Spotlight #13 - Startups & Operators
Batko OS - increase your surface areas for luck to strike.
It’s a big update!
First off - Startmate!
We’ve got an epic line up at the fully virtual Liminal conference for you!
If you’re thinking about a career change - this is for you!
Wednesday 8am - Assem Ongarbayeva, Chief Strategy Officer @ UPower (and Startmate Fellow!)
Thursday 8am - Kristi Riordan, Former Global COO @ WeWork
Friday 8am - Brianne Kimmel @ Founder Worklife Ventures
Anyone is welcome to join 👋
This is our precursor to the Fellowship to let you experience the Startmate magic 💫
It includes Breakfast club for you to meet lots of like-minded Fellows!
Secondly - Batko!
Apologies for slacking on my Substack writing.
I’ve been launching Puddle Pod - a little MVP to productise Productivity in a community of productivity geeks.
The first cohort is underway and if you’re interested in joining a future one - register below 🙏
Now - to the Spotlights!
💪💪💪
😇 Angel Spotlight
Do you want to be featured as an Angel? Fill this out (10mins)
💸 Startup Spotlight
Do you want to be featured to Angels/VCs? Fill this out (10mins)
🛠 Operator Spotlight
Looking for a job? Get featured in the next Operator Spotlight - fill this out.
Have an ops job you want featured? Hit reply and send it my way.
What’s in this Edition?
Get Investment - Angels keen to connect
Invest - Startups keen to connect
Hire - Operators ready for a startup job
Apply - Latest startup jobs
Join - Startups that just raised
1) Get Investment - Angel Spotlight
Allied Venture Partners by Matthew Wilson
Industry: Industry agnostic, but tend to avoid MedTech & BioTech.
Stage: Seed-to-Series A
Check Size: $100k - $250k USD, with the option to invest more at the founder's discretion.
Investments to date: I have been angel investing since 2012, now with more than 55 investments; most notably Pinterest and Lyft. In Q4 2020, I launched my angel syndicate: Allied Venture Partners, where investors can invest alongside and gain access to my deal flow.
My name is Matt, Founder & Managing Partner at Allied Venture Partners, an early-stage angel syndicate headquartered in North America. I recently relocated to Sydney and am looking to immerse myself in the local startup ecosystem, with the goal of syndicating one of more investments while I am here. I'll be in town until November 2021.
Mandate
Our investment thesis includes early-stage (Seed-to-Series A) software/technology companies, with strong teams and a desire to innovate. We are relatively industry agnostic but tend to avoid MedTech & BioTech. We look for post-product/revenue companies looking to gain access to a diversified network of North American angels & VCs.
2) Invest - Startups Keen to Connect
🚨 Disclaimer* 🚨 This is not financial advice, nor a recommendation. Please connect with the founders directly to hear more.🦎 Gecko
Gecko is a marketplace to hire event items easily and securely.
Problem
When booking out event items there are two options: Classified Advertising Sites and Brick & Mortar Stores.
- There is no security on Classified Advertising Platforms
- Brick and Mortar stores are only in one location
- Both don't have everything you need in one place
- Super difficult to book out
Solution
Gecko is a Marketplace that:
- Protects both Lenders & Borrowers
- All the items are close by and in one place for pick up
- Make a secure payment easily
- All whilst being cheaper
How do you know it's a problem?
- 10% Week on Week Growth since May 2020
- 110k in Annualised GMV
- 274 Sales to date at AOV of $100
- 2,500 Listings
What's your central unique insight?
- Event rental businesses target a young demographic that is technologically savvy.
- It is difficult to book out these event items through them.
- We're going to partner with these businesses by creating personalised landing pages to make their items easier to book out.
- This will increase the offline experience for Gecko customers and make it super easy for the demand side of the market to book out the items they need.
🚧 Anility
Financial health monitoring platform for the commercial, residential and civil construction sector.
Problem
Existing financial health assessment solutions fail to provide up-to-date data quickly enough to support procurement timelines at an affordable price.
Solution
Anility is a risk mitigation software that allows builders and developers to identify and manage the financial health of their contractors in near real-time through a customisable dashboard. The dashboard enables informed decision making through the marriage of financial health data, quote pricing, and other factors. Builders and Developers now have an easy way to make procurement decisions.
How do you know it's a problem?
In addition to discussions with over 215 property developers, builders, subcontractors and industry experts, we have 3 active pilots underway with Valen Project Services, Fugen Constructions, and ICG.
What's your central unique insight?
A construction project is as risky as its weakest subcontractor. However, few projects extend their financial due diligence beyond the principal contractor. While builders and property developers want a holistic view of risk, it isn't financially viable with the current solutions in the market. A more affordable, faster way to get financial health data is needed.
👶 Gheorg
Gheorg is the little robot who helps kids 7-12 years old with anxiety and to build resilience.
