Alliance Partners

Tuesday, November 30, 2021

VC is the asset class of the exponential age


The Economist on venture capital -

VC is the asset class of the exponential age - complex, intangible driven businesses need this class of capital.



The revolutionaries  of the 21st century have been the VCs - starting in Silicon Valley and spreading across the globe - 

a virus - that has done good! 
People who have backed people and ideas - and those humans  who have succeeded have in turn become VCs .

These people have become the growth engine of economies! 

Seven of the world’s ten largest firms were vc-backed. vc money has financed the companies behind search engines, iPhones, electric cars and mrna vaccines.

World Economies are Creating these amazing animals called Unicorns ! 

So far this year almost $600bn has been deployed in deals—ten times the level of a decade ago.

Google, Facebook, Canva, Afterpay , Atlassian , Aconnex, Zip, Nexttech, MyRecruitmentPlus , GO1, Redbubble ,  Amazon , Apple , Betway and Bitcoin and so many others are w few unicorns that come to mind 

Sunday, November 21, 2021

Airwallex powering ahead at a 5.5B valuation




Another milestone moment for Jack Zhang, Co-founder and CEO at Airwallex
They have raised an  additional US$100 million in a Series E1 financing round led by Lone Pine Capital - at a valuation of  US$5.5 billion - accelerate their  global expansion efforts. πŸš€

Onwards and Upwards 


As they  approach their sixth anniversary, they continue to connect entrepreneurs, business builders, and makers with opportunities in every corner of the world. 

The money will be used for taking advantage of  M&A opportunities that will accelerate their  global expansion plans, pursuing their  mission to empower businesses to grow without borders.

#funding #growth

Saturday, November 20, 2021

Practice Ignition has raised a USD50m Series C funding round



Practice Ignition has raised  a USD50m Series C funding round  - congrats to Guy Pearson, Dane Thomas, Mark Bartels and the Practice Ignition team. 


 The money is to be used to expand globally- Asia North America and Europe via its strategic partnerships with Gusto, Intuit and Thompson Reuters.


The Investors 

 JMI Equity led the round with support from Tiger Global and Howard Liebman’s EVP, as well as several strategic investors and family office groups.


What Practice Ignition does 


The Practice Ignition platform is a tool for accountants and bookkeepers - and is expanding to other service professionals. Its integrates digital proposals, payments and automated workflows via leading business apps such as Gusto, Xero, QuickBooks and Zapier to streamline service-based commerce


It’s goal is to reshape the professional services industry that does business with its customers through its all-in-one client engagement and commerce solution.


Practice Ignition has more than 1 million clients across six markets and over $2 billion in client revenue under management.


CEOGuy Pearson said

“With the transition of accounting from tax compliance to advisory, this means that the need to deliver engaging, quality customer interactions via technology is critical for closing deals, boosting profitability and winning and retaining clients,”

Zoomo raises $80m through the power of the pedal



Aussie startup led by Mina Nada  - Zoomo has raised  A$80m from the Atlassian Boys - Mike and Scott (Grok Ventures and Skip Capital) and Israel’s Viola group.


Zoomo provides electric bikes and mopeds through a monthly subscription to food, grocery and retail delivery riders and companies .


This Aussie πŸ‡¦πŸ‡Ί startup  has expanded into Spain πŸ‡ͺπŸ‡Έ , France πŸ‡«πŸ‡· , Germany πŸ‡©πŸ‡ͺ  and UK πŸ‡¬πŸ‡§ and is looking to enter USA  πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ 


“As countries all around the world grapple with achieving net-zero carbon emissions, they are realizing that there is power in the pedal!


E-bikes have soared in popularity in recent years with Deloitte estimating that around 130 million e-bikes will have been sold between 2020 and 2023.


So …. Why did Mike Cannon Brookes Invest? 

“If we want to decarbonize our world, transportation needs to change. Zoomo is an incredible Aussie start-up taking this on. They’re greening delivery and transforming logistics on a global scale,” Mike Cannon-Brookes

Friday, November 19, 2021

Airwallex raises $100m

From  Paul Bassat 

Amazing milestone for @awxjack and @awxlucy and the entire team at @airwallex 
A remarkable business that emerged from Melbourne just under six years ago!!! So proud of u!




Wednesday, November 17, 2021

Annie Parker to run Tech Central

News | The Greater Sydney Commission today announced two exceptional Executive Directors to lead the delivery of the Tech Central and Westmead Health and Innovation Districts.

Following an international search process, Annie Parker and Liza Noonan have been appointed to lead the delivery of the Tech Central and Westmead Districts respectively.

Chief Executive Officer Elizabeth Mildwater said,

“Annie is a globally recognised startup ecosystem leader, having built multiple startup programs around the world for Microsoft, Telefonica and Telstra. She is also an advocate for equity and inclusion, which she led in her most recent role in the Startups team at Microsoft, and she has built programs that grow the broader community, teaching technology and entrepreneurial skills to communities that need them.

“Liza comes to us from CSIRO where she was Director Company Creation, Director Global and leader of the ON Accelerator, Australia’s first national science and technology accelerator supporting publicly funded research achieve real world impact faster.

“She was the founding CEO of Springboard Enterprises Australia and spent over ten years at Alcatel-Lucent (now Nokia) in senior strategy and innovation management roles spanning UK, European and Asia-Pacific markets.

