WELCOME TO DREAM BIG VOL 4!!

A newsletter to help Start-Up Founders, Operators + Investors DREAM BIG!

WHAT’S INSIDE:

• 💌 Letter from DBSC

• 💡 Gold Nuggets - Exclusive Interview with Matt Hurle

• 📸 Photo Gallery of DBSC Syd + Melb Events

• 🔥 LIVE DEALS - Dream Big Syndicate

• 🧙‍♂️ Cap Chat - with Chris Wilson

• ✨ LACH LIKES ~ Dig into something new

• 🎙️ Latest Funny Business Guest Recaps

💌 A letter from DBSC

Been a busy few weeks here at the Dream Big Social Club with party season is well and truly underway.

This edition of the Dream Big Newsletter comes out the day after our End of Year Party at Alleyoop so I am sure there are a few people a bit slow and dusty this morning. One of our core intentions of the DBSC is to allow our awesome community to mingle and meet each other in a no strings attached type of vibe. We know the type of new business magic that comes from good people meeting good people in relaxed setting and that’s what our events set out to achieve.

It was also unreal to be able to get up to Fishburners for the Funny Business LIVE podcast and networking event last week in Sydney. Again special thanks to Martin Karafilis (CEO @ Fishburners) + Shelley Johnson our special guest for making the night what it was. Lots of

If you scroll down a bit further you’ll be able to see a gallery of some flicks we got across both our events. Special thanks to Shadowboxer + Grant Help for their support in sponsoring the events.

Keep an eye out as we will be announcing our January event to hit the ground running after the holiday break, with something a little more relaxed but just as social in the works.

Last week up in Sydney we were invited to NSW Parliament House by the Honerable Jacqui Munro to chat about all things innovation, entrepreneurship and startups. Lach walked in wearing cargo pants and a hat to some interesting looks from the sea of suits. DBSC Director Chris Wilson was like a kid in a candy shop looking at the rich heritage the building represents. Such a cool experience to learn more about how policy can be shaped to help support founders who take on so much risk when they attempt to build things from the ground up. Watch this space.

Plenty of things still happening with Dream Big Syndicate, register your interest as 2024 is going to get very busy on this front.

Excited to debut a new exclusive interview segment in today’s newsletter with a quick fire Q+A with Matt Hurle

As always it’s been a busy fortnight on the Funny Business Podcast with guests including Shadowboxer Co-Founder Stephen Graham, Start-Up Hype Man Dickie Currer + Mutinex CEO + Co-Founder Henry Innis. Only a few weeks left of the Funny Business Podcast for 2023 as we wrap for a break over the Christmas period but don’t stress we will be hitting the ground running in 2024 with at least 6 guests already locked in for an early January recording.

BIG ❤️

💡 Gold Nuggets with Matt Hurle

What’s it all about:

"Gold Nuggets" aims to extract invaluable insights and unfiltered truths from industry leaders, entrepreneurs, and experts. Today we are lucky enough to sit down with Matt Hurle, Sales Director at Criteo and former Founder/Chief Revenue Officer at Brandcrush (Acquired by Criteo(NASDAQ: CRTO))

Q+A:

1- You’re crazy until you’re not - what mindset do you think founders need to have in order to make things happen?

The number one attribute that will determine success is persistence, look at every NO as a gift that helps you optimize your pitch, your product, your target market, and your investors.

The only reason they didn't say yes, is because you didn't explain it well enough.

2 - Moments of doubt - Did you ever question your ability to get to an outcome with BrandCrush or anything else you’ve worked on?

There were plenty of moments when we could have called it quits. However, with Brandcrush I always had a deep belief that "this was the one", prior to this I'd exited (sold) two other start-ups and lost capital on both.

Both of those learnings were in industries I had zero experience, both required significant capital for overseas manufacturing, logistics, and warehousing and they were B2C products which was outside my niche.

The difference going into Brandcrush was knowing my strengths and weaknesses, partnering with a business partner who covered my gaps, and sticking to an industry where I had almost 15 years of experience.

3 - Getting that Exit - What’s life like now that BrandCrush has been acquired, what was that process like?

From a career perspective, it's a huge milestone and I'm super proud of the return we delivered for our investors. On a day-to-day front, the pressure doesn't go away, we still have a mission to fulfill and I'm excited to represent all of our new stakeholders at Criteo.

From a process perspective, I had three takeaways. 1) Expect a LOT of duplicated effort during the DD process, 2) No one else will represent your business as well as you so don't expect to hand the process over to a broker 3) Ensure members of your advisory board have been through this process before, as this was invaluable for us.

