LUNA

Last night LUNA held an exclusive venture capital panel discussion in our Melbourne office for the VC community and those seeking to build a successful fund. We are grateful to our panelists for sharing their experiences and learnings with the community. Whether it was the process behind seed investing (Scott Dommett, Rampersand), how to build scalable processes for funds (Michelle Vu, LaunchVic), later-stage investing and growth funding (Justine Carzino, CFA, OneVentures), or the evolution of impact investing in Australia (Adam Milgrom, Giant Leap), attendees left with valuable and actionable advice for budding fund managers. The energy in the room was a clear reflection of the passion and dedication that drives Australia’s VC community. We’re incredibly grateful to our panelists for sharing their expertise and experiences, and to everyone who joined us at Sanders Place. Here’s to building even stronger connections, supporting emerging funds, and creating a brighter future for startups in Australia. See you at the next one! LUNA partners with investors, venture capitalists, and ecosystem supporters at any stage. We provide services for emerging and established funds, including operations, governance, and portfolio management. Want to continue the conversation? Get in touch with a LUNA expert here: https://lnkd.in/gaHWtA5Z

🚀 Get yourself ready for 2025 with our last Startup Board Course cohort of the year starting 6 November 🚀 What a year it has been! From kicking off with the Startup Board Course pilot program in November 2023, we've now had over 30 founders and investors access the Course and be able to join us in our Alumni Program. We've also had some incredible founders and investors contribute to the Course over that time too, sharing their insights on what's worked well for them, as well as their lessons learned along the way. One of those incredible founders and investors is Simon Betschel, Operating Partner at Possible Ventures. Simon has deep experience in startups - he co-founded Peeplcoach, led big tech partnerships for Telstra in Silicon Valley, launched Yelp in Australia, and ran Australia's largest customer data programs for Coles and NAB. Simon joined us as an expert contributor in the last cohort and we're so grateful he will be joining us again as an expert in Module 1 of the next cohort - it's going to be a great one! Big thanks to all those who joined us this year, and shared their wisdom: Adam Milgrom of Giant Leap, Jacqueline Purcell of TDM Growth Partners, Jason Atkins of Cake, Mark Wells of Fresho, Maxine Minter of Co Ventures, Simon Betschel of Possible Ventures, 🍇 Kirstin Hunter of Techstars Tech Central Sydney Accelerator, Gavin Appel of Ignition Lane, and Rebecca W. of Folklore Ventures. Limited places remain - find out more and apply here: https://lnkd.in/duv2D8Zc https://lnkd.in/g9mA_5JQ

Join us this week for an exclusive in-depth panel discussion with LUNA and experts from Giant Leap, LaunchVic, Rampersand, and OneVentures as they share essential insights on how to build a successful fund and maximise returns for LPs. On Wednesday, we’ll hear from industry leaders Michelle Vu, Justine Carzino, CFA, Scott Dommett, and Adam Milgrom, with LUNA’s Puneet Bhambhani moderating. Get ready for candid discussions on fund economics, market trends, and strategies for effectively deploying capital. 👥 Panellists: Michelle Vu, LaunchVic Justine Carzino, CFA, OneVentures Scott Dommett, Rampersand Adam Milgrom, Giant Leap 📅 Date: Wednesday, 30 October 2024 🕡 Time: 5:30 - 7:30 PM 📍 Location: Sanders Place, 11-15 Albert St., Richmond 3121, Melbourne 🔗 RSVP now to secure your spot through the link in the comments. *Please note this event is limited to those in the venture capital community. 

🌟 LUNA Presents: How to Build a Successful Fund 🌟 Looking to build a fund? Join us next week for an exclusive in-depth panel discussion with top industry leaders as they share essential insights on how to build a successful fund and maximise returns for LPs. Our expert panellists Michelle Vu, Adam Milgrom, Justine Carzino, CFA, and Scott Dommett, along with LUNA moderator Puneet Bhambhani, will explore key topics including fund economics, market sentiment, best practices, and effective strategies for fund managers looking to raise and deploy capital. After the panel, enjoy networking, drinks, and light bites. Engage with fellow VCs and fund builders, exchange ideas, and enhance your understanding of what it takes to succeed in the venture capital world. 👥 Panellists: Michelle Vu, LaunchVic Justine Carzino, CFA, OneVentures Scott Dommett, Rampersand Adam Milgrom, Giant Leap 📅 Date: Wednesday, 30 October 2024 🕡 Time: 5:30 - 7:30 PM 📍 Location: Sanders Place, 11-15 Albert St., Richmond 3121, Melbourne 🔗 RSVP now to secure your spot through the link in the comments. *Please note this event is limited to those in the venture capital community.