“These appointments come at a critical time as we plan for Greater Sydney’s future. Knowledge intensive industries will fuel our future economy, attracting investment and talent. These industries need cities that can deliver a concentration of talent, infrastructure and ideas. Greater Sydney’s innovation precincts will be home to world-class research and cutting-edge companies, supporting outstanding research, innovation and collaboration,” Ms Mildwater said.

“And our innovation districts are more than just places to work. As magnets for talent and investment, they must be great places to live, and diverse and vibrant centres of creativity and culture, leisure and innovation,” she said.

“Together with the signature buildings and vibrant public spaces that come with them, each centre needs a sense of place, the right balance of work hubs and housing outcomes, and the necessary amenities surrounding them.”

“I’m thrilled that this opportunity has lured two extraordinary women back to Sydney and look forward to working with Annie and Liza to realise the enormous potential of Tech Central and Westmead,” she said.



Lyre Spririt Co raises $47 at $500m valuation




A huge milestone for Mark Livings, Carl Hartmann and their amazing team as today Lyre's Spirit Co has raised $37m - hitting  a $500m valuation, officially hitting "Soonicorn" status (as in - at their current rate of growth we'll be a unicorn... soon). 

The company - founded in 2019 have expanded into 60 countries, launched 20 multi award winning products and batted back every pandemic curveball imaginable. 

They are  well on our way to realizing our vision on changing how the world drinks, and very excited to the chapters to come! πŸš€ πŸŒ™ πŸ¦„

No alcohol - no hangovers - the Drink for the health conscious ! 

It’s a hot space with glbal liquor giants such as Diageo, Pernod Richard and William Grant all pushing hard into the non-alcoholic spirits sector.

Annualised sales for Lyare approaching $100 million). Achieving a  compound growth of 450 per cent.

The Investors

The original backer was Greg Bundy, former global chief operating officer of Merrill Lynch Asset Management, who is now Lyre’s chairman. 

Other investors include 

The secret 

 1. being obsessive about customer service 

“Just being obsessive about customers, that can translate into loyal behaviour. Ultimately you can apply that to any business.” Says Carl Hartman 

2. having a fantastic co-founder to work with that you can rely on and trust

3. Have investors who believe in you and are prepared to back you 

What else? 


Xendit raises $150m

Fireside Chat with Xendit Founder and CEO Moses Lo, MBA '15 

Moses Lo, MBA 15, Founder of financial services company Xendit, is interviewed by Rhonda Shrader, Executive Director of the Berkeley Haas Entrepreneurship Program. Xendit recently raised $150M in funding. Watch Haas' latest and UC LAUNCH's first unicorn on the Haas YouTube channel.

Watch Video

Friday, November 12, 2021

Investing directly in People vs backing projects




How do you unlock  the equity that young people have  in the form of their future sweat and ingenuity? 


Currently, old people with large balance sheets have the power !

 Why??? 

Because what one can manage one can measure 


Some relevant questions…..

  • Why does  a balance sheet not account for the equity or value of its people…. And yet the value of an organisation is all about its people? 
  • Why does a bank not look at an organisation’s biggest asset when giving a loan? 
  • How do you value the value of a person ?
  • How do you value the culture of an organisation that has the ability to recruit , train and retain the right people ?

Imagine being able to  back a future “superstar”early in their careers in return for a percentage of future earnings?


The model 

Sam Lessin’s Slow Ventures is looking to back stars - not the projects - giving the stars a balance sheet to leverage their skillset s to become superstars ! 


In return for an investment, you get a percentage of all of the money the  star makes annually for 50 years and a percentage of the  IP and property that is created or invested in .


Similar  to the VC model…. Backers will take a portfolio approach where  the superstars will carry the cost of capital for everyone.


I suppose it’s like an investor backing a “fund” vs a “project” 


The stars that are investable will be

  1. Those that have a clear vision, mission and plan 
  2. Those that have the  CD ability to communicate that plan 
  3. Those that ate passionate about their success
  4. Those that are trustworthy 

Issues to work out

  • How to you value a stars ⭐️ future income?
  • How can you enforce the payment ?
  • Can the investment be done in a blockchain?


What do you think of the concept ? 



Inspired By Sam Lessin a General Partner at Slow Ventures and an intern at The Information


Photo: Art by Mike Sullivan 


https://www.theinformation.com/articles/investing-directly-in-people-is-the-future-of-vc-heres-how-to-do-it


Thanks Niki Skevak for the share 

Wednesday, November 03, 2021

MCi won the global #COP26 Clean Energy pitching challenge!


What Aussie media didn't cover from #COP26Glasgow :

#Canberra #startup MCi won the global #COP26  Clean Energy pitching challenge!

From a field of 2,700 contenders globally.

linkedin.com/posts/marcusda…
#auspol #ACT #Australia  #cleanenergy #ClimateChange




Tuesday, November 02, 2021

Amazon Acquires Self-Driving Startup Zoox for $1.2 Billion

Amazon has purchased Zoox, a developer of autonomous vehicles, for $1.2 billion.


Zoox has been developing purpose-built, zero-emissions vehicles designed for autonomous ride-hailing, along with an end-to-end autonomy software stack.

Amazon purchased the company with last-mile delivery in mind. This could be a significant cost-cutting venture for Amazon, which ships more than 2.5 billion packages per year.

If the tech giant can cut labor costs by automating ground delivery, it could save them millions, while at the same time putting them in better shape than Federal Express and the United States Parcel Service.