Startup

A property monitoring service that alerts landlords to unauthorised subletting through Airbnb and other rental websites has been launched by Sydney-based tech startup BnbGuard. The brainchild of serial entrepreneurs Reuben Schwarz and Richard Frey, BnbGuard is an automated technology platform that monitors long-term and short-term rental websites such as Airbnb, Flatmates.com.au and Stayz for clients, […]

Peer-to-peer car sharing platform Car Next Door has completed an oversubscribed Series B funding round with a $5 million capital injection. [Related: Share a ride with Car Next Door’s Will and Dave: the duo challenging car ownership, Car Next Door seeking to double funding to accelerate roll-out of its sharing platform and Car Next Door secures $2.3m in […]

Data analytics and IoT startup Nuonic has received a strategic investment from KPMG Australia, bringing its total capital raise to $1.3 million to date. In entering a strategic partnership with Nuonic, KPMG joins a roster of shareholders that includes the startup’s founders Sebastian Jezierski (CEO) and Derek Hooper (COO) as well as Sydney-based fintech company […]

Melbourne-based EduTech startup Typsy is on track to reach 500% year-on-year sales growth this year after successfully courting its largest client to date – Switzerland’s prestigious hospitality management school, Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL). Launched in May 2016, Typsy – an online hospitality training platform – is the brainchild of serial entrepreneur Jonathan Plowright, whose […]

Startups with good a business plan give comfort to entrepreneurs and investors in part because the plan details the objectives, strategies and tactics along with the anticipated profits. There is however a wide variation in business plans. Some are voluminous demonstrations of thorough research, while some exist as a mere template borrowed from the internet to meet the formalities. Others, […]

The Federal Government will “carefully consider” a strategy, prepared by Innovation and Science Australia (ISA), to transform Australia into a “top tier innovation nation” by 2030, Minister for Jobs and Innovation, Michaelia Cash has announced. Released this week, ISA’s Australia 2030: Prosperity Through Innovation report contains 30 recommendations for creating a high performing innovation system, […]

Named Australia’s ‘Accelerator of the Year’ at StartCon 2017, SheStarts returns for its sophomore series tomorrow (Tuesday, 30 January) with nine female founders, representing eight early-stage tech startups, taking part in the BlueChilli-backed program. The second SheStarts cohort includes Dr Annie McCauley (Talk-i-Wear), Andrez Coco (Knowlly), Karen Hind (Recall App), Danielle Owen Whitford (Pioneera), Laura […]

Victoria’s online marketplace startups have created jobs for 93,000 people and contribute $1.6 billion to the state economy, according to new report from EY-Parthenon and startup ecosystem development agency LaunchVic. The report, A Review of Melbourne’s Digital Marketplaces, shows the sector is growing at 11% per year, well above Victoria’s current industry growth rate of […]

QUT Creative Enterprise Australia (CEA) has invited creative tech startups to apply for its forthcoming Collider Accelerator. Up to 11 emerging and highly-scalable companies will be selected for Collider, which is being spearheaded this year by Alan Jones, a founding investor in Pollenizer, Startmate and Blackbird Ventures. “CEA is really excited about Alan Jones filling the […]

Noga Edelstein, co-founder of on-demand home services marketplace UrbanYou, has joined the board of SBE Australia, coinciding with an announcement from the not-for-profit organisation that women-led tech startups can now apply for its 2018 Springboard Enterprises Australia Accelerator. [Related: The tech sector needs to start valuing women for their unique skills, says Silicon Valley vet, UrbanYou acquires […]

Sydney-based startup LoyaltyX is seeking to reinvent the way consumers engage with loyalty programs while simultaneously contributing to the mainstream adoption of cryptocurrency, according to co-founder and CEO Philip Shelper. Supported by a $15,000 TechVoucher grant from the NSW Government’s Boosting Business Innovation Program, LoyaltyX recently completed a six-week trial of its solution in partnership […]

If you picture some of history’s most powerful businesses – General Motors, Microsoft, Walmart – a few traits come to mind. They had size and dominance and seemingly endless resources. They had a ‘top-down’ approach in dealings with both employees and customers, took a protectionist attitude to their IP and moved at their own pace.  […]

Nearly US$560 million was invested in Australian startups, last year, a 1.4% increase on 2016; however, the number of investment deals fell 27%, according to a new report from KPMG International. The professional services giant’s latest Venture Pulse, a quarterly report on global venture capital investment, shows that Australian startups closed 17 deals, worth $121.55 […]

Startups that apply to pitch at the forthcoming Salesforce PitchComp in Sydney are in with a chance to win USD$100,000 in funding from the cloud CRM provider’s investment arm. The competition will be held at the Salesforce World Tour Sydney 2018 event on Tuesday, 6 March and will be judged by a panel of respected investors […]

Consumer habits are changing as the Baby Boomer generation gives way to the Millennials. This latter cohort of customers born between 1976 and 2004 have grown up in a world defined by online consumerism, and they are the generation that has been the focus of most marketing attention. They have distinct spending habits, using their […]

In closing its latest funding round, Canva has seen its valuation surpass US$1 billion mark, making it the second Australian startup after Atlassian to obtain Unicorn status. [See also: Let’s Talk… Growth (Is there anything wrong with aspiring to be a unicorn?), “We’ve only achieved 1% of what we know is possible,” says CEO of […]

Startup culture is booming in Australia, especially within the millennial marketplace. While creative freedom and drive is the backbone of many startups, it’ll likely take financial backing and investment for a business to reach its greatest success Some big ideas come at a large cost and the stability that a financial backer can supply to […]

A national accelerator program geared towards indigenous entrepreneurs has helped nine startups become viable commercial enterprises.    Run by early stage investment group Investible, the inaugural Indigenous Business Australia (IBA) accelerator saw participating entrepreneurs gain insights and experience from a line-up of startup founders, mentors and investors over eight weeks. In total, entrepreneurs were introduced […]

Splend, Australia’s leading supplier of rental vehicles for the ride sharing drivers, has secured a $7.2 million investment from Element Fleet Management, positioning it realise the next phase of its global expansion plans. In exchange for the strategic investment, Element has secured a 12.5% stake in the two-year-old business, which previously received funding from Investec […]

Ah, future success so close you can almost touch it. The realisation that your idea could actually become a viable business is electrifying. You’ve crunched the numbers, drawn up a plan, got the ball rolling and may even have secured vital angel funding. You’ve also decided to tackle the world of startup head-on with a […]