Batko OS

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Spotlight #2 - Startups
batko.substack.com

Spotlight #2 - Startups

Batko OS - increase your surface areas for luck to strike.

Michael Batko
Aug 31, 2020
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Spotlight #2 - Startups
batko.substack.com

Hi Team,

This is the first of the fortnightly Monday Startup Spotlight series.

I’ll be featuring Aussie/Kiwi startups which raised and want to be featured to Angels.

If you would like to get in touch with any of the founders, click the Brdg link below.
Brdg allows you to connect directly, without me slowing you down. It also gives me the insight into who connected with whom and if the meeting was fruitful.

This is my feedback loop to see if this is working.

💸 Startup Spotlight

Do you want to be featured to Angels? Fill this out (10mins) to get featured.

🛠 Operator Spotlight

Looking for a job? Get featured in the next Operator Spotlight - fill this out.

Have a job you want featured? Hit reply and send it my way.

Recently Raised

Pro tip: Companies often time their fundraising PR when they are ready to hire.

  • Songtradr - US$30m lead by St Baker family - here

  • Buildkite - $28m lead by Opeview - here

  • Sendle - $19m lead by King River Capital - here

  • Bolt - $16m lead by CEFC - here

  • Spaceship - $10m lead by Grok - here

  • Seemode - $9m lead by Blackbird - here

  • Hivery - AU$8m lead by Blackbird - here

  • CoGo - $8m lead by Enterprise Angels - here

  • Ofload - $2.8m lead by Maersk - here

  • Portainer - US$1.2m lead by Bessemer Venture Partners - here

  • Social Suite - $1.5m lead by Salesforce VC + Tidal - here

  • Douugh - $780k crowdfunded - here

Startups Keen to Connect

🚨 Disclaimer* 🚨

This is not financial advice, nor a recommendation.
Please connect with the founders directly to hear more.

🖼 Art Money

AfterPay for art, a $100bn global 'niche'

Message the founder - here.

Problem

High friction, low tech, no finance (across the global art market)

Solution

Fin-tech empowers buyers and sellers. 10 payments. 10 months. No interest.

How do you know it's a problem?

$30m art sales, $10m in last 12 months. 5,000 transactions, 45% repeat purchases. Covid/recession tested (sales 140% June quarter YoY, doubled YoY in July). Once a client gets to 3 purchases, they are 80% chance of repeating, by 5 purchases they are an incredible 94% chance of repeating. Proven & break-even in AU (1% global market), product/market fit & traction in US (44% market). 29% IRR, 0.5% defaults.

What's your central unique insight?

This market is about psychology not affordability. We are art market insiders, it's a closed shop to outsiders.

👩‍🎓 Elenta

Effective corporate learning, by helping employees learn on the job.

Message the founder - here.

Problem

$550B AUD is spent on corporate training each year, but only 4% of companies see ROI. Right now corporate training teams don't have the right content or tools to drive business outcomes. We're giving them both.

Solution

Elenta is a platform to create, deliver, and measure Learning in the Flow of Work. We give Educators two tools:

  1. Nudges - interactions with learners that can deliver knowledge (video, text, etc.), or capture data (surveys, quizzes, etc.)

  2. Triggers - which define when Nudges are sent; they can be responses to other Nudges (from the learner themselves, or people on their team), or interactions with external systems

Branching logic between Nudges and Triggers automatically personalises the program for learners going through it.

How do you know it's a problem?

We know this is a problem from speaking to over 300 L&D, HR, and business leaders over the last 5 months.

We've run 7 programs, with companies including Bupa, LifeHealthCare, NGS Super, and NextGen. 3 out of these 7 are customers running a 2nd program because they liked the experience. This has put 250+ learners through the system and sent 2,100+ Nudges. Nudge feedback is 96% positive.

What's your central unique insight?

Current learning solutions focus heavily on the knowledge consumption piece, with technology rarely being used to support the feedback loop that follows. This means that spend on learning often doesn't result in behaviour change and improved business outcomes. A lack of measurement and ROI in L&D also means that there is no feedback loop to drive improvement.

👩‍⚖️ First AML

Streamlined KYC through automation and the creation of a network effect between AML Reporting Entities.

Message the founder - here.

Problem

KYC processes have long been intrusive, repetitive and paper-based. Traditionally individuals have been required to obtain certified copies of documents and repeat this process every time there is a new transaction. Individuals such as Directors, Shareholders and Trustees are often pulled into the KYC process even if they have no direct involvement with the transaction. This has also resulted in a significant compliance cost being added to businesses who must comply with the AML laws.

Solution

First AML is automating the KYC process to get complex entities onboarded easily in the first instance. And then once onboarded, that entity can be retrieved by another customer in the First AML ecosystem. Allowing AML records to be shared amongst participants in this ecosystem has created a step-change in AML on-boarding efficiency.

