Question 1

At what stage do you invest and when should we reach out?

Accepted Answer

We like to invest early and then support you with further investment if you need it as the company grows. You need to be beyond just an idea stage so the company is formed and you've made a start. If you review our application form it will give you a sense of what we need to know to be able to make an investment.

Often it's good to have started building a relationship before you are asking for money so reach out and if it's too early we'll let you know and you can apply again in the future once you have met more of our investment criteria.

We invest from Pre-Seed through to Series B rounds and prefer to be in the early stages and journey with you from there.

Question 2

What happens if we already have investors?

Accepted Answer

We are happy to co-invest and have done so previously with other angel investors and venture capital funds so don't let that prevent you from reaching out to us.

Question 3

What makes a good founder that you will invest in?

Accepted Answer

As an early stage investor we believe most of what we are doing is trying to find and back good founders. Great companies are founded by great people.

When we say we are backing Purpose Driven Founders it primarily means we are looking for people who are solving a problem that has become their "life cause". It's something deeper that says you care about this so much you are relentless in its pursuit.

Typically that is finding innovative ways that will make the world a better place. That's not limited in any way and we are open to hearing your vision on what that might be, but think health, education, sustainability, operational efficiency, improved experiences and more. If we can align around your purpose then that's where our interest will start.

Beyond that there are some things that make certain founding teams stand out to us:

CHARACTER
We need founders we can trust, who are honest, show strong integrity and communicate consistently. We need to make sure that when things are off plan they are communicating with us quickly so we have the opportunity to help resolve issues.

COMPETENCY
Your founding team ideally covers the following skills:
 • Domain knowledge - so you deeply know the industry you are working in and usually have encountered the problem you are solving.
 • Innovation knowledge - so you have the technical skills that relate to the innovation and IP you are creating - this typically connects to your defensibility strategy.
 • Commercial knowledge - so you are structuring the company correctly, have the ability to negotiate commercial transactions, apply appropriate governance and financial controls and have execution excellence.

Sometimes we can help with these skills or you may be seeking investment to help fill some gaps in the core team, so still talk to us if something is missing but have a plan on how you are hoping to do that.

CHEMISTRY
This is just the good vibes that happen when we get together and we know that the combination of our team and your team is going to do something great. It's hard to give tips on this - but just be yourself, be clear on what your purpose is and let's see if the magic happens.

Question 4

What tips do you have if we make it to a pitch meeting?

Accepted Answer

The pitch meeting will usually go for 45-60mins. We like you to pitch from your pitch deck but it will be interactive and we'll ask questions as we go. To give yourself the best shot in that meeting here are some things we'd recommend:

• Make sure your pitch is consistent with the application you put in. Often we see people make dramatic changes and it means we are asking questions about character before we've even started.
 • We'll usually send you some questions beforehand so make sure you've come prepared to answer all of those and more. We're not trying to catch you out but we want to make sure you know what you need to know about your business. This means know all your metrics and while you are getting us excited about your vision also make sure you have a clear plan of what your next steps are.
 • Don't bring your advisors. We are all about investing in founders and we want to spend this time with you - not people who want to talk on your behalf.
 • Have questions for us. This should be a two way process so you have a chance to get to know us and it gives us an indication of what you care about in your investors.
 • Finally take a deep breath before you come and remember your "why". Whether we choose to invest in your company or not doesn't reflect whether you are going to build a great company. We can only invest in a few companies each year so a lot has to go right for us to find that fit, so just be yourself and let's see what happens.

Question 5

How do you help beyond the money?

Accepted Answer

Our team has been working in the startup industry for over a decade and have helped hundreds of companies scale and exit during that time. While the money is important, we have been founders and understand that often selecting an investor is more than just about the money.

Once we invest we provide other value such as:
 • Access to specific EXPERTISE you may need at different points in your journey. This includes skills such as strategic planning for startups, marketing channels and conversion metrics, founder wellbeing, team structure, technology development, IP protection and more. Once we invest we'll be meeting regularly so if there is a problem you are faced with and someone in our team can assist we'll be there to help.

• Extensive NETWORKS across the globe that we can introduce you to. Whether it be new team members, suppliers, channel partners, international landing pads or more, our team has great connections in locations throughout the world that we can introduce you to where it can help grow your company. 
 • Use of our startup PLAYBOOKS. Having worked with so many startups over the last decade we have a range of templates and resources we can share with you that have been used successfully by companies we have helped scale. Examples include our one page planning process, our sales toolkit, board packs and more.
 • All our portfolio companies are onboarded to our COMMUNITY PLATFORM. Here you will be able to connect with other founders and access our startup content and resources.

Question 6

What happens if you decide not to invest?

Accepted Answer

We will often look at more than a hundred companies in a year and only invest in four to five. It's not that you aren't building a great company its just that we have very specific criteria we are looking for so it's very common we don't invest in an opportunity we are presented with.

We'll always do our best to try and give you some kind of feedback that will help your journey. There have been many cases where we have passed on an investment, given a company feedback and when they have gone and worked on the things we have pointed out we've then ended up investing at a later stage.

We don't always get it right, but we have a large data set on what successful companies do, their growth trajectory, their team structure and more so if you come with an open mind, even if we don't invest we hope that it will be a valuable experience for you.

Question 7

What is your typical investment size?

Accepted Answer

As we invest from the Pre-Seed stage to Series B we are typically investing between $200k and $2m in each round.

If we are going to invest we'll work with you to make sure you are raising enough money to get to the next stage of your growth and we like to follow-on if you are raising more money when our portfolio companies are performing .

Question 8

How do you think about valuations?

Accepted Answer

We have a lot of market data on valuations and we are looking for the situation that creates a win-win for both founders and investors alike. We think you will find us very fair in the terms that we offer.

There are typically three factors we are considering when we look at valuation:
1. Milestone Progress: As many of our first investments are in companies with little to no revenue we look at what you have done so far in the business that we can attribute value to. Things like whether there is an MVP in market, what is the make-up of the team, what IP you have developed, are there sales in place and more. 
2. Future Financial Forecast: While your business model may be full of many assumptions, that's the point as a start up. We are trying to align with those assumptions and understand what you think the growth trajectory of the business might be based on those. Once we are comfortable with your model we can apply market metrics and some traditional business valuation calculations to determine what future value you are creating that we can pay for in today's terms.
3. Comparative Metrics: We are looking at similar companies in a similar market and geographic location to compare how they have been valued to make sure that we are paying a market rate. If you have any of this data when you pitch to us this is always helpful.

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