Courtney Ray -makes $500 bloom into $35m with the help of Lockdown!

Courtney Ray - an ex KPMG consultant  - had always wanted to own a florist - and in 2014 took the plunge and started Daily Blooms - an online florist  with a $500 investment. 

During the lockdown - as loved ones were separated through lockdowns and border closures, sending flowers became one of the only ways to stay in touch - and her startup grew to $35m in revenue

The secret sauce  - selling the feeling - not the flowers  

The Model

“I came up with the concept of buying flowers,  creating arrangements ,  taking a photo, uploading them to social media and our website - offering them for sale at a fair price - initially to her family and friends ! - and delivering it the same day! 

Once I sold the arrangements for the day - that was it !!!

“It created scarcity, no waste.

Daily Blooms was founded!

The investment and how it was used 

The $500 went towards building the website, buying a heap of flowers and floristry tools.

From Friends buying her arrangements - it became friends of friends and after a month - customers come through that she  couldn’t trace them back to a friend or a connection.

Daily Blooms Revenue in the first year was 500,000

Fast forward  to today, Courtney has  

• two kids, now aged 5 and 6
• 1000 deliveries a day
• 82 members of her team - who are a mix of florists, wrappers, customer service or operations officers and in-house drivers.
• 53,000 likes on the company Instagram page.

Courtney said her best months to date have been September and October, when Melbourne was once again plunged into lockdown.

Lessons, Trials ,  Tribulations and the oportunity 

• she started  a warehouse in Sydney and closed it when the lockdown happenned - big mistake - and will plan to relaunch Sydney 
• If she can do that - why not open up in every city? 
• Is this just the beginning of another Aussie Unicorn? 

Daily Bloom gives an opportunity for people to care through flowers creating connection and showing that they care.

https://dailyblooms.com.au

Source  Alex Turner-Cohen - The News 

@AlexTurnerCohen

Sekuro - a Cybersecurity mega-merger

Four Sydney-headquartered IT consultancies have merged to form end-to-end cyber security shop Sekuro. 

The four firms — Privasec, Solista, CXO Security and Naviro — claim to have 90 members of staff across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth with a combined revenue of $68 million. 

Robert McAdam will take on the role of CEO of the new entity, having previously led CXO for the past four years. 

Former Solista CEO Noel Allnutt will now act as chief sales and strategy officer of Sekuro. According to the new entity, each company will bring an "established roster of clients, from day one" as Privasec, Solista, CXO and Naviro become retired brands. 

While Privasec, Solista and CXO bring a traditional cyber security background into the mix, Naviro will bring its IT and security recruitment capabilities. 

"We architected the new Sekuro in a very particular way – each individual brand was chosen for its quality, depth of skill and temperament," McAdam said. "This process reflects the integrated journey we deliver to our clients, which comprises one finance system, one window to the CRM and one project management platform. 

“Just as Sekuro is a completely integrated company, with the four former brands becoming legacy from day one, so is the process of services we deliver for our partners – starting with the lead opportunity, through to the sale, through to the project plan, through to finance.” 

Other high profile Australia channel mergers to have taken place in recent times include that of 5G Networks and Webcentral, IBM resellers Sundata and Team Computing and, on a global scale, Synnex and Tech Data.

https://www.arnnet.com.au/article/692236/four-sydney-it-players-set-mega-merger/

Canberra based Quintessence Labs raises $25m

Canberra based  founder Vikram Sharma  and CEO QuintessenceLabs grabs $25M to scale quantum-safe cybersecurity solutions

Securing data against attacks is the wholly grail  - and Canberra based 

QuintessenceLabs seems to have solved a piece of this cybersecurity puzzle  through quantum random number generators and advanced data access control software. 

The investors 

 Main Sequence 

 TELUS Ventures, 

 InterValley Ventures and 

Capital Property Group. 

Why did they invest?

“As computing power increases exponentially, the tools needed to secure critical data and assets must stay several steps ahead,” said Bill Bartee, partner of Main Sequence

The money will be  used to expand its customer base, including private and public organizations in financial services, cloud providers, government agencies and defense sectors globally,

What it does 

QuintessenceLabs uses quantum physics to build data security tools and has developed qStream, a quantum random number generator (QRNG) that provides encryption keys with full entropy, which means they are truly random.

“It’s taken us 10 years to be an overnight success -  getting the technology right and preparing for commercial adoption,” Sharma said. “And there is still a long way to to go”

Aus to The world 

The Australia-headquartered company opened an office in the U.S. in 2013 with an initial team of three people to make a more significant commitment to the U.S.

A breakthrough came  last year, by making the approved products list for a $2 billion program run by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, focused on strengthening data protection across participating agencies.

