Forbes Australia has identified some of the most promising entrepreneurs making waves in the current startup scene.
‘Quick Takes’ featured in Issue 13 of Forbes Australia. Tap here to secure your copy.
Mentorloop
Childhood friends Heidi Holmes and Lucy Lloyd founded Mentorloop in 2016 after recognising a gap in the market for an easy way to find and connect with mentors, a “dating site for mentoring”. Driven by the belief that the right connection can be life-changing, the cloud-based software platform claims to help its customers build a mentoring culture by making these connections accessible, scalable, and measurable.
The start-up has expanded into Europe and is now used by 200 businesses, ranging from small charities to large corporations like Hilton, Dior and Woolworths. The platform has facilitated more than 100,000 mentoring connections and plans to establish a presence in the US within the next 12 months. In 2017, Mentorloop raised $1 million in seed funding from Blackbird, Rampersand and Folklore, along with other angel investors, but has since shifted away from venture capital to focus on profitability.
Paul Napthali, managing partner at Rampersand, says, “Mentorloop’s mission allows it to capitalise on this wave of workplace transformation, from forging more connections in a hybrid world to upskilling into new roles. We’ve enjoyed supporting Heidi and Lucy as they navigate their growth path to profitability, building the world’s best mentoring platform.”
Fable
Taking a break from his pursuits in the retail and fashion industry, health-conscious entrepreneur Michael Fox began experimenting with meat alternatives at his 41-acre property in Palmwoods. He discovered that mushrooms were the perfect base ingredient with their rich umami flavours and significant health and environmental benefits. In 2019, he teamed up with fine dining chef and mycologist Jim Fuller and organic farmer Chris McLoghlin to co-found Fable.
The meat alternative startup produces shiitake mushrooms whose dense, fleshy fibres and umami flavours are naturally meat-like. Fable’s offerings have found their place on the menus of Guzman y Gomez, Fishbowl, and Zeus Street Greek, as well as in prestigious dining establishments, including Heston Blumenthal’s Michelin-starred restaurants. Fable’s reach has expanded to the UK, Singapore, Canada, and the US, and the business has successfully raised $6.5 million in seed funding and $12.2 million in Series A from investors, including K3 Ventures and Blackbird.
“Fable is reimagining mushrooms to cultivate a more sustainable food system. Blackbird is delighted to continue supporting Michael and his team on their mission to reduce global meat consumption and help end industrial animal agriculture,” says Blackbird general partner Nick Crocker.
Graceview
When lawyers Simon Quirk, Jules Ioannidis, and Dan Hunter witnessed the AI boom in early 2023, they knew it was time to fully commit to their vision of disrupting the outdated legal industry. Sharing a common desire to streamline the law through technology, Graceview was born in October 2023 with a clear vision: to make regulatory compliance effortless and continuous for businesses through AI.
Over the following months, their Melbourne-based tech team developed an ingenious platform that leverages AI to extract and analyse data tailored to a business’s specific regulatory needs. It then undergoes a curation process, where the data is reviewed by blue-chip law firms and one of the Big Four to ensure accuracy and relevancy.
Within less than a year, Graceview has a client base of a dozen large corporations, primarily in the financial services industry, and has expanded to the UK and Singapore. Graceview raised $1.5 million from a consortium of tech founders and investors this August. Singapore-based entrepreneur Patrick Linton, who led the funding round, says, “Today it is all about deep domain expertise and an understanding of the day-to-day lives of those working in compliance. That, combined with the best technology, is where Graceview has an edge.
They combine a deep understanding of the problem space in regulatory compliance with something built with customers in mind. This is practical and useful AI.”
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