Retired Waratahs rugby player Damien Fitzpatrick has raised $2 million to expand his sports supplement business Pillar Performance, in a seed funding round led by ERA, the venture capital firm founded by the early backers of vitamin company Swisse.

Mr Fitzpatrick founded Pillar 15 months ago to make products he “wished he had during his rugby career” that spanned 12 years playing in Australia and France, including three years on the bench recovering from eight knee surgeries.