The money will be used to expand into the USA and UK markets and is currently developing partnerships in Japan and India.

So what is Quantam Computing anyway?

CSIRO recently released a report on Australia’s quantum industry in which it forecasts an $86 billion global market size in the quantum industry by 2040 - of which communications and cybersecurity market is expected to account for about $16 billion 

The report predicts Australia’s quantum technology is projected to generate more than $4 billion in revenues and 16,000 new jobs by 2040,

Silicon Valley tech billionaires back Climate change agritech Loam Bio with $50 million investment

Loam Bio founders: COO Frank Oly, CPO Tegan Nock, CEO Guy Hudson

Founded in Orange (rural NSW , Australia) in 2019 - Loam Bio uses microbes to decarbonise  farm soils - and has raised $40 million in a series A after raising a $10m seed round . 

What it does

Loam Bio has developed a microbial seed application to boost crop yields and help sequester carbon in the soil.

Tegan Nock  said the company has built a library of almost 2,000 microbial strains and identified those that help plants store carbon in the soil. “We are aiming to have a product widely available on the shelves by 2023.”

Tegan said that her team and farmers are leading the way and showing the role agriculture can play a part in solving this wicked problem 

Who invested - the whose who of tech 

• Marc Benioff’s TIME Venturesand founder of Salesforce 
• Main Sequence Ventures, Mike Zimmerman,
• Horizons Ventures, Chris Liu
• the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, 
• Acre Venture Partners, 
• Mike Cannon-Brookes’ Grok Ventures, 
• Lowercarbon Capital, 
• Fiona McKean 
• Tobi Lütke’s Thistledown Capital. (Founder of Shopify)

This is why they invested

Loam Bio CEO and co-founder Guy Hudson said the company’s microbial carbon removal solution tech has the potential to be a key climate change solution because it is cheap, long-term and scalable. 

“Using our naturally-derived products on crops across the globe will give the world the time it needs to adjust to a low carbon economy,” he said.

Lead investor Marc Benioff said the current climate emergency requires rapid, scalable responses and that Loam, with its powerful vision and promising technology, has great potential to play an important part in decarbonising the planet.

Chris Liu from Horizons Ventures said that Loam’s microbial platform can supercharge the decarbonisation of the economy worldwide and 

potentially draw down carbon at gigatonne scale with the speed and urgency that is required.

Ben Gust, executive director of the CEFC’s Clean Energy Innovation Fund said Loam has developed has the potential to significantly decarbonise the atmosphere and play an important part in accelerating the transition towards net zero emissions.

Mike Zimmerman, partner of Main Sequence Ventures said Loam Bio represented a potentially world-changing investment.

What it does 

A group of scientists, farmers and entrepreneurs in Australia and North America collaborated with a view to remove CO2 from the atmosphere and improve soil health - and  founded Loam Bio on  2019 

They have developed a microbial crop seed coating that stores carbon in the soil. The technology also boosts soil health and crop yields. 

The technology supercharges a plant’s natural ability to store carbon in soil after farmers coat their seeds with the inoculum, a common and simple agricultural practice.

Once the crop is sown, the microbes and plants work together to securely store carbon in soil. The solution is designed to bind carbon within structures in the soil called micro-aggregates, increasing the amount of CO2 stored permanently.

Loam Bio investigated 1500 microbial strains to find the ones with the power to remove vast amounts of carbon and restore farmland, discovering organisms that are new to science along the way.

The Growth 

The venture’s grown from a core team based in rural NSW in Orange, to more than 35, working across two continents in four labs and on 25 field sites. The US team is based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. 

“The entire annual US aviation emissions could be removed if our seed coating was applied to America’s soybean crop.”

Guy Hudson is humbled by the backing of some of the world’s key technology founders and investors in the $40 million series A “and is an incredible catalyst for global-scale carbon removal” he said 

Superhero raises $40m investment since 2018 - on its way to being a Unicorn?

SUPERHERO CO-FOUNDERS JOHN WINTERS AND WAYNE BASKIN has secured another $15 million in funding, raising a total of $40m to date for its share trading platform that was founded in 2018.

Investors include 

Perennial Value Management, Regal Funds Management, Ophir Asset Management , Alex Waislitz’s Thorney Investment Group, 

Zip founder and chief Larry Diamond, and Afterpay’s co-founder Nick Molnar.

The business about 135,000 customers 

And has  launched the US share trading platform.

What it does 

In July, Superhero officially launched its superannuation offering, which now has about 2,000 members.

The product allows members to invest their super into exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and direct shares, without having to have a self-managed super fund, and is looking to build a Crypto ETF.

“There’s a whole workforce of millennials and younger workers who are embarking on their own wealth creation journeys, and they’re looking for new, tech-savvy ways to do so.Share trading is no longer a space that is reserved for the boomers and the wealthy,” Winters says.

