Bede Moore

🎊 Big News from Our Team at Titanium Ventures! 🎊 Today, we’re thrilled to share that we've evolved from Telstra Ventures to Titanium Ventures! Why Titanium? Because it captures the essence of who we are and aspires to be—a firm that supports exceptionally strong and resilient entrepreneurs, those who thrive under pressure. Titanium is not just a metal with the highest durability and strength-to-weight ratio; it represents the extraordinary capability and determination of the leaders we back—leaders who consistently punch way above their weight. Our commitment remains steadfast: to unearth and scale the most promising ventures in AI, digital, and software sectors. With 99 investments, including 12 IPOs, 17 unicorns and 42 liquidity events, we’re just getting started. Holding almost US$1B in funds under management and having returned US$678M to our investors, we are more driven than ever. This is more than a name change—it’s a reaffirmation of our promise to accelerate the extraordinary, fueling the growth of standout disruptors. We've been doing this for over a decade, and it's what our investors and founders expect us to do for many more to come. Here's to the next chapter in our journey with all of you! #VentureCapital #Innovation #Entrepreneurship #TitaniumVentures

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Which international VC has invested most actively in NZ? Here's the slide we prepared recently for our Investor Masterclass. Let me know who I'm missing. Four more sessions coming up including: Valuation, Terms, Governance, and War Stories. Join the fun by registering here: https://lnkd.in/ghJJpdR4

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Do you work with Startups or Scaleups? When our Founders, Startup / Scaleup Leaders, or Startup Employees join Aussie Founders Club's free membership on Frontcover, they then unlock exclusive offers for products and services. On the list, we currently have offers from companies like: Rapha: 6 months FREE on their recruitment system Heatseeker: A 30% disount on their subscription which gives you access to tools for generating value propositions, conducting live competitor audits, and running in-market experiments Mayfly Ventures: A free 45 minute Product Strategy Session HubSpot: Discounted access to Hubspot for Startups which opens you up to MANY MANY offers for startups BetaTrends: A 25% discount on their analytics subscription Granton: A free 30 minute consult to discuss eligible grants for your startup ScoreApp: 50% off your first month (I love Scoreapp) Informly: 10% off your Idea Validation report (I've used this - their reports are incredible) Also offers from my own businesses: Kairos: Offering exclusive AFC rates for your first hire placed through Kairos Mployd: Discounts on services for startup employees looking for work I've got many more in the works but if this sounds like something you and your business wants to get across, getting you in front of your target market and supporting them with an exclusive offer - you can! Fill out our EOI form and we will be in touch - link here: https://lnkd.in/gWqN32cb

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Warwick D. raises an old chestnut in his post below we hear all too often often. But is it fair? I have now personally met with over 200 founders in the past year and spent considerable time with each of them. 195 of them fall short in some or all of the following typical areas: 1) validated market opportunity. Is it a problem paying customers actually want fixed and what compelling evidence do you have to support this. 2) either poorly constructed, untested or non existent Commercialisation strategy. That is, the GTM strategy, pricing, product roadmap that supported the GTM. Most are generic unfocused strategies. 3) they have built what should be correctly called a POC and not an MVP. 4) and worse in my view, few can articulate what core metrics will drive accelerated growth for their business and why. I could go on, but the fact that so many are weak in these areas doesn’t help with their prospects for raising capital from investors. While I can’t speak for other VC’s, we build conviction by weighing in on those opportunities we like and where we think we can help in these key areas. It’s also a chance to see how well we might work with a founder prior to any possible investment. My own experience is that all too often little value is provided in meetings by investors to founders. We seek to be different by trying to impart value in each meeting, including asking the hard questions or pointing out our view of the likely challenges that lay ahead that their strategy should address. Being a founder is tough and being challenged isn’t always welcomed. But as I have been saying for decades to my teams, we can’t do anything with praise but we can with negative or challenging feedback. This is all to often where the pots of gold can be found! What do you think? #founders #capitalraising #venturecapital

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🌟 Australian Startups 2023: A Year of Strategic Shifts and Emerging Opportunities 🚀 In 2023, the Australian startup landscape navigated a cautious investment climate, recording a total of 413 deals with an overall investment value of $3.5 billion. Despite a significant drop in deal value from previous years, there was a notable shift towards robust activity in the early stages of investment. Angel and Pre-Seed rounds not only resisted the broader downturn but actually increased, highlighting a vibrant seed funding environment that underpins a dynamic market for emerging technologies. This heightened competition at the entry-level indicates a strategic pivot within our ecosystem, investing in the foundational potential of new ventures. Such insights are crucial as we steer towards nurturing a resilient and innovative startup community ready to tackle future challenges. Dive deeper into the full analysis and explore how these shifts are shaping the future of Australian innovation. https://lnkd.in/gc4gNtGc #AustralianStartups #VentureCapital #StartupEcosystem #Innovation

