Jules Lund’s TRIBE officially launches with major blue-chip brands already on board with active campaigns

November 5, 2015, 1:40 pm

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In September we announced that radio and tv personality Jules Lund was set to launch TRIBE, a micro-endorsement platform that connects brands with ‘everyday influencers’. We also announced the startup had closed a seed round of $750,000 from a group of unnamed strategic investors; those investors can now be named and include Gabby and Hezi Leibovich (Catch of the Day), Matt Berriman (Unlockd), Jane Martino (Shout, which exited to ANZ), Bridget Loudon (Expert 360), Sam Cavanagh (National Exec. Producer Southern Cross Austereo), and David Gillespie (Havas Worldwide's Strategy Director, based in USA). Former Shoply General Manager Anthony Svirskis will be the company CEO. The platform has now officially launched, and at a time where the conversation around brands and their relationships with social-influencers in Australia has never been stronger. The attention over the last 48-hours has come mostly from the situation surrounding ex-social media influencer, slash model, slash veganism evangelist Essena O'Neill, who decided to call out social media for being fake, full of deceptive conduct, and the problem teenagers face trying to feed their need for validation online. I get the argument and support the cause at a grass roots level, but I hesitate at being so willing to blame a platform - be it Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, or Twitter - for the way in which a user chooses to engage with that platform. I do however believe that when it comes to brand activity on those platforms companies engaging in these types of marketing activities have a responsibility to be age appropriate (especially when targeting tweens) and ensure that those influencers they are paying have a genuine passion for that career and their brand, because every time an O'Neill situation comes up where the influencer decides to do a 180 turn, your brand is in danger. The business of connecting these entities - influencers and brands - has existed for a while at the top end of town. Agencies like The Remarkables Group, IMG Models, and Ministry of Talent are all examples of companies that have been built by facilitating the relationship between brands and influential individuals. While successful, scalability in terms of talent is much more difficult to achieve. Being personally familiar with TRIBE's investors and advisors and having followed their own startups throughout the last four years, I can safely say that scalability will always be the main focus the board will be driving - seeing the company own the $27.6 million Australian addressable market and gaining enough traction to take a considerable slice out of the addressable $240 million United States social influencer marketing space. “It’s been a labor of love for two years," says Lund. "To now have experienced investors, advisors and an executive team expertly driving TRIBE forward is exciting.” Where I think that TRIBE is going to be a standout in the space is with its strategy of mobile-first and its UI and UX, which is frankly intuitive and delightful. The platform is completely self-serve and everything from receiving campaign briefs to posting the actual content happens within the TRIBE mobile application. A massive tick. Users of the platform (influencers with 5,000+ followers on a platform) respond to briefs following the instructions around what the brand is looking for. The brands get that submitted content, and if they choose to partner with that user on the campaign, the post is then approved, goes live on the influencer's social media platform, and once live, the influencer is paid immediately. “We see enormous power in the everyday influencer who engages authentically with their audience and understands what resonates with their tribe better than anyone else,” says Lund. Already there are campaigns from brands like Reebok, Sony Music, Grill'd, Contiki, Paramount Pictures, UNIQLO, Vinomofo, American Express and Bic Pens on the platform awaiting submissions from social media influencers, with each submitting campaigns prior to launch. The TRIBE app also provides users with a guide on what to ask for based on their follower counts, ensuring they do not out-price or under-sell themselves. In terms of its position in the Australian market, Svirskis has every intention to make TRIBE the leading platform in the influencer marketing sector. “We are working hard to ensure the scalability in our technology, and on developing best practice guidelines for this rapidly expanding category," says Svirskis. "[We have] already held discussions with the ACCC and the leading social platforms. TRIBE’s influencer app is also the first platform in Australia to implement benchmark rates for social posts to ensure consistency within this market." It is still early days and this is going to be a business where brands will decide whether or not it becomes a success, but now I have used it, my initial cynicism around the concept no longer exists; mainly because the tech side of things is so impressive. TRIBE intends to raise a second round of capital before the end of the year.

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2. Melbourne startup Shopping Links wants to facilitate ‘genuine’ relationships between bloggers and brands
3. Charity crowdfunding goes mobile: The GO Tribe launches app

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Activision Blizzard to acquire King Digital Entertainment for $5.9 billion; Handy raises $50 million; Shoeboxed Australia raises $775,000 angel round

November 5, 2015, 3:08 pm

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Another busy week across the global startup world has seen gaming giant Activision Blizzard announce that it is set to acquire King Digital Entertainment, the makers of Candy Crush, for $5.9 billion, while Expedia is to acquire Airbnb competitor HomeAway for $3.9 billion. Closer to home, Shoeboxed Australia has raised $775,000 in angel funding, while invoice2go raised a $15 million Series C round. Acquisitions Activision Blizzard to acquire King Digital Entertainment for $5.9 billion Gaming giant Activision Blizzard announced this week that it is set to acquire King Digital Entertainment, the company behind Candy Crush, for $5.9 billion. Bobby Kotick, Activision Blizzard's CEO, said in a statement, "The combined revenues and profits solidify our position as the largest, most profitable standalone company in interactive entertainment. With a combined global network of more than half a billion monthly active users, our potential to reach audiences around the world on the device of their choosing enables us to deliver great games to even bigger audiences than ever before." Expedia to acquire HomeAway for $3.9 billion Expedia announced that it is set to acquire HomeAway, a platform allowing users to book holiday homes from owners, for $3.9 billion in cash and Expedia common stock. Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Expedia, said in a statement, "We have long had our eyes on the fast growing ~$100 billion alternative accommodations space and have been building on our partnership with HomeAway, a global leader in vacation rentals, for two years. Bringing HomeAway into the Expedia family and adding its leading brands to our portfolio of the most trusted brands in travel is a logical next step." IBM acquires Gravitant IBM has announced that it has acquired Gravitant, a startup behind software that helps companies broker software and computing services from multiple suppliers across hybrid clouds. According to a statement from IBM, Gravitant's technology will be integrated into the IBM Global Technology Services unit. IBM Cloud also plans to integrate the capabilities into SaaS offerings. Martin Jetter, senior vice president of Global Technology Services at IBM, said, "The reality of enterprise IT is that it is many clouds with many characteristics, whether they be economic, capacity or security. Gravitant provides an innovative approach to add choice and simplicity to how enterprises can now manage their environments. It will be a key component as we broaden our hybrid cloud services." Chef acquires VulcanoSec Seattle company Chef, an IT automation provider, has acquired German security startup VulcanoSec. According to GeekWire, Chef will be launching Chef Compliance, built on VulcanoSec's technology, which will help companies apply regulatory requirements into the software development workflow. The acquisition comes two months after Chef raised a $40 million Series E round. Sprinklr acquires Booshaka Social media software startup Sprinklr has acquired Booshaka, an advanced audience segmentation and management platform. A statement from Sprinklr explained that the addition of Booshaka technology to Sprinklr’s Experience Cloud will allow brands to apply real-time audience segmentation to social data in order to better understand their audiences and deliver improved experiences, from brand advertising to customer care. Postmates to acquire Sosh On demand delivery startup Postmates is set to acquire Sosh, a startup that helps users find and book things to do in their city. According to Fortune, Sosh was running out of money and so decided to sell. The acquisition is actually an aquihire, as Postmates said that the acquisition does not include any of Sosh’s technology. Microsoft acquires Mobile Data Labs Microsoft has acquired Mobile Data Labs, the startup behind the MileIQ mileage tracking app, for an undisclosed sum. According to a statement from Microsoft, the Mobile Data Labs team "will continue to build and offer mobile productivity solutions and look to take advantage of insights from Office 365 and the Office Graph." Funding Invoice2go raises $15 million Series C round Invoice2go has closed a $15 million Series C round led by existing investors Ribbit Capital, with participation from Accel Partners, who were part of the startup’s $35 million round of funding in 2014. This brings the total amount of funding raised by Invoice2go to date to $50 million. Founder Chris Strode said that the funding will allow the business to leverage off its strong position globally to aggressively widen its footprint in the FinTech space with the development of new features, and to assist small businesses and enable them to experience more growth with its suite of tools. Mon Purse raises seed round Mon Purse revealed this week that it raised a significant seed funding round in July. The investors were all high net worth individuals from the technology and retail sector that wish to remain private. Founder Lana Hopkins declined to comment on the amount of capital that was raised, due to a contractual agreement to not discuss the figures within the business. However, according to multiple sources Startup Daily spoke with that are familiar with the deal, the round is estimated to be about $750,000. Shoeboxed Australia closes $775,000 angel round

Document processing startup Shoeboxed Australia has closed a $775,000 angel investment round led by Smorgon Capital, with participation from Andrew Bird and Jono Herrman, Steph Hinds of Growthwise, and the BlueChilli Venture Fund. Shoeboxed Australia Founder and CEO Simon Foster said the investment will fund further product development and customer acquisition marketing.

