For many startup founders, one of the hardest parts of raising capital isn't applying for funding, it's finding the opportunities in the first place. Melbourne entrepreneur David Raynor has launched Funding Atlas, a new global funding-discovery platform built to make that search easier.
Funding Atlas brings together funding opportunities from around the world, helping founders discover grants, investors, accelerators, startup programs, innovation funding, research funding and other public and private opportunities from one place. The platform covers funding sources across 196 countries, giving Australian founders the ability to look beyond the opportunities they already know about.
Built from personal frustration
Raynor developed Funding Atlas after experiencing firsthand how fragmented the funding landscape can be, a frustration familiar to anyone who has tried to track the sheer volume and variety of raises happening across Australia's startup scene in any given week.
"As a founder, you can spend hours searching government websites, accelerator programs, investor networks and funding databases, and still have no idea what you've missed," Raynor said.
"That was the problem I wanted Funding Atlas to solve. Instead of founders having to know where to look, I wanted to build something that could help them discover what is actually out there."
Search beyond your own backyard
Funding Atlas combines its global funding database with AI-assisted search and discovery, letting users search for opportunities relevant to their business, industry, location and funding needs. For Victorian startups, that means the search doesn't have to stop at Victoria or Australia. A Melbourne technology company, for example, could discover an accelerator, investor or innovation program overseas it may never have found through a conventional search.
"There are extraordinary businesses being created here in Victoria," Raynor said. "But the right opportunity for a founder may be in Melbourne, Sydney, Singapore, London, Europe or the United States. Funding shouldn't be limited by where you happen to know to look."
What the platform actually does
Funding Atlas continually discovers and evaluates new funding sources as the global funding landscape changes. The platform doesn't promise a founder will receive funding, its purpose is to solve the first part of the process, finding relevant opportunities to pursue.
"If Funding Atlas helps a founder discover one opportunity that changes the direction of their business, then we've achieved what I set out to do," Raynor said.