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📣 Excited to wrap up 2024 by helping more Australian founders crack the US market - without learning everything the hard way! This Thursday, I'm joining forces with Jason Booth from TaxStudio to share the essentials of US expansion - from flip-ups to tax strategies that help support sustainable growth. It will be a power hour to help founders gain insights that could save years of trial and error. We'll break down the complexities into actionable steps, sharing experiences and practical tips. Join us if you're planning your US journey for 2025. Your future self will thank you! 🚀 Details in comments ⬇️ #Startups #Scaleups #GlobalExpansion #USMarket #2025Growth

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Seasoned startup and product builder Chris Saad on why a typical American user from the west coast is often worth about "five to ten times more" than an Australian user. We explored the fundamental differences between the Australian and American startup ecosystems - mindset, regulations, taxes, social safety nets, sophistication of investors, geography, talent density, capital availability, and so on. Check out the full conversation in episode 434 of the Future Squared podcast.

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The future of venture capital is...This is the question I was tasked with tackling at Innovation Bay's INSPIRE event today. It's a big topic - Ian Gardiner and I started with some back-of the napkin maths about the next ten years of ANZ VC:  - There's $2.5bn dry powder in the ecosystem - Meaning a return of $7.5bn is required (assuming 3x return) - Which will require ~ $100bn of Enterprise Value (assuming ~5-10%% exit stake) That final number may seem like a lot, but ANZ software has already generated over $300bn of Enterprise Value over the last two decades. And we are seeing 30-40 tech companies hit $100m valuation each year. Some of these will eventually become $1bn+ outcomes These numbers make me excited about what's to come in the next ten years —more Aussie and Kiwi innovation creating tech companies that are making a dent on the global stage. Thanks @Innovation Bay for having me and Phaedon Stough for the photo!  

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Complete list of all active pre-seed & seed lead investors in NZ below. Thank you to all those who helped fill in the gaps. Quite a few people have reached out and said it was helpful, which is great. Next, I am thinking of creating the list of pre-seed & seed investors in NZ who follow and fill in investment rounds. As the list will be quite long, help would be appreciated. Please add in the comments. Aera VC AgriZeroNZ Blackbird Brandon Capital Bridgewest Ventures NZ Cure Kids Ventures Ecliptic Even Capital GD1 (Global From Day One) Hillfarrance Venture Capital Icehouse Ventures Maker Partners Motion Capital Movac Nuance Connected Capital NZ Growth Capital Partners NZVC Outset Ventures Pacific Channel Phase One Ventures Punakaiki Fund Quidnet Ventures Soul Capital Sprout Agritech WNT Ventures

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Ecstatic to announce Titanium Ventures' investment in Samsara Eco, the climate tech innovator enabling infinite plastic recycling, as part of their US$65M Series A+! Global emissions from plastic production could triple to account for one-fifth of the Earth’s remaining carbon budget. Plastic creation generated 2.24 gigatons of planet-heating pollution in 2019, or as much as 600 coal-fired power plants - 5% of all global carbon emissions. Samsara Eco has led world-first innovations in infinite recycling, pioneering the ability to recycle plastics including nylon 6,6 and polyester. Earlier this year, in partnership with its first textile partner, Samsara Eco unveiled the world’s first enzymatically recycled nylon 6,6 product (sweet jackets which we bought online!) and also helped to introduce lululemon’s first product made from enzymatically recycled polyester. Whilst I write this, I am wearing one of the first jackets in the world that has been recycled! We’re excited to see the impact they will have in the years to come. Other impressive investors include: Temasek, Main Sequence, lululemon, DCVC, Hitachi Ventures and Wollemi Capital. https://lnkd.in/gKkg2mS3

