A time of reinvention — reflecting on the last five years.
In mid 2015, I followed a hunch that turned into an opportunity to be part of one of the most expansive periods of Australia’s emerging startup and venture capital industry so far. Today as I wrap up this chapter, I have been reflecting on what drove me to pursue this opportunity, the contribution my Reinventure colleagues have made to both the fintech and startup ecosystem over the past few years, and the awesome projects and collaborations I have had the privilege of being involved in.
This journey really began around the end of 2014 through my previous work researching the rise of the global sharing economy trend, as I noticed the increasing importance of the role of community building in many successful venture capital funds in the US and Europe. Back in Australia, the second wave of the venture industry was in its earliest days, and it was clear that the same need for community would only grow. While it was clear that our technology industry was poised to boom across the board, I followed an insight that the nascent fintech industry would become one of the most important contributors to the success of Australia’s technology sector. Perhaps more importantly, I could see that the role of community would be especially pivotal to making this happen. I reached out to Simon and Danny, Managing Partners of the newly formed Reinventure Group, to pitch the concept, and to my delight, their response was, ‘When can you start?’ (For a trip down memory lane, I captured the experience of my first year in the role here.)
In these early days, Reinventure was one of the only venture funds that would consider fintech startups, let alone have a specific mandate to invest in it. Cut to the present day and, of course, most major venture funds have fintech as a core pillar of their investment thesis, and similarly fintech startups have become some of the biggest local success stories. As incredible an outcome as this is, it was by no means an accident. I’ve had the privilege of working alongside some of the industry’s biggest advocates as they strived to create the conditions for fintech success in our country.
One of the things that initially attracted me to Reinventure was the fact they had community infrastructure in their DNA. Simon and Danny had formed the fund with an intention to also invest in creating the right enabling environment for current and future portfolio companies, and the broader fintech industry. My first days at work were based at the newly launched Stone & Chalk coworking space — finishing touches being added around us — where the intention was for it to become a centre of gravity for the growing ecosystem. Danny was in fact a driving force behind S&C’s very existence, having secured the foundational support of the NSW Government, along with many of the corporate partners, and being one of its founding directors. As always, things that seem obvious in hindsight stemmed from a very clear vision of what was needed to galvanize the sector, and S&C’s national presence and large member base is a testament to that.
Similarly, one of my first community projects was supporting Simon as he steered the formation of the industry member body, FinTech Australia. I remember the first assembly of the 30 or so known fintech startups across the country in late 2015 as they sought to define what would really move the needle for their success. From helping to administrate the first annual general meeting (where Simon was elected Founding Chair), to wrangling contributions for a landmark submission to the Department of the Treasury, the formation of FinTech Australia was an example of community at its best. The submission advocated for the necessary policy changes that would ensure a better innovation and operating environment for the organisation’s members across the gamut of fintech verticals. It also ultimately catalysed the formation of the Treasurer’s Fintech Advisory Group later that year, which sponsored a raft of changes to legislation, from the treatment of bitcoin, to crowdfunding and ultimately the open banking infrastructure we see rolling out today.
Today, FinTech Australia counts more than 300 startups and businesses among its members, and I have had the chance to serve on its Board of Directors for the past two years, first as Secretary then as Deputy Chair. The organisation has gone from strength to strength, continuing to provide a critical voice for the industry in terms of policy development, as well as supporting its member community in a range of ways, including The Finnies Awards and Intersekt conference.
Reinventure’s own role in policy development has also continued, specifically around the area of open banking and open data, where Danny has been a critical influencer on some of the key principles such as reciprocity and avoiding some of the pitfalls of GDPR, drawing on his understanding of international best practice and challenges gleaned from his journey co-founding and now leading Data Republic. Simon has also continued to push the fintech policy agenda beyond his initial work with FinTech Australia to his current role on the Austrac Fintel Alliance Strategic Advisory Board. I have learned so much from both Danny and Simon in regards to the role of policy in innovation, and the best ways to influence and contribute to improving the operating environment for all.
By far the most rewarding part of my role, especially early on, was working with our incredible founders to build a strong portfolio community. When I joined, they had just made their sixth investment, so I was able to build the Reinventure Family from the ground up. It’s hard to beat the intimacy of those early days, and I will always remember our first Founders Retreat of just 15 people in February 2016. Today, with more than 30 investments across Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the US, Singapore, India and Indonesia, it has become a powerful network of founders and operators. Along the way, we have aimed to focus on the areas where we could provide the most value, which is why we hired our wonderful Head of Talent Nell Hardie in 2018 to help our ventures attract top talent and build strong organizational cultures.
Aside from supporting our founders and strengthening the fintech industry as a whole, what I am most proud of are the collaborations I was involved in to strengthen the whole startup ecosystem. For example, the inaugural Salary Benchmarking Guide (a collaboration with Think & Grow, Startup Aus and most major VC funds) provided the first local data benchmarks around startup salary standards and expectations. The UTS Women in Venture program, in partnership with TechSydney, provided exposure into the often opaque world of venture capital for the next generation of women, with the aim of increasing confidence and building competence around startups and venture capital, as well as building the profile of the women rising through the ranks of the venture community. And finally, The Next Seat (previously Get on Board), in collaboration with Innovation Bay, highlights the systemic problem being created through a lack of gender balance on startup boards, aiming to raise the profile of and create opportunities for talented women to step up and close this gap.
An incredible ecosystem of partners, advocates and educators has flourished in lockstep with the venture capital and startup industry over the past five years, helping to make it what it is. I have had the honour of wearing the mantle of the first Head of Community at an Australian venture fund, but today am surrounded and inspired by my many peers, colleagues and friends across the industry. They make this ecosystem a better place and I am so grateful to have been part of shaping this evolution.
It is with this in mind that I have decided to pursue new challenges and focus more directly on supporting the earliest stages of the founder journey — more on this soon. While this means a move away from the world of fintech for now, I feel honoured to have been at ground zero of Australia’s local industry and will continue to be a champion on the sidelines. As the fintech ecosystem matures, it’s clear that it continues to be one of the defining segments of Australia’s startup industry.
To my Reinventure family, our founders, the team and especially Simon and Danny, I am so grateful to have been a part of the mission to catalyse Australia’s fintech movement and put our startups on the map not just locally, but globally. Thank you for the karaoke nights, boat parties and trivia competitions (but mostly the karaoke). Thanks also for your support and encouragement to keep pursuing my own goals (including having two babies through this time!), both while at Reinventure and beyond. While so much has been achieved over the past five years, things are just getting started and I look forward to cheering your successes over the next five and more.
