We are proud to announce the official opening of our Autumn Semester.

Apply Here

Important dates:

• 19th December 2011 – Applications for Autumn Semester officially open
• 25th January 2012 – Applications close
• 23rd – 25th January 2012 – Shortlist notified
• 1st April 2012 – Autumn Semester begins.

• Had media coverage to 1m+ people.
• Talks to over 5,000 people.
• Received and screened over 300 applications and ideas.
• Tested 16 ideas.
• Started 8 businesses.
• Raised $7m for portfolio companies.
• Raises $1.1m for incubation.
• Sold Spreets for ~$40m.
• Welcomed Tony Faure and Mark Greig onto the Pollenizer board.
• Hired CFO, introduced Pollenizer Pod Structure, grew from 14 to 23 staff and moved offices.

We also finished with a bang, with Pollenizer founder’s, Mick Liubinskas and Phil Morle are honoured to have been named in the 2011 SMH Sydney’s Most Influential People.

Congrats to Nikki Durkin and Rebekah Campbell for both also making the list (of course with 97 other very cool people).

Big congrats to the Dealised team in Pollenizer for an amazing year. From starting the company to growing some great customers and now closing this funding from excellent investors, it’s a hard job, done well. Hat’s off to Oliver, Andy, Serdar, Kevin, Fleur, James, Jon, Clare, Bree and Phil.

Huge welcome to the Dealised team into the Pollenizer hive.

Now the really hard work begins.

Here is the official media release;

Australia: Dealised raises A$5 million in Series A funding led by SingTel Innov8

Dealised platform powers group-buying market leader Spreets

UK (TBC): Dealised, leading group-buying platform solution names

new VP to lead European expansion

Dealised partners have already beaten Groupon
SINGAPORE | SYDNEY I LONDON (July ##, 2011) – Dealised, a group-buying platform solution innovator, has announced (S$6.5 million) – (A$5 million) – (£3.5 million) in its Series A funding to accelerate the global roll-out of its solution platform. Led by SingTel Innov8, the SingTel Group’s corporate venture capital fund, Series A also included Yuuwa Capital LP, an Australian-based venture capital firm. Dealised is the first to offer this group-buying platform solution in Asia. Dealised will use its regional Asian headquarters in Singapore to drive global business expansion and develop mobile group-buying solutions.

Dealised is already working with several UK-based customers, including The Daily Telegraph, as well as leading media owners Mecom in Scandinavia and with customers in Australia/New Zealand, the Middle East and the US. Companies, including media firms, mobile operators, retailers and others, use Dealised’s technology and services platform to create and manage their own deals. A firm can have a dedicated group-buying offer running within weeks, without significant upfront costs.

Dealised also announced the appointment of veteran telecommunications executive, Jonathan Marchbank as Chief Executive Officer. Mr Marchbank has worked in the US and Asia for the past 20 years, with both mobile operators and device manufacturers.

“Dealised partners in Australia and Scandinavia have already beaten Groupon and Living Social; our partners now dominate their respective market. With our platform, partners quickly create and manage regular offers for their customers, maintaining revenue and relationships at risk from Groupon-like clones. We are busy repeating that successful formula in other markets,” noted Mr Marchbank.

Mrs Yvonne Kwek, CEO of SingTel Innov8 said, “Dealised’s platform and market knowledge offers publishers, media companies and telco companies the opportunity to generate better value for their customers through innovative group-buying services.”

“The most exciting trend is in mobile, especially in Asia, and we see the volume of group-buying transactions on smartphones and other mobile devices growing exponentially over the next couple of years. Our operations in Singapore, as the business hub for Asia, are where we will focus on mobile growth,” concluded Mr Marchbank.

Dealised is one of the earliest entrants into what is a very young industry. It was created in late 2009 to power Spreets, an Australian deals site, which quickly became a market leader. Spreets was acquired by Yahoo7! in Australia in 2010 for A$40 million.

Other Dealised investors include Sydney start-up incubator, Pollenizer and a select number of angel investors. These investors bring a great depth of managerial experience, with backgrounds in digital media, e-commerce and mobile. The company will use the A$5 million from this fundraising to grow its base in Asia and in Europe, and to develop mobile group-buying solutions.