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A little over five months ago, I wrote a post about the mission behind Electrifi Ventures (see link in comments), a Climate Tech-focused angel syndicate I’m running alongside GrowthStream, an advisory business in the energy transition space. By sharing my time and knowledge with both seasoned and aspiring investors, I aim to amplify our collective climate impact through angel investing. Fast forward to today, I am thrilled to share with you our incredible journey to being one of the largest independent Angel Syndicates, with over 250 Angel Investors / LP’s across ANZ! In less than a year since starting Electrifi Ventures, we are proud to have invested in seven industry-transforming climate startups, and we are backing these companies with conviction: Sicona Battery Technologies: a game changer for the uptake of Electric Vehicles, is a deep tech company creating advanced materials that improves the overall performance of lithium-ion batteries. Sicona believes it is able to increase charging speed by 40% and deliver 20% more range on EVs.  GOTERRA: an autonomous circular food waste management infrastructure that is integrated with existing systems to create enduring industry solutions.  Harvest B: a food technology business that develops and manufactures plant proteins with animal protein-like textures that are easier to consume and more affordable for everyone.  NRN - National Renewable Network: a connected network of solar and storage systems that radically changes the way renewable energy is delivered for energy retailers. Stealth DAC Innovator: an innovative technology that is removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, at scale, in a cost-effective way, via Direct Air Capture (DAC). Threadlet: an energy efficiency platform that aims to automatically identify SME energy usage and switch business energy accounts to the best energy rate provider for every venue, every month. 📣 Would love to invite anyone interested to learn more (or invest) in innovative solutions tackling the climate crisis to join the Electrifi Ventures angel syndicate (link in comments).

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I'm looking forward to joining Walshs on Monday evening for a deep dive webinar on Venture Capital discussing: ➡ Investing in Venture Capital as part of a diverse portfolio ➡ The Venture Capital landscape ➡ Update on the Sprint Ventures funds ➡ Announcement of Sprint Fund III and our institutional investor ➡ Potential tax benefits of investing in an Early Stage Venture Capital Limited Partnership ESVCLP I hope you can join us! #venturecapital #investing #alternativeassets #diversification #portfolio #fundmanager #growthcapital #ESVCLP

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Board Meetings for Seed / A companies should be open discussions on ideas and strategy 🗣️ All investors should have read the Board Pack in advance (and it should be sent 48 hours+ in advance). Specific governance / finance questions can be asked in an email chain or WA group beforehand. When the Board starts, nail any votes required in first 5 mins. Core focus of Board should = 2-3 key things that the Founders want to have a deep dialogue on, where the other members can be the sounding board. "This is our idea around our new marketing campaign. These are our channels." "We've narrowed down these three candidates for x role." "Here is prototype for our new product feature launching next month." "Here's the template for our Sales playbook for moving up market." "We a/b tested these two acquisition channels and have some preliminary data." No need to spend half the Board meeting talking about financials, the Board Pack will show if you've overspent, the reasons why and can be discussed async beforehand.

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The news is out 🗞️We’ve officially closed our second Australian fund at $77M, exceeding our original target of $60M. See more from The Australian Financial Review 👉https://lnkd.in/gJ68eGBc We’ve also launched a new follow-on practice that guarantees we will participate in the next round following our initial investment if the founder can secure at least $300,000 from sophisticated investors in their first 12 months. Our data shows that companies that fail to raise capital within their first 12 months are unlikely to reach Series A, so this is our bit in maximising our portfolio companies’ chances of growth and success. We’re so proud of our team for this phenomenal outcome despite challenging market conditions, and we’re even more thrilled about the opportunities this is going to bring founders and early-stage startups in Australia. It also comes as we prepare to launch our residency in Brisbane for the first time - something we weren't expecting to do for at least another year. But after strong market interest and founder demand from the Queensland ecosystem, we have decided to move it forward to February 2025. So, if you or someone you know is ready to build the next tech unicorn, apply now to join our residency in February 🚀https://lnkd.in/gM7j-nSj Otherwise, if you want to learn more, come along to one of our upcoming AMAs where we delve into what you can expect from Antler’s residency and investment, and hear from founders who have recently done it 📆 https://lnkd.in/g73sBv4m

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BOOM!! 🚨Today we announced that Telstra Ventures has changed its name to Titanium Ventures 🚨   We chose Titanium Ventures because it best represents who we are and who we want to be - a firm that backs very strong, resilient entrepreneurs who resist cracking under pressure.   Titanium has the highest durability and strength-to-weight ratio of any metal in the world and like the leaders we invest in, we punch way above our weight.   Our investment thesis remains the same and we will continue to identify and scale the most promising companies across a variety of AI, digital and software sectors.   So far we’ve invested in 99 portfolio companies, resulting in:   🚀 12 IPOs 🚀 17 unicorns 🚀 42 liquidity events   Today we have almost A$1.35B funds under management and have returned almost A$1B cash to investors.   This is an exciting next chapter in our story. Titanium Ventures will continue to accelerate the extraordinary, fueling the growth of standout disruptors, that’s what we have done for over a decade and that’s what our investors and founders expect us to do in the decades to come.   You can read the full press release here: https://lnkd.in/gYZtGtX8   #titaniumventures #venturecapital #unicorns #ipo

