New year, new rules... less access to funding?
Small Steps Vol. 92: Proposed changes to the sophisticated investor rules 🧐, time-shifting for Jan 26 🗓️, and greater diversity on IWD 💪🏾.
Kick start
🗓️ Time shifting for January 26. Tomorrow is the 26th of January and we want to acknowledge that it is a day of mourning for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and that First Nations’ sovereignty has never been ceded.
Giant Leap’s policy is to give our team the option to time-shift public holidays that don’t align with their ethical views or beliefs, including the 26th of January. While this is a small and symbolic step, we encourage other funds and startups to consider giving their teams this option as well.
For a list of Survival Day, Invasion Day and Day of Mourning events happening in your city, we recommend checking out the following links:
This list from NITV
This list from Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTAR)
Or listen to NITV’s Top 40 Survival Day Songs Spotify Playlist from Indigenous artists
The fight for Indigenous self-determination, reconciliation and decolonisation needs to happen year-round and not just in the lead up to the 26th of January and NAIDOC Week. With that in mind, we also recommend this non-exhaustive list of organisations with great resources for allies to start or continue educating themselves:
Seed Mob - Australia’s first Indigenous Youth Climate Network
Common Ground - a First Nations NFP working to shape a society that centres First Nations people by amplifying knowledge, cultures and stories
Pay The Rent - a First Nations’ run NFP allocating rent for the purpose of promoting the self-determination, economic independence and welfare of Aboriginal people
Colonial Frontier Massacres in Australia from 1788 to 1930 - read this informative website and map to educate yourself on Australia’s colonial history (note that this website contains information about acts of violence that may be distressing)
What we’re thinking about
🧐 New Year, new rules. As you’ve likely already heard, the federal Labor government has proposed changes to the sophisticated investor test, which is likely to significantly impact the number of people who will be able to invest in venture capital and startups. We recommend this great AFR article featuring Cheryl Mack’s thoughts for more detail, or her take here in Startup Daily.
In short, the change would raise the wealth threshold from $2.5M in net assets to $4.5M, and the net income tests are proposed to increase from $250k to $450k. This could have downstream impacts on access to the investment class, particularly for women, founders wanting to re-invest in the ecosystem, and people who have not historically benefitted from traditional wealth structures in Australia.
If you have strong thoughts on the proposed changes or think there could be a better way, you can sign this petition (with already 800+ signatures!) proposing that ASIC establish a new education-based certification process for investors instead: sign the petition here.
🏋️♀️ The business case for greater diversity has never been stronger. McKinsey has just released its latest report, Diversity Matters Even More, and, no surprise, the stats continue to reflect what we’ve known for years. The 2015 report found that top-quartile companies had a 15% greater chance of financial outperformance compared to bottom-quartile companies; in 2023, that figure hit a staggering 39%. Companies that want to succeed really can’t ignore this anymore.
The same is true for ethnic diversity, with a matching 39% increased likelihood of outperformance for companies in the top vs the bottom quartile for ethnic representation.
Source: McKinsey December 2023, link here.
📢 Surfacing stories for IWD. Ever felt that IWD should be a lot more diverse? We agree. Vu Consulting is on a mission to surface some of Australia’s most unique stories for International Women’s Day (March 8). If you identify as a woman or non-binary, we highly recommend take 2 minutes to fill out this survey.
New paths
🔋 Amber Electric is hiring a Senior UX Product Designer (Melbourne).
💸 Dream job alert! Our friends at impact fund Tripple are hiring an Associate / Senior Investment Associate (Remote, Australia).
🔥 Also, check out our Giant Leap Fund jobs board for over 20+ available positions or fill out our expression of interest form. There’s even more jobs at ethical companies on the global B-Work job board.
Giant leaps
🐛 Goterra was named by SmartCompany as one of the top seven startups to watch in 2024. Congrats!
🔎 Giant Leap Partner Rachel Yang recently shared her thoughts in Climate Salad’s Bold Predictions for Climate Tech in 2024.