Media Contacts

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About Dealised Pty Ltd

Dealised is an Australian-based company offering a group-buying technology services platform. Dealised partners – media, telecommunication firms, retailers and others – use the platform to diversify and increase revenue, and strengthen customer relationships.

The business and platform began in Australia in 2009, powering a business called Spreets, now Australia’s leading group-buying player. In 2010 Yahoo bought Spreets exclusively for their Australia and New Zealand business (Yahoo7). The company’s technology and expertise was retained and is now offered as a Dealised package to companies around the world. Dealised is powering millions of dollars in deals each month in 15 countries and in over 100 cities.

The team behind Dealised are pioneers in the group-buying and social commerce industry globally, with backgrounds in digital media, e-commerce and mobile. Investors include Sydney start-up incubator Pollenizer, SingTel Innov8, a wholly owned subsidiary of the SingTel Group and Yuuwa Capital based in Perth, Western Australia, as well as individual investors.

About SingTel Innov8

SingTel Innov8, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the SingTel Group, is a corporate venture capital fund, with its own set of decision making, approval and funding processes. It has an initial fund size of S$200 million. SingTel Innov8 focuses its investments on technologies and solutions that lead to quantum changes in network capabilities, next generation devices, digital content services and enablers to enhance customer experience. It works closely with the ecosystem of leading innovators, developers, government agencies, R&D and capital providers to bring cutting-edge technologies and solutions to the various markets the SingTel Group operates in.

About Yuuwa Capital LP

Yuuwa Capital LP is a $40 million early-stage venture capital firm based in Perth, Australia.  Yuuwa Capital is supported by the Australian Government through the IIF program, and private investors.  Yuuwa seeks to invest in businesses where it can provide both capital and expertise to help founders, management and early investors turn good ideas into great companies.

Let’s have a look at some of the pitches we had during 2D2R :

1. Red Meow

RedMeow is a subscription service where you get 4-5 deluxe samples of beauty products mailed to you each month in a stylish box.

2. Raffle Cloud

Raffle Cloud plans to help Charities raise contribution.

3. WooBoard

Wooboard is a employee incentive game proven to unlock the superhero abilities hidden in all your employees.

4. WitnessdIt

WitnessdIt would like to verify News on social media and archive it as part of history.

If this doesn’t fit with your start-up, and you’re looking for alternative funds, there are many financing options available in Australia.

They are: Seed Funds, Angel Investors & Venture Capital:

Seed Funds;

1. Startmate

Startmate is a group of startup executives offering mentorship and seed financing to founders of Internet and software businesses based in Australia. The 3-month program offers mentorship from more than 20 successful founders and a 2-week trip to Silicon Valley.

• Leader/s:  Niki Scevak & 25 others
• How much equity do they take? 7.5% of equity
• How much cash do they put in? $ 25,000
• Big success/es: Too early to tell.
• What is their strategy? Startmate provides small, early-stage investment and hands-on mentoring to local startups.

2.  Pushstart

PushStart is a new set of community-focused, mentor-driven, activities to help grow Australian tech (web and mobile) startups, and the Australian tech startup community.

The PushStart Accelerator, run in Sydney, offers Seed capital, focused mentoring from great industry people and a location for successful applicants to work on startups for 3 months.

• Leader/s:  Kim Heras, John Haining, Roger Kermode
• How much equity do they take? N/A
• How much cash do wthey put in? N/A
• Big success/es: N/A
• What is their strategy?  Combining top Aussie tech startup people, seed funding and community events, they plan to give local tech entrepreneurs help to start, grow & succeed.

3.  Dominet Digital

Dominet Digital is a boutique investment and consulting group with a focus on digital, innovation and investments.

• Leader/s:  Domenic Carosa
• How much equity do they take? N/A
• How much cash do they put in? N/A
• Big success/es: CheapHotels.com.au, mailinglists.com.au
• What is their strategy? The success of any startup is based on having the right ingredients across strategy, sales, marketing, financial and operations.

