Airtree

Yesterday, our Cohort 8 Explorers debunked angel investing myths with Rayn Ong 👻 In conversation with Elicia McDonald, Rayn shared insights from his angel investing journey, including how to be a good angel investor, and the truth behind common myths around cheque size, portfolio construction and valuations. Thanks Rayn for sharing your expertise!

The best angel investors are known for their speed and conviction. But how do you balance speed and depth when performing due diligence as an angel investor? Here’s a summary of some key do’s and don’ts: ✅ Don’t focus on what can go wrong—everything can and probably will go wrong in a startup. Do focus on what can go right. 🔍 Don’t obsess about what big tech competition (e.g. Google and Amazon) could do. Do remember that while they can build it, there are a million things they could do, and they don’t do most of them. 🦈 Don’t ask for ridiculous terms; you’re not on Shark Tank. Do stick with the market standard. For more on how to do DD as an angel, check out Jackie Vullinghs's guide (link in comments) 👇

Airtree’s hiring! 🌳 Are you our new Data Lead? We’re looking for someone who’s passionate about solving problems in eloquent and efficient ways to lead our data strategy, including: 🪴 Optimising and expanding our existing systems 🤝 Collaborating with our Partners and Investment Managers to evolve our data-driven tools 🧡 Leading analysis and reporting of the Airtree portfolio Apply now via the link in comments 👇

There’s no singular “right” way to do deal sourcing as an angel investor, but getting clear on your focus is a must. Here are some questions you should answer before you start pounding the pavement at networking events 👇 ❣️ What do you value in a founder? Many different types of people can be founders, and if the startup (and your investment) is successful, you’ll be closely collaborating with this founder for around ten years. 🏃 What’s your unfair advantage? This question is one that founders have to answer a lot. Turn this line of questioning back on yourself. Money is fungible, so why should a founder pick you over other angel investors? 💰 What kind of startups do you want to invest in? To narrow down your focus, consider what you have expertise in and what interests you. For more info on different deal sourcing approaches and what they look like in practice, check out Jackie Vullinghs’s guide to deal sourcing for angels (link in comments) 👇

Spotted: Sydney Explorers 🔭 We loved bringing Explorers from cohorts past and present together this week to connect and celebrate 2024 🥂

Lots of exciting updates for the Airtree portfolio in October. Here are some of the highlights 👇 🔨 Build Club raised a $1.75m pre-seed round. “It’s adapt or die when it comes to AI adoption, and this is particularly true for SMEs,” says Elicia McDonald. “Annie Liao 🇦🇺 and the Build Club team have already proven their ability to execute and build a thriving community, putting them in pole position to own the education and credentialing of the next generation of AI builders.” 🎨 Canva hit several big milestones: over $2.5bn in annual revenue, more than 200m monthly active users globally and 1000 new employees in the last year. They also launched over 40 new business tools and resources, including Dream Lab, a genAI tool powered by Leonardo AI. “The momentum continues to be pretty astounding,” says Robert Kawalsky, Head of Product at Canva. 🚀 Build Club, HEO and Immutable were recognised on The Australian’s Top 100 Innovators list for 2024. This list celebrates the ambition and commitment of the nation’s newest entrepreneurs. 💜 Human Health passed 5m health actions tracked in their app, only one month after passing 3m. “We have a button in our app where our users can email us: ‘If I could wave a magic wand, I’d love it if Human could…’. We are now getting so many magic wand requests from our users we can’t keep up,” says Georgia V., Co-founder of Human. 🥂 Linktree and me&u hosted the official tech afterparty with us at SXSW Sydney, celebrating tech, innovation and creativity with over 500 founders and operators. 💰 Zepto announced a new partnership with Red Energy. "Consumers today demand speed, security and convenience. However, many enterprises are hindered by complex tapestries of payment flows tethered to legacy systems such as BECS—and we’re laser-focused on unshackling the potential of modern payment experiences.", says Chris Jewell, Founder and CEO of Zepto. 👾 Crypto Tax Calculator announced a new partnership with eToro, allowing eToro users to seamlessly import their transaction data into Crypto Tax Calculator and generate accurate tax reports, ensuring compliance with the ATO.

How did Modibodi go from bootstrapped beginnings to a $140m exit in 10 years? Yesterday, Kristy Chong OAM shared learnings from her journey at the helm of leakproof apparel brand Modibodi with our Pioneers community. Some key takeaways: 🥾 The benefits of bootstrapping. Kristy started Modibodi by bootstrapping, using a small budget from her savings. By managing expenses, securing a limited production run, and setting realistic goals, she was able to grow sustainably. 💰 Taking on investment at the right time. Raising PE investment later on in the Modibodi journey allowed her to “derisk her family” by securing financial stability. This investment meant she could focus on taking calculated risks without constant worry about cash flow. 🗣️ Cutting through with traditional advertising channels. PR and influencer marketing were foundational to Modibodi’s early growth, however, it can be hard to cut through on digital channels. Kristy also found success using traditional channels, like bus ads, as a way to generate sales. Thanks for sharing your expertise, Kristy! 🙌

Looking for a new role? 👀 Find the best startup jobs in ANZ on our jobs board and apply for roles like these (link in comments 👇): 📚 Lead Product Designer at Go1 🌳 Data Lead at Airtree 🧻 Product Management Lead at Who Gives A Crap 👾 Growth Strategy Lead at Immutable 💙 Senior Fund Accountant at GROW Inc 🧑⚖️ Legal Counsel at Prospa ⚖️ Technical Lead at LawVu 🌱 Senior Creative at Eucalyptus 🧑💻 Head of Product at M^0 Labs

Are you interested in angel investing? We’re all about democratising access to grow and support the startup ecosystem, which is why we open sourced some key insights from our angel investing Explorer program 🔭 Angel 101 is our first Open Source VC article in the series, and covers: 🤔 Why you might consider angel investing (and why you shouldn’t!) ⚠️ How to think about the risk/reward trade off 🧚 The importance of portfolio diversification 💰 How to think about your investment ‘budget’ Plus, we’ve included an angel investing budget planner for you to download (link in comments) 👇

Out and about with our Melbourne community 🥂 Last night we brought together Explorers from cohorts past and present, and execs from our portfolio—we’re already counting the days until we can come back! Big thanks to Amazon Web Services (AWS) for helping us host a fun night 🙌