The New Startup Visa in Australia— a Guide for Beginners

The other day a good mate asked me a question — “what’s the number 1 thing that Australia needs to learn from Silicon Valley?” A tonne of..

Where could the Australian venture capital industry be in 5 years time?

It may seem self-serving for me to write about how the VC industry could absorb more money … however, I hope you might see that..

Taking a breath — what happened in startupaus in 2018?

As another year comes to pass, we like to use this time to stop, take a breath and look back on 2018.

Healthtech at the Crossroads — MyHealthRecord

This article was originally published in the Crossroads 2018 report. 

For years Australia has been considered a global hotspot for medical research and innovation..

Startups — Are they good or bad for Australia?

Over recent times you can hear the drums beating… “Startups” are some sort of privileged class, adding little to the economy or society etc..

The Importance of Authenticity: Our Investment in Whispli

Today we’re excited to be announcing we’ve backed Whispli — the platform that makes it safe for whistleblowers and victims of harassment to speak up.

Arriving as AirTree’s newest investor

Hi everyone 👋 I’m Jackie, the newest addition to AirTree Ventures. I’m joining the investment team to help find, invest in and support the most..

The power of a mission-driven culture — Our investment in Huddle

We’re thrilled to be announcing that we’re backing Huddle — a team that’s using technology to build a very different type of insurance company. 

Personal insurance is a..

Health data access will transform health outcomes for all… the clock is ticking

While propagating reasonable concerns about access, the recent debate about the opt out timing for My Health Record, has however exposed a terrible lack of informed input..

My Week Stateside

I’m spending more and more time in the US with just under a third of our portfolio companies, as well as many of our..

Opening up our ESOP docs for Aussie startups

Startups are really bloody hard... and so we’re big believers in anything that makes life a little bit easier for teams. That’s why we’ve been building..

Founders — Get Your Own Personal Board

Every founder I know gets impostor syndrome. Every single one. It’s pretty much inevitable.

When you’re building something from scratch that hasn’t been done..

Connecting the next 4 billion: Our investment in Transcelestial

Transcelestial is aiming to deliver commercial high speed internet to everybody on earth. Sometimes as VCs you’re reminded of just how lucky you are..

Investing in lines not dots: Our investment in Secure Code Warrior

A lot of founders get advised that the best time to speak to an investor is only when you’re ready to raise money.

I’m..

Your product is awesome, why are you selling it so cheap? Pt. 1

At AirTree Ventures, I’ve been lucky enough to meet hundreds of companies across many different verticals, business models and stages. While questions on pricing do..

It’s never too early to talk to AirTree: our investment in Joyous

Some people think that because we have a relatively large fund, AirTree only makes growth investments in established companies.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Arriving as AirTree’s Head of Talent

I’ve been working as Head of Talent at AirTree Ventures for six months now and am absolutely loving it! For those of you who I haven’t had the..

Bringing drones to every job site: Our investment in DroneDeploy

From time to time we come across companies that have proven themselves as market leaders globally and are looking for our help to expand..

Introducing the Model Code of Conduct for the Australian Startup Community

At AirTree we’re all driven by the same mission — to help grow Australia’s tech community into a thriving and creative ecosystem. But we also know..

The world is running at AI/ML as fast as it can... where does that leave Australia?

Daniel Petre's keynote address at the AWS Sydney Summit in April 2018 - "The Australian tech industry is at a crossroads".

Machine learning applied to melanoma diagnosis: our investment in MetaOptima

For some time we have been looking into practical applications of artificial intelligence and machine learning. We have seen a whole lot of hype..

Making energy efficient homes easier for all Australians: our investment in Brighte

We love to build relationships with founders early. Most of our partnerships at AirTree are the result of several years of relationship building, mentoring..

ABC Radio @ Myriad: John Henderson on the ethical implications of AI

When Google launched its latest AI assistant Google Duplex it was able to call someone, make a restaurant booking and the people at the..

My new venture

Elicia writes about becoming a first-time mother and continuing on with her career. Sharing a number of resources she'd recommend to anyone else in..

Product management at Google — insights from our AirTree portfolio breakfast with Anil Sabharwal

We recently held another AirTime event, a breakfast session discussing product management with a group..

James Cameron on searching for outliers

James started his career as a lawyer before jumping into launching startups himself. He used an unsuccessful attempt at raising capital as an opportunity..