Zenchef raises €6 million Paris startup Zenchef, which helps restaurants build an online presence and manage bookings, has raised €6 million in a round led by Edenred Capital Partners, with participation from Xange, Metro, and existing backers Elaia Partners, Accélérateur Capital Partners and Kima Ventures. The startup will be using the funding to achieve its goal of reaching 25,000 restaurants around Europe by 2018. RelayRides raises $47 million Series C round RelayRides, a peer-to-peer marketplace for car rentals, has rebranded to Turo after announcing that it has raised $47 million in a Series C round led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, with participation from existing investors including August Capital, Canaan Partners, Google Ventures, and Shasta Ventures. Kleiner Perkins partner Brook Porter has joined the startup's board. The fresh funding brings the total raised by the company to date to $101 million. LISNR raises $10 million Series B round LISNR, a startup that has created a new communications protocol that allows for data to be sent through audio, has raised $10 million in a Series B round led by Intel Capital, with participation from investors including Mercury Fund, Jump Capital, and R/GA Ventures. Body Labs raises $8 million Series A round Body Labs, a startup creating advanced 3D body scanning technology, has raised $8 million in a Series A round led by Intel Capital, with participation from FirstMark Capital, Max-Planck-Innovation GmbH, Osage University Partners, and Catalus Capital, as well as company founders and certain company employees. Uniplaces raises $24 million in Series A round Uniplaces, a Portuguese startup helping university students find housing, has raised $24 million in a Series A round led by Atomico, with participation from existing investors including Octopus Ventures, Shilling Capital Partners, and Caixa Capital. SnapApp raises $12 million Series A round SnapApp, a platform helping B2B marketers create and measure interactive content, has raised $12 million in a Series A round from Providence Equity Partners. iboss raises $35 million Series A round Cybersecurity startup iboss has raised $35 million in a Series A round from Goldman Sachs’ Private Capital Investing group, with Goldman Sachs now holding a minority stake in the startup and Stephen Kearns, a vice president in the Private Capital Investing group, joining the iboss board. The funding will allow the startup to develop new technology and roll out its next-generation cloud platform as it also expands globally. Lumo Bodytech raises $10 million Series B round Lumo Bodytech has raised $10 million in a Series B round led by WuXi Healthcare Ventures, with participation from existing investors Madrona Venture Group, Innovation Endeavors, AME Cloud Ventures, and Innovalue Capital Ltd. The funding will go towards the launch of a wearables biomechanics platform, a combination of hardware, software, and data that will enable companies to integrate human body movements into the next generation of wearables technology. nestpick raises $11 million Series A round Berlin-based, Rocket Internet-backed startup nestpick, which wants to move the whole process of renting online, has raised $11 million in a Series A round from Magrove, Enern, and Rocket Internet. The platform has listed more than 21,000 homes and transacted over €16 million in rental income for landlords since it was founded in May 2014. Handy raises $50 million Series C round On demand home services startup Handy has raised $50 million in a Series C round led by Fidelity Management and Research Company, with participation from existing investors includingPG Growth, General Catalyst, Highland Capital, and Revolution Growth. The funding will go towards helping the startup solidify its position in the US and UK markets. Netatmo raises $32 million French IoT startup Netatmo, creator of a range of connected devices for the home, has raised $32 million in a round led by Legrand, with participation from existing investors including Iris Capital, Bpifrance, Pascal Cagni, and Netatmo’s CEO and co-founder Fred Potter. As Legrand is a provider of electrical and digital building infrastructure solutions, the investment will open the door for Netatmo to work with the company as a partner on large building projects.

Image: King Digital Entertainment CEO Riccardo Zacconi. Source: King.com.

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3. Axel Springer acquires Business Insider for $343 million; Kreditech raises $92 million; Social Finance raises $1 billion Series E round

Code Club merges with Raspberry Pi Foundation to introduce kids to robotics

November 5, 2015, 3:52 pm

≫ Next: UNSW offering startups a foot into the Chinese market at its Startup China pitching event

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Code Club, a worldwide network of volunteer-led coding clubs for children aged 9 to 11, has announced that it is merging with the Raspberry Pi Foundation, a UK charity that makes small, affordable computers aimed at helping kids learn computing skills. The news means Code Club will become a wholly owned subsidiary of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, though its brand and approach will remain untouched. At the most practical level the merger means Code Club, which first launched in 2012 and has since grown to 3,800 clubs in the UK and over 1,000 across 70 other countries, will officially be expanding its coding curriculum into projects that include robotics. The Australian branch of Code Club has grown to almost 300 clubs, making its programme larger than any network of clubs outside the UK, where coding has been required in schools for three years. There are now almost 9000 kids coding weekly in schools, libraries, and community centres around Australia. Phillip Coligan, CEO of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, which has sold 7 million computers since its launch in 2012, explained in a blog post that the decision to join forces was an obvious step, with the two organisations launched as a response to the "collective failure to prepare young people for life and work in a world that is shaped by digital technologies." "We share a common mission and values, we hugely respect each other’s work, and there are clear benefits from combining our capabilities, particularly if we want to have impact at a serious scale," he wrote. "Code Club and Raspberry Pi share one other important characteristic: we’re both, at heart, community efforts, only possible thanks to the huge numbers of volunteers and educators who share our passion to get kids involved in digital making. One of our main goals is to support that community to grow." The merger comes after a period during which governments around Australia have begun focusing on the importance of teaching kids to code. Last month Opposition Leader Bill Shorten announced that, if it wins government at the next election, the Labor Party will create a $4.5 million funding program aimed at helping girls get into coding. The program would see grants of up to $150,000 made available to organisations such as Code Club Australia, Code Like a Girl, and Tech Girls Movement to help them scale up their activities and reach more young girls. Grants will also go towards mentoring and networking programs, training for teachers, and school programs. It followed the announcement of the Queensland Government's Advancing Education initiative, through which the study of coding and robotics will be made compulsory for all students from kindergarten to year 10.

Image: Bill Shorten and Ed Husic learning about Code Club. Source: Code Club Australia.

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UNSW offering startups a foot into the Chinese market at its Startup China pitching event

November 8, 2015, 2:43 pm

≫ Next: Tyre Compare is a platform that puts the choice back in the consumer’s hands

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The University of New South Wales is inviting students, entrepreneurs, and academics interested in doing business in China to attend its Startup China event, to be held on December 10. Ten startups aiming to get into the Chinese market will be selected to pitch at the event, with the prize for the winning team including return tickets to China, government-led introductions to potential investors, customers, and partners, and automatic entry into an international startup competition hosted in Shenzhen next year. The judging panel will include Victor Jiang of Sapien Ventures, Benjamin Yuan of Leaguer Capital, Victor Wang of the Shenzhen Economic and Trade Office, and Angela Kwan of Catalyser and GE Aviation Systems. This will be just the latest in a line of events to take place across the Australian startup scene this year highlighting just how big a role the Chinese market can play for local startups, with the focus on Shenzhen particularly important. More than 20 startup entrepreneurs represented Australia at the annual Conference for the International Exchange of Professionals, a technology and talent conference in Shenzhen in April, while Sydney-based accelerator muru-D also took its second class on a trip to China to help them explore opportunities earlier this year, with the startups stopping in Shanghai, Beijing, and Shenzhen. With a population of 15 million, Shenzhen - often dubbed the Silicon Valley of China - is the city with the fourth largest GDP in China. It is both China’s first and one of its most successful Special Economic Zones (SEZ); these are selected Chinese cities that have been allowed to implement more flexibility and more free market-oriented economic policies than the rest of mainland China. These zones are established to spur on economic growth, making specific regions more conducive for international business. SEZs also serve as areas of experimentation, adopting more open and innovative economic management systems and technologies. Shenzhen has found that it is particularly adept with hardware; after more than two decades manufacturing hardware for brands like Apple, the city has moved into creating and designing it, and is working to attract the world's startups through connections to events just like UNSW's. Those interested in attending UNSW Startup China can find more information about the event here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kghgn0Mg4R0

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Tyre Compare is a platform that puts the choice back in the consumer’s hands

November 8, 2015, 3:00 pm

≫ Next: Melbourne startup Progressclaim wants to speed up construction by helping contractors avoid payment disputes

≪ Previous: UNSW offering startups a foot into the Chinese market at its Startup China pitching event

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Whether it's iSelect, Compare the Market, or Finder, there is no scarcity of product comparison sites in Australia. These digital platforms have become the new 'second opinion' that consumers use to help them make informed purchasing decisions. Most of these types of services exist within the FinTech and insurance sectors, and are driving millions in sales for that space.

New Sydney-based startup Tyre Compare, founded by Matt Banks, is applying the same methodologies used by these large insurance sites for tyres.

"The idea for Tyre Compare came about when, as a customer, I had a rough time buying tyres for a truck that I had," says Banks. "The journey I was on trying to buy these tyres was more painful than it needed to be because of the way the industry is structured. I had to phone and visit a lot of retailers, and when I turned to the internet, all the websites were just store locators and the cycle of calling and visiting just started again."

So Banks created a new platform that, from a UX perspective, has a similar feel and familiarity to an iSelect or Health.com.au, where users can log on, input the details of their vehicle and their postcode, and be shown a list of dealers and retailers in their area with a number of "buy now" style deals on tyres, solving the headache in a matter of minutes.

