The number of startups in Victoria has more than tripled since 2017 to more than 3,800, but access to early-stage venture capital and seed funding remains a barrier.
LaunchVic addresses this market challenge through targeted funds and programs that catalyse investment and seed funding in Victoria’s early-stage startups. By fostering connections with angels and supporting venture capitalists, LaunchVic creates more investors for startups in Victoria.
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LaunchVic runs two targeted investment funds focusing on underserviced areas in the startup ecosystem.
Both funds operate in a sidecar structure. That means LaunchVic co-invests in startups with private investors like VCs and angels, and does not lead the round. This approach provides essential seed funding and supports early-stage ventures.
Between 2018-2021 only 4% of Australian VC funding went to women-founded startups. LaunchVic is working to change things with the $10 million Alice Anderson Fund, a sidecar fund that co-invests in women-led startups with private sector investors.
The Hugh Victor McKay Fund is a sidecar fund for Victorian AgTech startups run by LaunchVic with funding from Agriculture Victoria. The fund will co-invest between $100,000-$200,000 into at least ten early-stage AgTech startups over the next 12 months.
An angel investment network is a formalised group of angel investors that collectively evaluate and invest in entrepreneurial ventures.
LaunchVic has funded ten angel networks to establish in Victoria and invest in startups, enhancing the availability of seed funding and venture capital for local entrepreneurs.
VC Firms are investment entities set up to hold funds collected from other investors and invest on their behalf into startups or early-stage businesses with high growth potential. These investors can be institutions (superfunds, corporations) or high net worth individuals.
LaunchVic has funded 15 new Venture Capital (VC) funds to set up in the state and back local founders.
In 2020, LaunchVic invested $300,000 in Tractor Ventures to establish Victoria’s first dedicated revenue-based fund (venture debt fund), targeted at early-stage revenue positive and self-funded startups.
Tractor Ventures provides a revenue-based alternative to traditional venture capital for startups that either do not want to, or are not able to attract VC funding.
Delivered by the Wade Institute of Entrepreneurship at the University of Melbourne, the immersive VC Catalyst course focuses on providing the next wave of venture investors with the knowledge, skills, confidence and networks to invest in early-stage startups.
With LaunchVic’s funding the program has supported more than 140 investors to unlock a collective $117.96M million in startup investment since 2019.
Accelerator Programs: LaunchVic funds a variety of startup entrepreneurship programs, or accelerators, for startups seeking funding. These programs teach startups how to access seed funding and connect them with investors in their network.
Investor Research and Data: Find investors for your startup with the Victorian startup database, powered by Dealroom.co, a free dedicated source of real-time data on the Victorian startup ecosystem.
Our startup database promotes Victorian startups to local and international investors and provides investors with an easy-to-use platform to find Victorian startups.
Discover and track Victorian startups, angel groups, venture capital firms, accelerators, and more.
