aussie Angels gives another founder its wings
The Aussie Angels platform has supported the deployment of over $50 million in capital from 2,600 wholesale investors since Cheryl Mack founded it in late 2021.
Mack said Richards’s experience sheepishly asking to skirt in below required minimums was precisely what her platform was there to overcome.
“Time and again, we heard the same challenge: talented people with deep startup expertise couldn’t access high-quality early-stage deals,” she said.
“The barriers were too high, the minimums restrictively steep. The Angel Academy course provides an opportunity for emerging investors to build confidence and capability in early-stage investing.”
News of the Overnight Success and Aussie Angels partnership was positively received among the startup community.
Canva’s strategy and investor relations manager, Luke Buccheri, said he was a long-time reader of Overnight Success and that he was “excited to back founders at the earliest stages where community support and capital can make the biggest difference.”
Abhishek Maran, a Forbes 30Under30 and former investor with Rampersand, added said he has “always been impressed by the [Overnight Success] community’s depth and market coverage”.
“I’m excited to see the deal flow and support more founders through the syndicate.”
Wholesale investors looking to join the new syndicate can head to its page on Aussie Angels.
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