Business Archives

Energy giant Origin grabs a chunk of power consumption reduction startup Climatech Zero

Startup Daily - July 2, 2024 2 MIN READ

Power giant Origin Energy has taken a 20% stake in six-year-old energy management startup Climatech Zero for an undisclosed sum. The business was spun out of the merger of Sydney mechanical services (ie. air conditioning, heating, ventilation and plumbing) design and construction firm Climatech Group and Irish sustainability software business CoolPlanet, in 2018 before rebranding… Read more »

Business

Beam in Business acquires jobs for women networking startup Freelancing Gems

Startup Daily - June 21, 2024 2 MIN READ

Women’s jobs site Freelancing Gems has been acquired by regional community and Women’s Awards program Beam in Business. Freelancing Gems cofounders Fleur Madden and Kirsty Jackson launched the site in 2020, as Covid hit, using AI-driven matching models to connect women to their next remote, part time, freelance, contract role. The site also champions women… Read more »

Business

Crypto gaming billionaire Ed Craven dangles $100,000 sign-on carrots to lure engineers away from Canva, Atlassian and Australia’s top tech companies

Simon Thomsen - June 20, 2024 2 MIN READ

The overheated tech salary days of 2022 may be set to return, in engineering at least, if crypto gaming billionaire Ed Craven has his way. Craven, 28, and his cofounder Bijan Tehrani at online casino Stake.com and live-streaming platform Kick, are offering sign-on bonuses for senior and principal software engineers and engineering managers of between… Read more »

Floatspace founder Hugh Treseder and Ian Malouf.

Business

‘Airbnb for boats’ startup Floatspace acquired by billionaire Ian Malouf’s luxury yacht charter business

Simon Thomsen - June 19, 2024 2 MIN READ

Sydney-based Floatspace, the ‘Airbnb for boat experiences’, has been acquired by yacht charter business Ahoy Club. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Floatspace founder Hugh Treseder, will remain as CEO of the brand under its new owners. Ahoy Club was founded in 2018 by Sydney billionaire Ian Malouf and his daughter, Ellie,… Read more »

Business

Small business disappointed by NSW budget

Cec Busby - June 18, 2024 3 MIN READ

The centrepiece of the NSW government’s business support in the 2024-25 Budget is the expansion of the Service NSW Business Bureau. However, the lack of substantial assistance to counter the rising cost of doing business has left business advocates scratching their heads. To further the reach of the Service NSW Business Bureau initiative, the government has… Read more »

Business

Fashion startup The Daily Edited gets another life after voluntary administration

Simon Thomsen - June 11, 2024 2 MIN READ

Monogramed luxury fashion business The Daily Edited (tde.) is back from the brink yet again, with the former startup’s owner, Marquee Retail Group (MRG), emerging from voluntary administration, following the execution of a Deed of Company Arrangement (DOCA) to secure the business. MRG is owned by former Myer boss Bernie Brookes. It bought tde. in… Read more »

Business

Plant-based meats venture ProForm Foods in voluntary administration

Simon Thomsen - May 30, 2024 3 MIN READ

The end of the alternative proteins gold rush has claimed another victim with one of the pioneers in the space, ProForm, the makers of “Meet” being placed in voluntary administration, despite the backing of billionaire Andrew Forrest. KPMG Australia’s Gayle Dickerson and James Dampney were appointed voluntary administrators of Proform Food Group Pty Ltd and… Read more »

Business

Food waste startup Goterra is getting into the aquaculture food supply business

Simon Thomsen - May 29, 2024 2 MIN READ

If you’ve ever had a crack at trout fishing, you know it’s all about the flies. Well now food waste climate tech startup Goterra will be feeding the real thing to fish for real as part of a new partnership with Tasmania-based aquaculture feed supplier Skretting Australia. Founded in 2016 in Canberra Goterra recycles food… Read more »

Business

Canva is fattening its enterprise turkey ready for sale

Simon Thomsen - May 24, 2024 2 MIN READ

Visual design platform Canva has revamped its business products, launching an enterprise solution, in the hope of luring in more customers ahead of plans to list publicly next year. The changes were announced at Canva Create, the company’s annual showcase, which moved from Sydney to the US for the first time as the software business… Read more »

Business

Anzac spirit: hospitality ordering platform HungryHungry merges with New Zealand’s Mobi

Simon Thomsen - May 23, 2024 2 MIN READ

Two more hospitality payments platforms have merged as the sector continues to consolidate with Melbourne’s HungryHungry joining forces with New Zealand white label mobile payments platform MOBI. The deal follows the merger of rival meal ordering apps Mr Yum and me&u in late 2023. HungryHungry, founded in 2019 Shannon Hautot and Mark Calabro, began life… Read more »

Business

The first big AI-led jobs cull is here, with Telstra shedding 2,800 workers in $350m cost cutting plan

David Braue - May 22, 2024 3 MIN READ

Up to 2,800 Telstra workers will be retrenched by year’s end, with Australia’s largest telecommunications carrier announcing plans to pare its workforce in an AI-driven “reset” of its enterprise arm including an overhaul of its Telstra Purple services business. The package of reforms is designed to contribute to $350 million in cost savings as the… Read more »

Business

Fowl play: CBA-backed ecommerce site Little Birdie shuts down

Simon Thomsen - May 17, 2024 2 MIN READ

Little Birdie, the online retail marketplace developed by Catch founders Gabby and Hezi Leibovich, and backed with $30 million in pre-Seed funding from the Commonwealth Bank, has shut down. In an email sent to customers just after 5pm on Friday, May 17, the company said the retail product price comparison site has “paused operations”. “For… Read more »

Business

Solar battery startup Redback’s back from the brink with new owners

Simon Thomsen - May 13, 2024 2 MIN READ

Brisbane solar battery startup Redback Technologies is out of voluntary administration after two months with new owners in charge. Fintech Australia Ebon has put an initial $500,000 into the business after creditors approved a deed of company arrangement (DOCA) earlier this month to allow Redback, founded in 2015, to trade its way back to profitability,… Read more »

Business

Queensland EV charging manufacturer Tritium may survive

Simon Thomsen - May 13, 2024 2 MIN READ

The receivers of Brisbane-based electric vehicle charging venture Tritium are hopeful of finding a buyer for the company, having stabilised the business and kept it trading. The 23-year-old business imploded last month after attempts to find a buyer fell through as it teetered on the brink of insolvency, despite being listed on the US Nasdaq, when… Read more »

Business

The best tech companies in Australia to work for, according to Great Place to Work

Denham Sadler, Information Age - May 9, 2024 3 MIN READ

The best tech companies to work for in Australia have been revealed, with some familiar faces topping the list. The Great Place to Work organisation’s annual Best Workplaces in Technology Australia list has been unveiled, based on confidential surveys of tens of thousands of employees at tech firms around the country. The list defines a great workplace… Read more »