Growth Equity
Growth Equity Financing for Technology Companies
We invest in Series A+ B2B SaaS and technology companies that have moved beyond product build and early validation and are ready to scale.
We partner with founders to accelerate growth through hands-on operational and international expertise, with a focus on AI, workplace digitisation, blockchain, digital twins, autonomous systems, cleantech, and technology expanding access to education.
Growth Equity Portfolio
Ben Thompson
CEO & Co-Founder, Employment Hero
OneVentures has been absolutely foundational to our success.
It’s not just bringing money to the table. It’s bringing support, emotional support, strategic support, and a team of people who stand behind the brand. And, without OneVentures, I don’t think we’d be where we are today.
Joseph Mercorella
Co-Founder & CEO, Lumary
Before our commencement with OneVentures, their engagement, efficiency and honesty during our cap raise process were real differentiators for us.
As OneVentures have supported us to take Lumary to the next level, their consultation and input across many parts of the business have been excellent. They are a true reflection of a partner who wants to do good while considering all aspects.
David Mah
Founder and Executive Director, Kepler Analytics
OneVentures can only be described as a true business partner from day one.
The OneVentures team supports Kepler by providing expert advisors, analysts, and access to their incredible global network. The investment funding we received for our Series B only scratches the surface of the value that they add!
Criteria for Entrepreneurs
To fit our mandate, your company must be:
- Domiciled in Australia or New Zealand, or with a strong Australian angle, and planning to carry out substantial R&D in Australia
- A technology or technology-enabled company providing an innovative product or service with good product market fit and loyal customer base
- Providing a positive benefit to society
- Looking to rapidly scale your business including into offshore markets
- Looking for a supportive partner to help you achieve your next stage of growth
Growth Equity Investment Team
Dr Michelle Deaker
Founding & Managing Partner
| Location: Sydney, AU
Michelle is a Founding Partner and the Managing Partner at OneVentures. She serves on the investment committees of OneVentures funds and has led the capital raising activities for the firm. Her focus today is in the technology growth practice, though she has also worked extensively across both healthcare and technology investments.
With over 25 years’ experience building and investing in high growth technology companies across Australia and the US, Michelle has a proven track record in global business expansion and Australian R&D commercialisation. She has led or co-led, and served as a Director of, several landmark investments including Employment Hero ($2B valuation, 13x ROI, Returned 1.5x Fund II), Phocas (7x ROI, acq. Accel-KKR), Smart Sparrow (acq. Pearson Learning), My Mobile Data (acq. ASX:AYS), Hatchtech (Lic. to NYSE:RDY), and Vaxxas. Michelle chaired the Employment Hero board until December 2023 and continues to serve as a Director, alongside board roles at Vaxxas and Buildkite, and previously Phocas.
A current member of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s Payment Systems Board, Michelle is also a former board member of Australia’s National ICT Centre of Excellence (NICTA, now Data61), Seven West Media (ASX:SWM) and served on the NSW Government’s Digital Economy Taskforce.
In the lead up to founding OneVentures, Michelle worked for a leading family office on their alternative investments, served as an entrepreneur in residence at Southern Cross Venture Partners and was an angel investor. Prior to her investment career, Michelle was a business entrepreneur and founder, including one of Australia’s first fintech companies, E Com Industries (www.giftvouchers.com) (acq. LSE:ReD, 4.6x, 70% IRR), IT services business, Networks Beyond 2000 and a tertiary tutoring business.
Michelle is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and Chief Executive Women (CEW). She was a founding advisory board member of Head Over Heels (now Apropela), supporting women entrepreneurs, and served on the advisory board of the Indigenous fund Ochre Ventures.
In addition to these roles, she lectures in the Australian Investment Council’s Foundations of Private Capital Venture Capital Course and is a Co-Founder of WinVC, a non-profit women-led initiative supporting the career trajectory of women investors in venture capital.
