🚀 Blast OIF | 24 things from 2024
One - Another Year Down ✅
1 more year has flown by at OIF Ventures, and what a year it has been! From supporting bold founders shaping the future to celebrating wins across our portfolio, 2024 reminded us why we do what we do. So, to mark the end of the year, we’re going through 24 things that highlight the year that was.
Two – Not Goodbye but See You Later 👋
This year 2 of our portfolio companies, Circle In in and Serenade , took the next step on their journeys. Circle In was acquired by Encore Holdings and Serenade was acquired by Vinyl Group. We’re incredibly proud of what Jodi Geddes , Kate Pollard and Max Shand have achieved. From creating safe, inclusive and caring workplaces to bringing magic to fans by helping musicians create and sell digital merchandise and custom performances. We’re sure they will continue to kick goals and reach new milestones, in this new chapter.
Three - Aussie VC is HOT🔥
In the first three quarters of 2024, we saw almost $3 Billion in funding invested into Aussie startups. Founders across the country have continued to push boundaries, solve big problems, and attract world-class capital. This milestone underscores Australia’s growing reputation as a hub for groundbreaking ideas and ambitious entrepreneurs.
Four - Opportunity Fund 💰
This year we began actively deploying our most recent, and 4th Fund - OIF Ventures Opportunity Fund I. If you’re a founder looking to raise your Series B round and creating something iconic, please reach out! We love to partner with exceptional people, building something we can all be proud of.
Five - OIF Ventures in the Big Apple 🍎🗽
In the 5th month this year we headed to the big apple, touching down in New York City to catch up with some incredible founders, operators and investors. We had an awesome time, hosting an exclusive evening with our mates over at SVB and leading Australian founders, covering all things Australian tech.
Six - Jobs, Jobs, Jobs 💼
In 2024 we saw around 600 open roles across the OIF Venture portfolio. If you’re looking to start 2025 in your dream role, check out our Jobs Board and subscribe to our Talent Network! We’ll help match you to the right opportunity & make sure you’re first to know about opportunities across the OIF Ventures network.
Seven - Can’t Keep Up 🏃
7 days in the week just isn’t enough to keep track of how fast our portfolio companies are growing. They continue to hit significant milestones, launch new products, win new customers, secure new partnerships and more. With too many to spotlight, here’s a glimpse into just a few standout successes.
Eight – Happy Birthday to Us 🎁
This year we turned 8! Wow, where has the time gone?
In eight years, we’ve backed exceptional founders, successfully exited and partially exited 6 companies, manage circa $500m across four funds raised from an impressive community of founders, investors and operators, delivering market-leading returns to our investors who have trusted us with their hard-earned cash.
We look forward to the future as we continue to support a growing group of exceptional founders, adding value to them and their teams.
Nine – Follow on Rounds 🍻
2024 brought with it 9 follow-on rounds, investing for the second time in Bridgit , Linkby , D-ID , Quantflo , Josef , Zitcha, Pagaleve , quickclaim and Visory .
It has been a privilege to be on the journey alongside these remarkable companies and we look forward to backing them as they continue to grow.
Ten – New Portfolio Companies 🥳
We’re proud to welcome 10 new companies to the OIF Ventures portfolio!
As our portfolio grows, we're determined to be there every step of the way, providing the support that our founders need in seeing their ideas form. Stay tuned as we deep dive into each of these new investments later in this article.
Eleven – Epic OIF Community 💚
This year we hosted over 1100 people across all our events. From pub drinks with the Aussie startup ecosystem, workshops with leading operators, to hosting our Advisory Partners for an insightful dinner. We absolutely loved bringing our favourite founders, operators and investors together, and building the incredible OIF community.
Make sure to follow us on LinkedIn or join the OIF Community (HERE) as we have some exciting events in the works for 2025 👀
Twelve – Making Headlines 🗞️
Over the last 12 months our portfolio companies continued to win a multitude of awards, a testament to their hard work, determination and grit. To highlight just a handful;
👉 Daniel Danilatos , CEO and Founder – Neara
👉 Jodi Geddes and Kate Pollard , Co-Founders – Circle In
👉 Chris Shaw , CEO and Co-Founder - Advanced Navigation
👉 Shan Kulkarni and Tim Thacker , Co-Founders - Nullify
Recommended by LinkedIn
Thirteen – Dream Team 🥹
We started as a small team of 4 in 2016 and have now grown to a total of 13 team members! This year, we welcomed Pam Stevenson , who joined us as Head of Talent & People to help us partner with exceptional founders, build incredible teams and foster cultures that people love being a part of.
Fourteen – $100M Valuation 💸
Australia is now home to more than 140 startups valued at over $100M. This number has more than doubled in the past four years. As the Australian venture capital ecosystem continues to soar, we can’t wait to see and be part of what’s to come.
We’re also extremely proud that more than 10 of these are part of the OIF Ventures portfolio!
Fifteen – Say Hello to Sitemate 🏗️
Founded in 2015 by Hartley Pike 👷 and Sam McDonnell 👷 , we’re excited to welcome the Sitemate team to the OIF Ventures portfolio. Sitemate builds user friendly no code software platforms which thousands of built world companies use to easily improve their systems, processes, compliance and business outcomes. We’re thrilled to support them in shaping a future where the built world thrives on real-time digital collaboration.
