Stone and Chalk expands focus

The start-up hub is changing tack and will now offer services for ‘impact’ companies, with an emphasis on remote products.

Stone and Chalk CEO Alex Scandurra at their offices in Sydney CBD. Picture: Justin Lloyd

Fintech hub Stone and Chalk is shifting focus, dropping the ‘fintech’ label to instead offer a broader ‘impact’ offering as Australia moves towards a post-COVID recovery.

Speaking exclusively to The Australian, Stone and Chalk chief executive Alex Scandurra said that his company is becoming an ‘impact network’, and will provide commercialisation, mentorship, customer acquisition, capital raising and more to start-up founders throughout Australia, with a focus on remote products.

The company will also retain its co-working spaces in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide.

“Initially when we started, we were a Sydney fintech hub. But as the market‘s evolved, what we’ve been doing has naturally expanded,” Mr Scandurra said. ”Now you have start-ups doing everything from clean tech to space tech, and AgTech and RegTech. We realised that the term fintech hub wasn’t holding true any more, and we’ve come up with a new purpose which is around helping people solving the world’s most pressing business and social challenges.

“COVID will see us transition to a new economy, and we can to help shape that future.”

Mr Scandurra said that while Stone and Chalk will continue to offer physical spaces for start-up founders to build their businesses, their needs are far deeper than just real estate.

Cheryl Mack is national head of community for innovation hub Stone & Chalk. Picture: Dylan Robinson

“They need to be part of a complex and multi-layered network of founders, mentors, customers, investors and advocates,” he said.

“Until now, there has not been an organisation that provides all of this. From today, this is our purpose. Our expanded service offering will be available both virtually and in-house in our innovation hubs across three states.“

The executive said the development had been in the works for about a year, and that this move represented a sign Australia‘s fintech ecosystem has matured.

“When we first opened in 2015, there were about 100 fintech companies across the country,” he said. ”And by the end of 2019 there was well over 800. So in many respects, we feel that our mission around building a leading fintech ecosystem in the region has, in large part, been accomplished.

“There is a huge amount of activity and success around fintech happening in this country and fintechs have really started to take off.”

COVID-19 has impacted every business, and Mr Scandurra said the pandemic had accelerated a transition that was already well underway.

“If anything, for big organisations in particular there‘s now a recognition of the importance of adopting technology to remain relevant, let along gain a competitive advantage,” he said. ”So we’re hoping that this is an opportunity now to really drive forward that narrative that you can innovate from the outside in, and collaborate with start-ups and scale-ups in Australia to help build our sovereign capabilities and fundamentally help maintain the living standards for Australia for decades to come.”