Over the last 10 years, the Australian startup ecosystem has changed dramatically. There are more individuals willing to take the leap and become founders in new, emerging industries. There are more investors looking to take risk and put capital to work; more advisors looking to roll up their sleeves and support these early stage businesses as they seek growth. Despite the recent challenges and market uncertainty, we believe, now more than ever, that there are significant opportunities for investors with the right experience and focus to create value by backing the technology businesses of tomorrow.

Black Nova Venture Capital is a best in breed, early-stage venture capital fund manager built by founders and experienced investors to support Australia’s rapidly growing industry of B2B technology companies. For our first fund (Fund I), we set out with a simple investment thesis of “boring is better” – having demonstrated through our prior experiences (such as eight-figure exits) that exceptional upside exists to support the less-glamorous, but essential, businesses solving acute, but everyday, business problems. We believe, that in the 24 months since the official launch of Fund I, our thesis is being proven true as we have:

• Raised approximately $22m for first fund in 12 months (of which ~$9m was raised during the ‘tech selloff’ from February 2022 onwards)
• Deployed 90+% of capital aligned to investment thesis, with investments across thematics such as ERP, regulatory, cybertech, construction, devops, AI, future of work, and productivity tools and businesses that generally solve for efficiency issues
• NTA of 1.17 as of 30 June 2023
• Gross IRR of 24%
• 25%+ of committed capital deployed into impact investments (per United Nations SDGs)
• 34 companies in the portfolio with many supported over multiple rounds (pre-seed, seed, Series A)
• Supported one company through exit, resulting in a positive return for investors
• Over 100 unique investors across individuals, family offices and professional investors
• Co-invested into businesses and received follow-on investment into the portfolio across funds including but not limited to Accel Partners, Bessemer, Blackbird, Squarepeg, Airtree, Tidal, Carthona, Flying Fox and Possible Ventures

Given the growing success of our first fund, we believe that now is the time to launch Fund II. The investment thesis will remain the same and we will continue to strive to deliver best in class returns through backing category defining businesses. Additional details regarding the fund can be found below.

As serial-founders, we believe in finding people who – like us – see the world differently. They are relentless, determined, mission oriented, scrappy and hungry to prove themselves, their thesis and ours. Black Nova’s vision is to create the necessary business and social support infrastructure, as well as capital, to nurture these founders and their businesses. They have a vision to become  leaders in their markets and drive the growth of our economy for years to come – doing our portfolio, and Australia, proud.

In this world of opportunity we see before us, we are excited to offer you the opportunity to invest alongside us as we usher in a new generation of startup technology businesses and support the technology companies of tomorrow.

There has never been a better time to back mission critical B2B software at the earliest stages founded in Australia – get involved by submitting an application to Black Nova’s Fund II.

Sincerely,
The Black Nova Venture Capital Team