Over the last year, Startmate portfolio companies have added a billion dollars in value, and secured another international celebrity investor.
Almost 15 years ago, 20 Australian founders reached into their pockets and created a $200k community fund. Scott Farquhar, Mike Cannon-Brookes, and Niki Scevak’s 2011 decision to seed a new crop of startups changed the landscape of Aussie entrepreneurship.
Today, the collective value of Startmate portfolio companies is $4.5 billion, up a billion on 2024 figures.
Mountain View-headquartered cybersecurity firm Upguard, founded by Mike Baukes and Alan Sharp-Paul, is the most valuable investment Startmate has made. Upguard received mentorship and funds from Startmate in 2012, which is now worth 236x more than it was 13 years ago.
Startmate also invested in Happy Co – an Adelaide property tech startup – in 2012. A decade later, the community VC exited from Happy Co, having multiplied its investment 169 times.
Edrolo is another success story, having grown the investment it received from Startmate in 2013 into a value 132x in 2025.
It is not just the Atlassian and Blackbird founders who have invested over the last 15 years, and are celebrating these returns, says Michael Batko, Startmate’s CEO. Andrew Forrest, Adore founder Kate Morris, Up’s Dominic Pym, Canva’s Cliff Obrecht and Melanie Perkins, and the founders of Culture Amp have also written cheques.
“It’s a rare privilege to back someone right at the beginning of their journey,” says Batko.
Figures released by Startmate’s head of investment Brady Flockart reveal that Startmate has been in the top 25 per cent of global funds for 11 (out of 13) years, and in the top 5 per cent for 5 of those years. Funds from 2011 to 2021 returned 3.29x.
“Our edge remains the same as it was on Day 1: we back the very best founders first, at the very beginning of their journey. By investing early – we help shape the trajectory of startups while driving exceptional returns,” says Flockart.
Investment returns: Startmate’s Community VC
- Upguard (2012) – 236x
- Happy Co (2012) – 169x
- Edrolo (2013) – 132x
- Propeller (2015) – 109x
- Bugcrowd (2013) – 78x
- Vero (2012) – 43x
- Heaps Normal (2020) – 40x
- Mindset Health (2018) – 40x
- Amber (2018) – 31x
- Andromeda (2022) – 30x
- Drawboard (2014) – 27x
- Lyrebird (2023) – 23x
- Sitemate (2017) – 22x
- Sicona (2021) – 18x
- Aquila (2022) – 15x
- Workyard (2016) – 14x
- Morse Micro (2017) – 14x
- Uluu (2021) – 10x
- Vertus (2021) – 10x
Source: Startmate
Shaping companies to be investment-ready has driven results in the celebrity arena, too.
“The best Startmate alumni not only attract international VCs, but in recent years also international superstars who are becoming more and more active in the venture space,” says Batko.
An example is supermodel and coding pioneer Karlie Kloss, who contributed to Perth startup Uluu’s fund raise in 2022. Aryna Sabalenka invested in Victoria’s Great Wrap last year, and Robbie Williams heaped praise and dollars on Aussie beer breakout Heaps Normal in June.
Karlie Kloss x Uluu
Karlie Kloss was a part of Uluu’s 2022 $8.6-million seed round, led by Main Sequence. Voice Capital sourced angel investors Kloss and Tame Impala singer Kevin Parker, who contributed $600,000 toward the raise.
This week, Uluu announced a partnership with Papinelle, which will see the sleepwear include the world’s first biodegradable seaweed button made from Uluu compostable material.
Uluu was a part of Startmate’s 2021 cohort and was valued between $10-$50 million last year.
Robbie Williams x Heaps Normal
Williams invested in the Australian beer company founded by Jordy Smith, Andy Miller, and Ben Holdstock earlier this year. The non-alcoholic beverage launched in the UK in June. A competition for Heaps Normal consumers to spend time with investor Williams is now underway.
This week, the Heaps Normal ‘Jazz Stout’ was named Australia’s Best Non-Alcoholic Beer at the 2025 Sydney Royal Beer & Cider Show. The company participated in Startmate’s 2020 cohort and is valued between $10-$50 million.
Aryna Sabalenka x Great Wrap
The Belarusian tennis great invested in Great Wrap last year, as part of its $5 million series B raise. The company was founded in 2020 on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, and was a part of Forbes Asia ‘100 to Watch‘ list last year.
Great Wrap produces a compostable cling wrap for home use and a pallet wrap for businesses. The founders went through Startmate in 2021.
Peter Thiel x Upguard (formerly ScriptRock)
The PayPal co-founder invested in Upguard’s 2012 seed round, and again in its USD$8.7 million series A. Formerly called ScriptRock, the company relocated from Sydney to Silicon Valley 13 years ago, and rebranded to Upguard in 2014.
Upguard was a part of Startmate’s 2012 accelerator and participated in a ‘Silicon Valley Startmate tour’ that same year, where they meet Thiel’s investment associates. The Australian-founded firm was valued at more than $400 million last year.
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