A Cloud Guru co-founder and CEO Sam Kroonenburg is pouring among the proceeds from his London-based startup’s $2 billion exit final yr into native tech corporations after signing on as enterprise companion with SecondQuarter Ventures.
“As somebody who began their enterprise out of their bed room, I absolutely perceive the worth of getting a sturdy secondaries enterprise market in Australia. Constructing a profitable enterprise can require sacrifice, however there comes some extent the place as a founder it’s essential to use among the worth you’ve constructed to assist your loved ones’s monetary safety,” he stated.
“The identical goes to your workforce. Serving to them realise among the worth they’ve helped create properly earlier than a significant exit or transaction, will be unimaginable motivation for attracting and retaining expertise.”
SecondQuarter Ventures supplies liquidity to stakeholders and founders holding fairness in fast-growing startups.
Its first $51 million fund made 17 investments in simply over a yr. They embody unicorns GO1, Canva and SafetyCulture in addition to Naked, Shippit, Edrolo, Athena Residence Loans, Buildxact, UpGuard and Assignar. There’s additionally been a return with US firm Moxiwork buying ActivePipe in early 2022.
Kroonenburg stated the secondary fund was a part of a brand new wave of financing that helps founders.
“This concept of toiling away at your startup for years and never realising any type of materials wealth acquire or reward till an exit is lastly giving method,” he stated.
“SecondQuarter is enjoying an enormous function on this shift, and I feel it’s for the higher of the ecosystem and can result in much more folks beginning companies.”
The fund’s managing companion Ian Beatty stated they’d has robust help from Fund 1 buyers for the newest elevate.
“Our second fund can be a pure response to the quickly rising enterprise ecosystem in Australia and NZ. Each time markets broaden quickly, liquidity should comply with – and the present market volatility is creating a variety of alternatives to put money into great Australian and Kiwi know-how corporations,” he stated.
“Our imaginative and prescient is to be the liquidity supplier of selection for the know-how sector in Australia and New Zealand. Wanting ahead, there’s nonetheless work to be carried out in educating Australian founders on the worth of participating a Secondaries investor, and Sam will play a vital function on this regard.”
