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As competition heats up in the venture capital space, it’s becoming tougher for VC firms to participate in funding rounds. Meanwhile, deep-tech startups face difficulties attracting ‘smart money’ in the seed stage because investors lack domain expertise and patience. These were some of the takeaway message from a panel discussion held at the Global Mobile Internet […]
Due to the ‘gigantic profits’ banks derive from processing the ‘lion’s share’ of home loans in Australia, traditional lenders haven’t had a compelling case for servicing small businesses – rejecting around 50% of their loan requests, according to Simon Isaacs, founder and CEO of fintech startup ebroker. “Banks can lend $62.50 for every dollar* of their […]
Small Australian retailers need to figure out what they can ‘uniquely own’ on Amazon and not waste their time on products that won’t win them the Buy Box, according to Brent Bellm, the CEO of ecommerce solutions provider BigCommerce. Bellm described Amazon as the “best online retailer we’ve ever seen”, adding that the company […]
Millennial-centric fintech lender MoneyMe has hit some impressive milestones in 2017. In addition to reaching $150 million in loans funded, the North Sydney startup received a $120 million capital injection and debuted on the coveted Fintech100 list, placing it amongst the world’s most innovative fintech companies. Despite reaching lofty heights, co-founder and CEO Clayton Howes […]
The financial services industry is in the midst of a digital revolution led by fintech startups. These nimble, customer-centric companies are rapidly establishing a new status quo as they hone in on the consumer and business pain points the large incumbents have failed to address. This week, for our exclusive “Let’s talk…” feature looking at […]
To draw more talented non-technical entrepreneurs, including women, into the world of startups, BlueChilli is eschewing the Silicon Valley stereotype of founders being hoodie-wearing coders and using language that promotes inclusivity, according to co-founder and CEO, Sebastien Eckersley-Maslin. Ahead of his appearance at the Global Mobile Internet Conference in Sydney (5-6 December), where he’ll participate […]
Asked how King Kong came to be crowned Australia’s fastest-growing digital marketing agency, founder Sabri Suby said his team practice what they preach, put skin in the game, don’t hide behind vanity metrics and focus on bringing cash in the door – “We’ve had no choice, being bootstrapped, but there’s no smarter way to grow”. […]
Although it’s becoming easier for startups to raise capital in Australia, high-growth companies are hamstrung by a shallow pool of global talent, warned Alex McCauley, CEO of StartupAUS and lead author of the 2017 Crossroads Report. The report, a comprehensive review of the nation’s startup ecosystem, features a state-by-state brief on the progress of local startup […]
In the United States, it is becoming vogue for companies to pay for female employees to freeze their eggs, with the likes of Apple, Facebook and Google introducing the policy. It’s being sold as a means for women to further their careers, free of pressure to have children at a particular point in time. However, […]
The legendary unicorn, frequently depicted as horse with a horn protruding from its forehead, has captured imaginations since antiquity. In 2013, the term was appropriated by venture capitalist Aileen Lee to refer to a statistical rarity – namely, a startup with a market valuation of at least $1 billion. Since then, the ranks of the […]
The brains behind mentoring software startup Mentorloop have closed an oversubscribed seed round, raising $725,000 from Blackbird Ventures, Rampersand and Tempus Partners to bring their total funding to more than $1 million. Launched in 2015 by Heidi Holmes (COO) and Lucy Lloyd (CEO), Mentorloop is a cloud-based, mobile-first platform that assists corporates, universities, not-for-profits and government with […]
For those entrepreneurs who envision their business as the next big thing, it will pay dividends to take cues from forward-thinking leaders, such as Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk, and surround themselves with inspirational peers. Likewise, it’s incumbent on entrepreneurs seeking to both disrupt the market and avoid being disrupted to continually leverage – […]
In the wake of Startup Muster handing down its fourth annual report, co-founder and CEO Monica Wulff spoke to Dynamic Business about the portrait it paints of the local startup ecosystem including her concern for the one in five founders whose cash runways are fast running out. This year’s report was informed by data from […]
By actively supporting flexible and remote work, businesses can position themselves as employers of choice in the ever-more-ruthless war for talent. Plus, if they’re seeking to be national or even global in scope, enabling ‘distributed collaboration’ – i.e. the ability for people to work together as a team, albeit remotely – isn’t just a strategy […]
Businesses risk being disrupted if they don’t create environments where people can sit in their ‘challenge sweet spot’, have freedom to express crazy ideas and feel safe to fail meaningfully, according to Dr Amantha Imber, the CEO of innovation consultancy Inventium. Prior to founding Inventium a decade ago, Imber – a 2016 inductee into the […]
Over the past two decades, Vanessa Stoykov has carved out a successful career in the finance industry as a storyteller, TV host and entrepreneur. Her first business, Evolution Media Group, has become a multi-million-dollar production house off the back of demand for its educational video content about wealth. Meanwhile, No More Practice – Stoykov’s e-learning […]
With Amazon expected to launch in Australia on Thursday, the build up has seen mixed reactions from online retailers. While the immediate response from many has been one of fear and skepticism, there’s no doubt that appetite among consumers is alive and well. A recent study by Nielsen reported that 75% of Australians aged 18+ […]
Technological advances such as video conferencing and cloud-based file-sharing are enabling businesses to save time and money by virtually engaging with stakeholders such as clients across borders and oceans rather than meeting them in person. This begs the question… have in-person meetings, requiring attendees to travel interstate or abroad, become redundant? We asked 15 business […]
Fresh from representing Australia at the Creative Business Cup in Copenhagen this week, Ruth Stephensen – the Chief Creative Officer of Brisbane-based startup Creatively Squared – revealed her approach to captivating judges at the international creative industries pitching competition. Founded by Stephensen and her husband Scott Thomas, Creatively Squared is a digital marketing platform that […]
In Sydney, businesses that utilise a co-working space instead of entering a traditional office lease could reap savings of around 25%, according to Hub Australia. The co-working space provider compared a typical commercial lease in Sydney CBD with its Hub Hyde Park co-working space, set to open in early 2018. The comparison took into account […]