Opportunities are abounding in NSW - post lockdown

The NSW Premier Dom Perrottet launched 

The NSW Government’s  $96 million pilot program - in medicine and biotech in collaboration with NSW universities - that will help fund labs and pre-clinical trial spaces to enable early-stage RNA-based drug development, as well as bring private sector investment in mRNA and RNA therapy production to NSW.

With UNSW, Gabrielle Upton MP FAICD, Matt Kean MP and Stuart Ayres MP. 

Rhipe agrees to A$408M acquisition by Crayon - ARN

Not quite a Unicorn - Rhipe started in our BSI offices with Doug Tutus - when he had an idea to rent software to Corporates - and set up a business called New Lease.

The business grew and in 2014 , Doug Tutus went overseas to raise money for an imminent listing on the ASX.

On this trip - he passed away suddenly 

The company listed under RHIPE - and grew from strength to strength

Rhipe has just been sold for $408m to Crayon 

What a story !! And what a legacy he has left for his family and those who were on his journey!

6 July 2021 — Publicly listed specialist services and Microsoft licensing distributor Rhipe has accepted Crayon's takeover proposal at A$2.50 per share, ...

Interested in Grants

INDUSTRY ASSISTANCE - GOVERNMENT GRANTS  - Join us at a forum to hear more 

 

Join us next week to hear about how to maximise grants https://events.humanitix.com/export-market-development-grants-october-forum-powered-by-bbg

Export Market Development Grant (EMDG) - applications close 30th November for forward funding over the next 2 – 3 years under the new EMDG program – don’t miss out

Modern Manufacturing Initiative (MMI) - applications for Round 2 of the Integration and Translation funding streams will be announced soon – prepare now and don’t miss out

Modernisation Manufacturing Fund (MMF) - applications for Round 3 will open in early December – prepare now and don’t miss out

 R&D Tax Incentive - applications for 20/21 financial year R&D activities close on 30th April 2022 – prepare now and don’t miss out   

Export Market Development Grant (EMDG)

Under the new EMDG program, eligible SMEs are able to apply for forward grant funding over multiple years to cover eligible marketing and promotional activities from 1 July 2021.

Grants will target eligible export-ready SMEs with an annual turnover of less than $20 million at three stages of their export journey:

• Tier 1: Eligible SMEs who are new to export – grants up to $80,000 over two years
• Tier 2: Eligible exporters who plan to expand their presence in export markets – grants up to $240,000 over three years
• Tier 3: Eligible exporters who continue to expand into new markets and make a strategic shift in their exporting business – grants up to $450,000 over three years

The nominal benefit of the new pre-approval EMDG is to provide certainty of finance to exporters as well as faster access to EMDG funds. The intention is for applicants to submit marketing plans for up to three years to enable them to formalise Funding Agreements with Austrade, identifying which of their proposed export marketing expenses will be supported, with payments to be made by Austrade on a milestone basis. The EMDG program is an entitlement program.

Peter,  Harvey and the team at BSI have been helping exporters maximise their grants for 20 years.

With this new programme - they will help you prepare  your export plan, a marketing budget lodge the application, help you with your reporting of your  milestones to Austrade and take you through your Audit of your milestones.

 

There are 2 interesting competitive based Manufacturing grants that the government is focusing on worth over $1 billion dollars

R&D Tax Incentive

Applications to claim 20/21 financial year R&D activities/ expenses close on the 30th April 2022 – the new rates of return are:  

FY 2020–21

·        Annual revenue <$20m – Company Tax Rate: 26% – Refundable Tax Benefit: 43.5% (if matched by tax losses) or 17.5% (when trading in profit)

·        Annual revenue $20m-$50m – Company Tax Rate: 26% – Non-Refundable Tax Offset: 12.5%

·        Annual revenue >$50m – Company Tax Rate: 30% – Non-Refundable Tax Offset: 8.5%

FY 2021-22

·        Annual revenue <$20m – Company Tax Rate: 25% – Refundable Tax Benefit: 43.5% (if matched by tax losses) or 18.5% (when trading in profit)

·        Annual revenue $20m-$50m – Company Tax Rate: 25% – Refundable Tax Benefit/2 tier benefit: 8.5% on eligible R&D expenditure which accounts for up to 2% of total company expenses and an additional 16.5% on eligible R&D expenditure exceeding the 2% baseline.

·        Annual revenue >$50m – Company Tax Rate: 30% – Refundable Tax Benefit/2 tier benefit: 8.5% on eligible R&D expenditure up to 2% of total company expenses and an additional 16.5% on eligible R&D expenditure exceeding the 2% baseline.

