Cream of the crop for Brisbane agritech fund Mandalay

Brisbane-based venture capitalist Mark Gustowski is backing startups that could triple the shelf life of milk as well as accelerate beef production.

New technology could extend shelf life of milk, opening up export potential.

Mark Gustowski was one of the first investors to back the billion dollar non-alcoholic spirits company Lyre’s. Now the agritech venture capitalist’s thirst for burgeoning investments has extended to startups that could among other things triple the shelf life of milk and accelerate beef production. Gustowski’s Brisbane-based Mandalay Venture Partners has deployed the first funds - believed to be a couple of million combined - from the Queensland Investment Corporation’s (QIC) Venture Capital Development Fund (QVCDF) into two pioneering Queensland startups - Naturo and Nbryo that have transformative technologies in milk processing and livestock genetics respectively. Naturo has pioneered a non-thermal processing technology that improves the digestibility of milk and increases its shelf life from 14 days to 60, opening up the international market for dairy for the first time.

Nbryo, founded by Herron Pharmaceuticals’ Euan Murdoch, has cutting-edge technology that allows large-scale commercial production of bovine embryos.

Nbryo co-founder Euan Murdoch

By significantly accelerating genetic improvement processes it allows livestock producers to achieve in seven days what would traditionally take seven years.

Mandalay was among an initial five venture capital firms selected by the Queensland Government to receive a portion of a newly established $130 million fund aimed at investing in the state’s start-ups. The QVCDF offers up to $20 million in matched funding to approved VC firms, with the stipulation that these firms spend 1.25 times the allocated amount within Queensland. Gustowski says less than 2 per cent of Australian venture funding is directed towards agritech startups, with Mandalay aiming to shift this imbalance.

“The focus on food security and sustainability underscores the critical and lucrative opportunities within agritech, positioning it as a key area for impactful investment,” he says.

Gustowski says Mandalay is looking at startup investment across the entire food and fibre value chain with Australia a hotbed for ag and food innovation. “Australia exports enough food to feed 70 million people but the ag space has traditionally been under funded,” he says. He says the fund has already invested in seven firms with the aim to increase the portfolio to up to 25 over the next five years.

Office bets

It’s back to the office for Tabcorp staff in Brisbane. Tabcorp chief executive Gillon McLachlan this week ordered staff back to the office five days a week, putting an end to the Covid-era work-from-home phenomenon for the wagering giant’s 1000-plus employees.

Staff have been told the default position is to be in the office but there is flexibility if someone needed to work from home for a particular reason.

An email from Tabcorp’s executive team to staff this week described the move as a “really important step change” that would reset the organisation.

Gillon McLachlan orders Tabcorp staff back to the office.

“Having us together as a team, focused and driving towards our goals will deliver outcomes and success,” staff were told in its Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne offices. “Being connected as a team also drives a winning culture and supports us to collaborate and achieve our best.” Last month, Flight Centre’s Graham ‘Skroo’ Turner says the “default position” was for employees to work from the company’s designated head office, regional office, or shop locations.