We were thrilled to bring together a diverse group of investors, entrepreneurs, industry experts and like-minded people to celebrate the launch of Stride Equity on March 28, 2023. A great way to contribute to a more inclusive and diverse start-up ecosystem in Australia.
We were excited to have Samantha Brett, CEO and founder of Naked Sundays SPF, Ben Lipschitz, CEO and cofounder of FoodByUs and Jon Brett, chairman of StrideCorp Equity Partners, on our panel discussion moderated by Maria Halasz, CEO of Stride Equity. The panellists provided practical, real-life insights into the Australian start-up and venture capital ecosystem during the lively Q&A session and networking opportunity.
Maria Halasz, CEO of Stride Equity
Maria Halasz opened the event by sharing a quote from Richard Branson, a passionate advocate of crowdfunding. He believes that crowdfunding is much more than just raising money; it helps entrepreneurs to create a tribe of customers, ambassadors, and super fans. It brings market validation, access to new investors, promotion, and real-time feedback. Maria has also shared a short presentation about the Australian crowdfunding and venture capital market. Whilst venture funding has been drying up, pockets of the start-up funding market, such as angel investment and crowdfunding, continue to thrive.
For the first time, Maria shared Stride's vision, which is to build a more inclusive and diverse start-up ecosystem by taking advantage of the generational shift in the way people invest. Stride is committed to assisting emerging companies in achieving their growth aspirations.
Sam Brett, CEO and founder of Naked Sundays SPF
Sam Brett, the CEO and founder of Naked Sundays SPF, gave an inspiring speech about her journey as an entrepreneur. Sam worked as a journalist for more than 20 years. She realised that many of her fellow journalists were affected by skin cancer due to permanent exposure to the harsh Australian sun. Realising that there was a gap in the sunscreen market for a product that protects, can be applied on top of make-up, and also feels amazing on the skin, she started Naked Sundays SPF as a side hustle. She worked from 3am to 5pm as a journalist and then was often up until 2am working on her sunscreen project for over six months. Despite being told by many manufacturers that it couldn't be done, she eventually found one that could produce her product according to her requirements. Sam invested all her savings into the business, and her hard work paid off when the first batch of her products sold out within two weeks of launch. Since then, she has grown the business exponentially, and secured distribution in Mecca stores throughout Australia, while admitting she is still learning every day.
Ben Lipschitz, CEO and cofounder of FoodByUS
Next, Ben Lipschitz, CEO and cofounder of FoodByUs, shared his journey and learnings with the audience as a serial entrepreneur. He started the business in 2016, and as he candidly shared, the journey was not linear. Initially, inspired by the likes of Uber and Airbnb, they set out to create a person-to-person marketplace where users could buy and sell meals to each other. However, they quickly realised that the suppliers had regular day jobs and were not interested in doing it full-time. Therefore, within a year, they pivoted to a B2B marketplace, and that is when the business started to grow.
During his speech, Ben shared his capital raising experience for the last round of series B funding. The initial plan was to raise the money within three months, but it took a year, significantly longer than expected. They pitched to and spoke with over 70 venture capitalists until they found the right ones who understood how marketplaces work. As he shared, marketplaces are cash-hungry initially, and investors need to understand what they are investing in, not get nervous, as revenue will only kick in once a significant trading platform is built. Therefore, finding the right investor is crucial, and he recommended starting the journey early. His conversations with his investors also suggested that the funds will likely have to last for 24-36 months, unlike in previous periods when companies were comfortable carrying 12 months of cash on their accounts.
As a successful entrepreneur who has played an instrumental role in FoodByUs's recent $12m series B funding round, Ben also shared some valuable tips on avoiding burnout. He mentioned that it is easy to just keep going as a start-up founder since there is always more work that can be done. Therefore, he recommends setting daily limits and only pushing past them in the event of an emergency. Downtime is important and helps to avoid burnout and assists with staying productive.
Jon Brett, Chairman of StrideCorp Equity Partners
Before the panel discussion started, Jon Brett, Chairman of StrideCorp Equity Partners, shared insights and highlights from his and our third Stride cofounder, Alan Chonowitz's, most successful investments. The audience was fascinated by the story of how they went public with a small vineyard fund which led to a raise of $6 million. He and Alan later used that investment to acquire Vocus, founded by James Spenceley, when it made around $0.5 million in revenue. Jon had confidence in James since he had a clear vision of the company and invested his entire wealth into the business. He highlighted that investors want to see founders obsessed with the business and be all in. So, they bought Vocus with the capital of their wine fund, and it went from a $25 million market capitalisation to a $5 billion business in just five years. Jon and Alan continued to invest in exceptionally talented entrepreneurs and emerging businesses such as Airtasker. Jon stressed that investors are looking for the right people, with the right product, while emphasising the importance of timing.
It was a pleasure to have Sam, Ben, and Jon share their experiences and insights with us. Following the speeches, all the panellists engaged in a discussion about the current funding climate and answered the questions of the audience. The full recording of the event, including the panel discussion and Q&A session with the audience, is available here.
We look forward to hosting more events and working with brilliant founders and astute investors to create a more diverse and inclusive start-up ecosystem. Join our circle today to stay updated.
