Startup
Obtaining finance can be challenging for any business but it is an acute difficulty for micro and small businesses in their start-up phase. Having the Best Business Idea in the World won’t necessarily be enough to convince sceptical, risk-averse banks to approve a loan, especially if the business owner doesn’t have a proven track record […]
In the ten years since I started my technology consultancy WebVine, I have made mistakes and learned a lot of lessons. There are still challenges as we have grown and flourished, but hopefully today’s new entrepreneurs can benefit from my experience with these potential pitfalls: Proliferation, not Perfection A common mistake I see startups make […]
Melbourne-based digital marketing agency King Kong has been named Australia’s Best IT Small Business at the 2018 Small Business Champions Awards, besting 16 other finalists. King Kong founder and CEO Sabri Suby described the award as another huge win for his four year-old company, which just six months ago was crowned Australia’s fastest-growing digital […]
Geographical isolation sharpens Australia’s tech entrepreneurs, giving them an advantage over their counterparts in Silicon Valley, according to Terry Gold, Managing Director of Techstars Adelaide. He and fellow US-expat Chris Chang, Program Manager with Techstars Adelaide, spoke with Dynamic Business about the global entrepreneur network, why “unique ideas” raise a red flag for them and […]
You have a great idea, and you know you can turn it into a profitable one. But taking the step into startup land is a big deal, and there is a lot that separates the initial seed of your idea and your first sale. With that in mind, here are three tips for entrepreneurs looking to […]
Ten creative tech companies spanning verticals including robotics, fashion tech, AR, VR and music tech have been selected by Queensland University of Technology’s startup hub Creative Enterprise Australia (CEA) to participate in its 2018 Collider Accelerator. [Related: Winning Creative3 Pitch helped Darren Tonkin’s photo sharing app ‘cut through all the noise’, How Virgin StartUp’s UK accelerator […]
Sydney deep tech incubator, Cicada Innovations, has been named ‘Top Incubator in the World’ by global peak industry association for entrepreneurship programs, the International Business Innovation Association (InBIA). [Related: Now that more capital is available to deep tech startups, they need better access to makerspace: Cicada Innovations’ CEO] Finalists were selected from over 2,200 InBIA […]
B2B Talent mobility platform BenchOn has raised $650,000 in seed capital to meet market demand for its software solution to employee underutilisation, estimated to cost the Australian economy $305 billion each year in lost productivity. [Related: Can ‘For-Profit’ businesses still have a Social Impact? BenchOn’s founder provides answers and Why the startup ecosystem needs more non-technical […]
Employers who equate mentor-mentee relationships with a quick coffee catch-up risk missing out on the huge financial gains of having a structured mentoring program, according to Melissa Richardson, the Managing Director of Art of Mentoring. The mentoring program design and implementation business was spun out of Horizons Unlimited, a mentoring consultancy where Richardson is a […]
Gender equality startup WORK180 has secured $1 million from seed investors including Skip Capital – the private investment fund of Atlassian Co-CEO Scott Farquhar – to fuel the international rollout of its unique jobs platform. WORK180 (formerly known as DCC Jobs) was launched in 2015 by co-CEOs Gemma Lloyd and Valeria Ignatieva to disrupt the […]
A lot of start-up founders I’ve met believe that if they can raise money from professional early-stage investors such as The Sharks from Channel 10’s Shark Tank or a Venture Capital (VC) fund, then they’re guaranteed success, a large exit, and early retirement. But this is dangerous thinking. These investors are almost always only investing […]
Security Colony was one of six cybersecurity companies selected by Austrade & AustCyber to take part in the Federal Government’s Landing Pad program in San Francisco. In this exclusive series for Dynamic Business, Nick Ellsmore, co-founder of Security Colony shares his journey as he builds his second business (the first sold to BAE Systems) and introduces an Australian-built cybersecurity solution […]
Kelley Sheenan, the Brisbanite behind Peppermint – an independent fashion and lifestyle magazine with a focus on sustainability – recently returned from London where she participated in StepUp, a mini-accelerator program run by Richard Branson’s Virgin StartUp (VSU). [Related: Winning Creative3 Pitch helped Darren Tonkin’s photo sharing app ‘cut through all the noise‘ and “If you can […]
Fresh from partnering with VC firm Hatcher+ to produce 240 early-stage startups over three years, tech accelerator BlueChilli has teamed with Coca-Cola Amatil to help budding entrepreneurs launch scalable, global tech companies. [Related: Investors in BlueChilli startups automatically qualify for tax deduction after ATO ruling and Why the startup ecosystem needs more non-technical entrepreneurs, not stereotypes] Up […]
Startups, scaleups and digital disruptors – both within and beyond Australia – are being invited by Qantas Group to apply for its second AVRO Accelerator program, following on from the first last year. Run in partnership with Slingshot, the program will provide entrepreneurs with funding and mentoring as well as access to Qantas’ domain expertise, […]
Homegrown, US-based property tech startup HappyCo has completed a US$10.8 million Series A round led by Sydney’s Alium Capital Management. Australian VC firms Tempus Partners and PieLab Venture Partners also participated in the round along with HappyCo’s existing investors Larsen Ventures and Sandalphon Capital. Founded in Adelaide in 2011, before relocating to San Francisco the following year, […]
Social networking startup Gather Online, which markets itself as ‘Snapchat for groups’, has accepted a $1 million seed investment from Brett Dawson and onboarded the former Dimension Data CEO as the chairman of its board. Based in Sydney, the social discovery and messaging platform boasts 40,000 active daily users and has now raised $2.5 million […]
Equity crowdfunding is a relatively new way for Australians to invest. It’s a smart way to collect donations for a charity cause or raise capital for new products and with recent changes to Australian investment laws, crowdfunding platforms can now be used to raise equity capital for a business startup. [Related: Aspiring ‘neobank’ Xinja raises $2.4m […]
Hot on the heels of an $8 million Series B funding round, Cloud-based HR, payroll and benefits platform Employment Hero has recruited former Google executive Alex Hattingh as its inaugural Chief People Officer. In Conversation with Dynamic Business, Hattingh – an HR specialist who has also served CBA, Yahoo!, St George Bank and Lendlease in […]
Security Colony was one of six cybersecurity companies selected by Austrade & AustCyber to take part in the Federal Government’s Landing Pad program in San Francisco. In this exclusive series for Dynamic Business, Nick Ellsmore, co-founder of Security Colony shares his journey as he builds his second business (the first sold to BAE Systems) and introduces an Australian-built cybersecurity solution […]