Michelle holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours), a Master of Science and a PhD in Applied Science.
| BSc (Hons), MSc, PhD
Bevin Shields
Partner
| Growth Equity
| Location: Sydney, AU
Bevin leads OneVentures’ growth technology investment strategy for Fund V and Fund VII and serves on their Investment Committees.
With over 20 years of experience in technology investing, M&A and capital markets, Bevin provides strategic guidance to portfolio companies and sits on the boards of Lumary and MyPass. He specialises in driving growth through acquisitions, organic expansion and operational excellence.
Before joining OneVentures, Bevin was a Partner at Bailador Technology Investments, where he led growth-stage technology investments across Australia and New Zealand. During his tenure, Bailador achieved nine successful exits, delivering over $250M in returns at an average 3.1x CoC and 25% IRR. Key investments included Rezdy, RC TopCo, Standard Media Index and Updoc.
Prior to that, Bevin was Head of M&A at Catapult Group, where he led acquisitions that expanded the company’s scale and market presence globally and secured over $150M in financing. Earlier in his career, he was a graduate analyst in corporate finance at Deloitte and a vice-president in investment banking at the Royal Bank of Scotland, advising emerging companies across capital markets and M&A.
Bevin graduated with a Master of Commerce from the University of Sydney and is a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
| MCom, USYD BCom, USYD
Nigel Dews
Operating Partner
| Growth Equity
| Location: Sydney, AU
Nigel is an Operating Partner in the Technology team at OneVentures, supporting portfolio companies in the Growth Equity Funds with over 25 years of international experience in management consulting, startup leadership and scale-up execution.
He serves on the Investment Committees for Growth Fund V and VII, is Chair of Kepler Analytics, sits on the board of Flippa, and was previously on the board of Lumary and MyMobileData.
Nigel is a Founding Partner and Chair of GNG Partners, a boutique growth strategy consulting firm that combines operating leadership and top-tier consulting experience to collaborate with OneVentures’ portfolio companies to develop Growth Acceleration Plans.
Before joining OneVentures, Nigel held significant executive roles, including CEO of Vodafone Hutchison Australia, 3 Mobile and Fairfax Digital. As CEO of Message Media, he led its rapid growth through acquisitions, product innovation and geographic expansion, resulting in a $1.8B exit in 2021.
He began his career at the Reserve Bank of Australia and spent five years at McKinsey & Company, consulting across the USA, UK, Australia and New Zealand and later as a Partner at Port Jackson Partners. Nigel played a pivotal role in launching Fairfax Digital, led the Hutchison-Vodafone Australia merger and led a tech infrastructure startup in the UK.
Nigel holds an Honours degree in economics and an MBA from London Business School.
| BEc (Hons), MBA
Portfolio Board Roles
Justine Carzino
Principal
| Growth Equity & Growth Credit
| Location: Melbourne, AU
Justine is responsible for identifying investment opportunities in Victoria and supporting portfolio deals based in the region across both Growth Equity and Credit. She leads the OneVentures Victorian Growth Fund (VGF), which invests in the state’s most promising scale-up companies.
As a Board Observer and investor, Justine works closely with portfolio companies such as XYSense, Drawboard, AmazingCo and 6clicks.
Justine has over 15 years experience working with growth stage companies across capital raising, M&A and capital management. Previously, Justine was a Senior Vice-President at Deloitte Corporate Finance in Tokyo, leading domestic and cross-border transactions. Originally from Melbourne, she returned to Australia in 2021, bringing extensive M&A experience and strong local networks.
Justine holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Melbourne, majoring in Accounting and Finance. She is both a Chartered Accountant and a Chartered Financial Analyst.
| BComm, CFA, CA
Jay Chiu
Investment Director
| Growth Equity
| Location: Sydney, AU
Jay identifies and analyses growth equity investment opportunities while supporting portfolio companies with research, strategic planning and problem-solving to help them scale into new markets.
He collaborates with CFOs and leadership teams to simplify financial complexities and drive growth and serves as a Board Observer for Lumary, Kepler Analytics and Flippa.
