Startup · $8.5m raised
Equity crowdfunding platform
Every published round Birchal took part in, and every parcel of existing shares it bought off another holder. Deals we hold but haven't published yet are not counted.
| Company | Stage | Announced | Amount | Role | Alongside | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montu | Unnamed stage | Nov 2021 | $3.5m | Participant | Startup Daily, SmartCompany | |
| Naked Life | Unnamed stage | 6 Jul 2023 | $3m | Participant | SmartCompany (14 Jul 2023), AgFunderNews, SmartCompany (10 Jul 2023), Startup Daily (9 Jul 2023), Startup Daily (6 Jul 2023) | |
| Kester Black | Unnamed stage | Oct 2021 | $2.2m | Participant | insolvencyinsider-au.com, rnz.co.nz, SmartCompany, Startup Daily, Cut Through Venture | |
| Bubble Tea Club | Unnamed stage | Jun 2021 | $1.7m | Participant | Startup Daily, SmartCompany | |
| Kindship | Unnamed stage | 17 Nov 2022 | $1m | Lead | SmartCompany (28 Jun 2024), SmartCompany (18 Nov 2022), Women's Agenda, SmartCompany (17 Nov 2022) | |
| Citizen Wolf | Unnamed stage | May 2022 | $1m | Lead | SmartCompany, Techboard | |
| Cassava Bags | Unnamed stage | Jul 2023 | $760k+ | Participant | Startup Daily (12 Feb 2024), Startup Daily (11 Aug 2023), SmartCompany | |
| Gintonica | Unnamed stage | Jun 2022 | $243k | Participant | Startup Daily, SmartCompany |
Companies Birchal has backed in a published round, and companies whose existing shares it bought off another holder.
| Company | What it does | First invested | Rounds | Led |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bubble Tea Club | Jun 2021 | 1 | 0 | |
| Cassava Bags | Jul 2023 | 1 | 0 | |
| Citizen Wolf | May 2022 | 1 | 1 | |
| Gintonica | Jun 2022 | 1 | 0 | |
| Kester Black | Eco-friendly products company | Oct 2021 | 1 | 0 |
| Kindship | 17 Nov 2022 | 1 | 1 | |
| Montu | Nov 2021 | 1 | 0 | |
| Naked Life | 6 Jul 2023 | 1 | 0 |
Fund closes reported for Birchal, as distinct from the investments it has made.
Companies Birchal has backed that another company then bought. An exit for the holding, not a deal Birchal did.
| Company | Bought by | Kind | Announced | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kester Black | New New New Pty Ltd | Acquisition | Jul 2024 | $146.2k+ |
Companies Birchal acquired or merged with, per published coverage. Buying a company is not investing in one: nothing here counts in the deals column.
Every investor coverage indicates participated in a round Birchal raised.
| Investor | Rounds | Invested |
|---|---|---|
| Australia Venture Partners Fund | Unnamed stage | - |
| Dom Pym | Unnamed stage | $1,000,000 |
| LaunchVic | Grant | $300,000 |
| Triple Bubble | Unnamed stage | - |
Stories naming Birchal. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.
Equity crowdfunding on Birchal saw the NSW pantry goods maker attract 179 backers, exceeding its minimum target, with proceeds earmarked for production capacity, wider retail reach and an export push.
Weekly roundup covering seven raises across the Tasman: Phonely's Series A, Pay.com.au's private placement, and rounds for Atomic Tessellator, Caruso, Deteqt, Clean Slate Clinic and Earthletica, worth roughly $72 million combined.
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Birchal launched a new CSF raise at a reduced $5 million pre-money valuation, with about $800,000 already committed, amid sector downturn; rival Equitise collapsed and Earthletica raised $1.1 million.
Birchal's CEO promotes four women-led companies raising now on its crowdfunding platform ahead of International Women's Day: a NSW brewery, a cardiac medtech, sustainable activewear and a cocktail foamer.
Techstars' Sydney accelerator will close after three years and 36 startups backed, its NSW government funding having ended; the program's chief and team are departing, while a state diversity pre-accelerator awaits a delivery partner.
The NSW government has ended funding for Techstars Sydney, which closes after three cohorts; its managing director, Christie Jenkins, and her team are departing, and the $4 million diversity pre-accelerator has no operator yet.
