Blackbird partner Phoebe Harrop will take the helm of VC fund’s Kiwi out as its founding head, Samantha Wong, returns to Australia pending the birth of her second child. Wong announced the move back across The Ditch on Blackbird’s blog, saying “I’ve decided this is the right time for me and my family to move… Read more »
A senior marketing exec from Canva and Eucalyptus has struck out on his own to launch a media strategy startup. Matt Rossi left his role as head of growth at Eucalyptus to found Oodle, saying it will offer media strategy and buying for growth-oriented brands, with a focus on helping internal marketing teams build conviction… Read more »
Startup founder, government tech advisor and Spark Festival director Maria MacNamara will be the next CEO of the Space Industry Association of Australia (SIAA). Sydney-based MacNamara will step into the role on April 22 having recently completed a term as the Director of Government Affairs and Innovation Strategy at global ICT infrastructure company Kyndryl. She was… Read more »
No founder achieves greatness without getting spooked along the way. So the challenge is how you vanquish those demons, with the right ghostbusters by your side, that makes all the difference. Funding and customer growth may be the loudest concerns we hear from startups, but there’s a lot more happening beneath the surface that should… Read more »
When Finder shed around 60 roles last month – 17% of its workforce – turns out one of them was the comparison site’s Australia CEO, Chris Ellis. SmartCompany’s Tegan Jones revealed Ellis was among the company’s cost savings, pointing out he’s disappeared from Finder’s leadership page and will leave the business at the end of… Read more »
Three years of hard work at Fintech Australia has paid off for general manager Rehan D’Almeida, who has been promoted to CEO amid a changing of the guard at board level. Sarah Gorman has been elected as the industry advocacy group’s new chair, with Simone Joyce, who has relocated to the US to ramp up… Read more »
The first Pride Pitch Night dedicated to LGBTIQA+ founders in the Southern Hemisphere was a fantastic celebration of diversity, inclusion, and innovation, showcasing the untapped potential within Sydney’s LGBTIQA+ entrepreneurial community with an estimated 75% of LGBTIQA+ founders not comfortable disclosing their identity. This is concerning not just for LGBTIQA+ entrepreneurs seeking funding but for… Read more »
Bree Kirkham has joined Tracey Warren’s F5 Collective, a fund established to close the gender funding gap and support female founders, as chief commercial officer. Kirkham joins F5 Collective having most recently been a general partner at Flying Fox Ventures. She has more than eight years of experience in investments, operational leadership, and international expansion.… Read more »
CSIRO-backed venture capital fund Main Sequence has added another woman to its ranks with Startup Daily contributor Dr Elaine Stead joining the deep tech investor as principal. Stead is the founder of Human VC, where she managed the South Australian Venture Capital Fund and cofounder of Brisbane fund Tribe Global Ventures. She was previously the… Read more »
Touch Ventures, the ASX-listed VC fund initially backed by BNPL fintech Afterpay, is breaking up with its CEO, Hein Vogel, after 4.5 years. In a statement to the market on Monday, the company said the board and CEO “have reached a consensus on his departure” with Vogel handing back his swipe card on March 29… Read more »
Global Tech Advocates (GTA), the international grassroots tech community of more than 30,000 tech leaders, experts and investors, has spread its wings to Australia. Tech Australia Advocates is GTA’s 35th international group and the Oceania region’s first chapter. It now operates in Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Americas. Global Tech Advocates, was created in 2016… Read more »
Two leading women in Australia’s startup sector have joined tech community builder Innovation Bay. Eleanor Salt, who recently returned to Australia from Singapore after working with Sydney-based fintech Nano Lending Solutions, has signed on as Innovation Bay’s as community manager. Former Airtree head of community Melissa Ran, is joining as investment ambassador for the organisation’s… Read more »
61% of employees find equity as an important factor in accepting a role Only 50% of employees know the real value of their equity Only 34% of founders think they communicate the value of equity effectively 56% of Australian companies apply a 1-year cliff with a 3-year full vesting period 36% of Australian startups issue… Read more »
ASIC has pushed “finfluencer” Tyson Robert Scholz to bankruptcy over $450,000 in legal costs awarded to the corporate regulator following court action that banned him from offering financial advice. Scholz, 38, dubbed ASX Wolf on social media, has more than 110,00 followers on Instagram, where he likes to stand in front of the the trappings… Read more »
Psychotherapist and sex and relationships expert Esther Perel, who coined the term “erotic intelligence”, has joined Australian employee experience platform Culture Amp as an advisor. Perel, who in recent years turned her attention to workplace relationships with a podcast called How’s Work, to help cofounders and others work navigate the challenges thrown up in the… Read more »
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