Arcanys Ventures

Scaling a tech business demands a solid tech backbone—but for many founders, this is where the real struggle begins: scarce resources, limited expertise, and too much on the line. 💡 𝗘𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁𝘆. Not just a check, but a hands-on investment partnership that fills gaps, brings in technical expertise, and aligns with your long-term goals. 🎙️ On the 𝘐𝘯𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘝𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘗𝘰𝘥𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵, Fred Joye (Arcanys Ventures) joined founders Mark Nimco (PaymentLogic, an Arcanys-backed FinTech), and Cameron Hope (Hirehood) to explore how this model works—and why may be the most overlooked strategy for scaling smarter. ✔️ For Mark, it meant doubling transaction volumes during challenging times. ✔️ For Cameron, it turned his idea into a launched product by solving critical tech gaps. ✨ The secret? A partner with skin in the game who’s 100% invested in your success. 🎧 Ready to rethink how startups scale? Catch the full conversation and see how tech equity is changing the game (links in comments). Big thanks to Elliot Spiegel for creating such a thoughtful space to explore these game-changing strategies! #TechEquity #FounderJourney #ScalingStrategies #VentureCapital #TechPartnerships #TechInvestments

Can you imagine a game that adapts instantly to how you feel? OVOMIND's smart band makes it possible, creating real-time personalized gaming experiences. Now available for preorder, it gives game developers the chance to build the next level of immersive, emotional gameplay. We're excited to be part of Ovomind's journey by supporting the development of the web platform that connects to the smart band! #ArcanysVentures #TechEquity #EmotionAI #Gaming #GameDevelopment #PlatformDevelopment

Are you building for growth or just building? It’s a question every founder needs to ask—and the difference between startups that thrive and those that stall. Shortcuts in your software system might work today, but without the right architecture, they’ll become tomorrow’s roadblocks. Eric’s post nails it: Software Architects aren’t just “nice-to-haves.” They’re your safety net for healthy growth and the key to staying ahead of the chaos. Who’s steering your ship toward scalable success? If no one is, it’s time to rethink. #StartupScaling #TechDebt #SoftwareArchitecture #LeadershipInTech #SoftwareDevelopment

🚨 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗧𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗼 𝘄𝗲𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗢𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗥𝗢𝗪 - and our very own Fred Joye will be there to explain how our tech-for-equity investment model can accelerate your startup’s growth and turn those early roadblocks into stepping stones. Real talk, no fluff. 🔥 Here’s why you can’t miss it: - Discover the biggest challenges founders face - and how to overcome them. - Learn how partnering with engaged investors like Arcanys can transform your startup’s trajectory. - Hear directly from Duet founder Jing Zhu about how we helped scale their tech & team. 📅 It’s happening tomorrow, Nov 12th, at 6 PM CET. 🎤 Bonus: A live Q&A where you can get your burning questions answered directly. Sign up now and see you tomorrow! 🚀

We’re happy to showcase our investment in machineMD, a promising #MedTech startup originally spun off from the University Hospital of Bern. Their flagship product, neos™, is an EU-MDR CE Marked VR eye-tracking device that measures eye movements and pupillary responses, making specialist neuro-ophthalmic assessments more accessible. With clinical studies underway and fresh ISO 13485 certification, they’re pursuing a strong innovation pipeline—and we’re backing them with a dedicated software team of 4, helping keep their tech strong as they grow. #TechForEquity #TechInvestment #MedTech #Scaling #VentureCapital #Startup #LateSeed #PreSeriesA #TechForGood

Our very own Partnerships Lead for ANZ, Regan, is at 𝗦𝗫𝗦𝗪 𝗦𝘆𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰 this week, connecting with some of the most brilliant minds in tech. 🤝 Now here’s the bitter pill - success takes more than just great ideas. 9 in 10 startups fail to scale—not because they lack vision, but 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀. For tech-driven businesses, having the 'right people' means bringing in those who can ensure your architecture is solid and scalable from day one—experts who understand the software development lifecycle inside out and can transform your product into a powerful growth engine. 👉 If you’re at SXSW Sydney, be sure to say hi to Regan Lei and see how you can scale more strategically. #SXSW2024 #SydneyTech #ANZTech #TechInnovation #StartupGrowth