Angel Investors;

1. Innovation Bay

Innovation Bay is an invitation only group, gathering for intimate breakfast and dinner events with selected guest speakers. Innovation Bay is a non-profit group created in 2003 aimed at creating a more intimate environment for tech investors and startups in Australia to share their experiences and network.

• Leader/s:  Ian Gardiner,  Phaedon Stough
• How much equity do they take? NA
• How much cash do they put in? NA
• Big success/es: Posse
• What is their strategy? Innovation Bay acts as a broker between “angels” (those with money to invest or advice to give) and “entrepreneurs” those with ideas and talent but not enough money or business advice.

2. Sydney Angels

Sydney Angels is a formal angel investment group focused on the needs and successes of its members as angel investors. It is a potential source of capital for innovative, high-growth, early stage businesses based in Sydney.

• Leader/s :  Vivian Stewart, Richard Dale, Mathias Kopp, Hamish Hawthorn, Andrew Stead, Adrian Bunter, Steven Maarbani, Tim Staley, and Peter McWilliam.
• How much equity they take? Angel investors expect >10% equity
• How much cash they put in? Businesses seeking $100k-$1m equity capital
• Big success/es: Posse, DriveMyCarRentals
• What is their strategy? Sydney Angels encourages the development of formal angel investment groups in Australia.

3. Melbourne Angels

Melbourne Angels is a group of over 30 private investors who actively invest in early stage technology companies.  You should anticipate that it will take 3-6 months from initial application for a deal to close.

• Leader/s:  Jordan Green
• How much equity they take? Equity anywhere between 20-45%
• How much cash they put in? Viable business proposition that requires $50,000-$500,000 in funding
• Big success/es: NA
• What is their strategy? Invests in companies that offer exceptional opportunities for high returns on investment. They only invest in companies that have the potential to grow to more than $50 million in annual revenue within 5 years.

4. Capital Angels

Capital Angels provide a forum for qualified high-net worth individuals to proactively support Capital Region entrepreneurs through both investment and direct activities supporting the companies.

• Leader/s: Uwe Boettcher, Nick McNaughton
• How much equity do they take?  N/A
• How much cash do they put in? $ 25,000 per deal
• Big success/es: GPSports Systems, Windlab Systems
• What is their strategy? Capital Angels seek investment opportunities in Canberra and the surrounding capital region in high-technology and services.

5. Angel Investors Tas

Angel Investors Tas provide seed funding for new business start-ups, and equity funding for businesses in the emerging stage, commercialisation stage, or growth/expansion stage.  Funding is usually through equity capital, but can be a mix of convertible debt & equity.

• Leader/s:  Will Downie
• How much equity they take? N/A
• How much cash they put in? Typical investments range between $ 100 K to $ 1 million. Investments are in multiples of $25,000.
• Big successes: N/A
• What is their strategy? Invest in promising opportunities with potential rewards commensurate with recognised risks.

6. Brisbane Angels

Brisbane Angels is a large group of private investors who actively invest in early stage technology companies, usually in South East Queensland, Australia.

• Leader/s:  John Mactaggart
• How much equity they take? N/A
• How much cash they put in?  $50,000 to $500,000
• Big success/es: Five Faces, Aussie Colours
• What is their strategy? They finance growth activities, including product development, recruiting key staff, launching sales  and marketing activity.

Venture Capital;

1. Yuuwa Capital

Yuuwa Capital is a $ 40 M early-stage venture capital firm based in Perth, Western Australia. Prefer Perth, but otherwise Australian based Startups.

• Leader/s:  Liddy McCall, James Williams, Matthew Macfarlane
• How much equity do they take? NA
• How much cash do they put in?  $500,000 to $5,000,000
• Big success/es:  AdAlta
• What is their strategy?  Seek investment opportunities where Yuuwa can provide both capital and expertise to help founders, management and early investors to turn good ideas into great companies.

2. Starfish Ventures

Starfish Ventures invests in high growth companies and outstanding management teams. It seeds, builds and manages high growth technology businesses in Australia.

