This Month
‘Find what makes you happy’: From zero to $1b in two years
Zeller’s Ben Pfisterer brought Square to Australia after stints at Jetstar, NAB and Visa. He has based his career on one piece of advice – from his parents.
- Yolanda Redrup
November
Start-up stars: what’s happened to tech’s Class of 2021
VC firms that wrote huge cheques on very generous valuations in 2021 are now nervously watching Australia’s most heavily backed start-ups. How are they going now?
- Tess Bennett
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Chanticleer’s 10 legends of marvellous Melbourne
Melbourne has always been Chanticleer’s spiritual home. As part of the column’s 50-year celebrations, we name 10 big characters from the past five decades.
- James Thomson
September
Albo keeps it in the family at the AFL commissioner’s lunch
You can’t buy a ticket to Aussie rules’ most exclusive grand final function, so there are few better tests of relevance than trying to score an invitation.
- Myriam Robin
Sanjeev Gupta jets in (and out) of Whyalla
You know what angry suppliers on delayed payment terms love to see? The owner of the whole operation dropping in by private jet.
- Updated
- Myriam Robin
How Square Peg is luring investors into its $840m fund raise
The $3 billion VC has been a responsible money manager with a handful of successes. But it’s only had a few home runs.
- Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
August
Mass CFMEU job walk-off; BHP cuts dividend; GyG’s burritos pay off
Read everything that’s happened in the news so far today.
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Paul Bassat’s biggest ever bet isn’t a start-up
The veteran entrepreneur and investor will take a leap into the world of politics and policy with the launch of his new grassroots community organisation.
- James Thomson
July
- Exclusive
- Start-ups
Aussie who sold cloud start-up for $2b jumps on AI for ads
Three years after selling A Cloud Guru in a bumper payday, Sam Kroonenburg is teaming up with advertising entrepreneurs with big plans and investors in tow.
- Paul Smith
The war in Gaza is dividing Australians. Business is worried
Paul Bassat says Australia is fighting a “war of ideas” and losing; John Mullen says business people are too scared to say what they really think and Rod Eddington fears multiculturalism is under threat.
- Patrick Durkin
June
Haters not invited on the Guzman y Gomez burrito rocket
Barrackers for the blockbuster IPO will use every tool in the box to paint the Mexican chain as unfairly maligned.
- Mark Di Stefano
What Canva, Rokt and Aussie VCs have learned about US IPOs
After Life360’s oversubscribed Nasdaq debut fund managers predict 2025 will see a rush of private tech companies testing the public markets. Canva and Rokt are watching closely.
- Tess Bennett
May
- Exclusive
- Venture capital
Big win for Square Peg as Nvidia buys AI start-up Deci
The Melbourne VC firm will soon be toasting a rich profit on its investment in an Israeli AI start-up, when it is acquired by chip titan Nvidia for $447 million.
- Nick Bonyhady
- Opinion
- Venture capital
Stick or twist? How start-up investors know when it’s time to sell
VCs selling down Canva stakes could leave huge gains on the table, but don’t want to leave selling too late. Poorly timed sales have a history of destroying value.
- Adir Shiffman
April
Uber and GoCatch stagger out for round two of court case
Nobody expected a clean fight when GoCatch called out Uber for huge damages, but startling details in the first week of the trial have left both sides wounded.
- Paul Smith
Founder fights and investor fury exposed as Uber makes its case
Investors in fallen transport app GoCatch were alarmed by its lack of progress and wanted to sack its co-founders around the time UberX launched in Australia, private emails show.
- Paul Smith
Uber’s ‘espionage plot’ to ‘crush’ Packer-backed rival GoCatch
Well before the ride-sharing giant dominated, it had a big local rival. This week, Victorian courts will hear explosive claims of how it killed the competition.
- Paul Smith
March
- Exclusive
- Funding
Australia has its first tech ‘unicorn’ in two years
Software firm Deputy cracks the billion-dollar valuation milestone to break Australia’s unicorn drought, after a prospective US customer invested $37 million.
- Tess Bennett
January
Square Peg starved of exits; returns disappoint
No exits in a year, more write-down provisions and lacklustre returns from its latter funds sums up local VC bigwig Square Peg’s returns.
- Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
- Exclusive
- Venture capital
Many start-ups that survived 2023 are delaying inevitable, VCs warn
This year will be a make or break, according to some of the largest venture capital firms, which say there is plenty of investor interest in the best companies.
- Paul Smith