💌 2nd July Weekly Retro of Australian Start-ups & Venture Capital

2nd July

G'day and welcome to Overnight Successes, the weekly newsletter that levels you up on everything Aussie Start-ups.

Headlines: 

• Volt, Australia’s first online-only bank, shuts down but ensures no customer would be left out of pocket. (Volt Bank Press Release)

• Milkrun, the grocery delivery under10 minutes is estimated to be losing $10 an order. Although, the unit economics are expected to improve with growth having previously sat at $40. (SMH)

• EarlyWork and AfterWork combine forces to create BetweenWork, which helps start-up employees caught in recent layoffs secure new jobs in the start-up ecosystem. More below!

Housekeeping

The votes are in and 100% would prefer another name. Noted - we’ll try to get a refund on the $14 domain name… 

We also published a special edition on Tuesday last week with a deep dive into Folklore-backed ProductEngine. The article is a short thesis on the potential for ProductEngine to do great things, Check it out!

Thanks to co-founder Matt Hollis for the interview. 

Worth-a-Shout

EarlyWork, the amazing slack community of young Aussies and Kiwis keen on start-ups as teamed up with AfterWork Venture Capital. In a dream naming collaboration, they’ve created BetweenWork, a new hiring tool for talent who have unfortunately lost their jobs in the recent tech squeeze.

The logic is while some start-ups are cutting back on staffing to extend the runway, other start-ups are in dire need of good talent. If you would like to sign up to look for work, or hire some great talent, check it out here. 

It’s worth noting as well that there are also almost 1000 jobs available right now across the Blackbird portfolio with 89 companies active. The job board can be found here. 

If you're not subscribed but would like to join a group of legends learning about Aussie start-ups, join here!

1. Headlines: News that's important, but you might have missed.

2. Worth a shout: A special initiative by some special people.

3. Start-up retro: Summarising the week's start-up raises with a smidge of context.

4. Notice Board: Signposting key events and opportunities in the ecosystem.

5. Accredited Tweeters: Snippets from Twitter and linkedin!

6. (KaaS) Knowledge as a Services: 2-3 articles to make you smarter. Or share with co-workers to make them think you’re smart.

Start-up Retro! 

Online Media

🌱The Daily Aus

News: The rapidly growing media company which leverages Instagram, The Daily Aus, has raised $1.2M in seed funding. The cash injection comes from former Nine CEO David Gyngell with support from Canva executives. Some capital also came from the festival organiser, Untitled Group. It’s fair to say all the cash is somewhat strategic with Canva designs being the foundation for The Daily Aus’s unique Instagram offering. Moreover, Gyngell can advise on capturing value from the growing media empire. The Daily Aus is looking to expand internationally with eyes set on the UK in the next 18 months. Growth has been rapid with 1.3M Australians reached on social media a month, heavily skewing to young Aussie women. 

Read more about it: Start-up Daily

Automotive

🌱Loopit

News: The car subscription service Loopit has raised $3.6M led by Tidal Ventures. The round was Loopits first external capital and also included Upswell Ventures and Luxem. The round follows the growing trend of consumers' car ownership dropping, especially with raising interest rates making financing more expensive. Other compounding problems are long delays for new cars and highly-priced second-hand cars. The software allows groups with large fleets to offer a car subscription to their customers. Loopit hopes to continue its expansion to Europe with its new UK-based office. Consumers are also using Loopit as a try before you buy to test electric vehicles or potential new cars. 

Read more about it: (Business News Australia)

Camera Software

🌱Black.ia

News: The Melbourne-based camera software business Black.ai has raised $5.4M in seed funding from Jelix Ventures. Other investors included Right Click Capital and several angels. Black.ai helps makes security systems more intelligent by adding AI layer on top of incumbent video systems. Black.ai’s software creates datasets that help business owners understand how humans interact in their space. The datasets collect non-identifiable information which allows retailers to improve customer experiences and industry to improve health and safety. The software sits between standard security cameras and the operations giving ops teams data they would never normally have. Highly recommend checking out the video demonstrations on their website here.

Read more about it: (Start-up Daily)

Stadium Hospitality

🌱Snackr

News: The start-up enabling sports fans to order food in their set at sporting events and concerts has raised $915K in seed funding. The round was led by BetterLabs with support from Woodside Energy Technologies, Eastcourt Capital and SpaceCubed Ventures. The mobile app start-up hopes to take advantage of fans returning to events post Covid-19 and caters for the unique challenges of food delivery within stadiums. Snackr launched in the Big Bash Cricket league in 2020 and saw fans increase their spending per transaction and repeat orders. Stadium food operators love the service as it allows them to plan inventory, staffing and promotions in real-time. Fans love it because there’s nothing worse than missing a wicket while waiting for a ripper roll. 

Read more about it: (Techboard)

NFT & Web3

🌱Serenade

New: NFT space, an Aussie music marketplace that creates ‘digital pressings’ of their albums, has raised $6M in funding. The funding came from some big names like Hugh Jackman and Bernard Fanning. These Days, Serenade gives artists a new revenue line and fans another opportunity to interact with their band. The NFT may be used for gated community events rewarding Superfans with more access. Local music acts include Client Liaison, The Kooks, and Shand. Bands also acknowledge that a digital NFT has far less ecological impact compared to a 12-inch vinyl press. There are hopes that Serenade will help get new users into the Web3 environment. 

Read more about it: (The Age)

Venture Capital News

• Tidal Ventures, known for Airrobe, Shippit, Sonder and Carted has kicked off an $80M raise for its 3rd seed-stage fund. The fund aims to lead seed rounds writing $2M to $2.5M cheques. Tidal will continue to focus on product-led start-ups. (AFR)

Sponsored by Genius Childcare

Genius is Australia's leader in premium childcare and pre-school education with locations in Queensland, Western Australia and Victoria. Subscribers of Overnight Successes will get 2 weeks of free childcare when they sign up here! 

I know it's a kinda random advertisement, if anyone actually signs up the marketing manager is buying me a slab of beer. Think of the CAC on that? Or should I say SAC? Slab to acquire customers...

Notice Board

• Dream Venture Masterclasses is equipping Indigenous Australians with the connections, capabilities and access to capital to become investor-ready. The free program will provide up to $150K worth of seed funding. More info!

Hand Curated Jobs

• Folklore Ventures is hiring for an Investment Manager, Investment Associate and Investment Analyst.

• Rampersand is hiring for mulitple Investment Principals & Investment Associates.

• Breakthrough Victoria, the manager of Vic Govs 2Billy fund is looking for an investment analyst.

Accredited Tweeters

(KaaS) Knowledge as a Service

• Cheryl Macks capital raising resources for Aussie founders is an amazing resource for founders new to the game. Super digestable as well! Worth a look.

• Caleb Maru's new African start-up focused newsletter, Prox Fortnightly. This is the best resource to get a quick glimpse on an ecosystem that doesn't get as much exposure as larger markets.

One more thing...

• Chuck a follow to our linkedin page!

• Forward this email to one friend and ask them to subscribe! Much love <3