The Challenger Bank Marketing Playbook: Virality, Community, Education & Design

Revolut, Monzo, N26 and other challenger banks have astonished traditional marketers with the speed of their growth over the last few years. Not only..

Craig Blair on the need for ambition

Prior to starting Airtree, Craig had extensive experience in building and growing companies. He was the founder of three software businesses including Travelselect, one..

Sales funnel metrics you should be tracking in your SaaS startup

By Elicia McDonald

This is Part 2 of my blog series on enterprise sales, you can read Part 1 here

Building an enterprise sales model is..

How Incentives Drive All Decision-Making

The right incentives can help people work together, force organisations to drive positive change, and even help build entire new economies.

From the small..

Google Photos creator Anil Sabharwal heads home to Australia

Google's 700 engineers in Australia will have a new chief as Anil Sabharwal, an Australian citizen who led the creation of Google Photos in..

Do we really need business tax cuts for the big end of town?

We are being told, mainly by CEOs of corporate business groups and business leaders that a lower company tax rate will result in increases..

Beer with an Entrepreneur: Daniel Petre, founder of AirTree Ventures

In this episode of Beer with an Entrepreneur, Daniel talks to Daniel Kjellsson about being terrified of Bill Gates, his mental models for evaluating companies..

Why Australia is the best place in the world to launch a start-up

Avocado toast has had a lot of press here lately, but it's actually a Californian invention. That said, just like wine and surfing, Australia..

Building our startup community 

Jess Heffernan is the Operations & Community Manager for AirTree Ventures, one of Australia’s most recognised VC funds. AirTree raised the largest fund in Australia in..

How Revolut is Re-Imagining Banking

Much has been written about how challenger banks are re-imagining the banking experience, so this article is a case study of how one of..

Save a lot of money and save a lot of lives — an opportunity for Australia

We are at a point now with some areas of medical diagnosis where not much money can be invested for significant savings both in..

AirTree: 2017 Year in Review

What a year it’s been for all of us in #startupaus! Innovation and technology are on the national agenda in a way they..

Bringing predictive decision support to the paddock: our investment in Flurosat

by Elicia McDonald & John Henderson

Here at AirTree, we are always thinking about industries where Australia has a significant..

When SaaS founders shouldn’t be afraid of hiring a sales team

When SaaS founders shouldn’t be afraid of hiring a sales team

By Elicia McDonald

In the world of SaaS startups there seems to be..

AirTree Speaker Series: DevX Session with Alex Solomon, Co-Founder and CTO of PagerDuty

The market for dev tools and infrastructure has exploded, and having a seamless developer experience and a great developer community has now become critical..

AirTree Speaker Series: DevX panel with Chris Saad (ex-Uber), Erica Wass (Zendesk) and Tim Lucas (Buildkite) - moderated by Matt Allen (AWS)

We brought together some of the best in the business to share their experiences in building great developer communities and experiences.

AirTree Speaker Series: Professor Vanessa Hayes

Professor Hayes sits down with our very own, Daniel Petre, to talk about using the variation within our DNA to define our earliest human..

AI-driven customer insights: our investment in Thematic

by John Henderson

Customer centricity is the defining characteristic of successful modern businesses. The iconic companies of today..

AirTree Speaker Series: Developments in Blockchain

Our exceptional panel of experts cover the full spectrum of blockchain companies, from a more traditional crypto-fiat exchange to a completely decentralised marketplace, to..

AIRTREE EXEC: Let's start talking about mental health for startup entrepreneurs

A few months ago, one of my good friends — Allen Liao from Tzukuri — wrote a really personal and moving piece on his own experiences with depression..

Rethinking property management: our investment in :Different

Large stagnant industries where NPS is low and margins are unsustainably high

We love to back..

World class Aussie founders: Our investment in Snappr

Our mission at AirTree is..

Machine learning meets mining: Our investment in EARTH AI

John Henderson

Intelligent software will disrupt every industry. Some industries will take longer to transform than others, but it is..

Aussie VCs leading on gender diversity, but there's a long way to go

Australian venture capital funds are setting the benchmark for gender diversity compared to their international counterparts, but most admit they've got a long way to..

Australian startups need to create respectful & inclusive environments -- and it's not about free food and ping pong tables

The recent revelations of sexual harassment in tech and venture capital are shocking. There’s rightly been a lot of discussion in our industry about..

