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 »

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 »

Danny Molyneux Daniel Willis Jade Axford
Funding

The CEO of ad agency Claxon has launched a new VC and growth advisory firm, One03 Ventures

- January 9, 2024 2 MIN READ

A new venture capital and growth advisory firm to help startups move to scale-up has been launched by the chairman and CEO of advertising agency Claxon, Daniel Willis. One03 Ventures will focus on providing venture capital and/or growth advisory services to Australian businesses and brands with annual revenue between $2.5 million and $25m. Willis has… Read more »

Mentorloop cofounders, Heidi Holmes and Lucy Lloyd
Business strategy

Why these founder prefer a ‘thriving middle’ to chasing VC funding for fast growth

- December 27, 2023 2 MIN READ

Mentorloop is no longer your typical startup. For starters, it’s been operating profitably for more than two years after pivoting the business away from a growth-at-all-costs strategy in response to 2020’s initial pandemic-led funding freeze. Now its cofounders argue that other founders should look to the “thriving middle” with their business and consider steering towards… Read more »

Fieldfare ( Turdus pilaris) versus Blackbird (Turdus merula) - struggle for food
Venture Capital

Is there a bit of nark and envy creeping into Australian venture when it comes to Blackbird?

- December 5, 2023 3 MIN READ

It seems all is not rainbows and unicorns in Australian venture capital. A bit of the green-eyed monster is emerging against market leader Blackbird Ventures, according to today’s AFR. The business paper has been talking to “industry sources”, anonymous founders and VC figures who won’t go on the record because they “need to eat”, painting… Read more »

Funding

Kiwi VC Icehouse Ventures raises $10 million

- November 30, 2023 2 MIN READ

New Zealand’s most active venture capital firm Icehouse Ventures, says it has “VCed itself” after raising NZ$10 million (A$9.3m) in equity capital. The raise was supported by business leaders and family offices across Aotearoa, as well as Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Germany, and the US. Icehouse’s backers are a who’s who… Read more »

At the University of Melbourne Started@Melbourne Showcase were Jaala Pulford, Vice Chancellor’s Fellow; Justin Spangaro, CEO, Carbon Cybernetics; Prof Jerome Sarris, cofounder, Psychae Therapeutics; Assoc Prof Fiona Brownfoot, cofounder, Kali Healthcare; Jeffrey Ng, CEO, NIRGenie; Assoc Prof Daniel Perkins, cofounder, Psychae Therapeutics.
Funding

University of Melbourne mental health startup using psychedelics kicks off with $4.5 million

- November 17, 2023 2 MIN READ

Medtech startup Pyschae Therapeutics, which hopes to develop botanically-derived treatments and psychedelic-assisted therapies for mental health issues such as PTSD, anxiety and addiction, has scored $4.5 million in syndicated investment from the University of Melbourne. The funding came from the university’s Genesis Pre-Seed Fund, which backs early-stage research and technologies from the campus, as well… Read more »

Uniseed CEO Peter Devine and University of Newcastle's Warwick Dawson
Venture Capital

Pioneering VC fund Uniseed doubles its backers as five universities, including Monash, UTS and Macquarie, chip in

- November 15, 2023 2 MIN READ

Australia’s oldest venture fund, university-backed Uniseed, has doubled its research partners from five to 10 as it looks to back more startups focused on research commercialisation. Joining its founding ‘sandstone’ uni group – Queensland, NSW, Melbourne, and Sydney, plus science agency CSIRO, are Monash as a full partner, alongside a collaboration partnership of four NSW universities… Read more »

Scrooge McDuck
Venture Capital

LaunchVic is waving $300,000 cheques at VCs to get them to set up shop in Victoria

- October 31, 2023 2 MIN READ

Victoria’s startup agency, LaunchVic, is hoping to lure more venture capital to south, offering VC funds up to $300,000 in backing if they put up their shingle in the state. Eligible funds can either new or “new to Victoria,” under the incentive program, providing existing fund managers with operations elsewhere to set up local offices… Read more »

Singapore
Business strategy

OPTIMISM ABROAD: A primer for Australian startups on the hunt for funding

- October 27, 2023 3 MIN READ

After travelling through the investment climates of Europe and South East Asia, it’s clear that a tide of optimism is rising for early-stage startups, including those based in Australia. The terrain for securing funding has become more conducive, but how should an Australian entrepreneur navigate this promising period? Let’s explore. Global trends, local implications Firstly,… Read more »