Day One. Australian roots. Global Ambition.

Pre-seed and seed. We are usually the first institutional money into a company, which often means we invest before there is a finished product or meaningful revenue.

Our first cheque is usually between A$250,000 and A$750,000. We also keep money aside to invest again in later rounds, and we use it. See the follow-on question below.

Yes, we lead. That means we will set the terms, sign first, and help you fill the rest of the round. If you already have a lead, we can still be part of the round.

Mainly Australia, and founders with Australian roots. That is where we spend our time, where our network is, and where we can be most useful to you.

It depends. Our focus is Australian companies and founders, though we look at strong companies from elsewhere case by case. If you are not sure whether you fit, ask us rather than assuming.

We are stage specialists but sector agnostic by design. We care much more about the founder and the problem than the category. If you are building software for an industry you know deeply, we are probably interested.

We have invested a lot in AI native software, B2B SaaS, healthtech, fintech, HR tech, martech, supply chain and logistics, construction technology, marketplaces and energy.

Two different things, and the first one matters more than people expect.

Not every good business is a venture business. We invest from a fund that has to return money to its own investors, so we need companies with a credible path to becoming very large. Many excellent businesses will never look like that, and were never meant to. Venture capital is not a badge of quality, it is one particular kind of fuel, and it only suits one particular kind of engine. If a fund passes on you for this reason, it is not a judgement on what you have built.

We have written about how to tell the difference, and why it matters before you spend six months raising, in Am I too early to talk to VCs?

Beyond that, there are a few things we tend to avoid: businesses with high capital expenditure, large physical machinery, devices with long regulatory approval timelines, and web3 businesses.

Yes. We have backed solo founders, and not having a co-founder is not a disqualifier.

70+ since 2020, with 5+ exits.

An Early Stage Venture Capital Limited Partnership is an Australian Government structure for funds that invest in early-stage companies. Both of our funds are registered as ESVCLPs, and you can check that yourself on the government's public register.

For you as a founder it mostly means two things. The government has checked that we are a genuine early-stage investor, and there are rules about the size and location of the companies we can invest in. That is part of why we focus on Australian companies and on founders with Australian roots.

Yes, we are actively deploying out of our fresh 2026 fund

Almost certainly not.

Being early is the whole job. Plenty of the companies we back have no revenue and an unfinished product on the day we invest. If you are asking this question, ask us rather than asking the internet.

There is no number. At pre-seed there usually is not enough data for a number to mean anything, and a founder with two engaged, thoughtful customers often tells us more than one with fifty accidental signups.

What we are actually looking at:

• Do you understand the problem better than almost anyone else, usually because you have lived it
• Is there evidence, of any kind, that someone wants this enough to change their behaviour
• Can you move quickly and think clearly when something breaks

If you have revenue, great, tell us what it is and how you got it. If you do not, tell us what you have learned instead.

Yes. We have backed solo founders, and not having a co-founder is not a disqualifier.

Submit your pitch here (our pitch form). Someone from our team personally looks at every application, and we will get back to you within a few weeks.

• Someone from our team personally reviews every application. You will hear back from us either way, with a "not right now" or an invitation to a first call.
• If it looks like a fit, you will have an intro chat with someone from our investment team.
• Depending on the stage of the company, we may say "not right now" and invite you to stay in touch. If it is positive, we will come back with more questions about the business.
• You will then meet our Investment Committee.
• If everything lines up, we wire the money and welcome you to the portfolio.

This usually takes a few weeks.

A lot of the companies we see come to us very early. When we decide it is not the right moment for us to invest, we would genuinely like to stay in touch, hear how it is going, and be useful where we can.

If it is not a fit, we will tell you. Given the volume of pitches we see and the size of our team, we cannot give detailed feedback on every one, but you are welcome to come back to us when you have made progress.

Usually two to three weeks from the first meeting.

Yes. We keep capital aside for follow-on investment and we use it.

The clearest example: we wrote Heidi Health's pre-seed cheque and then invested in every single round after that, through to their A$140m Series C.

Not often. We would rather earn the conversation than require it through a board seat. Sometimes observer rights and staying close informally is a better solution.

Honest updates, including the bad months. Ask for help early rather than late. Beyond that, you run the company. We are available when you want us and we try not to be in the way.

• Follow-on capital. We keep capital aside to invest again in your later rounds, and we use it.
• The next round. Introductions to the funds who lead the next round and the round after that, plus honest input on timing, pricing, and how to package the business for that conversation.
• Customers and hires. Across a portfolio of 70+ companies and the operators around it.
• Straight answers. Building can put founders in a bubble, which is completely understandable. We spend all day at this stage, looking at what the best companies are doing and what is not working. Often we can help you untangle a problem faster than you would get there alone.

Either. It depends on the round.

Usually around 10% or less, though it depends on the round and the company.