Where are they now? A COVID-19 update from our 2019 portfolio companies
Four months after the official conclusion of our inaugural program and in an unprecedented social and economic environment, we caught up with our 2019 portfolio companies to see how they’re going post-Skalata.
Across the board, it was clear that our portfolio companies are being tested by the ripple effect of COVID-19, whether from investors’ diminished appetite for fund raising, collapsed market demand or the emergence of new markets.
It was also clear that our companies are tackling these challenges head on, proving their resilience and adaptability as they pivot their offerings where necessary, refocus their priorities or increase their capacity for growing demand.
We continue to support them as they find new footing and seek growth in the current conditions and beyond. Read on for an update on where our 2019 portfolio companies are now.
Explorate
Explorate recorded another month of growth and increased cargo traded on their network. They have also hired another operations specialist to assist and maintain the business’ growth. Explorate is currently working with two leading hospitals in Brisbane, aiding them to internationally source and transport N95 and KN95 face masks to combat COVID-19.
Smart Paddock
Smart Paddock secured a renewal with the NT Government and continue to support current deployments and receive new customer inquiries. Like many other companies, they foresee the next few months as challenging but by providing an essential service to customers they are positive about achieving further sales and continuing to provide value. Smart Paddock is also looking to develop agriculture bio-security related features into their platform which will be very important to the industry and governments once we come out of this crisis.
Choovie
Choovie has secured additional runway despite facing challenges with demand as cinemas are currently closed. During this time, the team is taking advantage of the downtime to bring their technology roadmap forward. This will allow them to bulk launch the loyalty program customers they have in their pipeline when cinemas open again. This, plus the sheer volume of pent-up movie releases, provides Choovie with a real opportunity to emerge with a stronger position once restrictions are removed.
Rebotify
Rebotify continues to operate its business with the team working remotely. Demand has picked up with some of their services, such as Lifeline bot, providing support for companies at this critical time. The team also launched a new chatbot project with Deloitte called D-Bot which will help businesses manage and monitor projects remotely.
Preezie
Preezie is currently supporting brands like YD and Luxury Escapes who have been impacted in the current economic climate. While some clients have lost significant amounts of revenue, others are up 500%. Preezie has identified which market verticals they need to focus on over the next 3–6 months to provide the most value throughout the COVID-19 crisis. Like many, the team has adopted lean measures in managing operations and cashflow, which has allowed them to adapt quickly to the changing environment, while also securing additional runway. The team recently closed a follow-on seed round of $575,000 from a group of angel investors.
KeyNinja
KeyNinja is currently in the process of pivoting the business to use their key delivery resources to provide deliveries of essential supplies to clients on their platform. The team has also been working on expanding their cleaning service to include fully sanitised and disinfectant cleaning options to provide property managers, homeowners and guests peace of mind.
Gamyra
VR technology is gaining more attention with VR education and collaboration tools trending on social media. Gamyra has met with VR developers and business owners around the world in virtual worlds with their avatars on a daily basis. The team hopes that in the coming months and in the long term, this technology can help businesses and students collaborate and learn remotely.
Vollie
Vollie’s platform has been inundated with applications (up 300%) from skilled online volunteers since the COVID-19 crisis hit. Vollie has received numerous enquiries from large businesses across Australia as well, who are looking to engage their remote workforce in meaningful ways to support the community.
Hearables 3D
Given the new requirements for social distancing and self-isolation, Hearables 3D is seeing greater interest in smartphone scanning for tele-audiology. The team has made significant progress over the past 6 months including successful production testing of their smartphone scanning technology with one of the big 5 hearing aid OEMs.