The startup officially launched in August 2014, but this year has seen a lot of traction regarding onboarding dealers / retailers and acquiring a significant number of users. One of the biggest challenges that Banks faced was that the tyre industry is one that is stuck in the past - many dealers are working with old technology, with few having a website of their own.

Many in the industry have their tyre inventory sitting in their heads instead of on an online database. Banks' challenge was to show them that, by using the Tyre Compare platform, not only would they give their businesses an online presence, but the platform would help drive sales in through the door.

"Convincing dealers to come on board was about me getting on the phone and talking about the solution with them, to offer the retailer a way to provide a service and present a solution to the consumer," Banks says. "If we can help the customer shop, we can then become a reliable source of revenue for the tyre retailers. Most tyre retailers that sign up with us want to be on the online space but they don't know how." Tyre Compare offers these retailers a very low cost e-commerce solution via a SaaS and clip-of-the-ticket model. Retailers pay a $29.70 subscription fee to be part of the platform each week and on top of that Tyre Compare also takes a 7 percent to 9 percent success fee. While that means that the SaaS revenue stream is quite lucrative at scale, the real success and money is made from sales being made on the platform. The weekly fee covers administrative and management costs the retailers account, which in reality would be considerably less than paying someone internally to do a similar role involving inventory management and marketing within their business. Right now, nationally there are 300 paying retailers that have come on board the platform, and Banks is focusing on rolling out all major metro cities to begin with. Bootstrapped for now, Tyre Compare is beginning to explore raising a seed round; Banks has told Startup Daily that he will be looking to raise around $500,000. Interestingly, most of the customers currently using the platform are females. Feedback suggests that being able to make an informed choice and compare efficiently is a major part of the platform's growing success with the demographic. "That's part of the reason I started this business," says Banks. "No matter which retailer you find, they're always trying to sell you what's in their best interest and push product that's out the back. With Tyre Compare, you make up your own mind without the influence of any of the retailers, but you also have the benefit of having all their inventory in front of you. So in your own time, you can make up your own purchase decision."

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Melbourne startup Progressclaim wants to speed up construction by helping contractors avoid payment disputes

November 8, 2015, 3:33 pm

≫ Next: What Australia could learn from Israel, the Startup Nation

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One of the most common stereotypes about builders is that they are constantly behind schedule and end up charging far more than they originally quoted. Melbourne startup Progressclaim believes this is often due to difficulties associated with the submittal and approval of progress claims - these are a means of providing details about how much work has been completed in the last month, and therefore how much is to be paid to assorted contractors. Problems usually arise because the current process of lodging and reconciling these claims is still mostly manual, with several different parties having to collaborate through Excel spreadsheets and email. Disputes in this area are estimated to be costing the Australian economy as much as $7 billion a year, adding to 6 percent to the cost of a project. Progessclaim founder and CFO Lincoln Easton, a chartered accountant who spend several years working for large corporates in London, came up with the idea for the platform after coming back to Melbourne to work with his brother as CFO of Easton Builders. The pair grew the business to an annual turnover of $50 million before selling to a China-based investor in 2011. During this time in construction, Easton had realised that the manual process for completing progress claims was one of the biggest pain points in the industry. “This [process] can lead to inaccuracies, disputes and strains on business relationships, as well as legal issues and hold ups on site, making the cost and time of a project expand exponentially,” he said. And so he came up with Progressclaim, a cloud-based platform that allows users - whether they be contractors, subcontractors, consultants, clients, or other stakeholders - to work on and administer payment claims collaboratively. Documents can be shared between organisations in real time so that all users have a single view of the status of the project and are on the same page. Automated reminder emails can be sent to submit claims and approvals, with conforming documentation produced and delivered instantly by email. It seems like fairly simple stuff, but it's a huge step forward for an industry that still favours a pen and paper. Launched in 2011, Easton self funded the initial development of Progressclaim before obtaining match-funding from Commercialisation Australia and finding a major investor in South African company Prescient Limited. The startup this year won a national award at the iAwards, and its growing list of clients includes Built, a construction company with an annual turnover of more than $1 billion. Built will be rolling out Progressclaim across all its building sites. However, Easton said it wasn’t easy to get the first clients on board, though not because of any real competition; he maintains that “our only true competitors are spreadsheets and emails and industry inertia.” He said, “We’ve seen some challenges in the adoption of new technology in construction which, as an industry, is notoriously slow to embrace change. In the early years we met many contractors, large and small, screaming out for a solution but reluctant to be among the early adopters. “This situation is rapidly changing now that we have the trust of several of the biggest players in our space. These companies have proved the value proposition of our software and the rest are quickly following in their wake.” The startup has been reaching these companies through a mix of digital marketing and face time at trade shows and events attended by the top construction companies. Progressclaim is just one of a number of startups that have been attending these events, with the construction industry slowly coming around to innovation in new areas; startups like SafetyCulture and SafeSite, which focus on making construction sites safer, have also slowly been making inroads. The opportunity in this space is huge - the construction industry in Australia alone is expected to generate $344 billion in revenue in 2015-16. As such, Progressclaim's focus “for the foreseeable future” is on Australia, however Easton said the startup is seeing and discussing opportunities in the international operations of several Australian-based clients, particularly in Asia.

Image: Lincoln Easton. Source: Supplied.

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What Australia could learn from Israel, the Startup Nation

November 9, 2015, 12:00 pm

≫ Next: BigCommerce cofounder Mitch Harper launches new startup PeopleSpark

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I’m Murray Hurps. For the past 16 years, I’ve been running, supporting and researching startups, including running Fishburners, Australia’s largest startup space, and Startup Muster, the most comprehensive survey of the Australian startup ecosystem. My expectations were understandably high when I left Australia to tour Israel, the "Startup Nation". [Source: LinkedIn Pulse]

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BigCommerce cofounder Mitch Harper launches new startup PeopleSpark

November 9, 2015, 2:18 pm

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In a Medium post on October 1st, BigCommerce cofounder Mitchell Harper announced that he and his cofounder had stepped away from daily-active roles within the business they created together after hiring a good CEO. The pair will remain on the company's board. In the same post, Harper announced that back in April he had launched a new venture by the name of Capital H Labs, an umbrella project for all of his future software projects. Harper stated that he intends to use this 'vehicle' to generate ideas, conduct market validation, take successful projects through initial funding to prototype, beta, and onwards to final launch. He said he was sticking with the same mantra he had when creating BigCommerce, to build 'cool shit' - and that is the heart and soul of this project. Today marks the first software venture to come out of Capital H Labs, with Harper announcing the launch of his new team communication platform PeopleSpark. The startup helps improve communication, trust and transparency between managers and their teams. The entire product is based on Harper's experience scaling BigCommerce to 500 employees and 100,000 customers in a period of just five years. “At my last company we sent out quarterly ‘mojo’ surveys to know how everyone was feeling and to get their feedback on what was going well and what wasn’t,” said Harper. “The feedback was excellent, but we had to hack together lots of different tools and we only surveyed once a quarter." "I wanted to take those same concepts and build them into a product that any company could use to improve their culture and communication. I also wanted to shorten the feedback loop to give managers weekly insights from their team instead of quarterly, which is too slow - especially if you’re growing quickly.” PeopleSpark aims to solve three issues for teams. The first is retention, and one of the main reasons why employees leave a workplace is because they feel like they are not being heard by their boss. The platform creates a private, weekly feedback loop between managers and their team members. The second is culture. The platform has been built to enable managers to get ahead of issues before they turn into problems. Teams where an action occurs in hours as opposed to weeks end up being more productive as they maintain that company culture that is core to its success. The third issue being solved is speed. Annual and quarterly surveys of staff are usually large and time consuming to roll out. This new platform instead gives managers insightful feedback from their teams every week, whether they are physically with them or not. PeopleSpark currently starts from a price point of $49.00 per month for up to 10 users after a 14 day free trial of the product. It should be noted that PeopleSpark is not the first startup to enter this industry. In fact, companies like 15five, waggl and TinyPulse are all growing technology platforms that offer pretty much the exact same solution and similar pricing structures. Even recently acquired Australian startup WooBoard, which places an emphasis on recognition in the workplace, has some similarities in that the systems are designed to increase employee engagement. Obviously Harper has the knowledge, the cash, and the connections to be less worried about those competitors than the average startup founder. But in order to become the market leader, PeopleSpark will need to move fast. This is a growing sector, which means soon it will be incredibly cut-throat. “We’re really looking to replace the quarterly and annual performance review process most companies put up with," says Harper. "They’re too slow, no one really likes doing them, and by the time you act on the feedback you’ve received, it’s too late. Our mission is to make one million people quantifiably happier at work, and we feel we’ve got a good shot at doing that."

