Victorian alcohol delivery startup Hairydog Group has added rival BoozeBud to its portfolio, acquiring the company’s assets a month after the business was placed in administration. The terms of the deal were not disclosed by Hairydog says the acquisition will push its annual revenue above $75 million, delivering incremental profitability and reinforcing its position as… Read more »
Paris Hilton and electronica duo The Chainsmokers have been added to the A-lister cap table of LA-based expat Australian startup Checkmate, which has raised US$15 million (A$23m) in a Series A. The round was led by GV (formerly Google Ventures), with support from DJ duo Alex Pall and Drew Taggart’s VC fund Mantis, plus several… Read more »
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 »
Women-led ecommerce app Sortd has raised $1.26 million in pre-seed funding to help shoppers keep track of their wish lists. Sydney founders Jodine Wolman, 27 and Alexis Aaron, 26 have emerged from the Antler Australia accelerator program with backing from the VC firm and several private investors, including ELMO Software’s chief commercial officer Darryl Garber.… Read more »
US-based Australian startup Checkmate has raised US$5 million (A$7.75m) in a Seed round. The raise was led by US VC Fuel Capital. The other investors include Kevin Johnson, the former CEO of Ebates at Rakuten, NFL star Joe Montana’s Liquid 2 Ventures, Ancestry CEO Deborah Liu, Firstbase CEO Chris Herd, XMTP cofounder Shane Mac, f7… Read more »
Melbourne e-commerce platform Local Threads has raised $500,000 in pre-seed funding The round was led by Dr Qin Ding, co-founder of EMQ, a data cloud warehousing platform, with support from angel investors Alex Yin, founder of fashion brand, UOOYAA, and Eric Liam. Cofounders Adam Baodunnov, and Chris Young are hoping to empower Local Threads users… Read more »
Premium shopping app Her Black Book has added cashback rewards to its platform ahead of Australian Fashion Week, which kicks off on Monday. Her Black Book is the brainchild of Sali Sasi and Julie Stevanj, the sisters behind Stylerunner. The pair announced their latest entrepreneurial venture last October, and in February, raised $1.6 million in Seed… Read more »
Melbourne “hype commerce” startup EQL has raised A$25 million to help retailers manage the launch of high demand products. The round was led by New York software investor Insight Partners and local VC AirTree Ventures. Other backers include market leaders in digital commerce, platforms and fan engagement including Guillaume Pousaz’s Zinal Growth, Harry Stebbings’ investment… Read more »
A new shopping app developed by the twin sisters behind Stylerunner has raised $1.6 million in seed funding. The round was led by former banking exec Andrew Hagger, CEO of Fortescue founder Andrew Forest’s family investment firm, Tattarang and his charity arm, the Minderoo Foundation, supported by ASX-listed Touch Ventures, plus others. Sisters Sali Sasi… Read more »
Two Brisbane teenagers tackling the ecommerce problem of abandoned carts for online sales have raised $2.2 million in the pre-seed funding for their fintech startup. Liam Millward, 18, and William Gao, 19, founded Instant in April 2021, to build the world’s simplest checkout experience. The record pre-seed raise, the country’s biggest, was led by Blackbird,… Read more »
Australian online fashion boutique St Frock has made good business out of being ahead of the tech curve. It all started back in 2005 when Sandradee Makejev started selling trendy women’s dresses at a Bondi Beach market stall. In 2009, she started a Facebook page for St Frock. At the time, social media’s potential as… Read more »
After all the time we’ve spent in and out of lockdowns in the past two year, there’s one thing we know for sure – online browsing (the digital replacement for window shopping) has become a national sport. But what might be a harmless activity for the browser can be a frustrating challenge for businesses because… Read more »
The rapid rise of online shopping and ecommerce has flipped consumer behaviour from the era when shoppers crammed into retail stores on Boxing Day sale with the recent Black Friday promotion beating December 26 as Australia’s most popular time to shop according to new data from Westpac. Westpac merchant facilities processed a record 68 million… Read more »
This year has been a thunderclap to so much of what we assumed to be normal. While some parts of the economy, by virtue of the pandemic restrictions, were frozen in place, others had to accelerate at warp speed. But all of us have had to adapt and to find a place of resilience and… Read more »
Companies will need to place a stronger emphasis on building their voice technology presence, as it will soon become its own channel, with its own spend and tactics.
Daily startup news and insights, delivered to your inbox.
