Maxine Minter

🌟 Australian Startups 2023: A Year of Strategic Shifts and Emerging Opportunities 🚀 In 2023, the Australian startup landscape navigated a cautious investment climate, recording a total of 413 deals with an overall investment value of $3.5 billion. Despite a significant drop in deal value from previous years, there was a notable shift towards robust activity in the early stages of investment. Angel and Pre-Seed rounds not only resisted the broader downturn but actually increased, highlighting a vibrant seed funding environment that underpins a dynamic market for emerging technologies. This heightened competition at the entry-level indicates a strategic pivot within our ecosystem, investing in the foundational potential of new ventures. Such insights are crucial as we steer towards nurturing a resilient and innovative startup community ready to tackle future challenges. Dive deeper into the full analysis and explore how these shifts are shaping the future of Australian innovation. https://lnkd.in/gc4gNtGc #AustralianStartups #VentureCapital #StartupEcosystem #Innovation

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An interesting article about the venture capital industry and the challenges faced by founders who don't fit the mould. https://lnkd.in/gy3AQbqc Mythili Sankaran #nff #neythrifuturesfund #southasianwomenfounders #femalefounders #diversefounders #venturecapital

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🎊 Big News from Our Team at Titanium Ventures! 🎊 Today, we’re thrilled to share that we've evolved from Telstra Ventures to Titanium Ventures! Why Titanium? Because it captures the essence of who we are and aspires to be—a firm that supports exceptionally strong and resilient entrepreneurs, those who thrive under pressure. Titanium is not just a metal with the highest durability and strength-to-weight ratio; it represents the extraordinary capability and determination of the leaders we back—leaders who consistently punch way above their weight. Our commitment remains steadfast: to unearth and scale the most promising ventures in AI, digital, and software sectors. With 99 investments, including 12 IPOs, 17 unicorns and 42 liquidity events, we’re just getting started. Holding almost US$1B in funds under management and having returned US$678M to our investors, we are more driven than ever. This is more than a name change—it’s a reaffirmation of our promise to accelerate the extraordinary, fueling the growth of standout disruptors. We've been doing this for over a decade, and it's what our investors and founders expect us to do for many more to come. Here's to the next chapter in our journey with all of you! #VentureCapital #Innovation #Entrepreneurship #TitaniumVentures

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First Cheque co-hosts Cheryl Mack from Aussie Angels & Maxine Minter from Co Ventures have interviewed some seriously impressive investors who’ve openly shared how they’ve built their early-stage startup portfolio. 🚀 🎧 Catch up on all the interview episodes of First Cheque: 🎧 🤖 Ash F. has invested between $20K to $20MM AI startups. After building Topguest, then AngelList, Ash founded Zetta Ventures which has gone on to support 50 AI startups. 📚 Marvin Liao from Diaspora Ventures has spent 25 years in Silicon Valley and is ex-Yahoo and ex-500 Startups. So far, Marvin has made +460 investments totalling over USD$50M. ⚙️ ⚡️ Michael Batko from Startmate leads ANZ’s largest community-driven seed fund which raises ~$3M from 100+ investors every 6 months - supporting a total portfolio of 230+ startups with a total value of over $3.5 billion. 🔮 Trang T. Nguyen from Transpose Platform shares how to disrupt industries using a platform based approach. Trang has helped to create +15 programs, +1,000 startups and has made direct early-stage investments into 9 unicorns. 🧠 Elicia McDonald from Airtree joined their investing team in 2016. Elicia meets around 200 founders a month and supports leading startups like Abyss Solutions, Reejig, HotDoc, and Regrow Ag. 🌳 Craig Blair from Airtree shares key lessons from early-stage investing since the early 2000s and now running a fund with $1.3B funds under management. 🐦 Samantha Wong from Blackbird discusses spotting opportunities and intentionally building community with +100 startups, +150 founders and +6,800 operators. 🛠️ Anabel Lippincott Paksoy from 43 invests in pre-seed and pre-product startups based out of the Bay Area with a focus on community operators. 🦄 Elaine Stead from Main Sequence has made +100 personal investments (including 2 unicorns) discusses bravery and risk when supporting startups. 😱 Rayn Ong from Archangel Ventures is one of the best connected investors in Aus with +100 personal investments. Archangel has +$10M invested into +40 companies with +90 founders. 🌱 Judy Anderson-Firth from Euphemia investing and supporting +40 companies and +20 funds with their ~$70M portfolio. 🐑 Daniel Gavel from Black Sheep Capital aims to invest with a ‘everyone wins’ approach with multiple strategies running a fund, a syndicate and personally investing in startups. ⚡ Jessy Wu from AfterWork Ventures in Sydney has $20M funds under management and they've invested in +50 startups so far with +$100M revenue ambition. Listen and learn with First Cheque wherever you listen to podcasts. 🎙️ #venturecapital #funding #investments #vc #seedcapital #angelinvestors #startupfunding #podcast #startuppodcast

