Verina Gading
XY Sense raises $5m to help workplaces tackle the challenges of COVID-19
XY Sense closes $AUD5m seed investment round to change the way businesses access and act on workplace data. Investment comes from leading Australian venture fund, Blackbird Ventures, staff and angel investors including; Danny Gorog (Former CEO of Outware), Sandy Kory (Angel investor in Canva, Palantir) and, Marc Alexander (CEO LIFX) among others, to support the […]
Ageism in the workplace starts as early as 45yrs old
About 20% of Australian mature workers – aged 55 years and over – say that they have difficulties finding work or securing sufficient hours. One of the primary reasons for this is their age, even though they are the fastest-growing segment of the workforce. Older workers are more likely to be discriminated against in the […]
Founding a startup during a pandemic: Advice from UNSW founders
UNSW Founders, a startup program, has seen an increase in participation in recent months despite the pandemic. The program focuses on helping UNSW students, staff and alumni to build entrepreneurship skills, and found and grow real companies. And this year, the number of participants is much higher than last year. The program has managed to […]
How is JobKeeper 2.0 different?
Last Tuesday (21/07/2020), the Australia Treasury announced that they are going to extend the JobKeeper payment up to 28 March 2021, six months longer than the initial deadline. According to Prime Minister Scott Morrison, the newest reports on JobKeeper and JobSeeker have shown how both schemes helped businesses to stay afloat during this time. “The […]
Collaboration marketing: A great option for covid-affected budgets?
Perhaps collaboration marketing is the way forward for marketers this year, with budgets affected by covid-19. Marketing and PR expert, Jess Ruhfus, took brand partnerships to another level when she created a business marketing version of Tinder, Collabosaurus. We spoke to her about partnerships and the great opportunities that collaboration marketing can really give to companies. […]
Businesses should already be planning Christmas campaigns: Pinterest data
Christmas is months away and probably not at the top of many business owners' lists at the moment, however Carin Lee-Skelton, ANZ Country Manager for Pinterest, says that brands who are not already thinking about Christmas will fall behind. Searches for Christmas related topics have hugely increased and people seem to be more impatient than ever […]
Helping Australians reach the US trading markets
After working in a multinational European trading company, a former lawyer apprentice decided to return to Australia and create Stake, Australia’s first platform for US stock trading. Less than three years after its launch, Matt Leibowitz’s startup reached 100,000 customers this June. As one of the companies that is thriving during the pandemic, Stake’s customer […]
How the second wave of COVID-19 changes the outlook of Melbourne’s hospitality industry
Victoria and Melbourne’s metropolitan area started their second lockdown last week, which will last for the next six weeks, as the state saw a spike in coronavirus cases. The unexpected secondary lockdown may have harmed businesses within the hospitality sector to such a extent that it proves fatal. Melbourne is currently in stage three of lockdown […]
Amazon’s $80,000 grants to help SMBs innovate mid-crisis
Yesterday, Amazon opened the entry for Amazon Launchpad Innovation Grants, which are worth more than $80,000 each. In September, the giant e-commerce business is going to choose five recipients of the grants. The Amazon Launchpad program launched almost a year ago and aims to help Aussie startups and entrepreneurs bring innovative products to shoppers. The […]
Australia’s recession: How will the economy bounce back?
It’s been almost 30 years since Australia last experienced a recession and almost 10 years since the country recorded a negative GDP growth, which was back in 2011 when the Queensland flooding and Cyclone Yasi hit. With the latest downturns in Australia's quarterly GDP reports, as well as the economic effects of the pandemic, the future […]
Five Australian startups to follow in 2020 H2
With the ongoing uncertainty caused by COVID-19, 2020 is shaping up to be one of the worst years on record economically, and Australian startups are particularly feeling the pinch as many investors withdraw funding. However, a silver lining, perhaps, is that the pandemic poses an opportunity for startups to challenge bigger businesses and to grow, adapt […]