One of the startups we've invested in, OVOMIND, was at the #TokyoGameShow 2024 and recently featured at WBS, a reputable business news program in #Japan! Big congrats to Yann Frachi🔜 CogX Summit London, Julien M., and the entire OVOMIND team. Their tech uses affective computing and biofeedback to let in-game emotions drive real-time actions. It’s truly next-level. #TechEquity #SoftwareDevelopment #EmotionTech

How can we simplify the management of commercial real estate, moving away from outdated legacy tools? LeaseSuite, an Australian #SaaS company we’ve recently invested in, was built to answer that—by turning a fragmented, error-prone process into a smooth, modern system that gives businesses reliable data for smarter decision-making. After collaborating closely with the co-founders Andrew Brown & Michael Steele for over a year as their IT provider, we’re now stepping up as investors, providing a team of 3 Developers, 2 QAs, a Scrum Master, and an Architect to ensure the platform is built for scalability, compliance, and governance. It’s been fun to help develop this all-in-one #PropTech solution and support businesses in managing their property portfolios better!

I often hear people assume Arcanys Ventures is just another VC or dev shop for pre-product startups. But that’s not us. We’re not here to build from scratch—we’re here to scale. We partner with startups that already have momentum, typically at the late seed to Series A stages, and help them grow faster with skilled tech teams. So far, we’ve invested in 23 companies (and counting), and there’s a common thread: a strong founding team, a proven product-market fit, a tech lead, and a clear potential to grow. Our role? To help them get there faster, without burning cash and time on building in-house teams. If you want to understand this investment model better and see what our most successful partnerships have in common, my latest newsletter should give you a pretty good overview.

Since Arcanys Ventures started to proactively expand its investment portfolio in Australia, I’ve noticed that our investment model was always misunderstood, and interestingly, it rarely happens in Europe, another main market we play in. The words “work for equity” seem to immediately make people think we are a venture studio or a dev agency selling to pre-product startups who can’t afford to pay for the services. In fact, just like not all the cash-for-equity investment models work the same way, our tech-for-equity model works quite differently from the ones mentioned. I'm here to explain five key differences. First of all, how do we invest? In a nutshell, the startup receives US$100k—US$500k worth of dedicated tech team/resources that can plug into its in-house teams and be managed by its CTO for 12-18 months. In other words, the startup receives an extended tech team that complements its in-house team for 18 months without burning cash. How is it different from venture studios/dev agencies' models? 1.    Building vs Scaling Unlike the venture studio model, we DON’T help startups to build their products from scratch. We get involved at the late-seed/pre-series A stages when the startups gain some early reactions with their MVPs and are looking to quickly ramp up their tech capabilities to chase growth/tractions. In other words, we don’t build your tech from 0 to 1 FOR you; instead, we scale your tech from 1 to 10 WITH you. 2.    Project-based vs Runway-based Dev agencies may work out a project scope with you, get it done, and return the completed work to you. It’s a project-based transaction. Our approach is to get to know your product roadmap for the next 12-18 months, what resources you have in-house, and what you need from us to achieve your goals on time. We then provide resources to complement your in-house team and carry you along the product roadmap for the next 18 months. In other words, we don’t deliver a project; we provide a runway. 3.    Once-off investment vs Capacity to follow on Most venture studios and dev agencies have the capacity to invest at the ideation stage, but not many of them can follow on later rounds. We can make follow-on investments in the companies we believe in. The largest investment we’ve made into one company was a total of AU$3m through multiple rounds. 4.     Managing vs Augmenting We DON’T take over the management of the tech team and the project, and we DON’T replace your in-house team. Your CTO and in-house team take the lead, and we act as an extended helping hand, filling the gaps in your existing team. 5.    Privately negotiated terms vs Following professional investors’ terms This particularly applies to some of the venture studios. They may take a large portion of the company for their work, and the terms may not always be fair for the founders. We participate in a funding round, co-investing with other cash investors and follow the terms you negotiated with the lead investors.