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Which international VC has invested most actively in NZ? Here's the slide we prepared recently for our Investor Masterclass. Let me know who I'm missing. Four more sessions coming up including: Valuation, Terms, Governance, and War Stories. Join the fun by registering here: https://lnkd.in/ghJJpdR4

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I'm looking forward to joining Walshs on Monday evening for a deep dive webinar on Venture Capital discussing: ➡ Investing in Venture Capital as part of a diverse portfolio ➡ The Venture Capital landscape ➡ Update on the Sprint Ventures funds ➡ Announcement of Sprint Fund III and our institutional investor ➡ Potential tax benefits of investing in an Early Stage Venture Capital Limited Partnership ESVCLP I hope you can join us! #venturecapital #investing #alternativeassets #diversification #portfolio #fundmanager #growthcapital #ESVCLP

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📢 Awesome Startup Event Alert!!! 📢 If you're thinking about funding for your Startup, then this is a not to be missed event! Joe Young and the team at Mayfly Ventures & Aussie Founders Club are putting on an event to help Founders understand the funding landscape better and make an informed decision as to what's the right solution for you! Join the likes of Aprill Enright-Allen & Matt Vitale as a star studded panel runs you through the funding choices and answers your questions. Register in the link below! #founders #startups #scaleups #gtmstrategy

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The Evolving Landscape of Pro Rata Rights in VC Funding Lee Edwards of Root VC underscores the importance of pro rata rights for venture capitalists to maintain their ownership stakes during subsequent funding rounds, despite potential costs. Specialized funds, such as Alpha Partners, SignalRank, and SaaS Ventures, have emerged to assist seed VCs in exercising these rights. However, later-stage lead investors and founders' efforts to limit equity sold in each round complicate early investors' participation. Early investors often rely on the advocacy of founders, which depends on the value they provide, and sometimes opt out of exercising their pro rata rights due to high valuations or an inability to keep up with larger funds. The pro rata rights landscape is evolving, with specialized funds gaining momentum to support early investors and founders. This trend is crucial as the number of later-stage deals decreases, emphasizing the significance of pro rata rights. The first quarter of 2024 saw a sharp decline in VC funding, highlighting the challenges faced by smaller funds. Experts like Steve Brotman advocate for doubling down on successful investments, while angel investor Jason Calacanis regrets not leveraging pro rata rights earlier, recognizing their potential for substantial returns. Overall, pro rata rights and strategic investments are becoming increasingly important in navigating later-stage funding complexities. # Thank you Ludmila Petrovich for your submission!

