Brian Collins

In my last post from our SXSW Sydney vox pop series Ben Lyons turns the mic 🎤 on to me, to get some answers to common questions about Tractor Ventures 🚜: What is Tractor Ventures funding? What is different about Tractor from other debt finance companies? What should founders think about using Tractor funds for? How do we think about security for our lending? Answered very succinctly! 😅

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At Flying Fox Ventures, we’ve always had a dual mission: find and back Australia’s (and the world’s!) best founders and build out the most powerful community of early stage investors.  In the past 4.5 years, we’ve helped over 400 people invest behind us; more than half of them writing their first startup cheque with us.  But as we reflect on our progress towards our mission to date, we feel confident that we’re delivering on the first part (hello Flying Fox portfolio: we heart you big time) but admittedly, have rested on our laurels on the second part.  Our investors are amazing - it’s true.  But save for a handful of new friends, we’ve been mostly a closed shop for the last few years.  The biggest compliment our investors can give us is to renew their trust in us and continue to invest year after year.  78% of our investors have invested beyond the annual cohort that they first joined.  We’re #humbled and #blessed.  But it means our annual cohorts are filled with pre-existing investors and we’ve often missed the opportunity to actively invite newcomers in.  In our attempt to stay ‘modest and demure’, we fear we projected a closed door. As we finish deploying our 4th signature cohort next week and gearing up to put our 5th cohort to work, we just want to say: you are welcome here. Come join us!  Tell your friends. Old hats, new timers - all good. It’s not too late and we love making new friends.  Reach out to me or Kylie Frazer and we’ll give you all the details.  (And yes, sorry, wholesale investors only) cc: Flying Fox Ventures Kylie Frazer

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The VC Midas List I love this list, and the VCs on it are incredible investors. But, I would love to understand why there are no Aussie VCs on this global list?! Some of our local funds and GPs are world-class, with bona fide Midas touch, investing in all the startup mythical creatures (centaurs, unicorns, decacorns).... I'm certain some of the GPs from Airtree, Blackbird, Square Peg or OIF Ventures, OneVentures, King River Capital or Reinventure Group should have made it onto the list. What am I missing? It feels wrong to highlight the VCs with the Midas touch without including anyone from the Australian VC ecosystem. Forbes Forbes Australia See the selection criteria in the comments.

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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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There’s a lot to love about the Seed phase 🌱 My passion for Seed phase technology investing springs from a profound appreciation for this particular phase of company building. There’s an undeniable allure to being part of a company’s early growth, where progress is swift, and the potential for impact is vast. What truly captivates me is the opportunity to engage with diverse ideas, innovations, and technologies. As an investor, I leverage my expertise to collaborate with different visionaries, having a larger circle of impact and contributing to meaningful change. Beyond the excitement of innovation and growth lies the human connection inherent in early-stage investing. Witnessing a founder’s triumphs and supporting them through challenges enriches the journey. Sharing in the highs and lows with passionate founders adds a profoundly gratifying dimension to the investment process, transforming it from a mere business endeavour into a deeply personal one. https://lnkd.in/gbaPX9_j

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The ANZ Startup Capital Raise Retro Powered by Overnight Success. $58.3M deployed across ANZ. The full digest below includes discounts on community events and more. 👇 Veyor Digital raises $2.75M Series A to expand its logistics scheduling software into the U.S. market. NextWork (NZ 🥝) secures $2.3 Pre-Seed to build a learning platform to get more people into tech jobs. Check them out for a free AWS certification. Foremind finds a $400K follow-on investment for its mobile-friendly worker wellbeing platform. RayGen shines with $51M Series D to scale photovoltaic solar module system Kindling. raises $500K pre-seed to empower niche content creators to monetise CoraMetix secures $500K at $2.25M valuation to create durable 3D printed heart valve Outread raises $750K to revolutionise academic research using A.I. Deeligence lands $1M pre-seed to help legal firms streamline work with A.I.

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At Airtree, we talk about thinking in decades, so in the latest Cut Through Ventures report, I shared my views on what we expect (and frankly need to see) over the next 10 years in ANZ startups. There are a lot of numbers in here; ~$7.5bn in venture returns from ~$100bn in enterprise value and >100k jobs created. After one of the most volatile market cycles we’ve all experienced, it may seem like a lot. But looking at historical trends and the pipeline of start-ups it’s all well within our reach. It’s also great to see the latest data suggesting a changing of the tide in sentiment and investment activity: • Q2 2024 was the strongest funding quarter since Q4 2022 • Investor sentiment improving, with 46% of investors describing the funding market as more favourable compared to last quarter • # of deals exceeding $100m in Q2 reaching levels not seen since Q1 2022 The outlook for H2 is encouraging and we have plenty of work still to do. You know where to find us! Check out the full report here: https://lnkd.in/geY6By2x