Problem
Childhood anxiety and severe stress went to record levels during the pandemic and lockdown, UNICEF estimated that it was at 50% of all children. Before the pandemic, rates were estimated to be 20% or 1 in 5, and rising at around 100% every 3 years. In addition, even at the lower rate, epidemiologists estimate that two-thirds miss out on a diagnosis or treatment or help of any kind. In addition, even if your child is one of the third that manages to be recognised as having anxiety, they wait an average of 5 years to be noticed and then around 6-9 months on a waitlist. This situation is worse right around the world, with Australia having the highest rates of psychologists to population. What's worse, childhood anxiety is the most challenging condition to get in childhood as it leads to the worst prognosis for adult mental health, as well as impacting learning and the development of relationships.
Solution
We tackle this problem through mentally healthy gamified therapy delivered through a friendly character called Gheorg and his sister Gheorg-e and their world filled with quirky friends. Gheorg has a child portal to help kids and a parent portal to help parents with symptom monitoring and expert information on how to help their child further.
How do you know it's a problem?
Facebook support groups for parents with children with anxiety are in the multitudes with around a quarter of a million parents subscribed. We also know childhood anxiety is doubling around every 3 years (pre-pandemic) and escalates each time there is an extreme weather event. In addition, childhood suicide is rising at 30% annually. Gheorg was launched late September and has well over 1000 downloads, we also have hundreds of daily, or near daily, active users.
What's your central unique insight?
Our founder is a psychologist of nearly 30 years and she has seen children and parents use every kind of "meditation" or calming app out there, and none of them currently work well enough to help. Firstly you need children to want to use the app as they get bored quickly with them, and parents don't like to nag. Secondly, you need something that helps parents at the same time as it helps kids because parents are big influencers of child mental health and that interaction can require accurate timing. Thirdly, children need help at home, and at school, so these worlds need to interconnect to really help.
💸 Negotium
Accurate, modern, and affordable, Negotium is the new gold standard software in business appraisals.
Problem
Inaccurate, poorly constructed and often wrong small business appraisals and valuations.
Solution
To do this, we’ve combined modern machine learning techniques with traditional financial methodologies which currently does not exist in small business appraisals. This is due to a lack of technical understanding and financial literacy.
How do you know it's a problem?
We have validated this idea in UNSW Peter Farrell Cup (2nd place) where we got over 40 expressions of interest from business owners. Since then, we have spoken to over 30 business brokers, appraisers and business owners with 3 rounds of beta testing. Since launching this week, we have seen an increasingly large amount of interest from the business broking community (already 10 brokers have signed up).
What's your central unique insight?
Expansive datasets and advanced appraisal techniques derived from founders backgrounds in investment banking and advanced physics.
3) Hire - Operators ready for a startup job
Nobody this week.
4) Apply - Latest startup jobs
These are new roles which were posted in the last two weeks.
Startmate Alumni
Marketing Lead @ Milkdrop (Remote)
Senior Tech Recruiter @ HappyCo (Adelaide)
Social and Video Content Marketer @ Smartrmail (Remote)
Startups
Growth Manager @ Driven (Sydney)
Product Manager @ FreshEquities (Melbourne)
Product Manager @ GlamCorner (Sydney)
Account Manager @ Karst Stone (Sydney)
Head of Marketing @ Dovetail (Sydney)
Marketing Manager @ Fund a Future (Auckland)
Brand Marketing Designer @ MadPaws (Sydney)
Customer Success Manager @ Matrak (Melbourne)
Customer Success Associate @ Loop+ (Sydney)
Head of Sales & Partnerships @ Brighte (Sydney)
Marketing & Growth Analyst @ Linktree (Melbourne)
Recruiting Ops & Insights Lead @ Canva (Sydney)
Business Development Manager @ Eugene (Melbourne + Remote)
Lots of marketing roles + Product Manager @ Auror (Auckland)
CRM Campaign Manager and Community Relations Specialist @ Like Family (Brisbane)
Product Manager, Account Exec, UX, BDM, Data Analyst, Accountant @ Employment Hero (Sydney)
Ecosystem
Program and Community Manager @ Cyrise (Melbourne)
5) Join - Startups that just raised
Pro tip: Companies often time their fundraising PR when they are ready to hire.
Fast - $102m led by Stripe - one-click checkout
Phocas - $45m led by Ellerstone Capital - business intelligence
AgriWebb - $30m led by Canadian telco TELUS - digital livestock management
Jasper - $15.2m - commercial real estate investing
Matrak - $5.85m led by rampersand - construction tech (also see roles 👆)
6clicks - $5m - Xero for compliance
BCAL Diagnostics - $4m led Angels - breast cancer blood test
Zoom Health - $2.6m - UberEats for medication
Digitology - $900k - patient monitoring
Guardhouse - $850k - security industry software