Nourished Life founder Irene Falcone’s Sans Drinks will get a second life with business being acquired from its administrators by online retailer Just Wines. The online non-alcoholic drinks store was placed in voluntary administration in mid July, with Falcone citing a challenging and changing retail environment. The sale is a surprising turnaround for the business… Read more »
School management software scaleup Compass has won the tender to supply more than 800 of Western Australia’s Public Schools with its technology – a project it will deliver in partnership with ASX-listed TechnologyOne. The deal, which is worth more than $9 million annually over seven years, with an option for extension, will see Compass expand… Read more »
VC firm Blackbird Ventures has cracked open some of its golden eggs, offloading a small slice of its stake in design platform Canva at a US$25.5 billion (A$38.8bn) valuation in a secondary market sale to US investors. The deal with New York’s Coatue Management and San Francisco’s ICONIQ Capital is another step down the path… Read more »
Impact startup ArtsPay has backed several arts organisations and artists through its new charitable wing, The ArtsPay Foundation, with a series of small grants. In a sign of the need and demand from the cash-starved sector, there were more than 1,200 applications for the grants program with two small arts organisations and seven artists receiving… Read more »
Blackbird-backed Melbourne food waste recycling startup Bardee has cut most of its workforce, around 30 employees, who are waiting for outstanding payments, as it struggles to raise more capital amid a range of issues. Staff lost their jobs in May, with The Australian reporting the job losses last week. Bardee was founded in 2019 by… Read more »
Personal lending fintech Driva has landed a multi-year partnership with leading vehicle marketplace Carsales.com. The Carsales (ASX:CAR) partnership will see Driva offer personalised finance options next to all privately sold vehicles, with options to pre-qualify, apply and get pre-approved for finance. Carsales executive GM Matt Earle said the deal will mean around 45% of the automobile… Read more »
Atlassian’s long history of financial losses continues into the company’s 21st year, despite strong revenue growth, posting quarterly revenue of US$939 million, up 24% on 12 months ago, in the fourth quarter of the 2023 financial year to June 30. The tech giant’s (NASDAQ: TEAM) quarterly operating loss grew too, up from US$42.3 million in… Read more »
If you’re a startup founder, there’s a pretty good chance you’re using Google Ads, Facebook Ads or Linkedin Ads to help grow your business. But if you’re relying on the built-in reporting tools within those ad platforms to track how many clicks and conversions you are getting, that data is about to get a lot… Read more »
Serial entrepreneur Carrie Kwan has sold her women’s microbusiness advisory and networking platform, Mums & Co, to insurance giant IAG for an undisclosed sum. The deal, via IAG’s NRMA Insurance brand, reflects a longstanding relationship with Kwan, dating back to the genesis of Mums & Co in 2016, with the insurer an existing investor in… Read more »
Nourished Life founder Irene Falcone’s latest startup venture, Sans Drinks, has fallen victim to the challenging retail environment, with the business handed to administrators. Jirsch Sutherland partner Andrew Spring was appointed administrator of The Non Alcoholic Drinks Co Pty Ltd, trading as San Drinks, on July 17. Spring said it was “still early days in… Read more »
Nine-year-old restaurant loyalty platform Liven has spent $152 million acquiring four complementary hospitality tech companies – two in Australia, plus one in Singapore and another in California, as it looks to expand its product range and international presence. The Melbourne data company snapped up the veteran online meal ordering business OrderUp, seven-year-old restaurant point-of-sale solution… Read more »
Residential property management startup Different, has been handed to administrators, unable to attract new capital, despite being backed by Airtree and the Commonwealth Bank’s venture arm, X15. Seven-year-old Different Technologies Pty Ltd was placed in voluntary administration with KPMG on Thursday. Founded in 2017 by expat Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, Mina Radhakrishnan, a former Uber global… Read more »
Australia’s newest biotech incubator, Jumar Bioincubator, is seeking expressions of interest from early-stage biotech to be part of the Melbourne-based program. The $30 million incubator will connect early-stage and scaling biotech ventures with state-of-the-art facilities, infrastructure, and support to turn ideas into treatments and commercialise medical research. Jumar is a mountaineering technique where climbers receive… Read more »
Subscription craft gins startup Gintonica has been placed in voluntary administration, 5.5 years after its launch. The drinks business, best known for its Australian craft gin Advent calendars, was put up for sale by founder David Box in early May, but last week he handed the keys and books to David Ross of Sydney firm… Read more »
Queensland biotech company Ellume Health, which just two years ago was riding high after winning a $300 million US government Covid contract, has been placed in liquidation after a takeover offer for the failed business fell through. The Australian arm of the global business entered voluntary administration last August. It subsequently emerged that it owed… Read more »
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