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I'm very proud to see Crimson Education, founded by Jamie Beaton, Fangzhou Jiang, and Sharndré Kushor, cement its place in New Zealand's small stable of tech Unicorns. It's exciting to see an ANZ edtech focused on K - 12 education excel on a global stage. It's a proof point that the region can produce successful tech businesses beyond B2B SaaS. Crimson's journey has intersected with mine in curious ways. I remember spending the summer break with Jamie and Richard when they were applying to US universities; I must have proofread dozens of iterations of personal statements. I was then one of Crimson's first tutors in 2013, and recruited several others from ANU to support Crimson's expansion into tutoring HSC subjects. I remember having pizza with the team in Fangzhou's Unilodge dorm room, in between the information sessions they hosted for highschool students. From these humble beginnings, it's incredible to see Crimson grow into a world leader in college admissions consulting and online high school education - while accelerating to over $100m USD in annual turnover. At various times, I've heard Crimson cop criticism for creating a 'hack' for getting into elite universities. Having worked closely with a number of Crimson students - I think what Crimson really does is expand students' horizons, help them to hone in on what they're great at, and raise their ambition. Ever since he was 17 years old, Jamie has believed that the world could be his oyster. His optimism and energy is infectious; spending time with Jamie always raises my ambition too. It's marvelous to see him scale his superpower via the business he's built in Crimson Education. More about the raise in this article by Paul Smith -

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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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For those seeking investors - here is another useful reference... https://lnkd.in/g39nSSZj #Airtree #changetheworld #betterworld #startups #venturecapital #vc #vcfunding #startupfunding

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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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Venture is all about people. It’s that simple.

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Well done Capital Brief and Andrew Cornell. Good interview. Hits all the points. For all the Australian #SaaS #BaaS #FinTech #InsurTech #PropTech #StartUp #Founders out there ... I don't know about you but after chatting with more than a few Australian banking venture capital funds you get the vibe that they're are generally more cautious than traditional VCs due to their ties to financial institutions and regulatory requirements. They favor investments in later-stage companies with proven business models. In other words, only founders with an A series or above need apply. That being said; comparitavely to the other Australian Banking VC Managing Directors/Partners, Amanda brings a genuine no BS, I'll give you quick no and let me tell you why or yeah that'll work, NYC vibe to the table. #BankingVC #VentureCapital #VCInvesting #InvestmentStrategy #FinTechInvestment #VCFunding #BankingInvestments #VCPortfolio #StartupFunding #VentureFunding #FinancialInvestments #VCPartners #InvestmentApproach #TechInvestments #VCStrategy #FundingRounds #EarlyStageInvesting #VCInsights #InvestmentFunds #VCDeals #InvestmentTrends #BankingInnovation #VCNetwork #TechStartups #VCAdvisors #InvestmentOpportunities #VCFinance #CapitalAllocation #InvestmentManagement #VentureCapitalists NAB Ventures Amanda Angelini

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It's Cut Through Venture data release day, and the The Australian Financial Review has noted that IPOs are becoming an increasingly rare form of exit. No surprise there. While an IPO can be a significant milestone for a large, fast-growing company, it’s not necessarily an exit in itself. As Rachael Neumann points out in the article, companies still in high-growth mode may need more patient capital to support long-term, bigger-bet strategies. But here’s the thing: for investors, patience can be overrated. There's a common misconception in venture that every fund needs to invest ‘from day one until forever’. In reality, there’s nothing wrong with an investment strategy that optimises for liquidity windows. It’s exactly how we operate at Flying Fox Ventures. Big funds that need to create billions in enterprise value must play the long game. Smaller funds, on the other hand, can deliver impressive multiples by selling to downstream investors much sooner. As the Australian venture ecosystem matures, it’s essential that we nurture a strong mix of both approaches—and everything in between. AFR article in comments (paywall).