For the road
🦾 There’s a bot for that. Artificial intelligence continues its march into our average workday. OpenAI recently announced the launch of an App Store, with various tailored functions for ChatGPT AI tools. Want to find a hiking track? There’s a bot for that. What about graphic design? That’s covered too. Microsoft has also taken this all one step further. In the first significant change made to its iconic keyboard in 30 years, it has added a Copilot key aimed at making interactions with AI on its PCs seamless.
📲 What will and won’t change in digital health in 2024. Surprise, surprise: Health experts broadly predict that bots won’t be replacing doctors just yet. And they also suggest that clinicians — rather than health execs — will set the pace of change with technology in their workplaces. In Australia, we can also expect to see the modernisation of the My Health Records program and the establishment of a national agency to manage genomic data.
🩺 There are some pros to bot doctors, though… Google’s latest study into AI and healthcare has yielded some promising insights regarding the democratisation of healthcare. Again, like the experts, we don’t think bots will entirely replace clinicians. However, there’s a real opportunity to use AI to provide a baseline level of healthcare to all in need — especially given that regular access to doctors remains a privilege in many countries.
🤑 Yes, your power company can pay you to use energy. Melbourian Mark Campbell earned $22 charging his Tesla, running his dishwasher and clothes dryer. Why? Because for once, Australia is actually generating more power than it needs. Australians are benefitting from an overflow of solar supply (mainly from rooftop solar) into the home-energy market, and that means those households that are tapping into the wholesale market (AKA: Amber Electric customers) are being paid to use power. Nice.
🥇 Rethinking first-mover advantage. Ever heard that being first in the market is the key to success? It may be more nuanced than that. A deep dive into Steve Jobs' approach from the Venture Curator Newsletter reveals a different truth. The takeaway? Execution – the perfect blend of product and marketing – trumps the advantage of being first to market.
🤝 This year, make your networks… weaker? Sallie Krawcheck, CEO of Ellevest, found her Chief Investment Officer through a friend of a friend of a friend. All were loose connections with fleeting encounters. Her advice? Network broad rather than deep, and be open to meetings with anyone as you never know where they will lead.
💥 Recap on Purpose Conference. Check out this awesome recap video of Purpose Conference, held in November 2023 in Sydney. We are super proud to have supported and been involved, and think this quote from speaker Dr Tyson Yunkaporta sums up the vibes and lasting call to action: “A lot of people here feel hopeless enough to get some shit done, I reckon.” Get excited for 2024’s event.
🧦 The worst part of these stairs? Occasional soggy socks. You may have seen this post doing the rounds of Aussie startup-Linked In, and don’t worry – it’s been haunting our dreams too. T Guthrie, founder of WhyHive and the owner of this Melbourne bench-integrated staircase, sets the record straight on this unique architectural feature.
Source: LinkedIn
🎵 And finally… Sydney’s been unbearably humid. Melbourne’s been weirdly wet. For those wanting some decent weather, it’s been quite the cruel summer (sorry not sorry). But this G-Flip cover of the Taylor Swift banger makes it that much better.
Save the date
📅 January 31: Applications for the RED CLUB x Cartier Young Leader Award 2024 close. The top four finalists win all-expenses-paid trip to Singapore, cash prizes, international exposure and networking opportunities. We think this is a fantastic opportunity for founders!
📅 February 16: Small Giants kicks off its first Journey to Impact program for 2024. The six-week program aims to arm investors with the skills to assess impact investing opportunities and assess the overall impact of their portfolio. Applications are now open.
📅 February 26: Applications close for the Startmate Climate Fellowship.The eight-week course aims to help applicants gain the skills they need to turn their climate tech idea into a viable startup - we’d highly recommend! Scholarships are available, so apply now.
📅 February 27: Tune into the Entrepreneurship World Cup’s Australian National Final. Tickets are on sale now. The event pits startups of all sizes against one another for the opportunity to represent Australia in an international competition in Saudi Arabia later this year. Interested in pitching? Applications close February 15.
📅 February 28: Applications close for Climate Salad’s 2nd Global Growth Program. It’s a nine-month accelerator for climate tech startups, aiming to help position companies for global growth. This one’s great for established startups looking to scale internationally.