Author: Dave Sharma
Some candid and insightful discussions at the AFR Entrepreneur Summit and great to take part on behalf of SWG Capital in the panel on “creating and evolving a winning culture” alongside Erika Cheung, Gillian Findlay, and Dominic Price hosted by journalist Tess Bennet.
I spoke about how, in the wake of several scandals in the tech sector, investors were looking for founders with high ethics and personal integrity. Visionaries are still welcome, but the fundamentals of the business model need to add up.
Early-stage capital is still available, though the pace of deals has slowed down and there is no longer much FOMO in the market. But investors remain attracted to robust business models with leaner cost structures, and a clear emphasis on earlier pathways to revenue and break-even.
It’s still an exciting time to be an entrepreneur and founder, and much easier than it was in the Australian context a decade ago. But there is more scrutiny of business models and products, so founders should be prepared for more rigour and spend the time to build strong financial models and prepare professional investor materials.
SWG can help with this – so be in touch if you’d like to chat.
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