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Headlines:

• 🤑 There was over $160M raised for Aussie & NZ start-ups this week!

  • Check out Start-up Retro for the full details 👇.

• 💔 Catch, the Wesfarmers-owned e-commerce company, has reduced its headcount by 100. (Power Retail)

  • This week the company reported that revenues declined by 26.8%, resulting in a half-year loss of $108M, with Catch struggling to show returns since its 2019 Wesfarmers acquisition, despite the broader e-commerce sector performing well during the pandemic.

  • SmartCompany published a great piece last year detailing the unfortunate downfall of this once-successful start-up.

  • Fun fact - the Leibovich brothers who co-founded Catch went on to found Little Birdie after selling Catch to Wesfarmers. Little Birdie gets a mention in this week’s “Wins” section below - can you find it?

• 📫📭 Voly is back from the dead, while Milkrun lays off 20% of its staff.

  • Voly has re-launched as an online farmers market delivery service after coming under new ownership on Christmas Eve last year. (Startup Daily)

  • This is despite competitors in the category, such as Milkrun, showing serious signs of decline. (AFR)

1. Start-up Retro: Australia's start-up raises with a smidge of context.

2. New Fund, Who’s This?: Fresh funds flowing into the ecosystem.

3. Notice Board: Signposting key events and opportunities.

4. Wins: Highlighting wins, big and small.

5. Accredited Tweeters: Snippets from mostly Aussie start-up Twitter.

6. (KaaS) Knowledge as a Service: Articles to make you smarter. Or to share with co-workers to make them think you’re smart.

⚡️Start-up Retro⚡️

Climate Tech / AgTech

🚜 Loam lands $105M Series B to help decarbonise farming and improve crop yields

Decarbonisation AgTech, Loam has closed a $105M Series B round led by Lowercarbon Capital and Tim Bishop's Wollemi Capital. This follows a $40M Series A in October of 2021, where the investors like Horizons Ventures, The Clean Energy Finance Corporation, and Main Sequence Ventures joined the cap table. Loam's technology uses microbes to increase carbon storage in the soil while improving crop yields. How? A farmer coats their seeds with the Loam microbial inoculum before sowing and planting and microbes work to capture more carbon within the soil, improving soil health and yields. Loam will use this latest funding to look internationally for commercialisation in the US and Brazil. Brazil is a global producer of soybeans, corn, cotton and sugar. In addition to better yields, farmers may benefit significantly from the technology by collecting carbon offset rewards in the short term and seeing healthier soil in the long run.

Due Diligence: Business News Australia & Technode Global

MarTech

👟Tracksuit proves they're not lounging around with a $6.8M Seed round

New Zealand-based brand tracking start-up, Tracksuit, has raised $6.8M (AUD) in its first funding round, valuing the company at $41M. Blackbird led the round, including Icehouse Ventures, Ascential and marketing expert Mark Ritson. Tracksuit differentiates itself from the competition by helping a company track their public perception for a tenth of the price of alternatives like consultancies. Founded in 2021, Tracksuit has run away with over 181 clients representing 1,800 brands, including household names like GYG, Bondi Sands, Eucalyptus and Heaps Normal. Currently, the 20-strong team are generating revenues above $3M and can see plenty of white space for growth. The magic is in connecting data captured by global research companies like Dynata and converting it to highly actionable insight dashboards that continuously monitor public perception. Marketers love the dashboards highlighting awareness, consideration, usage and preference compared to competitors. This information can be essential when evaluating marketing and PR campaigns. The customer base is already global, with clients in the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand, and the capital will be used to get boots on the ground in the same markets.

