Investment Pillar: Growth Equity
Growth Equity Financing for Transformative Technology Companies
While we embrace the power of new ideas, we invest in more than promise.
We’re looking for later-stage tech companies with a focus on B2B SaaS capable of leveraging our operational and international expertise to accelerate their growth. We have a strong interest in technological innovation that creates value for the end customer and a seamless user experience. We work with both companies that have bootstrapped but require capital for expansion or companies seeking that all important follow-on funding to execute on their business plan.
Whether it’s AI augmenting business processes and industries, ongoing digitisation of the workplace, blockchain technology tokenising assets, companies bridging the intersection of the real and virtual world with digital twins, autonomous systems improving logistics, cleantech tackling climate impact or accessible education – we back ambitious leaders with a sound understanding of business metrics and their customer.
Actively investing
Growth Fund VII
Following the success of our earlier equity funds—Fund I, II, and V—Fund VII continues to invest in technology or tech-enabled growth companies. The fund focusses on businesses with strong leadership teams, large addressable markets, and global potential, committing $10M to $30M per company.
These portfolio companies have shown significant potential and require support to accelerate their growth and expand into global markets. We apply our years of international experience, operational and executional expertise to support them.
Open For Investors
Open For Founders
A$200M Fund size
2024 Fund launched
Actively investing
Growth Fund V
Focused on technology, tech-enabled and growth stage companies and investing up to $20M+ per company.
Portfolio companies are high quality scale-up technology businesses who are ready to accelerate to the next phase of growth.
This may include through corporate restructuring, offshore market entry or by accessing specialised expertise to accelerate their next phase of growth.
KEY FEATURES
Funds allocated
Innovation & Growth Fund II
The capital for this Fund has been fully deployed.
The Fund invested in early and later stage technology and healthcare companies seeking growth and development capital including for offshore expansion – particularly those with a strong product market fit and a clear path to revenue.
Funds allocated
Innovation Fund I
The capital for this fund has been fully deployed.
Backed by the Commonwealth Government’s Innovation Investment Fund programme, the fund invested in early-stage Seed and Series A technology and healthcare companies.
Growth Equity Investment Cases
From Founders
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 has 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 of experience building and investing in high-growth technology companies in Australia and the US, she has a proven track record in global business expansion and Australian R&D. Michelle has led or co-led and been a Director of key investments in companies such as Employment Hero ($2B valuation, 13x ROI, Returned 1.5x Fund II), Phocas (10x EV growth), Smart Sparrow (acq. Pearson Learning), My Mobile Data (acq. ASX: AYS); Hatchtech (Lic. to NYSE: RDY) and unicorn Vaxxas. She chaired the board of Employment Hero until December 2023 and continues to serve on its board, as well as the boards of Phocas and Buildkite.
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 $250 million 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 $150 million 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 Jackosn Partners. Nigel played a pivotal role in launching Fairfax Digital, led the Hutchison-Vodafone Australia merger and led a tech infrastructure start up in the UK.
Nigel holds an Honours degree in economics and an MBA from London Business School.
| BEc (Hons), MBA
Portfolio Board Roles
Matthew Lewin
Investment Associate
| Growth Equity
| Location: Sydney, AU
Matt focuses on growth equity investments in technology businesses for Fund V and Fund VII.
He supports deal sourcing, analysis and due diligence and works with portfolio companies like Lumary, Flippa and Buildkite.
Since joining OneVentures in 2021, Matt has contributed to both the venture credit and equity teams. Now an Investment Associate, he has played a key role in sourcing and executing growth equity investments.
Before OneVentures, Matt gained experience at MA Financial Group, Perpetual and VGI Partners, focusing on technology investing, ESG and company analysis.
He holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Advanced Studies from the University of Sydney, where he received the University Academic Merit Prize. He earned a Master’s in Neuroscience from the University of Sydney, completing a thesis on using “digital twins” to augment operational decision-making in complex systems such as mental health clinics.
| BCom/BAdvStudies/MSci
Joanna Yue
Investment Associate
| Growth Equity
| Location: Sydney, AU
Joanna focuses on Growth Equity investments, supporting deal sourcing, analysis, due diligence and monitoring portfolio investments
She works closely with portfolio companies, including Employment Hero, Lumary and Flippa.
Before joining OneVentures, Joanna was a consultant at McKinsey & Company’s Melbourne office, where she worked on strategic and operational projects in the banking, consumer goods, and automotive sectors for public and private clients. She gained international experience in Singapore with Wavemaker Impact, a leading Asian ClimaTech VC venture builder, where she helped develop an AgriTech startup aimed at reducing the carbon footprint of Southeast Asian rice cultivation by assessing opportunities and designing viable business models.
Joanna holds a Bachelor of Laws and Commerce (Finance) from Monash University and a Master’s in Management from INSEAD. She is admitted to the Supreme Court of Victoria and previously practiced law in the private health insurance sector at the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority.
| LL.B., BComm (Finance), MIM
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)
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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