Laura Keily
Business

Legal disputes startup Immediation placed in voluntary administration after raising $19 million in six years

- November 2, 2023 2 MIN READ

Online dispute resolution platform Immediation was placed in voluntary administration last week, seven months after the startup’s founder and CEO departed amid a $2.8 million capital injection. Joanne Dunn and David McGrath from FTI Consulting were appointed administrators to 3 Australian entities: Immediation Pty Ltd (the head company), Immediation Platform, and Disputech IP Holdco, on… Read more »

Atlassian, Mike Cannon-Brookes, Scott Farquhar.
Business

Atlassian gobbles up another startup – bootstrapped Melbourne IT data platform AirTrack – to build out Jira

- November 2, 2023 2 MIN READ

Workplace software giant Atlassian made a second acquisition in October, alongside its $1.5 billion M&A deal US video messaging startup Loom, snapping up Melbourne IT data quality management busines AirTrack. AirTrack helps enterprises gather, aggregate, and analyse multiple sources of data used across IT to make it easier to pinpoint and remediate any issues. The… Read more »

Dr Megan Sebben
Business

CSIRO opens the door for its R&D funding program, Kick-Start, to larger companies

- October 31, 2023 2 MIN READ

National science agency CSIRO has expanded the qualifying criteria its Kick-Start program, which offers Australian small businesses can now access research and development (R&D) funding. Businesses with a turnover of up to $10 million are now eligible, up from the previous $1.5 million threshold. The Kick-Start program offers dollar-matched funding to access CSIRO’s research expertise… Read more »

Uber, crash
Business

Uber cops $412,500 fine for 2 million spam emails

- October 26, 2023 2 MIN READ

Uber Australia has been fined $412,500 by regulator the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) after the rideshare and food delivery company sent more than 2 million emails in breach of Australian spam laws. An ACMA ivestigation concluded that Uber sent marketing emails to customers without an unsubscribe option, and on top of that, more… Read more »

Canva cofounders Cliff Obrecht, Cameron Adams and Melanie Perkins.
Business

The Ignition Lane Wrap: Atlassian’s $1.5bn M&A deal, Canva’s revenue growth, pass the popcorn – it’s scandal season

- October 16, 2023 7 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. Here’s their review of all the big… Read more »

Atlassian, Mike Cannon-Brookes, Scott Farquhar.
Business

Atlassian to acquire US video messaging startup Loom for $1.5 billion

- October 13, 2023 2 MIN READ

Australian workplace software giant Atlassian is spending US$975 million (A$1.5bn) to acquire seven-year-old US video messaging startup Loom. The deal represents around 2% of Atlassian’s  (NASDAQ: TEAM) current market capital of around US$48 billion. But it’s also something of a bargain, with the price less than two-thirds of Loom’s peak valuation of US$1.53 billion in… Read more »

Nourish Foods cofounder Monica Meldrum
Business

Healthy children’s snack brand Nourish Foods lives on after Tempo Group acquires it from the receivers

- October 12, 2023 2 MIN READ

Nourish Foods, the parent company of organic children’s food brand Whole Kids, has new owners, with the Tempo Group buying the brand’s intellectual property from the company’s administrators. John McInerney and Matt Byrnes from Grant Thornton took charge of the business as receivers in mid-September, a week after it was placed in voluntary administration following… Read more »

WiseTech Global founder and CEO Richard White
Business

Software logistics giant WiseTech acquires shipping container marketplace MatchBox Exchange

- October 5, 2023 2 MIN READ

ASX-listed WiseTech Global is back in acquisitive mode, snapping up Melbourne shipping container marketplace  MatchBox Exchange. While the cost of the acquisition was not disclosed WiseTech (ASX:WTC) announced it had issued 445,769 new shares, worth around $27.6 million, “to the vendors to part-fund the consideration in relation to the acquisition of MatchBox Exchange”. MatchBox Exchange… Read more »

Scalapay cofounder Johnny Mitrevski with Abbl cofounders Lucy Timpano and Phil O’Shea
Business

Wollongong fintech Scalapay launches $10,000 scholarship, with brewery software startup Abbl as the first recipient

- September 6, 2023 2 MIN READ

Pioneering brewery management software start-up Abbl is recipient of unicorn status Scalapay’s inaugural $10,000 Scale Up Scholarship Quiet Australian fintech Scalapay has launched a new $10,000 scholarship program to support founders as they take their startup to the next level. The Wollongong-headquartered buy now pay later (BNPL) became a $1 billion+ valuation “unicorn” in 2021 after… Read more »

Nourish Foods cofounder Monica Meldrum
Business

Nourish Foods is up for sale after being placed in voluntary administration

- September 6, 2023 2 MIN READ

Nourish Foods Pty Ltd, the parent company of organic children’s food brand Whole Kids, has been placed in voluntary administration, just months after it failed to raise $1 million via crowdfunding.   The 18-year-old B Corp-certified family business is now being put on the market by administrators Tim Heesh and Mark Everingham of TPH Advisory after… Read more »

Business

Rampersand-backed entertainment booking platform Muso rebrands as Surreal ahead of Series A

- September 1, 2023 2 MIN READ

Live entertainment platform Muso has rebranded as Surreal, a year after expanding into the UK and New Zealand ahead of a Series A raise. Surreal is a software solution designed to streamline and simplify the booking, management, payment and promotion of live entertainment. Cofounder and chief operating officer Alan Jin said the business has grown… Read more »

Oliver, begging bowl
Business

The Ignition Lane Wrap: Canva’s top o’ the clouds, VCs struggle to raise, returning Fyre

- August 28, 2023 6 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 regularly… Read more »