5 charts: Australia, New Zealand VC deals fail to bounce back #startup  #fundraising  #angelinvestor  #investments  #VentureCapital  #vc #Entrepreneurship  #venturefunding  #investing #TechNews #Innovation #technology  https://lnkd.in/eY26ddQv

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Are you an Aussie founder looking to take your startup to the next level? 🇦🇺 Venture capital can be a game-changer. This post dives into the top 10 VC funds in Australia for 2024 to watch!  #funding #startups #australia #venturecapital #startxlabsaustralia https://lnkd.in/gt2TMZCi

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📣 Introducing Impact Counsel, the VC arm of Saratoga Capital. A company specialising in elevating post MVP start-ups by providing expert teams in strategy, technology, and operations, in exchange for equity. Watch this space. #venturecapital #investment #entrepreneurs #startups #impact #counsel #strategy #technology #operations #saratogacapital

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Intriguing panel at The Australian Financial Review Entrepreneur Summit, with: - Paul Riley from Samsara Eco - Olympia Yarger from GOTERRA - Mohit Sharma (GAICD) from Mindfields Many insights - Strategics can be great partners in helping to catalyze an investment round, helping investors understand and get conviction on the market and scope of the opportunity - Investors are currently very focused on the path to profitability and want to really understand unit economics - Capital raising is REALLY hard right now - it's time to be a war time CEO and work hard to get through - Culture so key - when staff leave for another company - they leave a huge legacy and tell people about how they were treated. Samsara wants to create 30-50 companies via mentoring to start next great deeptechs. - Female founders are still sadly massively under invested in - Per Olympia: Investors need more "testicular fortitude" (her trade marked words) to back deeptechs who may take longer and require more capital earlier

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At the age of just 25, Alex Roslaniec co-founded @Hey Bud Skincare alongside two good mates, Ollie Watts and Fedele D'Amico. Just four years later the upstart hemp-based skincare brand has over 200,000 customers worldwide, and is available in over 400 Priceline stores across Australia. Alex joined me on Future Squared for a discussion on all things building and scaling a CPG company. We discussed: - How Hey Bud differentiated itself in a saturated cosmetics and skincare market - The power of online reviews - The role of influencer marketing - How being beholden to algorithms and pay-per-click ads can be the undoing of a business - How Hey Bud got a distribution deal with Priceline, marking its move from online into physical retail - The perils of manufacturing - The regulatory landscape for hemp-based products - How to hire great talent - and heaps more! This episode was so choc-full of actionable value bombs that I almost got PTSD (okay, bad joke). 💣 Find the full chat in episode 436 of Future Squared.🎙️ #ecommerce #startups #hemp #cbdoil #cannabis #skincare #cosmetics #podcast

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A recent UTS business study showed that 82% of Australian consumers crave more personal interactions. As the CEO of Reach Alternative Investments, a tech-enabled private equity platform, I am conscious of the delicate balance needed for efficiency vs old-fashioned relationship building. While we strive for efficient, no-fuss service, we also value good old-fashioned face-to-face meetings over a cup of coffee or tea for a chance to really get to know each other. This is in our DNA. So, if you have an interest in a chat to better understand what we are doing with the world's leading asset managers, and how we enable investors to retire better, reach out. Myself, Jess Collins or other members of the team would welcome a chat. www.reachalts.com.au

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"'Organ rejection' is a silent killer in the startup world." So how can startup #founders ensure longevity and resilience for their ventures? Sean Garvey, a judge for the Australian Technologies Competition and Senior Partner of the technology recruitment practice, Odgers Berndtson, sheds light on how a founder's evolution is crucial for #startupsuccess. Timing is key here – evolving personally and practically at the right moment can make all the difference. According to Sean, this evolution can "instantly mature your startup and strengthen your proposition, allowing you to sidestep unspoken friction and potential toxicity." What are your thoughts? Read the full article here 👇

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The author of this opinion piece in Startupdaily is incorrect when including Stone & Chalk and Fishburners as either incubators or accelerators — they're neither. They're both startup-focused coworking spaces that run community events. The vast majority of their government support over the years has been in-kind, in the form of concessional lease arrangements on idle and difficult-to-commercialise office space. Both now pay full commercial rates and operate as for-profit ventures. Sometimes they have government as sponsorship clients, but why can't the public sector have marketing goals? To my knowledge there aren't any incubators in Australia. An incubator as a coworking space that takes a bit of equity instead of charging rent. Have I forgotten any? When it comes to accelerators, good luck collecting good data in Australia! Like a venture fund, the effectiveness of an accelerator program operator is only really measurable over a period of 10-15 years — enough time for a pre-seed stage startup to get to market, scale up and seek an exit. Until then, paper valuations aren't nothing, but neither are they proof. And where would you source the control group data? NSW government has supported the Startup Muster annual research project for 2023 but after a five year absence, Startup Muster will now have to be supported until 2033 before there's enough data to draw conclusions from its work in relation to the success or failure of our accelerators. Unlike a lot of other SE Asian markets, Australia's accelerators aren't government-led initiatives or hand-out addicts; they're commercial operators working hard to make a living at achieving outcomes the entire rest of the economy increasingly relies upon for future economic growth. This kind of misjudged criticism grinds my gears! https://lnkd.in/gaXXP2U5