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Mark "Z" Zmarzly 🦄 substack brings all the startups to his yard. And the startups are like, it's better than yours. And Mark's like "Damn right it's better than yours ... I can teach you, but I have to charge." Good thing he's got access to plenty Amazon Web Services (AWS) credits. See you in Melbourne at Intersekt next Wednesday and the AWS Financial Services Symposium in Sydney on Thursday. #AWSStartups #CloudInnovation #StartupEcosystem #AWSActivate #ScalableSolutions #TechForStartups #CloudForStartups #AWSGrowth #BuildOnAWS #StartupSuccess #AWSPartners #CloudFirst #FounderSupport #StartupJourney #TechInnovation #AWSCloud #ScaleWithAWS #StartupResources #AWSFunding #EntrepreneurSupport #AWSStartupsAccelerator

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In the latest episode of Future Squared podcast, I spoke with Australian and former Head of Product at UBER’s Developer Platform, Chris Saad. Chris noted that: 1) despite the larger pool of VC dry powder in Australia, capital is actually scarce and controlled by a few big players 2) Aussie investors are risk averse and typically looking for ‘derisked’ B2B opportunities, as they are often investing on behalf of large conservative super funds 3) Aussie investors are, for the most part, unsophisticated when it comes to investing in high-growth venture scale returns companies, something Canva’s Cliff Obrecht echoed when talking about the company’s prospective NASDAQ listing in 2026 We’ve no doubt come a long way since the noughties, when there wasn't much of a startup or VC landscape to speak of... but are we still, in Chris’ words, “about twenty years behind”? Is the gap between Australia and the US getting smaller or bigger? What do you think?

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As an angel investor, I’ve made over 50 early-stage investments across the UK, US, and beyond. Now, as a Partner at Antler in Australia, I’ve experienced firsthand the shifts between angel and VC investing - and these findings have transformed my approach to supporting founders. I share 5 surprising lessons I learned that about angel vs. VC funding that I wish every founder knew in the article below. From the unexpected empathy VCs have (yes, we pitch too!) to why VCs reserve capital for follow-on funding and how market size can make or break a venture-backed business. Thinking about joining our February '25 residency and/or raising your first round? This is an inside look at the mindsets and strategies VCs use when investing, offering takeaways to help you get funded. 👉 Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/g_jStAWS

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The co-founder and CEO from one of Australia's leading VC firm told me last year "𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝘃𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝘂𝗽 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲." The CEO is Rohan W. and the VC is Skalata. Since then I've thought about the relationship between confidence and competence. Both are vital. And can't afford to lose either. How to increase both Confidence and Competence: 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗹𝘆 Read biographies, history, philosophy, economics. Get a base level of how the world works. You'll never gain enough experience on your own. Books allow you to live a thousands lives in one. Learn from others. *Avoid books with the "F" word in the title and bright covers. 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝘆 Your first pitch will be lousy. Your first draft will be rubbish. Your first of anything will be well below your standard. Stumble your way through things. Review your learnings and refine your process. Get a little better each time. 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸 Write yourself a weekly update. I have a folder with over 120 weekly updates that touch on all things sales, marketing, product, finances, operations, triumphs and tragedies. I share these with our investors and co-founder. When re-reading these you'll look back and realise how far you've come. 80/20 𝗥𝘂𝗹𝗲 Use the 80/20 principle when approaching new skills. All skills can be boiled down to fundamentals. What are the top 20% of the fundamentals you need to master to develop 80% off the skills. Focus on and nail those few things. 𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 Keep things simple, the more complicated you make things the messier they will become. Nietzsche said: they muddy the water to make it seem deep. Focusing on the 80/20 principle helps with this. 𝗥𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 Find someone who's been-there-done-that. Your "Plus" (from my post last week) who can walk you through the darkness. More importantly they can highlight what you're doing well and where you need to improve. This will solidify your confidence and increase your competence. 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 Each new skill increases your competence. The feeling of knowing how to do something fuels confidence. These two stack upon each other. Keep the momentum. - If you found this helpful, give it a reshare and follow me for more startup, entrepreneurship, and founder advice.

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