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At Australian Gulf Capital (AGC), we're thrilled to announce our recent investment in Anthropic, a trailblazer in the AI industry. Our decision to acquire Anthropic's Series B preferred shares (through FTX liquidation process) at a valuation of approximately $18.2 billion is driven by the company's impressive track record, innovative product line, and robust strategic partnerships. 🚀 Anthropic's potential is evident in the significant investments from tech giants like Amazon and Google. Amazon's record-breaking $4 billion investment and Google's $2 billion commitment showcase the industry's confidence in Anthropic's future. 💼 The launch of the Claude 3 model family, featuring Claude 3 Haiku, Claude 3 Sonnet, and Claude 3 Opus, demonstrates Anthropic's commitment to pushing the boundaries of AI performance. These models have shown remarkable results in various cognitive tasks, potentially outperforming competitors like OpenAI's GPT-4 in certain benchmarks. 🧠 Founded by former OpenAI executives Dario Amodei and Daniela Amodei, Anthropic's focus on safety and efficiency in AI is deeply rooted in its DNA. By leveraging AWS's cutting-edge AI chips, Anthropic is poised to optimize performance while reducing operational costs. 🌐 Anthropic's financial growth is nothing short of impressive, with a staggering 1,341% year-over-year increase in annual recurring revenue (ARR). This growth trajectory points to strong market adoption and scalability. Projections indicate that Anthropic is on track to generate over $850 million in annualized revenue by 2042. 📈 Interestingly, Anthropic recently rejected a merger offer from OpenAI, which included a high-profile position for Anthropic's CEO, Dario Amodei, as the potential new CEO of OpenAI. This decision underscores Anthropic's confidence in its independent path and strategic direction. 🌟 At AGC, we're excited to be part of Anthropic's journey as it revolutionizes the AI landscape. Stay tuned for more updates on this exciting investment and the transformative power of AI! 🚀 #AI #Anthropic #InvestmentOpportunity #AGC #AustralianGulfCapital #Innovation #FutureOfTechnology #AmazonInvestment #GoogleInvestment #Claude3 #OpenAI #GPT4 #StrategicPartnerships #Investing #VentureCapital #FamilyOffices #HighNetWorthIndividuals #HNWIs #TechGiants #Startups #Entrepreneurship Disclaimer: This post represents the opinion of Australian Gulf Capital (AGC) and should not be relied upon as the sole basis for making investment decisions. While we have conducted due diligence and believe in the potential of Anthropic, investing in startups and venture capital involves inherent risks. We encourage all investors to conduct their own research and consult with their financial advisors before making any investment decisions. AGC does not guarantee any specific outcome or return on investment.

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Andreessen Horowitz raises huge $7.2bn for various venture strategies including $600m for their American Dynamism thesis - investments focussing on American National Interests. At Salus Ventures we continue to drive an aligned philosophy here in Australia to build our National Resilience. We have seen over the weekend that technology superiority is critical to protect the values we hold dear. If you're a founder building in this domain please reach out - we are here to help in any and every way we can. Whether it's navigating Governement policy, procurement or available funding (for example the NRF or ASCA) or support with your business model, team building or networks, Salus Ventures wants to stand shoulder to shoulder with you - this mission is critical to us and for Australia. #backingheroicfounders Marten Peck Stephane Janson Nina Hooper Mike Ferrari

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The startup fundraising environment feels slightly better. Hearing news of rounds closing and bridge rounds being secured more frequently. This may very well be VCs scrambling to close deals before end of year holidays but still a positive sign. However, don't expect the flood gates to open anytime soon as commitments will continue to be measured. LP allocation to VCs have dropped sharply and that generally means less money available down the line for startups. If you are post Series B in South East Asia, plan for the eventuality that you may not raise for a while. Try to get a bridge round to extend runway to 15-20 months and aggressively find a path closer to profitability to unlock fundraising or exit options. If you are earlier stage (seed through Series A), then the expectation is that you need to do more with less money. The AI tools available in the market should make each worker more productive and a startup (in theory) should be able to go further with less people. Broadly, startups across all stages need to exercise more discipline with capital. This is not to say growth is not the most important factor any more - it always was and always will be. But only that growth needs to be tempered with control and spend needs to be much more intentional and optimized. If you are struggling to navigate these issues as a founder, we are here to help at Finprojections. #startup #fundraising #venturecapital #southeastasia #virtualcfo

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It's one of the biggest events of the year, SXSW Sydney 2024 and we need your vote for our panel! 👇   Moderated by Vicki Stirling (CEO of the The Startup Network), and discussed by our very own Birchal CEO & Founder Matt Vitale, Chad Stephens(Founder of 2 successful business exits 1Form and Fillr) and Kerren McNamara (Founder & MD of KIN), we want to discuss, the mental resilience and mindset of a founder. We'll be diving into unconventional methods like psychedelics, mindfulness and meditation and how they can give founders an edge as they build their future success story.  All we need is 30 seconds of your time to help bring this conversation to life at SXSW! Steps below:  ↳ 1. Sign up using the link in comments to vote 🔗    ↳ 2. Vote for our Panel "Mental Resilience: Can Psychedelics, Mindfulness & Meditation Transform the Founder Mindset?" 🧘‍♀️    ↳3. Share it with someone else to vote! 🔥    As a reminder, you can vote for as many sessions as you like - so if you have already voted for another topic, you can still vote for us!

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🎊 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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