Alliance Partners

Thursday, June 29, 2023

Grant funding to support innovative startup projects


$392m Industry Growth Program opens for consultation (http://innovationaus.com), a new early-stage commercialisation initiative to bridge the ‘valley of death’ facing young SMEs working on innovative projects that align with the National Reconstruction Fund.




A $392 million Industry Growth Program to help early-stage commercialisation of SMEs working on innovative projects that align with the National Reconstruction Fund is being planned and is open for consultation .




The program is expected to provide advice and matched grant funding of up to $5 million to startups and SME’s, with the aim of expanding the pipeline of investment-ready projects for the $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund (NRF).


Projects and companies supported 

  1. Value add agriculture 
  2. forestry and fisheries; 
  3. value-add in resources; 
  4. transport; 
  5. medical science; 
  6. renewables and low emissions technologies; 
  7. defence capability; 
  8. and enabling capabilities.


“particularly keen to help bridge the ‘valley of death’ – where great ideas, often backed by solid research, are hamstrung only by a lack of funding and expertise.” Said Minister Ed Husic 


“This consultation is about creating the right conditions to ensure brilliant Australian entrepreneurs can grow and thrive here at home,” he said, adding that the program was “setting up the next wave of Australian businesses to thrive for years to come.”


According to the discussion paper, the program will focus on “industry-led activities”, like those of “innovative SMEs looking to scale-up and commercialise their operations”, and that industry research collaborations are only “potentially eligible.”


“We intend the program to focus on those that will benefit the most from advice and financial support. 


This may be due to their difficult assessing expertise, networks, finance or other causes,” the paper states.


“The commercialisation will focus on encouraging innovative SMEs to get their unique ideas to market and achieve first sales. 


The early-stage growth element… is expected to focus on pre-profit SMEs with novel ideas and are now seeking to scale their operations”.


Support will come in the form of both advice from Industry Growth Program (IGP) advisers and industry partner organisations, as well as matched grants of up to $250,000 for very early-stage commercialisation and up to $5 million for all other projects.


The Department of Industry, Science and Resources will engage IGP advisers to “provide guidance on commercialisation and SME growth” to businesses, while industry partner organsiations – which are yet to be determined – will also provide “specialised advisory and support services” in some cases.


“We propose that organisations wanting to be classified as an industry partner organization will need to apply and be considered through government selection processes,” the discussion paper states.


Only grant applications for projects that have been invited by an IGP advisers, industry partner organisations, or the IGP’s executive director will be accepted by the government, according to the paper.


At least 50 per cent of the project that aligns with an NRF priority area will also need to be funded by the SME, with the proponent expected to provide evidence of their ability to fund the remainder of the project.


“Only the most promising projects proposed by innovative SMES that have received advisory services will be invited to apply for grant funding,” the discussion paper, released on Wednesday, said.


Program oversight and recommendations on grant assessments will be provided by a new committee, which will be established under the delegation of the Industry Innovation and Science Australia Board.


As part of the consultation, the government is requesting feedback on the criteria for the program, including whether it should be limited to businesses with a turnover of $20 million or less, and whether Technology Readiness Levels should be used to determine eligibility of a project.


It also wants to understand how the program might complement other university, industry or government initiatives, with the government already looking at opportunities to link the IGP with Australia’s Economic Accelerator and CRCs.


“The Australian government wants to ensure it has a competitive program to nurture innovative companies to become the big employers of the future,” the discussion paper states.


“The program’s strong focus on commercialisation and early-stage business growth advice, combined with grants, aims to be a high-impact, cost-effective way to back Australia ideas and build capability.”


The consultation will close on 30 July 2023. The discussion paper can be found here.

Do you know more? Contact James Riley via Email.

Related: Ed Husic | Industry Growth Program | National Reconstruction Fund | NRF

Thursday, June 22, 2023

Hannah Spilva - exited LVLY and shares insights with Leigh and Brad



Hannah Spilva shared the stage giving insights on tips for Entepreneurs to exit with Leigh Jasper who sold his startup  Aconex for $1.6b and Brad Moran who recently sold Citrusad to Publicitas for $205m!


Hannah and her partner Verity Tuck, sold her local flower delivery startup LVLY in 2015 for $35 million by south-east Asian tech firm Limitless Technology last year (in 2022)


4 secrets of a high value exit from Hannah

  • International focus
  • The right buyer - Limitless Technology launches, scales, and acquires profitable e-brands across Asia Pacific, with a focus on gifts, confectionery, health, and fashion. 
  • Exponential revenue growth - 629% in 3 years - reaching  $13.9 million, with 162 employees working from its locations in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and across Australia. 
  • A strong social and environmental conscience -  guided by 3 simple principles – to be lovely to people, lovely to Australia and lovely to our planet
  • Supporting local and treading lightly on the planet is underpinned by our Paddock to PosyTMsupply chain working with local growers and wholesalers.”