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Child safety app Thread is part of a growing SafetyTech trend in Australia

November 9, 2015, 2:23 pm

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Carly Ryan thought she had met her dream boyfriend online. She spent 18 months talking to him, an 18 year old musician from Melbourne. After a while, he convinced Carly to finally meet up with him. However, rather than meeting 18 year old Brandon, Carly founded his father ‘Shane’ - in reality a 50 year old predator called Gary Newman - waiting for her. Though she rejected him then, Newman convinced Carly to meet Brandon again. He took her to secluded beach and killed her. Carly was just 15. Unfortunately, Carly’s story isn’t uncommon. One of the biggest problems is that with kids simply growing up with the internet, parents often have no idea what their children are doing online and who they’re talking to. After what happened to her daughter, Sonya Ryan has spent the past few years dedicating her time to educating young people and their parents about the dangers of cyber crime. Her experience led her to come up with the idea for Thread, an app which she believes may have helped her daughter if it had been available to her. Bringing the idea to life came when Ryan met Matt Byrne of digital agency KOJO at a school education session. Byrne was inspired by her story and her passion to improve the safety of kids, and so decided to arrange a meeting to see how KOJO could get involved. Stephen Lord, chief strategy officer at KOJO, said, “As a storytelling business, we knew this was a story that needed to be told and we wanted to find a way we could help.” KOJO has been working with Ryan for the last two years, with their aim to be a long-term partner in helping her bring to life the vision she has for the Carly Ryan Foundation. One of the main aspects of this is Thread, a security app which aims to help parents keep tabs on their kids without being too overbearing. The app, the development of which has been funded by the Foundation, KOJO, the South Australian Government, and Google, allows parents to create ‘check in’ times for which kids should have arrived at a specific location, for example getting to soccer practice after school. When they arrive, the kids can log on to quickly show they’re there. If a pre-set check in time is missed, the child’s last known location will be sent to their nominated contacts. [caption id="attachment_47420" align="aligncenter" width="495"] thethreadapp.com[/caption] The app also lets users start discussions with trusted contacts about any worries they have and share images, and in case of emergency, allows users to send their location to 000 as they dial, with the emergency call able to be activated from the phone’s PIN screen. Thread isn’t the first piece of safety tech for kids. Just a few weeks ago Startup Daily wrote about Moochies, a limited functionality ‘smartwatch’ that allows parents to track their kids via GPS and call them if needed, with the watch allowing for calls to be made to two pre-set numbers and emergency services. Aimed at young kids and tweens, Moochies are for parents who want to be able to watch and contact their kids without giving them a smartphone. Thread could be seen as the next step up for when kids graduate to a smartphone - after all, it can’t be avoided forever. The beauty of the app is that it makes communication between parents or guardians and kids unintrusive; parents can simply keep track of their kids through the location check in pre-sets, which for kids may feel nicer than the idea of parents tracking their every movement by GPS. Lord said, “There are personal safety apps that are simply alarms on the market and there are also general social apps to publicly tell people where you are. However, until now, no one has combined them in a way where the sole purpose is to keep the lines of communication open between the user and a close group of nominated contacts, to keep both parties updated on location and status.” Any app helping kids stay safe is undoubtedly a good one, and Thread is quick and easy to use, which will mean kids won’t find regularly checking in through the app an annoying chore, however one problem with the app - and any other relying solely on a smartphone - is that if a child loses their phone or has it broken or taken off them, parents will only know their last known location. It also doesn’t solve the problem of not knowing what kids are getting up or who they are talking to online. Still, there’s no easy solution for every problem, and Thread is a big step forward in terms of child safety - if it saves even just one child, it will have done its job. Lord said there have been discussions regarding partnerships with other groups helping people who may be in vulnerable situations, while there is also potential to expand the app internationally.

Image: Sonya Ryan with the KOJO team. Source: Supplied.

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Tech23 announces the startups selected to pitch at its 2015 event

November 9, 2015, 8:22 pm

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≪ Previous: Child safety app Thread is part of a growing SafetyTech trend in Australia

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Tech23 has announced the companies that will be pitching at its seventh annual event, which is set to showcase aspiring tech companies and celebrate Australia’s leading R&D organisations. To be held on November 17, the event will see 23 companies present in innovative technologies, spanning from big data to med tech, artificial intelligence and renewable energy. They will be pitching their ideas to potential customers, partners and investors. R&D organisations will also meet and greet the young companies to help them drive entrepreneurial and commercial initiatives. “Tech23 is all about encouraging our informal networks - so collaboration can increase between industry, R&D organisations and startups,” said Rachel Slattery, Director of SlatteryIT. The event will give the startups the opportunity to meet the leaders of the tech game and the companies that have become the driving force behind research, development and innovation. Well known names from the Australian tech scene, including Topaz Conway, Larry Marshall, Daniel Petre, Elaine Stead, David Spence and Adrian Turner, will be giving their thoughts on the pitches, with prizes including trips, advice, and working spaces to the best companies at the event. The 23 tech companies selected are: Abyss Solutions Founded by Dr. Nasir Ahsan [caption id="attachment_47464" align="aligncenter" width="900"] http://www.abysssolutions.com.au[/caption] Combines machine learning, data analysis, robotics and drone technology to provide high risk and comprehensive inspection services on Sydney's waterways. Aipoly Founded by Marita Cheng, Alberto Rizzoli, and Mark Parncutt [caption id="attachment_47467" align="aligncenter" width="982"] http://aipoly.com[/caption] Artificial Intelligence Navigation for the Blind has created an app designed to assist the blind by using artificial intelligence and computer vision. They are the first company in the world to use smart phones as visual guides through real-time narration. Anonalytix Founded by Ruth Marshall [caption id="attachment_47469" align="aligncenter" width="900"] http://www.anonalytix.com[/caption]   Specialise in data privacy and security by offering a two way vision of cloud based technology. Their new approach to data anonymisation aims to both protect personal and sensitive data and also to improve accessibility and quality of data. Atomnaut Founded by Peter Liddicoat [caption id="attachment_47475" align="aligncenter" width="900"] http://www.atomnaut.com[/caption] Atomnaut have designed the first atom microscope to provide imaging, analysis and design services. Design breakthrough materials have constructed the worlds highest resolution 3D microscope which provides 100 times more resolution improvement. City Beach Software Founded by Ivan Logan [caption id="attachment_47476" align="aligncenter" width="900"] http://www.citybeachsoftware.com[/caption] As Global Head of Development at Westfields, Dr. Logan has come up with a way to connect retailers to new channels through customer integration into large online market places including eBay, Google and Westfields.com Eleos Technologies Founded by Christopher Kirk [caption id="attachment_47477" align="aligncenter" width="900"] http://www.eleos.com.au[/caption] Eleos have produced an Enhanced Metadata Management Application for global enterprise and government customers. By developing non-traditional ways of managing data and metadata they have enabled a comprehensive range of assets, web and intranet content that can be sorted and uploaded quickly. Hivery Founded by Jason Hosking and Franki Chamaki [caption id="attachment_47478" align="aligncenter" width="900"] http://www.hivery.co[/caption] Hivery assists with company online growth by building prescriptive analytics tools to maximise sales and minimise stock-outs. Their solution is to market Vending Analytics, a simple cloud-based vending software that is currently aligned with Coca Cola Amatil. Liquid Instruments Founded by Daniel Shaddock [caption id="attachment_47479" align="aligncenter" width="900"] http://www.liquidinstruments.com[/caption]   Test and management has been reimagined by Liquid Instruments through their new devices that combine reconfigurable hardware, advanced digital signal processing with an iPad user interface. Locomote Founded by Ross and David Fastuca [caption id="attachment_47480" align="aligncenter" width="900"] http://www.locomote.com[/caption] As one of Australia's fastest growing tech businesses, Locomote streamlines corporate travel through a wide range of apps and approval options. The entire travel process from start to finish is easily managed from any device in the world. Me3D Pty Ltd Founded by Fletcher Thompson, Leanne and Matt Connelly [caption id="attachment_47481" align="aligncenter" width="900"] http://me3d.com.au[/caption] 3D printing is made affordable with Me3D designs who target the needs of Australian education across the board from students to professionals. They have designed a wide range of 3D printers to enable STEM learning objectives and to teach additive fabrication. Movus Founded by Brad Parsons [caption id="attachment_47482" align="aligncenter" width="900"] http://www.movus.com.au[/caption] Movus is the Fitbit for Industrial machines and have found a cloud and analytics solution with FitMachine that improves the conditions of health and industrial equipment.They have worked closely with industry leading partners to also develop SmartWagon that uses industrial sensors and cloud solutions to detect track failures and reduce derailment risk. Nano-X Pty Ltd Founded by Dr Ilana Feain and Paul Keall [caption id="attachment_47483" align="aligncenter" width="900"] http://nano-x.com.au[/caption] Nano-X are an innovative cancer treatment system that has created affordable radiotherapy machines that will change how radiation therapy is delivered Australia wide. Advanced imaging and planning systems capture 3D images in real-time, resulting in fewer staffing requirements. One Atmosphere Founded by Tim Lyons [caption id="attachment_47484" align="aligncenter" width="900"] http://www.oneatmosphere.com.au[/caption] One Atmosphere commercialises innovative technology into the sectors of Defence and Industry. They have won multiple awards for innovation excellence and outstanding science with their development of helicopter, submarine, oil and gas systems. Parent Paperwork Founded by Fiona Boyd [caption id="attachment_47485" align="aligncenter" width="900"] http://www.parentpaperwork.com[/caption] Parent Paperwork aim to save money and time by replacing paper forms in schools around the world. They have created an online solution for forms with a system that improves productivity and efficiency that can be integrated into the schools existing databases. Pathobin Founded by Shane Battye [caption id="attachment_47486" align="aligncenter" width="900"] https://www.pathobin.com[/caption] Introduces a 3D scanner for pathologists that digitises surgical specimens and microscope slides. The digitised method is low cost and high quality that enables advanced diagnosis and analysis. Pooled Energy Founded by John Riedl, Greg Irving, Roger Buckeridge, Ronald Spithill, Chris Beare and Clem Doherty [caption id="attachment_47487" align="aligncenter" width="900"] http://www.pooledenergy.com[/caption] Control pool equipment and manage water chemistry in real-time for residential swimming pools. They use a range of technologies to ensure water quality is maintained and energy consumption is reduced. Propeller Aerobotics Founded by Rory San Miguel and Francis Vierboom [caption id="attachment_47488" align="aligncenter" width="900"] http://www.propelleraero.com.au[/caption] Startup company that uses drones to create 3D ariel images for data analysis to change the way sites are measured, managed and inspected. The data received by the drones can be processed automatically in cloud to be integrated with enterprise customers. Relectrify Founded by Valentin Muenzel and Daniel Crowley [caption id="attachment_47489" align="aligncenter" width="900"] http://www.relectrify.com[/caption] Relectrify turns old and discarded batteries into energy storage by combining second life battery cells with battery management technology. With this new technology E-waste is turned into a renewable energy storage. Respiratory Innovations Pty Ltd Founded by Paul Keall [caption id="attachment_47490" align="aligncenter" width="900"] http://www.breathewell.co[/caption] Breath Well have developed a medical device that uses optical and infrared sensors to measure breathing functions. Their technology helps to improve the accuracy of treatment for patients undergoing lung, breast and liver cancer therapies. The reductions they have made in medical complications have saved patient and health care systems millions of dollars. RestAlert Founded by Felicity Millman [caption id="attachment_47492" align="aligncenter" width="900"] http://www.restalert.com[/caption] RestAlert is a sleep data analysis system that informs individuals who are at risk of fatigue impairment. Using wearable technology the company can also alert businesses about the health of their employees and if it is safe to drive. They focus on individuals, organisations and industries by sending alerts via email or SMS and can also be paired with FitBit or Misfit. SMG Technologies Pty Ltd Founded by Zane Hall [caption id="attachment_47493" align="aligncenter" width="900"] http://smg-technologies.com[/caption] Offers services for elite sporting teams and individual athletes through an holistic approach with tools aimed at improving health, wellness and performance development. They use proprietary software to collect disparate data sets, predict patterns of behaviour, return insights and analyse defined formulas. Sports Performance Tracking Founded by William Strange [caption id="attachment_47494" align="aligncenter" width="900"] https://www.sportsperformancetracking.com[/caption] SPT has established itself as a leader in the sporting community with its GPS Unit and Software application designed for athletes. In 2015 they launched GameTraka for sub-elite athletes and amateur players enabling them to track, monitor and measure their physical performance. SwitchDin Founded by Andrew Mears [caption id="attachment_47495" align="aligncenter" width="900"] http://switchd.in[/caption] SwitchDin uses plug and play cloud connectivity that enables homeowners and businesses to monitor and control solar battery systems.Their system increases performance levels and cuts costs to maximise returns on investments. Performance is improved by the monitoring of weather forecasts, market and demand.