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The VC Midas List I love this list, and the VCs on it are incredible investors. But, I would love to understand why there are no Aussie VCs on this global list?! Some of our local funds and GPs are world-class, with bona fide Midas touch, investing in all the startup mythical creatures (centaurs, unicorns, decacorns).... I'm certain some of the GPs from Airtree, Blackbird, Square Peg or OIF Ventures, OneVentures, King River Capital or Reinventure Group should have made it onto the list. What am I missing? It feels wrong to highlight the VCs with the Midas touch without including anyone from the Australian VC ecosystem. Forbes Forbes Australia See the selection criteria in the comments.

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What’s happening in healthtech? 💊🎉 Funding fun... 🍄Psylo announced first close of their $8m Seed round to develop their non-hallucinogenic neuroplastogen for treating mental health disorders 🚀 Superpower launched ft a US$4m pre-seed, to create a proactive, personalised health system to help people reach their peak potential 🪁 Kite Therapy secured $750k pre-seed to support families with children on the autism spectrum through affordable early intervention programs 🤑 Kashcade, a Startup lending platform snagged $23m to make R&D loan funding easily accessible 🧠 Orygen secured $6.4m from the Vic Gov for MOST, its digital mental health service 💡Neo-Bionica nabbed $5m from to advance its medical manufacturing technology 💼 Five V Capital acquired Habit Health, a workplace wellbeing provider, for >$200m ☀️ LX Health announced their new cohort of 11 health startups 📚 Outread, an AI platform to help you digest info from summarised research articles snaged $700k 🩸Femtek, a women’s wearable raised a $1m seed to help give women better data about their menstrual cycle 🫀 CoraMetix, creators of next-gen polymeric heart valves using advanced 3D printing tech snagged $500k 👵🏻 PlanCare, a self-manage care platform topped up its seed round to $2.5m 🔬 CSIRO allocated $20m to supporting startups & SMBs with greater access to vital research development & growth ---- 🎒 The Fed Budget dropped – here's the TLDR; 🏥Medicare’s getting an extra $2.8 bn over 5 years: *$882.2m to cut hospital admissions and speed up discharges for older Aussies *$895.6m for Medicare items, better primary care, and nuclear medicine support *$631.1m to boost vaccine access, including for COVID-19 and shingles *$227m for 29 new Medicare Urgent Care Clinics 🏚️ Aged care is scoring $2.2 bn: *$1.2bn for digital systems *$531.4m for 24,100 more Home Care Packages *$110.9m to beef up regulatory capabilities *$87.2m to attract and keep workers *$37m to cut My Aged Care wait times 💊 Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) updates will cost $3.4 bn over 5 years for new treatments 🧠 Mental health services get $888.1m over eight years for digital services, multidisciplinary care, and community service expansion ♿ Disability support gets $468.7m for NDIS upgrades and $253.6m for a new disability employment program 💉The “Health Research for a Future Made in Australia” package dropped with a total investment of $1.89 bn into a “once in a generation transformation of health and medical research in Aus”. Keen for the links & delicious deets?? 🍩🙌 Take a gander at last week's newsletter in the comments below👇😊 --- PS - if you liked this and are keen to join >7700 legends getting health tech and innovation news dropped direct to your inbox, subscribe to our newsletter, What the Health! 💜 📩 #healthtech  #health  #healthcare  #digitalhealth  #medtech  #biotech

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