4 - Living regionally and juggling family life - What’s life like in Torquay and has your family + friends always understood what you do for a living?

In the early days of Brandcrush it was very hard to explain what we do. The term retail media hadn't been coined yet so almost everyone would look at us with a blank face. Luckily, my family and friends were blindly supportive even if they never fully understood the opportunity. The move to Torquay was a blessing for my family and the pandemic has normalized remote working however you can't underestimate the physical group energy needed in the early stages of finding product market fit. 

5 - Share some wisdom - What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

You become the average of your friendship group, so ensure you invest your personal time with people who help you level up. 

📸 CAPTURED ~ Recent Flicks from DBSC Events

🔥 LIVE DEALS - DREAM BIG SYNDICATE

Current Listings:

➡️ SQUARE X/GREENSQUARE - RAISING INVESTMENT NOW

➡️ PAYSQUAD - RAISING INVESTMENT NOW
 
➡️ SECONDZ - RAISING INVESTMENT NOW

➡️ SEABIN - RAISING INVESTMENT NOW

About the Dream Big Syndicate:

Our syndicate aims to democratise access to investment deal flow to the wider DBSC network and provide opportunities for startups to access capital and the right strategic investors for their business.

🤝 Invest Deal by Deal in Early Stage Start Ups (Pre-Seed-Series A)
💵 Small Minimum Cheque Size, no fee to join, no obligation to invest.
⚙️ Investment process managed via tech through our Platform Partners.

➡️ Register your interest to join the Dream Big Syndicate here.

About Dream Big Advisory:

If you are a FOUNDER looking to raise investment or are craving support through your Pre Seed/Seed stage, we want to hear from you!! We have limited spots left available for our advisory offering and want to finish the year off strong by getting down to business with new startups this side of Christmas.

➡️ Register your interest for Dream Big Advisory.

🧙🏻‍♂️ CAP CHAT - with DBSC Director Chris Wilson

Xmas is less than 4 weeks away … and as I reflect on what has happened over the last 12 months, 2023 feels like an especially fast lap around the sun. A lot has happened on many levels both here and across the globe, and I guess as the first full non-lockdown year since COVID winds down, perhaps we had all become accustomed to a slightly slower pace.

And I can tell you, when you are looking for investment and funding, weeks fly by even quicker.

One thing I am finding more and more is the lack of understanding of the funding options available for early stage Founders. And in particular, the breadth of options available depending on the type of company you are building, the activities going on within your business and the type of investors you need or require.

The world of ventures and alternative assets has created a very simple dialogue … venture capital is the only option available for start-ups. And that means dealing with VC funds … and going through whatever procedures and processes they have in place.

Well, there are plenty of other options that you should (always) consider, depending on a whole bunch of parameters. There are funding options that are non-dilutive, which is important in the early stages so Founders do not give up too much control of their company too early. And there are investors not affiliated with venture funds such as angels (aka sophisticated investors) along with Family Offices that you should also investigate. And retail crowd-funding offers one more option.

From a non-dilutive perspective:

1. Work with people who understand the State and Federal government grant systems. This is non-dilutive money. But there are many options and new ones get released regularly. You will never stay on top of all of them.

2. Find a R&D expert who can help claim rebates as well advise you on how to set up your operations to maximize any future R&D rebates you are eligible for. Trust me … this one is key. I have worked with companies that have left $millions (literally) on the table due to not claiming, or not managing their R&D efforts correctly. Again, this is non-dilutive financing.

3. If you are heavy on R&D, debt finance also exists that is written against the future rebates you will receive. The ATO is seen as a credible debtor to lend against.

From a non-VC perspective, there are plenty of amazing angel investors and investment syndicates and clubs looking to invest smaller but aggregated amounts from multiple sophisticated investors. Family Offices are also beginning to get more involved especially in the impact space, and I believe with the intergenerational transfer of wealth upon us, more of this capital will find its way into the startup ecosystem. Which is great news.

So, as I outlined in my last “Cap Chat”, if you execute an “always on” approach to raising capital, engaging regularly and consistently with the investment community, and you are able to identify and spend time with investors across the spectrum, from VC funds to individual investors and family offices, then you will create a very different dynamic in your fundraising approach and outcomes. And don’t forget the non-dilutive side … that is arguably some of the best value funding you can find.

Enjoy the festive build up to Xmas everyone.

Onwards and upwards,

Chris 🧙🏻‍♂️