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3. Muru-D announces its second intake for 2014 / 2015

Queensland startup Shop My Town is bringing life back to regional towns by helping businesses get online

November 10, 2015, 3:32 pm

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Bricks and mortar businesses the world over are lamenting the fact that too many consumers are shopping online or spending their money at the big chain stores. While these issues have seen many a suburban business fail, another usually pops up in its place before too long, and on the cycle goes. For regional towns around Australia, it’s not so easy. As more businesses close and people move to the city to make a living, these towns themselves die out. Believing that the problem lies in the fact that these local businesses aren’t online, Queensland entrepreneur Melody Jarvis decided to fix the problem herself and launched Shop My Town. At first it was just a Facebook page encouraging people to shop locally around Queensland’s Lockyer Valley for Christmas, but as the community rallied and businesses reported an increase in support, Jarvis decided to take the concept further. “As the small town of Gatton declined, my desire to bring life back to the region became a vision to save Aussie towns for the future of our children. I believe that small town life and the community spirit in small towns is the most beneficial lifestyle for humans to thrive and that it should be protected,” Jarvis said. Shop My Town is perhaps best described as part Yellow Pages, part community noticeboard. The service creates a sub-platform for each specific region, where local businesses can advertise themselves on their own dedicated page, adding their social media channels, promotions, and any other information. But rather than just setting up a platform for them, Shop My Town works with the individual businesses to help them tell their best story. In tech terms, Shop My Town is a fairly simple platform. Given that countless digital agencies and web marketing products exist to help bricks and mortar businesses establish and make the most of an online presence, Shop My Town isn’t reinventing the wheel or doing anything revolutionary, but for regional towns, it sort of is (in fact, it was so revolutionary that the local papers banned Jarvis from advertising the service in their pages). Jarvis explained, “We work with bricks and mortar based business solely, and their main challenge is the change in shopping habits of locals. People have lost connection with their towns and no longer shop in the main street. It is essential that each business represent themselves on social platforms, telling their family story, and showcasing their products, to drive people back to the streets. There is a huge gap in where these businesses need to be, and their current understanding of social media, and how to use technology to engage local support online.” As such, one of the most important parts of Shop My Town is that it is run by people who properly understand the issues rather than city slickers used to promoting hip Surry Hills cafés; rather than helping people already somewhat familiar social media marketing enhance what they’re already doing, Shop My Town often starts with the basics. “It can be daunting for some members, so we are very available to explain the process,” Jarvis said. “Within two weeks, professional photos are taken, content is written to showcase the business, a SEO-optimised page is built and all relevant social media accounts are created and linked to their page. A blog is set into the page, and training commences for the business.” According to Jarvis, each business usually identifies a younger staff member to take charge of their online marketing, and so Shop My Town works with and trains them. An ongoing subscription fee ensures ongoing support from the startup. With a Shop My Town platform now solidly established in the Lockyer Valley, with 30 local businesses on board, the startup is setting off on its expansion plans, with the key to this the employing of a ‘town connector’ in each region, someone on the ground to be the local support person for the businesses who come on board. Jarvis said, “This person is already a shining example in their community, and our program empowers and invests in that person to become a connector between business, community and government. Only when these three are connected do small towns heal and thrive.” Shop My Town is currently looking to get town connectors on board for the Wandoan and Toowoomba regions, though Jarvis said there has been intense demand for the service all over. “Our greatest challenge from the beginning has been the demand for the product. There is such a gap in the market that we fill, that any sales appointments would result in a flow of demand our early systems could not cope with,” she said. Jarvis joined The Entourage’s Scalable & Saleable program earlier this year to help develop and put in place scalable systems to help the business grow and increase its capacity. “Our 36 month goals have been reached in six months, and having the training, support and mentorship of the Entourage program is enabling us to handle rapid growth in a healthy, sustainable way,” Jarvis said. While the idea of a town connector in place to help the businesses on the ground is a good one, particularly given that the businesses need in-person support, it would be interesting to see if, in the future, Shop My Town can further systemise this process by developing an online training program that can guide businesses through the basics. Jarvis has self-funded the growth of the business thus far, but is looking to raise funds over the next few months to help spur it on. However it happens, the passion Jarvis has for the startup's mission is clear. Though she isn’t one of those entrepreneurs looking to conquer the entire world with her product, her end goal may actually be just as daunting. “With urgency, every part of the Shop My Town system has been created to address small town decline….we are advocates for people that feel they have been left behind.”

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The National FinTech Census aims to collect data it hopes will push government to shape policy

November 10, 2015, 4:28 pm

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Today companies across Australia are responding to a National Fintech Census that aims to establish a single vision for fintechs as regional and global competitors. For the first time Australia’s national economic community will be given the opportunity to present their needs to the government. The 2015 survey acknowledges the rise of the fintech landscape and will generate the support that startup companies seek. The information found in the survey will be used to gain support from Local, State and Federal governments, along with corporates. “This year has been a breakthrough one, with fintechs establishing their place as part of the national agenda, we now must listen to the community so it can reach its potential,” said Fintech Census founder Stuart Stoyan. “Australia, with its relative strength in financial services, is well placed to seize this opportunity, but also has a lot to lose if we do not set up the correct policy environment and supporting ecosystem to harness this disruptive wave.”  Things have been looking up for the startup community since the induction of Malcolm Turnbull as Australian Prime Minister. The Turnbull government has turned its attention to startups by acknowledging Australia as a nation of creators and innovators. “The Turnbull Government will soon be announcing a national innovation agenda," said Stone & Chalk CEO Alex Scandurra. "Fintech will be a key part of this, and thus the National Fintech Census provides an opportunity for Australian fintechs to raise their hands, voice their opinions and be heard.”  The Fintech census was first launched in Melbourne last year by peer-to-peer lending startup MoneyPlace. The 17 question survey established a collective voice in the fintech community, which led to a comprehensive strategy for Melbourne. Pressure from the startup community has pushed this strategy into a nationwide agenda. The success of the Melbourne fintech survey has led to the collaboration between MoneyPlace in Melbourne and Stone & Chalk in Sydney. Together they hope to give fintechs a voice and discuss issues that directly affect companies from generating revenue. The first fintech survey found that the biggest challenges for local fintech companies was finding talent and having access to private funding. Previously, Startup Daily found that 85 per cent of Victoria’s fintech companies are funded by founders themselves, with about a quarter also receiving external funding. In a previous interview with Startup Daily Stoyan said, “It’s not just about making it easier for fintechs, it’s also about making it easier for corporates and government to engage with fintechs as well.”  The National Fintech Census can be found on fintechcensus.com and all fintechs Australian wide are urged to participate and present their needs to the government.

