News, opinions and advice on capital raising and finance strategy.
Microsoft. Amazon. Intel. Federal Express. Google. Due to economies of scale and network effects, these firms are likely to dominate – for decades – the global industries that they created. Australia desperately needs to create new industries as the USA has done and as all other first-world nations are struggling to do.
Small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy. More than one million of them operate in Australia, accounting for a staggering 97 percent of all private sector businesses. They employ around 3.6 million people, representing 33 percent of our workforce and 49 percent of all private sector employment.
Ambitious business builders know better than most that, in this lucky country, the only luck that sticks is self-made. Sid Subbrahmanyam considers a few locations where geography still matters in search of some elusive ingredients for success. Hold on tight!
Cash is king… and no one except Elvis is likely to disagree. So why don’t we ever have enough and how can we fix cashflow problems without selling off part of our company?
While sometimes apocryphal, start-up failure rates tell a sombre story: most start-ups don’t see their third anniversary. This high attrition rate has many causes, but a primary factor is poor cash flow management.
Sick and tired of venture capitalists slamming their heavy, oak doors in your mush? Heck, even a cash injection of 50 grand would get your bright idea to the next stage, right? Fear not. Help is at hand.
Value, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. While experienced investors use a range of tools to calculate the worth of a start-up or early stage company, some also believe that valuation is more art than science. So what is this ‘black art’ and how do experienced investors make their decisions?
I had a fascinating exchange with a venture capitalist the other day. I made the mistake of having a private conversation about the industrial relations reforms (yes, I know, religion and politics), which he overheard. I was delighted when he exploded next to me – “I can’t stand listening to this socialist crap any longer!” Readers, I am not now, and have never been, until last week, accused of being a socialist.
Over $500 million in venture capital was earmarked for China in the first half of 2005 alone. With a shortage of deals and management talent, opportunities abound for both investors and investee companies from abroad. In the third instalment of this four-part series, Paul Waide pulls back the curtain to reveal the complex machinations of China’s vibrant private equity market.
Has it really been six years since the world’s first wave of internet entrepreneurs fell through that plump cloud they’d conjured in the sky, taking with them the turgid hopes of our fledgling new economy? It’s been six years peppered with hard luck stories, investor reluctance and, lately, cautious hope rekindled. Australian internet startups were in the thick of it back then. The survivors emerged with slightly bloodied noses and wisdom far beyond their years.
You don’t have to speak to very many entrepreneurs to hear a lot of negativity about the Australian VC industry. Use of the term “vulture capital” has become as common as calling police officers “cops” and is often used jokingly, albeit a touch defensively, by VCs themselves. Why do Australian VCs get such a bad…
Achieving your first sale can literally make or break a start-up. Many investors will delay committing significant funds until you can identify a customer prepared to pay real money for your product. It is often at this point that many start-ups fail: not because their product is not up to scratch, but because they run…
Early stage venture capitalists are entrepreneurs, too! They’re switched on, chased up and brimming with ideas on how to breathe life into commercial opportunities. But first they have to be convinced that it is an opportunities. But first they have to be convinced that it is an opportunity. Paul D. Ryan persuaded five of Australian’s…
The Australian superannuation industry is capital rich but reluctant to invest in emerging technology industries, such as biotechnology. Brad Howarth goes searching for solutions to fill the venture capital funding gap. Sitting in a hotel room in San Francisco, it is difficult to forget that you are in a city that lives and breathes technology-based…
In the final days of September 2005, Anthill editor Paul Ryan caught up with five of Australia’s leading early-stage venture capitalists. The meeting turned into a feature story. The feature story turned into a networking event, which we offered as a fly-on-the-wall audio CD. Now you can download/listen to it as a full podcast, which includes the previously unreleased Q&A session.
In the final days of September 2005, Anthill editor Paul Ryan caught up with five of Australia’s leading early-stage venture capitalists. The meeting turned into a feature story. The feature story turned into a networking event, which we offered as a fly-on-the-wall audio CD. Now you can download/listen to it as a full podcast, which includes the previously unreleased Q&A session.
What makes a venture capitalist tick? Su-Ming Wong knows. He should. Wong lives and breaths risk and reward. From his early days with the pioneering private equity fund Australian Mezzanine Investments, to his most recent $165 million private equity play with CHAMP Ventures, Wong has built a career around the birth, growth and maturity of…
For ambitious businesses seeking investment dollars for expansion, the high seas of capital raising are as turbulent as they are vast. With so many ‘X ’s marking so many spots, can a business builder walk the plank without getting wet? Jana Matthews charts a course for companies at all stages of development. Why do so…
The man who brought us e-finance Belgians are famous for exporting delightful, frivolous products like beer and chocolate. However, leading Belgian entrepreneur Michel Akkermans is responsible for introducing a far more profound product to the world: e-finance. His latest company, Clear2Pay, gives financial institutions the ability to offer branded electronic payment services to clients. With…
Is there anywhere angels fear to tread? To be an angel investor, you need personal wealth, a sense of adventure, a pretty strong stomach, and most importantly, a good eye. So what do they look for? We picked the brains of three prominent insiders. Bill Payne Angel Investor and Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation (Kansas…
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