Spilva and Tuck both worked in advertising bl (before lvly) and  saw  a glaring gap in the online flower and gift-giving market. 


They built a flower business  settting a  standard for same-day delivery - with a simple easy to use platform .

Wednesday, June 21, 2023

Frntln, beyonces dad and tiktok style learning videos raise $4.5m seed round




Frntlne founded by music and entertainment Entepreneur,   Mark John min 2021 - has raised  $4.6 million by Matt Berriman’s RealVC, Investible and Navitas founder Rod Jones’ family office and Hoperidge Capital . 


John  is being mentored by BeyoncĂ©  dad Dr Mathew Knowles PhD, who presented the platform to a group of high profile retail and pharmaceutical chains in the UK (pictured above) . 


Mark saw a gap when experiencing shocking customer service from retailers! 


What is Frntln?

Frntlne is an online training platform engaging  frontline staff in the retail, hospitality, and pharmaceutical industries using Tik tok  style videos followed by a short quiz .


The format was developed with education expert David Isaacson using cognitive load theory, which is designed to develop better memory recall , increasing information retention and make learning fun.”


These snippets are tailored to help sales staff deliver the best possible customer experience, as well as high sales conversions for brands and retailers. 


"If we can deliver information in an entertaining and informative kind of way - similar to what you see on TikTok - the learner feels that it's easy enough, it's fun enough, and they want to engage with it," Mr John shared with the AFR .

Clients and Distributors 

Clients include  Coles, L’Oreal, P&G, Swisse, Mumm Champagne and Bondi Sands, and has recently secured its first international partnership with southeast Asian alcohol distributor Octopus Group.


Octopus has a global footprint with the potential to reach over 3,000 hospitality venues with over 600 brands in Singapore and Malaysia .Their brands include household brands like the Diageo portfolio, the Stoli group and the AVL portfolio.


John’s vision 

John’s shared his vision with Morganne Kopittke of smartcompany 


“Our aim is to redefine the in-store customer service experience and we’re very excited for the future. We want to be the most valuable online tool for education and data collection in the markets we work across a broad range of industries including but not limited to hospitality, retail, pharmacy, and aviation,”


What is the money raised for? 

The money raised is  being raised for  global expansion into UK , Singapore and UaE. 


Welcome to the #nexttechrevolution 

Saturday, June 17, 2023

Covid helps Espresso displays go viral

Espresso Displays co-founders (from left to right): Scott McKeon, Will Scuderi, Fabian Maritato and Gary Caldarola. Photo Nic Walker

Espresso Displays has landed seed investment from Richard White  after bootstrapping from crowdfnding .


Espresso recognised that workers require flexibility and tools to work from anywhere, and created the portable screen….. enabling workers to be as productive from the local cafe or kitchen table as they could be in an office setting, given the right tools.


 In 2018, within 24 hours of posting a discounted prototype with a $300 price tag on Kickstarter’s crowdfunding platform, the duo had secured $10,000 worth of pre-sales. By the third day this had risen to $100,000.


And then Covid struck cementing flexibility into modern work practices. They had $1 million worth of pre-sales and customers in 35 countries waiting for its product.


Their Turnover has  grown to $5m in last 6 months and staff has grown to 30 as people regard the Espresso as a “must-have” productivity tool 


The secret - google AdWords, word of mouth,  Covid  and an amazing product at a reasonable price . 


Mitronics founder Roger Amir says it’s a must have for every employee 


Scuderi spent Covid lockdown  holed up in an apartment in the electronics capital of the world setting up Espresso’s supply chain


” You have to hustle your way through China but that doesn’t mean you can’t be successful there.”


Espresso says Australia is a great place to start and grow a business, and to test new products.


Gems from the collection founders 

Will Scuderi tells Agnes King at  AFR 


Ignore naysayers and don’t be afraid to swim against the tide.


He says the research and development tax rebate makes domestic engineering talent “relatively affordable compared to the rest of the world”.


Want to know more about the RandD  tax concession ? 


Speak to Mick Lynch at BSI Innovation!


www.bsiinnovation.com.au

Thursday, June 01, 2023

WIne Tasting

 These are the wines that we will send to you if you are open to give us honest feedback


Click here to register 

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