Sixteen – Founder Community is Growing ☺️
Over the past year, we welcomed 16 new founders to the OIF Ventures portfolio and we’re so excited to have them here! Each of these founders are visionaries of the future, demonstrate great leadership qualities and possess vast domain expertise.
The best part about the founders we back, is that they’re the kind of people we love to share a beer with. We spend time with them, not because we have to, but because we want to and we’re proud to be their partners.
Seventeen – Hapana is Going Global 🌏
We’re delighted to welcome Jarron Aizen and Hapana to the OIF Ventures portfolio, investing in their $17M funding round. Their next-generation, all-in-one fitness and wellness studio management SaaS platform, continues to replace outdated and complicated legacy solutions.
The company’s technology is used globally, in 17 countries and leveraged by many prominent global fitness brands including: Body Fit Training , KX Pilates , Gold's Gym , STRONG Pilates , UFC GYM , F45 Training and VAURA Pilates . The best is yet to come 🚀
Eighteen – Big Appetite for Appetise 😋
Just 18 months ago, we were lucky enough to meet Elise Hilliam , Toby Hilliam (Skilton) and the Appetise team and have watched them grow rapidly since. This year we had the privilege of participating in their $4M Pre-Series A round to help them gear up for global expansion.
Through their meal planning platform Appetise, they have built out Appetise Insights for FMCG brands. Using insights and data direct from the Appetise platform they help FMCG brands to understand exactly how and why their products are being used.
Nineteen – See You On the Golf Course ⛳️
As the holidays quickly approach it is time to focus on Fund without the “d”. We hope you get to enjoy some time at the 19th hole on the golf course and we look forward to relaxing and celebrating with many of you in the New Year!
Twenty – Teaching the Next Generation 🧑🏫
We first backed teaching and learning SaaS platform, Atomi in 2021 and have watched them grow rapidly, with students now completing over 20 million videos and lessons a year.
We’re thrilled to announce our investment out of the OIF Ventures Opportunity Fund in their most recent funding round. It’s a privilege to be on the journey with them as they continue to unlock the world’s potential by optimising the way we teach and learn.
Twenty-One – Learning in Many Languages 🙊
This year we welcomed LoveHeart to the OIF Ventures portfolio, leading their $2.3M seed round. Their AI-powered SaaS solution empowers educators and children by streamlining early childcare workflows. It helps educators create learning and compliance documentation, plan personalised lessons and activities, and share them in 21 different languages!
We’re excited to be on the journey with Himal Randeniya and the entire LoveHeart team as they enable educators and centres to make a lasting and profound difference on a human’s learning at the earliest and highest leverage stage of life.
Twenty-Two – Supercharging Syenta ⚡️
Founded in 2022, we recently welcomed Jekaterina Viktorova , Zachary Dowse , Luke Connal , Ben Wilkinson and the Syenta team to the portfolio. Syenta is transforming the semiconductor sector through their novel manufacturing tool for building advanced packaging.
Their solution accelerates production by 100 times compared to traditional methods, reducing manufacturing steps by up to 60%. With a process that uses 98% less energy and emits 95% less CO₂, Syenta is setting a new standard for efficiency and sustainability in electronics manufacturing.
Twenty-Three – Backing Klaro and Trusst 🤝
We’re thrilled to be backing these incredible teams!
Twenty-Four – Rapid Insights 💡
It takes Ideally just 24 hours to process insights and provide actionable reports from data collection to presentation, helping teams make fast, confident decisions. Their on-demand insights and innovation platform, removes innovation bottlenecks, prevents delayed product releases and wasted marketing spend. Clients can rapidly test new product ideas, concepts, marketing campaigns and messages with their target audience.
We’re thrilled to welcome Ideally to the OIF Ventures portfolio investing in their $6M funding round. It’s an absolute privilege to be partnering with James Donald , Brendan Cervin , Joshua Nu’u-Steele and the entire team as they continue to be the place ideas go to thrive.
Twenty-Five – See You Next Year 🥂
As this special edition of Blast OIF and the year comes to an end, from our team to you, we wish everyone a restful and joyful break. We look forward to reconnecting in the new year and can’t wait to meet new ones.
Wishing you and your families a happy, healthy and successful 2025.
Onwards and upwards,
The OIF Ventures team
I have committed the rest of my life to transforming education on this planet. Founder | Investor | Mentor | NED | Startmate First Believer.
2wWhat a year OIF Ventures. Well done team - you've been incredible partners, and we can't wait for 2025. Andrew Yeo David Shein
Thank you so much OIF! Forever so grateful to you for backing us ever step of the way. You are indeed an incredible group of people who genuinely care about founders. So much gratitude to Laurence Schwartz, Isabella Rich, Jerry S. and David Shein 🙌 Wishing you all a wonderful and relaxing festive season and a fantastic 2025!
Fractional CPO | Leadership Development Facilitator & Coach | Experience Designer | Keynote Speaker | GAICD
2wWow what a year OIF Ventures and love this reflection! So much to be proud of and excited about!
Co-Founder & COO of Appetise
2wThis is so impressive Keren Dorfan, well done 👏 we are so stoked that 2024 was the year we could join forces with you all! Thank you so much Oliver Darwin Jerry S. David Shein & the rest of the warming OIF crew!
Ideally - Co-Founder and Chief Revenue Officer
2wYou've been awesome partners - thanks Isabella Rich & OIF team 👏