Due Diligence: AFR & Startup Daily

Recruitment / HR Tech

🤝 Getahead gets a $1.38M pre-Seed round to create a 'Tinder for recruitment

The ‘Tinder for recruitment’ app, Getahead, has raised a $1.38M pre-Seed round. Pipeline Capital led the funding with assistance from Di Bella Coffee founder Phil Di Bella. The app has seen solid traction since its December launch, with over 1,500 job seekers from Brisbane signing up. On the other side of the app are companies like the Wyndham Hotel Group, Acai Brothers and Retail Prodigy Group, which runs stores for brands like Nike and Samsung. The app allows workers and employers to have preferences for working hours, salary expectations, lifestyle, benefits and prior experience. Like Tinder, the app uses a "swipe right" to match candidates and employers, and the two parties can communicate via direct message or video call. Getahead removes friction from the application process without requirements for CVs or cover letters intending to reduce employee hiring times from 25 days to 25 minutes.

Due Diligence: Startup Daily & SmartCompany

Networking / Research

🧠 NetworksX lands a $610K seed round to provide experts as a service

Melbourne-based human and market insights platform, NetworksX has landed a $610K seed round. The capital was led by Pitch Venture Capital, with some European investors also coming to the table. NetworksX hopes to democratise access to expert opinions for investors while they're in due diligence. The start-up was founded in 2021 and has already helped clients from Australia, the US and Europe with 850 requests for market and technical insights around businesses or start-ups they're looking to invest in. The use case is quite interesting. Imagine you're a venture fund looking to understand the food delivery market better but don't have any in-house knowledge to rely on. NetworksX lets you submit an information request, and their team will reach out with a handpicked list of names and times to meet. Your firm can then interview this expert to better understand the market, product and growth potential. If you have several years of industry experience or a deep understanding of a topic, think about registering on their database to help the ecosystem.

Due Diligence: Press Release

FinTech

🏦 Shift secures $27M Series C funding led by Sequoia SE Asia

The credit solution platform, Shift, has closed a $27M Series C led by the Southeast Asian branch of Sequoia Capital. This funding brings the company’s total amount raised to $105M since 2013. Shift provides a few solutions but primarily focuses on overdrafts, equipment financing and trade accounts. Each product has different loan terms, but all sit within the annual interest rate bands of 12.95% and 21.95% and cap out at $1M per business. Strong growth over the last three years of over 50% enticed Sequoia to jump on board, with profitable revenues now topping over $100M. This latest round is complimented by an additional $140M of debt funding which extends the book to $800M. The solution works well for many small to medium business owners who often need to put their tangible assets on the line for their credit. Shift hopes to beat out the competition with a slicker user experience that gives real-time insights into their finances. Interestingly, Shift isn't aiming to shoot out the lights with growth and is happy to continue to grow at 50% year on year. Good for those who can get it!

Due Diligence: AFR & Business News Australia

Quantum Computing

💽 Quantum Brilliance closes $26M to build mini quantum computers that work at room temperature

The revolutionary Australian and German start-up, Quantum Brilliance, has closed a $26M Series A round. The party round included the likes of Breakthrough Victoria, Main Sequence Ventures, Rampersand, MA Growth Ventures, Jelix Ventures, CM Equity Partners and Investible. Quantum Brilliance was spun out of ANU in 2019 and creates quantum computers that can run at room temperature. Traditionally, quantum computers rely on super low-temperature environments and cryogenic temperatures of around -270 degrees Celsius. Quantum Brilliance’s brilliant differentiator is using synthetic diamonds during construction, which means less cooling is required to run the computers. Quantum Computing devices are far smaller and could be used in spacecraft, mobile devices or driverless cars. The machines are currently in use at the Pawsey Supercomputing Centre in Perth, undergoing trials. The capital ensures a runway for further research and development, with another nine researchers joining. According to the Tech Council of Australia, more than 3% of global quantum start-ups originated in Australia.

Due Diligence: Investible Notes, AFR, Gizmodo

If you're a founder or investor who has just closed a round, please reach out to us at [email protected]

This week’s newsletter is brought to you by…

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New Fund, Who’s This?

