Startup
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 […]
In the last year, I have expanded my company into three separate international markets: Singapore, the USA and the UK. While we have only officially launched in Singapore, I have spent enough time in each region to become aware of the massive diversity in culture, social protocols and ways of doing business that is unique […]
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 […]
A review of publicly available data on capital raises undertaken by Victorian startups and scaleups over the past five years shows that 385 firms closed 510 investment deals, worth a combined total of $790 million. Commissioned by LaunchVic, the dandolpartners review also found that: The median seed investment was $100,000 while the median angel investment […]
Peer-to-peer car sharing platform Car Next Door has completed the first stage of its Series B capital raise, securing $2.3 million from new and existing investors, and kicked off stage two with the launch of a crowdfunding campaign through Equitise. Founded in in 2012 by CEO Will Davies and CTO Dave Trumbull, the startup enables […]
EpiSoft has secured $1,050,000 in capital for its cloud-based, SaaS platform, which helps health professionals, including researchers, manage patients with serious chronic illness and collaborate on efforts to improve health outcomes. Co-founder Jenny O’Neill told Dynamic Business that a quartet of private investors with “knowledge of and great contacts in the digital health market” […]
A new awards program celebrating top startups, leaders, innovators and disruptors in Australia’s sharing economy has been launched by Australia’s first sharing economy accelerator The Sharing Hub. According to Dave Eddy, Awards Manager at The Sharing Hub, the Sharing Economy Awards highlight companies having a real impact on the emerging sector, with one winner selected […]
Median revenue in Australia’s fintech sector has jumped by 208% over the 12 months to June 2017, with one in four companies (24%) enjoying a revenue boost of at least 700%, the 2017 EY FinTech Australia Census reveals. According to EY, the Census, which is based on survey results from 166 fintech companies, is “the […]
Australia’s peak advocacy group for startups, StartupAUS, has welcomed four new board members: Elaine Stead (MD, Blue Sky Venture Capital), Rachael Neumann (investment advisor and strategist), Attila Brungs (Vice Chancellor and President, UTS) and Aaron Birkby (CEO, Startup Catalyst). The newcomers join current board members Alex McCauley (CEO, StartupAUS), Teresa Engelhard (company director and investor), […]
The Turnbull Government has drafted legislative reforms to support investment in innovative fintech companies by venture capital and angel investors, Treasurer Scott Morrison has announced. Released yesterday for a public consultation period ending Friday, 10 November, the exposure draft of the Treasury Laws Amendment (2017 Measures No. #) Bill 2017 proposes amendments to the Tax […]
Melbourne-based fintech startup Finch has closed an oversubscribed seed round, raising $2.25m in funding for its social payments app for millennials. Launched in July, the Finch app allows users to pay and request money instantly (without a BSB), split bills, run tabs in groups to track shared expenses. According to Shahirah Gardner, who co-founded the […]
Two Aussie startups have joined forces to satisfy growing demand within the increasingly lucrative competitive video gaming industry for a daily fantasy esports offering. As part of this undertaking, they are rolling out what they hope will become the universal cryptocurrency for esports enthusiasts. Launched across Australia in late August, Skrilla is a wagering platform that […]
Having raised $5 million in Series B funding, this week, digital-native retailer Brosa is setting its sights on becoming a dominant omnichannel furniture brand. In addition to securing additional capital from Series A investor AirTree Ventures, Brosa welcomed Bailador Technology and BMY Group as new investors. Since its$2 million Series A funding round in 2015, […]
With so many channels to market these days, communication has become a two-way dialogue rather than a one-way push, though many big businesses have yet to accept this. The outdated marketing techniques still employed by many big businesses is handing a clear advantage to those startups and small businesses that are agile and adapting to […]
Fresh from entering the fintech game, with the launch of SME e-tailer loans in partnership with Prospa, ecommerce company MyDeal has continued to diversify its offering, with the soft launch of an online fashion marketplace. Built with the technology underpinning MyDeal Marketplace, MyWardrobe went live this week with over 5000 men and women’s products, including […]
To cement its position as the dominant marketplace for on-demand household services, Sydney-based startup UrbanYou has acquired HomeHello, its rival in the domestic cleaning space. According to UrbanYou co-founder and ex-Yahoo executive, Noga Edelstein, the acquisition was possible due to the “phenomenal” growth of her company over the past 12 months, including an expansion […]