With over 15 years of global equities experience specialising in high-conviction, long-term growth strategies, Jay began his career as a software engineer, and has held roles in risk modelling, portfolio management and public equities focused on technology at CITIC Securities (HK), HSBC (UK, HK), and Goldman Sachs (UK). He was also a buy-side investment analyst for a boutique global equities fund manager.
Jay holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) in Software and a Master of Commerce in Finance from the University of New South Wales.
| B. Eng (Hons), M. Com (Finance)
Portfolio Board Roles
Seth Abood
Graduate Analyst
| Growth Equity
| Location: Sydney, AU
Seth works in the Growth Equity team, supporting deal sourcing, analysis, due diligence and monitoring portfolio investments.
He has experience creating predictive and stochastic models for a range of applications and is proficient in R and Python.
Seth graduated from UNSW with a double degree in Actuarial Science and Commerce (Finance). During his degree, Seth worked at Bailador, assisting in portfolio management, due diligence, investment proposals and modelling.
| B.Com / B.Sc, Actuarial Studies & Finance
Amrita Blickstead
Venture Partner
| Growth Equity
| Location: Sydney, AU
Amrita is a Growth Equity Venture Partner at OneVentures, supporting our technology portfolio companies with her operations and strategy expertise.
An experienced C-suite executive and Non-Executive Director, Amrita brings extensive expertise in strategy, operations, manufacturing, pricing, sales, and marketing across technology and healthtech companies.
Her leadership roles include serving as Co-CEO of SomnoMed (ASX: SOM) and as Chief Operating and Marketing Officer at eBay Australia.
Amrita is a Non-Executive Director at Audinate (ASX: AD8) and Genea, and has worked as a management consultant.
She holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Engineering (Biomedical).
| BE(Hons), MBA
Dave Boorman
Venture Partner
| Growth Equity
| Location: Australia
Dave is a seasoned finance executive with a career spanning some of Australia’s most prominent listed companies and global multinationals. At OneVentures, he supports portfolio companies on financial strategy, capital structuring and operational performance, with a focus on scaling and maximising exit value.
OneVentures placed Dave into the CFO role at Phocas Software in 2019, where he managed Phocas’s A$45M capital raise and, alongside CEO Myles Glashier, significantly scaled the business before positioning it for exit to Accel-KKR, returning ~A$120M to OneVentures investors.
His career in senior finance spans three decades. At Vodafone, Dave held multiple leadership positions, progressing from International Financial Controller at Vodafone Europe to CFO at Vodafone Ireland and then CFO and Director of Strategy at Vodafone Australia, where he led the local negotiation team on the ~A$4B ‘3’ merger and secured A$3B in bank financing. He subsequently served as CFO at Seven West Media before taking on the same role at Network Ten, leading its sale to CBS Corporation in 2017.
Dave holds a degree from the University of Sheffield and a Diploma in Management from Henley Business School. He is a qualified Chartered Management Accountant (ACMA, CGMA) and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD).
In the news
Mark Rothert
Venture Partner
| Growth Equity
| Location: United States
Mark is a Growth Equity Venture Partner at OneVentures, where he supports portfolio companies with operational improvements and US market entry strategies.
In addition, he advises our Fund VII Investment Committee, bringing extensive expertise in scaling technology companies and driving cross-border growth.
Mark is a seasoned C-suite executive with key leadership experience, including his current role as CEO of LCvista (PE-backed), and prior roles as COO of Cordance (PE-backed), and US Country Manager for Message Media, where he played a pivotal role in the company’s $1.8B exit.
Previously, he was a Principal in Portfolio Operations at Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV), providing strategic guidance to high-growth technology companies.
| MBA
Jim Yares
Venture Partner
| Growth Equity
| Location: United States
Jim is a Growth Equity Venture Partner at OneVentures, where he helps technology portfolio companies develop and implement their go-to-market strategies and growth initiatives.