• EVP launches its fourth fund at $100M

  • Despite slowing market conditions, the software investor didn’t need to tap institutional investors, raising solely from HNW individuals & families. The fund credits “disciplined investing” for the continued support of its LPs.

  • If you’re a software business founder with eyes on raising soon, this week’s AFR article on the fund is an excellent insight into how EVP operate.

• Tattarang (Andrew & Nicola Forrest) doubles down on Startmate backing, focusing on supporting female founders. (Tattarang Press Release)

  • The extra funds (exact amount undisclosed) will be funnelled into Startmate’s Accelerator program and nicely bookend the company’s grassroots initiatives, such as their Women’s Fellowship, which encourages more female engagement in start-ups.

Notice Board

• 🥗 Climate Salad’s 2023 Climate Tech Founder Census

  • Take part in Climate Salad’s annual Census to get your company’s logo featured in the 2023 Australian Climate Tech Industry Report and help the broader industry flourish with sound data and insights. You can check out the 2022 Industry Report here.

  • Best suited to: Climate Tech Founders

• 🌊 Ocean Impact Accelerator: applications are now open!

  • The Ocean Impact Organisation offers ~$100k funding, mentoring, investor introductions, masterclasses and more via this 6-month program which culminates in a live pitch night in Sydney. Read all about it & apply here.

  • Best suited to: Founders of start-ups that have a positive impact on ocean health

• 🚀 Girls in Tech 2023 Career Kickstart (Melbourne)

  • Does your personal professional brand need a refresh? Looking for a new gig this year? Register for this free in-person event to give your career a ✨ glow-up ✨.

  • Best suited to: If you identify as female and are new to tech, looking to grow your career, or keen to understand what the tech industry has to offer.

Have something to put on the Notice Board? We're always looking for upcoming events & opportunities across the Aussie start-up ecosystem - reach out to [email protected] to add yours!

Wins

• July 🧳️ the Melbourne-based luggage company has secured Joanne Smith as its first CFO. (Startup Daily)

  • The senior appointment comes off the back of the brand going from strength to strength; huge growth of their team and sales, expanding to the US, attracting high-profile advisors from Atlassian, Canva and Judo Bank and gaining the approval of celebrities such as Chrissy Teigen and Celeste Barber.

  • Smith previously worked at Kogan, helping steer the path to IPO, and has been poached from her most recent role at Little Birdie.

• Teamgage 👏 an Adelaide-based HR SaaS platform announced a world-first research-based program to help tackle workplace bullying.

  • Developed by Professor Michelle Tuckey from UniSA, the Healthy Workplaces by Design program is the culmination of 10 years of evidence-based research and reportedly reduces bullying complaints by 46%. Read the full announcement here.

• NORMAL & Unyoked ❤️️ Two Aussie startups have partnered to launch an intimacy course with a difference.

  • Sex-toy company NORMAL, and nature cabin retreat platform Unyoked, have created ‘Come Together’, a 3-episode course, recorded in a serene Unyolked cabin, providing a “practical guide to overcoming some of the biggest issues facing Aussie couples”. Gotta love a literal Aussie start-up love-fest!

Accredited Tweeters

KaaS (Knowledge as a Service)

• An AI tool to help you answer the question “WTF does this company do?” when you land on a website with more jargon and fluffy, vague language than a car salesman’s brochure. Not sure if your start-up’s landing pages are up to scratch? Pop your URL in and see if the AI can figure out your core value prop.

• What shifts a company from steady to exponential growth? Lenny Rachitsky has interviewed growth leaders from some of the world’s most successful tech companies (think DropBox, YouTube, Slack, Airtable…) to uncover three common instigators for their growth inflections.

• Have you or someone you know been affected by layoffs? Your confidence might have taken a hit, but remember: you don’t need to meet every qualification to apply for a job. Here’s a great HBR article that explains why and a heartwarming, real-life story from Blackbird’s Zac Hardman that illustrates this point perfectly!

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Cya next time,

👋 Will & Gem