• Leader/s : John Dyson, Michael Panaccio, Malcolm Thornton, Nick Peace, Hun Gan, Ivor Frischknecht, Eve Burgess, Susan Lawrence, Anthony Glenning, Laura McKenzie, Felicity Donnelly
• Size:  Manages over $350 million in investment funds
• How much equity do they take? N/A
• How much cash do they put in?   $3 – $5 million in the first round
• Big success/es:  Aruspex , iSelect
• What is their strategy? Invest in technology businesses that possess outstanding management teams, are commercializing innovative technology and are capable of becoming a global or regional market leader.

3. Southern Cross Venture Partners

Southern Cross Venture Partners (SCVP) was launched by veteran Venture capitalists who have managed and operated companies themselves.

• Leader/s: Gareth Dando, Bob Christiansen, John Scull, William A. Bartee, Dr Larry Marshall
• How much equity do they take?  NA
• How much cash do they put in? $2 million to $5 million
• Big success/es: Mantara, Quantenna Communications
• What is their strategy? SCVP assist early stage technology companies that demonstrate the potential for exceptional growth and market leadership.

4. ESVCLP Funds

Early Stage Venture Capital Limited Partnership (ESVCLP) is a Program of the Government of Australia.

Eligible venture capital funds can register as an ESVCLP.  Businesses with assets of less than $50 million may access venture capital under this program.

The list of active ESVCLP funds is as follows:

The following limited partnerships have capital and are registered with Innovation Australia under s13-1(1A) of the Venture Capital Act as early stage venture capital limited partnerships.

The following limited partnerships are seeking capital and are conditionally registered with Innovation Australia under s13-5(1A) of the Venture Capital Act as early stage venture capital limited partnerships.

Recently, Mozilla launched a new programme called Web FWD, where  young businesses are invited to spend 4 weeks in the Mozilla San Francisco HQ building their products.

They’ll have access to Mozilla-spiked resources and, at the end of four weeks, an MVP ready to launch.

Pollenizer’s Phil Morle is a mentor, along with guns from the Mozilla team, VC’s and entrepreneurs. Check out the full list of mentors here.

The program runs on a rolling submission schedule with the first spots opening in August.

You can find more (and apply!) at the Web FWD site.

Our goal: Invest our team and money in 10 web startups by June 30, 2011.

Pollenizer’s focus is on:

• Startup, idea-stage web businesses,
• In Australia,
• Targeting consumers,
• Commercially focused,
• With a committed founder, with industry experience,
• That need an experienced co-founder to invest time and money.

To clarify, Pollenizer only ever invests in businesses that we are already a shareholder in.

What do you get?

• A majority shareholding.
• A co-founder committed for two years.
• A team of 15 in Australia and 55 in India across technology, marketing and business at your disposal.
• Experience building over 80 web businesses, in ten countries, 100m users and $100m in revenue (portfolio).
• A network of experts on call.
• Access to our exclusive founders and friends discussion group.
• Connection to Angel investors in Australia, Europe and USA (we’ve helped raised $5m in seed and angel investments in the past 12 months including Spreets).
• Founder minimal viable income (in certain cases)

What does Pollenizer get?

• 20-45% shareholding

Why Pollenizer?

• We have a strong, committed team.
• We have a reputation for integrity, action and results.
• We are uniquely positioned between technology, entrepreneurialism and investment.
• Our companies have already employed over 100 people.
• We have made more than 14 investments, many outlined in our startup portfolio.

What is the process?

1. Starting Up

• You come to a Startup Bootcamp. Held every few months.
• You propose a partnership.
• Pollenizer conducts basic due diligence on you and the business.
• We sign an agreement and are co-founders for two years. (It’s all ‘we’ from here.)

2. Customer Development

• We continue customer discovery and validation until confident.
• We build out a minimal viable product and keep iterating until traction.
• We get the company and ourselves investor ready, including pitch training.
• We pitch the company until we raise capital from the right investors.

3. Growth

• We put the team in place to grow the business towards profit.
• Pollenizer transitions into advisory roles if required.
• Exit or return on investment options are pursued.

Next Steps

If you’d like to talk to Pollenizer about being a co-founder in your next web business  contact us here.

If you’d like to invest in some of our web businesses, please contact us here.