How do you know it's a problem?

150+ customers in New Zealand and Australia. ~20% month on month revenue growth.

What's your central unique insight?

KYC is too repetitive for the individuals being verified - especially in situations with complex entities and multiple people to verify/documents to obtain.

💊 Medmate

Pharmacy delivered.

Message the founder - here.

Problem

The inconvenience of pharmacy supply for regular medications.

Solution

A pharmacy marketplace application allowing patients to shop from their pharmacy of choice for home delivery. Integrating electronic prescription orders from a patients doctor to the pharmacy of their choice with delivery solutions.

How do you know it's a problem?

Telehealth consultations have risen globally since the pandemic. It is complicated for doctors and patients to safely coordinate script delivery from bricks and mortar pharmacies to patients in the home, making Telehealth difficult. Medmate enables Telehealth. Medmate has partnered for onboarding to the patients of 1,070 clinics nationally and 1,200 pharmacies. The go-to market strategy is coinciding with the governments roll out of e-script technology. The MVP is receiving positive user feedback in our test clusters within SE Melbourne with an average score of 9/10. Patients have been grateful for Medmate services considering the Victorian lockdown. To launch the product well nationally we are seeking capital and expertise from investment partners.

What's your central unique insight?

The cofounders include medical practitioners and pharmacists. 50% of patients globally are non-adherent to medications due to the logistical inconvenience of coordinating regular medication supply. The healthcare consumer has changed and a bricks and mortar experience is not meeting the needs of the modern consumer who expects price transparency, convenience and choice. The pandemic has accelerated this trend with consumers now demanding home delivery options

🌍 CarbonClick

Climate Action, Made Simple

Message the founder - here.

Problem

Consumers care about climate change, businesses must act.

Solution

Track and trace on high-quality offsets. Add to cart for consumers. Plug-ins for businesses, and for enterprise-grade businesses, easy API integration.

How do you know it's a problem?

Launched our Shopify plug-in in March, 400+ installs in first 3 months with 5* rating, 10,000 customer offset transactions to date. We're seeing strong numbers of customers clicking the green button to buy offsets - 9% on average. There's a clear pattern that stores with sustainable brand are our leading performers. However, some stores that don't have this brand are also performing well in the range of 3-6%.

What's your central unique insight?

Carbon offsets must be trustworthy, and easy to engage with

🥰 Cardly

We let people send handwritten physical mail as easily as email.

Message the founder - here.

Problem

Handwriting is highly personal but doesn’t scale.

Solution

We have build proprietary handwriting tech that can take what people type and make it look like real handwriting - even their own. We then print and post it at scale as postcards, letters or greeting cards. Even the envelopes look handwritten. This means that they are opened and have been proven to be 10 to 20 times more effective than normal direct mail.

How do you know it's a problem?

We started as a C2C business but were approached by businesses to help them reach out to clients and employees. Now 2/3 of revenue is coming from B2B. We have grown thus far with $0 marketing. Some of our customers include Adobe, Telstra, Quickbooks, CUB and Ray White.

Our turnover has doubled each year since inception - $60k, $125k, $260k through FY18,19 and 20.
We're currently 300% up YOY and growing 30% MOM through COVID accelerating our business.

What's your central unique insight?

Meaningful client engagement is invaluable and handwritten physical mail shows you care in a way that email and digital can't.


Thanks for reading until the end.

This was the inaugural Startup Spotlight - how was it?
Let me know :)


* The information contained in this Startup Spotlight Series (the Information) is provided for information purposes only. No warranties or representations are made by Startmate or myself with respect to the accuracy, completeness or currency of the Information and no part of the Information may be relied upon for any purpose whatsoever.
The provision of the Information to any person does not constitute, and may not be used for the purposes of, an offer of securities or interests of any kind to that person or an invitation to any person to apply for the issue of securities or interests of any kind. In preparing the Information, neither Startmate or I have taken any account of the investment objectives, financial situation and particular needs of any particular person, and prospective investors must not construe the Information as tax, legal or financial product advice.  Before making any decision to invest, prospective investors should:
(a)         connect directly with the founders of each portfolio company to find out further information;
(b)         seek and rely on their own professional advice, in particular by obtaining appropriate tax, legal, financial and investment advice in light of their own circumstances; and
(c)         conduct their own independent investigation and analysis regarding the Information.
No responsibility or liability is accepted by Startmate, its related bodies corporate, or any of their respective officers, employees, agents or advisers, for any of the Information, any omission from the Information or for any action taken by any person on the basis of or in reliance on the Information; and
The Information is only intended for persons who are “wholesale clients” within the meaning of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) and to US persons who are “accredited investors” as defined in Regulation D of the US Securities Act 1933.
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Spotlight #2 - Startups
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