He is a consulting advisor to portfolio companies Phocas, Shippit, and Buildkite, working closely with their CEOs and executive teams to scale operations and achieve strategic goals.
A seasoned C-suite executive, Jim has held leadership roles including GM at Fortify (acquired by HP), VP of Global Field Operations at AlienVault (acquired by AT&T), COO and CEO at CrownPeak (acquired by K1), Executive VP of Global Field Operations at Illumio, and CRO at Banyan Security (acquired by SonicWall).
Earlier in his career, he served as a Managing Director at KPMG and later Bearing Point’s High Tech Practice.
Investment Process
A pathway to partnership.
01 Apply
Do you believe your company is a good fit for our investment criteria?
We’re excited to learn more about your business and what you are building. Apply now, and one of our team will be in contact.
02 Investment Team Screening
Our investment team manages a high volume of new opportunities and takes the process of assessing each and every one seriously.
We ask that you give us some time to respond (we aim to respond to all enquiries within two weeks).
03 First Meeting
If we feel your opportunity is a good fit to the mandate for any of our Funds, we will schedule a meeting with one or more members of our investment team to learn about your company, the technology and product, and the leadership team. This first meeting may be via video conference or in person.
04 Preliminary Due Diligence
If our first meeting goes well, we will appoint a deal lead who will be your primary liaison with OneVentures and undertake some preliminary due diligence to understand more about your company.
During this period, we will often ask for additional information and we may meet with you again. At this stage we will typically focus on:
- People – We look for quality, experienced management teams with ambition.
- Stage of growth – For healthcare companies, we look at companies at or near clinical stage. For technology companies, we take into account current and projected revenue. We assess use of funds, such as driving sales and marketing or taking a healthcare company through clinical trials.
- Market – Does your product have strong market fit? Is the market attractive, in terms of size and access?
- Technology – Is the product competitive on a global scale? Can our team’s experience and knowledge be leveraged to help commercialise this product?
- Development & regulatory path – Specifically for companies operating in the healthcare space, are the relevant development and regulatory paths known and clear?
- Reimbursement – For healthcare companies, a clear reimbursement strategy must be defined.
- IP – How strong is your IP and how well defined is your position?
- Business metrics – For technology companies, a sound understanding of business metrics and your customer. For example, what is the cost of customer acquisition? What is the lifetime value of the customer? What is the average revenue per user?
05 Terms
Assuming a positive outcome from the preliminary due diligence process, we will discuss the terms of a possible investment with you.
If we can agree high level terms, we will ask you to present to the members of our Investment Committee.
06 Investment Committee Meeting
We will work with you to prepare a presentation to our investment committee, which meets approximately every 6 weeks. The format of this session is typically a 20 – 30 minute pitch from you followed by Q&A.
You are then asked to leave the meeting and the members of the investment committee will discuss the materials presented. We will simultaneously table our draft term sheet for the approval of the investment committee and assuming they approve the investment we will subsequently offer you a final term sheet for your consideration.
07 Confirmatory Due Diligence
Assuming we agree terms, we now move into a more detailed due diligence process. We will provide you with a detailed list of the due diligence materials we require access to and will ask you to assemble them in a secure data room.
We will meet many times during this period and will require access to additional documents and information. Activities may include meeting with all the members of your team and visiting your premises, interviews with customers and partners, and discussions with other investors and potential acquirers of your business.
Our aim during this process is to independently confirm the information, claims, projections and assumptions you have provided to date.
In relation to debt financing (through the 1V Venture Credit Fund), this step is typically streamlined and usually results in a quicker investment than with equity financing.
08 Legal Documentation
When we have satisfactorily completed the key confirmatory due diligence activities, we will commence drafting the legal documents to formalise our investment. Final due diligence will continue in parallel. During this period, we will each be represented by our own legal counsel who will be heavily involved.
When the due diligence process is completed and the documents are agreed and signed, we will transfer the first tranche of our investment to your company bank account.
Congratulations – our partnership has formally commenced!
Apply for
Growth Equity Investment
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