Open The Podbay Doors: Daniel Petre - AirTree Ventures

Daniel is one of the most successful Venture Capitalists in Australia. He is a founder of AirTree Ventures, a technology-focused venture capital company. 

How Aussie start-ups can scale up and avoid hitting the wall after getting funded

When I decided to come back home to Australia and join the team at Airtree Ventures, I knew I’d be jumping back into..

AirTree Ventures just recruited the man who created Google Photos

Australian venture capital firm AirTree Ventures has appointed the executive that runs Google Photos as a new venture partner.

Business loans made easy: Our investment in Prospa

Prospa has a huge, untapped local market that is ripe for disruption. We were impressed by their single-minded focus on solving their customers’ (SMEs) problems and..

Three Ways To Create And Live Your Cultural Values

Sara Ramirez Morales

Helping founders achieve success through their people strategies

“Creating a strong company culture isn’t just good business. It’s the right thing..

How to nail your first meeting with an investor

Elicia McDonald Investment Associate at AirTree Ventures

Empower your champion. Jerry Maguire said it best — “Help me, Help you!”

Over the past quarter I’ve had over..

What to read if you want to learn VC in Australia

Dominic Reardon Associate at AirTree Ventures

In September of last year, I joined the team at AirTree Ventures (*best job in Australia*). At the..

A leading VC partner explains what's missing from Australia's tech startup scene

It’s been just over 100 days since I relocated back to Australia to join the incredible gang at AirTree Ventures.

Airtree’s investment in Jobbatical: bringing the best digital talent to the APAC region

Software is truly eating the world. Digital disruption has fueled the rise in prominence and importance of internet startups the world over. But startups..

Australian VC Landscape

Wow! A lot can happen in 3 years. If you left Planet Australia VC in 2013 you would have left behind a country with..

AirTree, the start-up journey

Today we announced Airtree’s second fund: $250m to partner with the best Australian and Kiwi founders, wherever they’re based. This is an important moment..

AirTree raises $250 million for biggest ever Australian tech VC fund

AirTree Ventures has closed the largest ever Australian venture capital fund to invest in emerging technology companies, with $250 million raised from investors including..

The VC-Founder Cycle

We are sad that Paul will be leaving the full time embrace of AirTree but happy that he will remain part of the broader..

Innovation agenda helps lure new AirTree venture partner from London

Highly-regarded Australian venture capital firm AirTree Ventures has recruited a new partner from London's venture scene, John Henderson.

Stumbling Upon Genius

by Cath Rogers @cathrogersvc

The mythology of the internet is that someone has a problem and then with single minded focus solves that particular..

Using Data to Manage Your Business

Demystifying cohort analysis is the first of a multi part instalment from AirTree Ventures, which also covers unit economics, key metrics to manage your business..

20 VC: James Cameron @ Accel on building great startup communities, and the rise of enterprise and cyber security software

James Cameron is an early stage investor at Accel where he focuses on enterprise software, security, fintech and marketplace businesses. 

Incubators and Accelerators

Around the world there has been an explosion in the number of accelerators to the point where those not in the know might think..

The evolution of the Australian start-up ecosystem

It is only when you sit back and take stock of how busy you have been do you realise how much the entrepreneur ecosystem..

Take X and add AI: Entering an era of intelligent automation

“The business plans of the next 10,000 startups are easy to forecast: take X and add AI” — Kevin Kelly, Wired

Alan Turing first suggested that computers might be..

20 VC: Finding the right VC and the evolution of Summly with John Henderson of White Star Capital

John Henderson is Principal at White Star Capital, a VC firm helping exceptional entrepreneurs build great technology companies, with a presence in Europe and North..

Don’t take seed money from someone who isn’t familiar with seed investing

I met a great founder last week. Let’s call her Jane.

Jane and her co-founder recently launched a company. They had exactly the attributes..

This Week in Startups Australia S02E01- Cam Adams and Craig Blair

Canva founder and Australian legend Cameron Adams joins TWISTA to talk about making products design-centered and customer-focused, then AirTree VC partner Craig Blair gives..

How bitcoin makes transactions cheaper: Solving the double spending problem is a big deal

There are many reasons to be excited about bitcoin: it could enable totally new business and technology models; it resembles the internet in the early ‘90s in..