💥The countdown to our final Startup Board Course cohort of the year is on! This week on Inside the Boardroom, our Startup Board Course Director, Ashleigh Camm, chatted with long-time tech industry operator and investor, Gavin Appel, for the Startup Board Course. Gavin's background spans 25 years of global operational and investing experience in the technology industry spanning startups, corporates and venture capital. Prior to founding startup advisory firm Ignition Lane, Gavin was one of the first employees and CTO at Hitwise (acquired for US$240 million), SVP at Experian, and VC Partner at Square Peg. Gavin has so much to share here, and they managed to squeeze a lot into the full interview! Check out the mini snapshot below where Gavin talks about the importance of knowing why you're building a board, ensuring you have the right people as directors to support your startup, and the importance of culture. The full interview can be found inside the Startup Board Course. Join us for the final cohort of the year kicking off on 6 November - find out more and apply below 🚀 https://lnkd.in/gZeKstyc Ronen Heine Shannon Joseph Dean Katz Josh Sharma

Thanks for joining us at the SXSW Sydney Founders Bar yesterday 🎉 It was great to see so many passionate founders, industry leaders, and innovators in the same space together, following the excitement of the final SXSW Sydney Pitch Competition, the room was buzzing! A big congratulations to DermR Health for being crowned the grand finalist! Thank you to our event partners Shadowboxer, FB Ventures, and Salient. Everyone who joined us had a great time celebrating the best of the startup ecosystem. Whether you were there to expand your network or simply enjoy the celebration, we’re grateful for your contribution to making the event such a success. Here’s to the thriving startup community. We'll see you next time! 👋

Heading to the SXSW Sydney Pitch Competition this afternoon? We have you covered! Join us straight after for the Founders Bar held in the Grand Foyer outside the Cockle Bay Room 2. This event is proudly presented by LUNA, Shadowboxer, FB Ventures, and Salient, to bring together startup founders, industry leaders, and innovators. It's the perfect opportunity to unlock new connections, get around likeminded individuals, and build relationships. Whether you're looking to expand your network, spark your next big idea, or celebrate the incredible Pitch Participants join us for a few drinks to cap off jam packed Thursday. 🗓 When: 17 October, 5:00 - 6:30 pm 📍 Where: Grand Foyer outside Cockle Bay Room 2, SXSW Sydney, ICC Details in the comments below - also check the SXSW app for details. See you soon 🎉

💡What does SXSW and the Startup Board Course have in common? 👉They're both educational, inspiring, and fun; 🤝 Filled with great humans; and 🚀 Impactful beyond their time. As a testament to this, we've just added another great interview to the Startup Board Course portal: our Board Course Director, Ashleigh Camm, interviewed the awesome Jason Atkins from Cake on the skills that Jason believes are critical for founders and management teams to have, to bring on investors in the early stages, including: 📈 Financial Modelling, and understanding your numbers, and how it can help to build trust with your investors; and, 🌫️ Risk Management, and the benefits of being upfront with these, and sharing how you're going to mitigate and prioritise them. Plus, they also talked about Strategy, and how Jason and Cake thinks about this, in terms of its creation, documentation, and sharing with stakeholders, including the benefits of having your strategy deck always ready-to-go to support capital raising. Check out the mini excerpt below, and find the full interview in the Startup Board Course. 🚀Are you joining us for our next cohort, kicking off on 6 November? Link in comments to find out more and apply. https://lnkd.in/gbSJYEhn #SXSWonLinkedIn #SXSWSydney

The SXSW Sydney startup ecosystem showed up in force for our panel: "It takes a Village. The companies behind Australia’s success stories". Big thanks to our panellists from LUNA, Tractor Ventures, Shadowboxer, Stone & Chalk, and Cake who all shared golden insights for startups and critical stages of growth. A full house, great energy and a few good laughs too! 🙌 A few key takeaways from the conversation: 🧠 Jodie Imam: Communities are so important especially for founders to manage mental health and isolation. We also need systemic change for investment into female founders, to ensure women remain at the forefront and become key decision makers.   🤔 Jason Atkins: Getting equity right is key, particularly when doing multiple rounds. There is no denying that getting around the right people is paramount to your success, because you have the same drivers and key interests. 🤝 Stephen Graham: The right path to product market fit is crucial to early traction and success. Also having networks of advisors and consultants allow you to make the right decisions at the right time. 📣 Christopher Kirk: Sometimes your startup is actually solving a different problem than you think it is upon inception. Community is so important in connecting individuals who can help a founder rethink the journey they're on, unlock new connections and growth you never thought possible. 🎯 Ronen Heine: Having the right community and service providers around you can identify barriers and blocks. It’s vital to set up your documentation correctly. Adding some 'colour' - with the right balance of experts on your cap table has been a key driver of many startup successes. A huge thank you to everyone who joined us. As a collective "we" all bring so much value and impact to the community everyday. Also thanks to our suppliers - Fabbrica, Heaps Normal, BrewDog, and Framer Drinks for keeping us well fed and hydrated! 🎉 In Sydney for the rest of the week? Don’t miss the Founders Bar at SXSW Sydney on Thursday, 17 October. This event will kick off right after the Pitch Competition, bringing together founders, industry leaders, and innovators. More details in the comments below 👇 🚜 🏳️🌈 Olivia Doherty Emma Park Bianca Contrabona Maddi Scheuren Puneet Bhambhani Dean Katz Owen Brayden Adil Khan Callum Davidson Lucinda Browne Brinley Meagher Ben Harrison Alex Gray

Join us next week at the SXSW Sydney Founders Bar, an exclusive event presented by industry-leading partners LUNA, Shadowboxer, FB Ventures, and Salient. Taking place right after the SXSW Sydney Pitch Competition, this high-energy event brings together startup founders, industry leaders, and innovators. It’s a chance to engage in meaningful conversations, unlock new opportunities, and build invaluable relationships. Whether you're looking to expand your network, discover your next big idea, or celebrate the incredible Startup Pitch Participants, this event is designed to create new connections and celebrate the best of the best in the ecosystem. 🗓 When: 17 October, 5:00 - 6:30 pm 📍 Where: SXSW Sydney, ICC 🔗 Event Details: https://lnkd.in/gPQaMhfd We can't wait to see you there! 🎉