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Is Thomas Farms Kitchen’s value proposition unique enough to compete in the crowded meal kit delivery market?

November 11, 2015, 3:17 pm

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If the number of Australian startups launching in these two industries is any indication, food and exercise are the hottest things of 2015. This year has seen startup after startup launch offering users monthly memberships to a range of boutique fitness studios, presumably to help them work off all the gourmet food they’ve been cooking and eating thanks to their fresh meal kit delivery subscription. Because the year is not over yet, another new player has entered the meal kit delivery market. Say hello to Thomas Farms Kitchen, a subscription service from Thomas Foods International. Founded in South Australia in 1988, TFI is now Australia’s largest meat and fresh produce processing company, generating over $1 billion in yearly revenue. The new meal kit delivery service was founded by Bruce Lennon, a former AFL player and founder of real estate company Harcourts; Simon Dennis, another former AFL player and vice president of Groupon Australia; and Darren Thomas, CEO of Thomas Foods International after Lennon and Dennis decided they didn’t like existing services. “Both Bruce and I have young families and busy working lives. We both have a passion for food and love the art of cooking. Most of us are losing our connection with food and with connecting with each other. We realised food is a wonderful way to achieve this,” Dennis said. The pair believe there were three “fundamental problems” with what was already available: lack of choice, with set menus each week; no flexibility due to lock-in subscriptions; and an “unrealistic” number of minimum meals, which Dennis said didn’t work for singles. They began work on the Kitchen offering almost a year ago, looking to create a service which avoided each of these problems. Thomas Farms Kitchen offers customers 11 meals to choose from each week, with three red meat dishes, three white meat (chicken or pork) dishes, three vegetarian dishes, and two seafood dishes available. Customers simply make their picks by Friday, and the boxes are delivered on Tuesday. Meals are priced at $12.50 per serve, with a ‘premium regional meal’ added to the menu each fortnight priced between $18.90 and $26 per serve. This is a bit pricier than other offerings such as, say, Marley Spoon, whose meals start at $9.95. Customers can either set up a recurring weekly subscription or pick and choose which weeks they’ll want to buy from, with the minimum set at three meals. Delivery is free for five serves or more, with four servings setting customers back $7.50 for delivery and three servings incurring a $15 delivery fee. Thomas Farms Kitchen also offers a monthly membership. The $11 fee gives members a discount of 10 percent on all meals and items in the online store, as well as special offers and access to the database of previous recipes. Given the service is part of Thomas Foods International, sourcing produce shouldn’t have been too difficult a task. Each customer’s produce is sourced from within their home state to minimise food miles, with regional produce sourced from small producers around the country to feature each month. Of course, because content is everything, Thomas Farms Kitchen also has a cooking channel online featuring videos from its chefs, including head chef Nigel Rich of South Australia. So is Thomas Farms Kitchen actually doing anything so differently? The existing players in the space have come in from every angle, but apart from a couple of dollars’ difference in price, the ability to choose recipes, and minimum orders aside, they’ve all ended up being mostly the same. Melbourne startup Nourissh, which counts Vinomofo founders Justin Dry and Andre Eikmeier as investors, is perhaps the service with the most clearly defined difference in that it specialises in organic, gluten free, carefully balanced nutritious meals. With content and stories king, an interesting point of difference for Thomas Farms Kitchen could be a focus on its farmers and producers through its video channel or even accompanying recipes, helping connect customers to a story. Now, the most studious of potential customers will bother to research the small differences between the various offerings, but like many things, it may all just come down to money and how much these companies have to spend on getting their name out into the market. Thanks to the backing of Thomas Foods International, Thomas Farms Kitchen should be fine in this respect; it also has three founders with proven business smarts. Of course, the biggest player in the space is still HelloFresh. Backed by Rocket Internet, HelloFresh also has piles of money to spend on marketing, and spend it it has - the company has been handing out discount vouchers around the Sydney CBD almost every day for months, with occasional stalls at Town Hall and Central stations as well as street festivals, which begs the question of whether this type of service is something a significant number of Australians actually want or need - certainly not enough to sustain half a dozen players in the market for long.

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Cub Network is a new club in Sydney that is attracting the creme of the local tech crop as members

November 11, 2015, 4:34 pm

≫ Next: Atlassian loses out on tender for Australian Technology Park to consortium led by developers Mirvac

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As Australia's tech startup scene has matured over the last five years, so have the tastes and standards of the entrepreneurs building those businesses. Pizza and beer at a coworking space are all good and well for the initial years but as the bank account begins to grow and the little black book of connections starts to fatten, these individuals start to seek new places to interact and network as their life becomes a little less 'local pub' and more 'penthouse private bar'. Seeing the opportunity to combine the camaraderie that coworking encourages and the exclusivity of private club culture, entrepreneur Daniel Hakim decided to launch CUB Network. The venture is a business club, described as a space that fuels the ambitions of Australia's next generation of industry titans. The establishment offers a range of networking services and features within its facility that assist its members in manifesting their ambitions into reality. For example, if a business is looking for a new marketing firm, then CUB Network can match them to a list of potentials. Essentially, it is a little like Entrepreneurs Organisation reimagined and with a physical footprint members can hang out in. Facilities include a bar area which during the day is a place to have a buffet breakfast and read the paper. At night time, this is turned into a little bit more of a lounge bar. There is an entertainment lounge or ball room, which is used for events or meetings. There's also a garden terrace and wireless internet access throughout the whole building. Finally there's the office, which is full of collaborative working spaces, a board room, a private room, a presentation room, and a fitting room. "What members get by joining is access to an incredible group of business minds," says Hakim. "The clubhouse, which is there for them to socialise with other members, can be utilised however they wish. We have boardrooms, meeting rooms, a work space, all that type of stuff. They also have a team of staff who are dedicated to making sure they build relationships so that the members are able to find opportunities with other members." Anyone can apply for CUB membership but the venue only accepts and has between 500 and 600 members at any one time. A membership sets you back around $600 per month if you are accepted. Having said that, for those that cannot afford the full membership, and are identified as being people that will help strengthen the community, there is a starter membership that the organisation offers with a scaled down version of the perks that full members receive. "I grew up very lucky with a loving and encouraging family who fueled my ambitions and gave me the courage to chase my dreams along with the resources and the knowledge and advice and the network to do so," says Hakim. "That's what CUB is, a replication of the platform that was provided to myself by my family." It should be noted that while many tech-focused entrepreneurs are members of the club, CUB Network does not seek any particular industry or type of company as a preferred member. "We invest our membership into the person not their company," says Hakim. Part of this investment includes some core events and panel discussions for members. Currently these run twice a month but eventually they will become a weekly CUB Network staple. Each event focuses on a particular topic and the speakers at those events are specialists in those fields. Some of these events also take place around a social breakfast or lunch, to allow members to meet one another and build new relationships with each other. CUB Network was funded by Hakim and his family; at this point in time, considering the business is based on growth via paid memberships, he does not foresee a capital raise for the venture. However, he is planning to open a network of CUB Network clubhouses within Australia. This will be a slow-growth process though, as Hakim is focused on getting the recipe right with the current establishment first.