A few other interesting Grants 

Modern Manufacturing Initiative (MMI)

The $1.38 billion Modern Manufacturing Initiative (the initiative) is a key element of boosting Manufacturing capabilities and networks in Australia  with a view to build manufacturing capabilities and networks, lift productivity, create jobs, build global competitiveness and boost the export potential of Australian manufacturers.

and will run from  2020-21 to 2023-24. 

These grants will be assessed under three funding streams:

Manufacturing Translation Stream: commercialising research 

The minimum grant is $1m and the maximum is $20m. Capital investment is included.   

Manufacturing Integration Stream: connecting with global supply chains 

- the grant rate is 50% of eligible project costs. The minimum grant is $1m and the maximum is $20m. Capital investment is included.   

Manufacturing Collaboration Stream: 

connecting business, researchers, and investors to build commercial outcomes

 – the grant rate is 1/3 of eligible project costs. 

The minimum grant is $20m and the maximum is $200m. Capital investment is included.   

This scheme is project based is competitive 

The six national priority manufacturing sectors who can apply are:

Space, Medical Products, 

Resource Technology and Critical Minerals Processing, 

Food and Beverage, 

Defence, 

Recycling and Clean Energy

This scheme is project based is competitive 

Round 1 of this grant is now closed

HOWEVER

Round 2 plans to be open before Christmas with a 4 week window to apply. 

Let me know if you want us to let you know when this Round will be open 

If you are project-ready and in one of the six priority sectors, this forum is for you!

 

Manufacturing Modernisation Fund (MMF)

The Manufacturing Modernisation Fund (MMF) provides competitively assessed grants of up to $1m being 25% of total project costs to assist local SME manufacturers within the 6 national manufacturing priority sectors to modernise their factory by purchasing and installing new state of the art plant and equipment and upskill/ employ new staff.

Round 3 will open in December this year and close in late January. 

If this forum is for you, let us help you prepare your  project plans and application NOW to ensure a truly competitive application can be lodged.

 

 Peter, Harvey, Kylie, Linda, Sean, Mick and Linh and the team at BSI are working with Businesses now to prepare the necessary documentation in anticipation of the Round 2 opening dates.  

Zoom’s home run

Eric Yuan served as the VP of Engineering at WebEx from 1997, staying in the role for years after Cisco’s $3.2 billion acquisition of the company in 2007.

By 2011, he was getting frustrated in the job: with Cisco not being customer focussed - or offering a great solution to the mass market 

“So, together with some WebEx engineers  he formed Zoom - with a single-minded focus on creating a brilliant customer experience .

Yuan said at the time that 

“We don’t spend a lot of money to sell the product,” 

A bit of fairy dust 

In Jan 2017,  Zoom raised $100 million at a $1 billion valuation in a round led by Sequoia Capital 

The plan for this new $100 million was to scale by spending on marketing and global growth - and that it did!!!

The home run 

In 2019 it raised $350m in an IPO at $36 per share at a 10.5b valuation 

Today it’s at a share price of $250 valuing Zoom at circa $70B 

So VC Investors scored a 70X return from the Zoom deal .
A $10k investment world have generated $750k 

Where to from here? 

Zoom has taken a leaf out of Sequoia Capital’s book and has created a $100 million Zoom Apps Fund, with plans to invest anywhere from $250,000 to $2.5 million in companies across the video spectrum.

Zoom CTO Brendan Ittelson says "At the end of the day, we're looking at folks that are working with our ecosystem, be that Zoom Apps, integrations, hardware." They are focused on early-stage investments in companies that are starting to get traction.

Zoom hopes to help spark more development in the space, to make Zoom Apps into a platform as big and powerful as Zoom imagines it could be. 

Amazon committed $200 million to its own Alexa Fund, and Google has invested $100 million in lots of Google Assistant-related startups.

A cuppla hundred mill goes a long way toward starting a developer ecosystem of a platform! 

Online Business - Oz Hair and Beauty ready to scale with VC

Oz Hair and Beauty founders, Anthony Nappa and Guy Nappa, is ready to take this exciting online hair and beauty business to new heights, with hair and beauty industry expert, Ward Gauvin,  as Executive Chairman.

Congratulations to Anthony, Guy, the entire Oz Hair and Beauty team, and also to my colleagues atExciting times ahead. Bravo! #ozhairandbeauty #edisonpartners #growthequity #entrepreneurs #ecommercebusiness #hairandbeauty

 This is Shaf Dewani of Edison Growth Fund's   third portfolio investment together with We originated and led an investment group including BBRC Private Equity and Daniel Agostinelli 

Edison's team includes  Edison Partners Michael Thompson, Jason Ellenport, Malcolm Thornton, Truman Tang and Simon Weller.