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Atlassian loses out on tender for Australian Technology Park to consortium led by developers Mirvac

November 12, 2015, 4:56 pm

≫ Next: Melbourne’s Herald Sun newspaper to give developers access to its data for #HSCodeFest hackathon

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A consortium led by property developers Mirvac Group has been awarded the tender to buy the Australian Technology Park site in Sydney's Redfern, beating out competitors including Atlassian with a bid upwards of $260 million. Atlassian cofounders Scott Farquhar and Mike Cannon-Brookes had been vocal about the importance of the site and its role in helping develop a thriving tech ecosystem in Sydney, with Atlassian partnering with the Walker Corporation to launch a bid to buy the site. They had agreed to become the site's anchor tenants and move Atlassian's Australian headquarters to the site if their bid was successful. Mirvac's plans for the site centre on the building of a new campus for anchor tenant Commonwealth Bank, who will be moving 10,000 employees from across various western Sydney offices into the new site on a 15 year lease. David Craig, the Commonwealth Bank's chief financial officer, said the deal will put the bank's workforce "in the heart of a growing technology hub," giving them the opportunity to partner and collaborate with universities, startups, and other innovative companies. With the sale of the Park having been a contentious issue in Sydney for months, NSW Planning Minister Rob Stokes emphasised that the sale of ATP to Mirvac means that the vision for the Park as a vibrant tech precinct can be fully realised. “Our aspiration for this site is to continue the transformation from dilapidated railway buildings to a growing technology hub. Mirvac and its partners have made a commitment to revitalise the existing technology precinct, and the NSW Government has secured ongoing environmental, heritage and access commitments,” Stokes said. Up to 75,000 square metres of floor space will be reserved for technology uses, while Mirvac will also "revitalise" the Locomotive Workshop, which will be dedicated to technology and startup uses. According to a government release, the consortium is also considering the establishment of a $2.1 million Tech Incubation Fund by Mirvac, the Commonwealth Bank, and Centuria, which will be used to encourage tech startups to set up shop in the Park. Mirvac has also entered into an early agreement with the University of Sydney, which is located not too far from the ATP, to support digital and creative industries. However, figures from the local startup ecosystem have raised doubts about Mirvac's proposed tech support. Atlassian's Farquhar told The Australian today that the sale is "a tragic missed opportunity for Australia. This was an opportunity to really create an ecosystem, an epicentre of technology in Australia...but I’m not sure how you create a technology hub with an anchor tenant that’s 105 years old growing at 5 per cent a year.” Startup Daily's Mat Beeche added, "That just won't work as a strategy in attracting high-quality startups to the business park. Most startups do not view enterprises like Mirvac, Centuria and Commonwealth Bank as relatable, whereas Atlassian is. They are the quintessential startup story that everyone in the tech space has followed and feels connected to. Just having offices there would have been enough of an attraction strategy to create a thriving ecosystem of technology and innovation." But it's not just the tech world that's upset, with various political and business figures from western Sydney slamming the Commonwealth Bank for abandoning the area. The new development is scheduled for completion in 2020.

Image: The new Commonwealth Bank development.

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3. Atlassian founders publicly apologise for sexist presentation

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Melbourne’s Herald Sun newspaper to give developers access to its data for #HSCodeFest hackathon

November 12, 2015, 6:14 pm

≫ Next: Melbourne startup Diverse City Careers wants to help close the gender pay gap by promoting jobs at progressive companies

≪ Previous: Atlassian loses out on tender for Australian Technology Park to consortium led by developers Mirvac

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News Corp's Melbourne daily The Herald Sun has announced that it will be holding a hackathon later this month, challenging participants to develop innovative digital products from all its news and information data. Set to begin on the evening of Friday November 27 and continue across the weekend the event, dubbed HSCodeFest, will be run by the Herald Sun and Melbourne University's Melbourne Accelerator Program. The Herald and Weekly Times will be giving teams access to its local, rural, national, and international news, sport, and lifestyle data through its APIs, along with access to its advertising network, to help them develop new products. For example, how can you take all the stats and data contained within the Herald's SuperCoach product and make it better?

Teams will pitch their ideas to a panel including Peter Clark, general manager of Herald and Weekly Times; Alisa Bown, group director of digital product and development at News Corp Australia; Rohan Workman, director of the Melbourne Accelerator Program; and a mystery judge. Teams will also be encouraged to explore ongoing commercial opportunities with the Herald and Weekly Times after the event.

CodeFast is just the latest in a line of moves that show News Corp is serious about the role technology and innovation can play in the difficult news business. The company has been a partner of Sydney coworking community Fishburners for almost two years now, having announced a formal sponsorship of the space in 2013 that would allow for collaboration between the two organisations.

News Corp also launched its News Foundry 54 innovation program last year, a series of internal hackathons aimed at fostering a culture of intrapreneurship within the company. Over 600 staff have taken part in the event so far, and there are plans to roll the hackathons out across the company globally.

The Foundry events are led by Mark Drasutis, News Corp Australia's head of innovation, who told Information Age earlier this year that the events look to challenge "the seven most expensive words in business - 'we have always done it that way'." Ideas developed at these events include a dashboard that gives journalists a real-time view of the demographics of their readers.

The company also sent journalist and senior manager of digital media and editorial Neal Mann on secondment to Australia from the Wall Street Journal last year, charging him with the task of helping bring News Corp's Australian newsrooms into the digital age. The scope here was wide, with tasks ranging from getting editors and writers to forget about the idea of word limits for online pieces through to developing new, interactive ways to tell stories.

Those interested in taking part in HSCodeFest can find out more and register here.

Image: A News Foundry event. Source: Dushan Hanuska.

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Melbourne startup Diverse City Careers wants to help close the gender pay gap by promoting jobs at progressive companies

November 12, 2015, 7:32 pm

≫ Next: ExcelInc is an incubator program for high school leavers that aims to bridge the gap between universities and industry

≪ Previous: Melbourne’s Herald Sun newspaper to give developers access to its data for #HSCodeFest hackathon

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It’s no secret that women are underrepresented in the tech sphere, making up just 26 percent of the computing workforce in 2013. This is despite the fact that recent studies, such as those conducted by Terem Technologies, have shown that women-led private tech companies achieve a return on investment 35 percent higher than male-led companies. With the gender gap continuing to increase and the number of women in leadership roles declining across the wider business sphere, a number of startups dedicated to helping women in the workforce have begun to emerge. Launched in May, Melbourne startup Diverse City Careers (DCC) is one of them, providing support to women looking for work by engaging exclusively with organisations that focus on initiatives to keep women in the workforce. Unlike SEEK they are selective in looking for companies that share the same values of gender diversity. The idea came to founders Gemma Lloyd and Valeria Ignatieva after they reflected upon their own experiences in the work force. “I didn’t always have the same confidence as I do today. I will always remember my first corporate job, where male colleagues asked me to get them stationary and coffees. They were in the same role as me, but I was treated like their assistant. I’m surprised at just how prevalent this behaviour is and want to help other women overcome similar experiences,” said Lloyd. They decided to create a job board that filters and accepts companies that are supportive of women. DCC clients go through a screening process to ensure they are in support of creating better ways of working. DCC wants to challenge the business opportunities offered to women by selecting companies who provide programs that make a difference in raising the number of working women in IT. These initiatives can include mentoring programs, internal sponsorship and leadership development. While these programs are important for boosting the number of women in the workforce - and keeping them there - the founders also believe that the benefit isn’t just for women; companies can benefit enormously from having a more diverse workplace too. “There has never been more competition around hiring top talent. In a sea of generic recruitment agencies and millions of jobs advertised, it’s important for employers to do something different and stand out. Employees are looking for something more, particularly women,” Lloyd said. DCC also provides numerous workshops for women around the country to discuss with like-minded women issues that they face in the workforce and strategies to combat them. Other startups like FlexCareers have also partnered with companies that offer women flexible working solutions. Their platform is also similar to DCC, with an easy to navigate job board that outlines desired roles for women that are matched with a specially designed algorithm. While DCC’s idea isn’t the only one on the market, it is in the minority of initiatives targeted towards closing the gender remuneration gap. Currently bootstrapping, DCC are making enough revenue from clients including Dropbox and PwC, with Ignatieva stressing that the startup must be selective in its choice of companies who want more than just to advertise their job. DCC were named as finalists in the 2015 ARN Woman in ICT Awards. They were the only Australian owned, female led startup in the ‘Innovation’ category, sitting alongside well-known tech companies including IBM, Microsoft and Lenovo. Ignatieva said that being named as finalists was proof women can succeed if given the opportunity. “This week we are very honoured to be named as finalists,” she said. “Over the years, we've encountered the roadblocks that most women encounter...including navigating flexible working conditions.”

Image: DCC cofounders Valeria Ignatieva and Gemma Llyod

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ExcelInc is an incubator program for high school leavers that aims to bridge the gap between universities and industry

November 15, 2015, 2:47 pm

≫ Next: NSW Government launches Mental Health Innovation Fund to support improvements to mental health services

≪ Previous: Melbourne startup Diverse City Careers wants to help close the gender pay gap by promoting jobs at progressive companies

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How Australian universities are fostering entrepreneurship, or whether they are at all, has been a bit of a hot topic lately, with Spark Innovation director Colin Kinner recently releasing a paper criticising universities for their slow approach. With that came talk that universities should be funded on the basis of how many successful startups or entrepreneurs they produce. Though not everyone in the entrepreneurial sphere agrees with this idea, most agree that local universities were too slow to establish startup hubs and courses and are still not doing enough. Entrepreneur Brett Whitford, who founded vocational education providers the Customer Service Institute of Australia and Vocation, has come up with another alternative. He is launching and bankrolling ExcelInc, a year-long incubator program, or ‘Excellerator’, for recent high school graduates. Set to begin next year, it’s essentially a startup school aimed at those who either want hands-on experience building a business, have an idea they want to work on that they're not sure university will help them bring to life, or those with an idea that they can’t wait to get through university before they are able to bring it to life. Those interested can either register to pitch their ideas, or register to join the incubator and then be matched up to a relevant team based on their skillsets. The incubator is being run in both Sydney and Melbourne, with 1000 places available in each city. Teams will learn about business development, and get advice and mentoring on all aspects of their business from various mentors. Given Whitford has been an adjunct professor at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) for a number of years now, it may seem odd that he is launching an institution of his own that essentially rivals universities. However, he said it was experience teaching at the university that showed him a large gap still exists between universities and industry. “UTS is a particularly good university for working with industry and reaching out to industry and that's how I got involved. I was so excited that my lectures were so well-received by the students because they like to hear from industry…[but] I think the universities in Australia are not necessarily there to teach. They've been very much focused on research and are not very focused on commercialising that research,” he said. Viable startups taking part in ExcelInc will be given the opportunity to raise $20,000 in seed funding from Whitford, and will be flown to Silicon Valley at the end of the the year. However, Whitford said the end goal of ExcelInc isn’t necessarily for someone to end the year with a startup they think is going to take over the world. In his eyes, it’s all about the hands-on learning and, in fact, it’s perfectly okay to fail. “I think the fast failure is a good failure and I think it's good to get your first failure out of the way early; failure teaches you as many lessons as success, or it teaches you probably better lessons than success,” Whitford said. But coming out of the year without a viable business won’t mean a year wasted. The program has been designed so that work done during the year can then be transferred into course credit for those who choose to go on to university after. “We've taken the risk out of it. It's sort of a win-win, so you can hedge your bets. But you look at all the successful people with startups. Jobs, Gates, Zuckerberg, they're all dropouts from universities, so I don't think that you should wait. I think years don't wait in our economy. Spending three years to get a piece of paper or getting that grad position might make your parents or grandparents happy, but it is not necessarily going to make you a billionaire,” Whitford said. In terms of gaining all the skills necessary to run a startup, it isn’t too hard to see why a program like ExcelInc would make more sense to a high school leaver with startups on the mind than going to university. It is true that we’ve seen founder after founder find success without a university degree, while the prospect of university also brings up the question of which degree an aspiring founder should study. After all, a computer engineering student could go to university and graduate without having gained any business skills, and a business student can come out of university without any knowledge of how to code. ExcelInc aims to help participants develop skills in all areas. One day a week will be dedicated to business theory, with the rest of the participants’ time will devoted to working with their teams and getting their startup off the ground, from developing their product to their marketing strategy and presentations. “Some people who want to be entrepreneurs aren't very well-rounded and that's been the biggest weakness. You might be a great programmer but you can't market it, so you sell your business cheaply, or you might be a great marketer but you don't understand accounting or know your numbers. We're getting people just enough skills in all those other areas so they understand what they're talking about, because that’s basic,” Whitford said. Whitford is also planning a reality show or documentary series that will follow the ExcelInc participants on their startup journey next year, going beyond Hollywood’s portrayals of the tech world to help show other students and parents what it’s actually like to run a startup. Parents will probably need careful convincing that something like ExcelInc is a better pathway to success than university, but ‘entrepreneur schools’ are growing in popularity. The Entourage, for example, has gone from strength to strength since its launch in 2010. Founded by Jack Delosa, The Entourage aims to provide aspiring entrepreneurs with a hands-on business education. It now counts 60,000 members around the world. Whitford said, “I don't think you should let the lack of a degree hold you back if you've got the drive and the ambition and the skills and the things that you learn as you go. I think we're picking up where a lot of universities should've gone over the years.” ExcelInc is holding a number of pitch days in Sydney and Melbourne. Find out more here.

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NSW Government launches Mental Health Innovation Fund to support improvements to mental health services

November 15, 2015, 3:56 pm

≫ Next: GoPro announces partnership with Victorian Government and new ANZ headquarters in Melbourne

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HealthTech startups are being urged by the NSW Government to come up with health driven innovations to combat mental illness, which it will support through its new $4 million Mental Health Innovation Fund.  NSW Minister for Mental Health, Pru Goward wants non-government organisations to assist the government in managing the complex problem of mental health. She believes that there are smarter ways of breaking into the intergenerational cycle of mental illness. “The Innovation Fund will finance innovation projects to improve mental health outcomes so people with mental illness and their families can live a better life,” said Goward. Mental illness in Australia is estimated to cost the Australian economy at least $28.6 billion, according to research conducted by Medicare. This makes mental health a key issue for both governments and communities alike. Applications for the fund will open mid-November and close in February 2016, giving applicants a three month window to design a project that aims at reforming mental health services in NSW. A total of $4 million will be injected into a pool of funding to be spread across the selected proposals from 2016-17. Innovative projects that could supported by the fund include strategies to compliment clinical care, redesign of mental health services, activities to improve the integration of services and co-design of referral and care coordination pathways. As well as startups, government agencies, NGOs and individuals are also being called upon to find innovative solutions that can be sustained and funded in the future. “The Fund will look to support world-class innovations to respond to mental health consumers with complex needs who require services and support from multiple government agencies, including Health, Justice, Education and Communities, Family and Community Services and non-government organisations,” Goward said.  The NSW government has decided to provide seed funding to successful projects that demonstrate a sustainable care model with a future funding scheme. These care models will aim to increase service integration and improve on mental health care outside of hospitals. After a two year seed funding commitment, projects will need to match the funding through partnerships or ongoing payment systems. Technology has already played a large part in helping to start reforming mental health services in Australia. HealthTech startup GetHappy is an app that provides strategies to increase personal happiness and wellbeing through e-therapy technology. E-Therapy is being utilised by clinical psychologists to provide therapy to those in remote and rural areas. It enables individuals to access qualified and experienced psychologists using Skype or phone technology. “I think that with mental health being as prevalent as it is within society, that technology has the ability to assist people and direct them in ways of wellness,” said founder of GetHappy Dr Lisa Patterson-Kane. Another assistive technology startup for improved mental care is South Australian social network TalkLife. It enables young people to disclose on personal issues of depression, self-harm and suicide. Adelaide based investors have helped TalkLife to build a sustainable business model and design a platform that aims at helping young people struggling with mental health issues, not only in Australia but around the world. Each year approximately one in five Australians will suffer from mental health issues, making mental illness the third leading cause of disability burden in Australia. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics younger people are more likely to have a mental disorder than older people; given young people's reliance on technology, technology is being looked at as a key way to combat mental illness.  The Mental Health Innovation Fund will be administered by the NSW Ministry of Health and funded by the Local Health Districts. It will be a part of a 10 year road map to transform already established services. Applications for the Fund will close on February 5 2016, with successful applicants to be announced in March. For more information on the application process, those interested can email innovation.fund@doh.health.nsw.gov.au. Proposal applications are to be submitted here.

Image: Minister for Mental Health Pru Goward. Source: Highlands News

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GoPro announces partnership with Victorian Government and new ANZ headquarters in Melbourne

November 15, 2015, 4:08 pm

≫ Next: Leading FinTech figures release policy paper calling on government to create friendly regulatory environment

≪ Previous: NSW Government launches Mental Health Innovation Fund to support improvements to mental health services

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The wins just keep coming for the Victorian Government, with GoPro today announcing that it has chosen to establish its Australia and New Zealand headquarters in Melbourne after partnering with the state government. It comes after the government lured Freelancer's SydStart conference to Melbourne with an investment of $1 million and five years of support, and convinced Zendesk to choose Melbourne as its Asia-Pacific headquarters with funding from the Premier's Jobs and Investment Fund. Victoria's Minister for Employment Jacinta Allan said that GoPro's decision to base their headquarters in Melbourne is "a major vote of confidence in Victoria as a place for technology companies to do business." “It could create up to 50 new full time and high-skilled jobs over the next five years, offering key opportunities to work with a renowned international brand,” she said. The government is providing GoPro with business assistance through Invest Victoria, with the Victorian Government Business Office in San Francisco having worked with GoPro to help the company make the decision to move to Melbourne. Rodney Block, GoPro’s director of ANZ, SEA & India sales, said that the Melbourne office will allow the company to provide greater regional focus and support to its business partners across the region. It will also act as an interim hub, overseeing business development, marketing and management. Block also highlighted Melbourne's reputation as a sporting city in helping the company make the decision, with a number of events sponsored by GoPro - including the MotoGP and World Surf League - based in Victoria. “Along with Melbourne being ranked one of the most livable cities in the world, we chose this city for its diversity, awesome vibe and creativity, which provides us with a great cultural fit for the brand," he said. Melbourne's cultural life was also one of the reasons cited by both Freelancer and Zendesk as to why they chose to do business in the city. Of course, government funding also surely played a significant role. This third big win for the Victorian Government shows it is pushing hard to position Melbourne as Australia's premier startup hub, and huge global companies are paying attention; GoPro is currently valued at over USD$7 billion. While it may be leading the pack, Victoria isn't the only state government putting its money where its mouth is when it comes to boosting its tech and startup ecosystem. The South Australian Government today announced a strategic partnership with the University of South Australia and Hewlett Packard Enterprise to launch an Innovation and Collaboration Centre at the university. The Centre aims to provide a multidisciplinary environment where entrepreneurs can access a variety of services and expertise to help them develop their products and grow their business, with services including business management, strategy and marketing, commercialisation, design, technology, and more. Premier Jay Weatherill said the Centre will provide world class resources and support to help accelerate the growth of startups, small businesses, and student entrepreneurs. “Innovation is key to transforming the state’s economy and our vision is to position South Australia globally as a startup destination,” Weatherill said.

Image: GoPro founder Nick Woodman. Credit: Nathaniel Welch.

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