Australian refillable cleaning products maker Pleasant State, founded by Ami Bateman and Sian Murray, is winding up amid household budget strain; the article recalls its Indiegogo and Birchal raises and Zero Co's earlier closure.
Also Startup Daily
Western Australia seaweed venture Fremantle Seaweed banked A$2.176 million from 676 crowd investors, with a larger sophisticated-investor tranche planned; Sea Forest's fresh ASX listing frames the story.
Sexual wellness company Normal is seeking outside capital for the first time via equity crowdfunding platform Birchal, having funded itself since 2021; its chief executive cites investor stigma as a barrier to venture capital.
Birchal lifts its charges and shrinks its team under a new chief executive; the piece also recalls past raises on the platform and the collapses of Zero Co and Equitise.
Also SmartCompany
Weekly roundup detailing new capital for Australian startups Diraq, BrainFish, RecycleSmart, Cohabit and Five Faces, alongside Alumly's undisclosed multimillion-dollar backing from UK investor Mauve Group.
Also Startup Daily
Good & Fugly's founders have quit and the Sydney wonky-produce business has stopped trading; OzHarvest Ventures and restaurateur Matt Moran have taken over the brand, with a relaunch planned.
Mike Smith's Australian refillable cleaning-products startup Zero Co will shut at April's end after packaging troubles; the piece recalls its Kickstarter, Birchal and Square Peg raises and its Smart50 Rising Star award.
Also Dealroom
Cleaning products maker Zero Co, backed by Square Peg and crowdfunded via Birchal, is closing down solvent and will hand leftover funds to shareholders after failing to find a workable path forward.
Also SmartCompany·Dealroom·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily
Weekly roundup of eight Australian startup raises, led by Sonder's $40 million round, plus AMP's $20 million raise and acquisition of the Shopify app Back in Stock.
Also Startup Daily·Defence Connect·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Defence Connect·Forbes Australia
Birchal appoints Future Super founder and former Techstars Sydney managing director Kirstin Hunter as CEO after co-founder Matt Vitale stepped down in January; the crowdfunding platform recently banked $2m from retail investors.
SmartCompany details how a Melbourne broadcaster for startups unravelled: staff still unpaid, a creditor's court bid to wind it up, and investment that never arrived.
Carbon Group's case study describes how it supported Perth coffee roastery Timely Coffees through a company restructure, a successful Birchal crowdfunding campaign, new financial systems and business insurance.
Weekly roundup covering seven Australian companies' fresh capital: EV charging, satellite IoT, sovereign cloud, wearables, workplace messaging, plus two crowdfunding raises on Birchal.
Also Startup Daily·Startup Daily·@AuManufacturing·@AuManufacturing
Crowdfunding platform Birchal raised $2 million from 800-plus investors in 29 hours on its own site, its third self-run raise; Dom Pym's family office Euphemia is an early backer, and Birchal launched the Birchal First syndicate.
Victorian solar tile maker Volt has passed A$1.1 million in an ongoing Birchal crowd-equity campaign, bankrolling a planned United States expansion that pits its roof tiles against Tesla's Solar Roof.
SmartCompany roundup covering six Australian funding deals totalling $18.4 million: Visibuild, My Mirror, Cambium Bio, Freckle, Old Young's Distillery and Taly, plus news that Freckle's founder earlier sold Everproof to GO1.
Birchal appoints Crowdcube's founder Darren Westlake as strategic advisor and ex-Investible chief Rod Bristow as non-executive director, aiming to accelerate equity crowdfunding growth in Australia.
Cosmetics label founded by Anna Ross went into administration; its business was sold to a Fergus Sully company, leaving crowdfunding backers with nothing, and the New Zealand arm was liquidated.
Kester Black's parent company entered voluntary administration in July 2024 and its business was sold off; crowd backers from its 2021 raise learned of the insolvency only weeks afterwards.
Online drinks retailer Just Wines has bought craft beer seller Beer Cartel and its Brewquets gifting brand, after earlier picking up administrators' sales Sans Drinks and Liquor Loot.
Mental health gift card startup Mentwell raised A$228,950 from 117 backers on Birchal in June, with the money set aside for product development, technology upgrades, and planned entry into the UK and US.
Weekly roundup detailing new funding for eight local startups: home lending, document verification, farm water monitoring, alcoholic drinks, freight software, leaf protein, artist content sales and organic bedding, totalling over $36 million.
Roundup of three Australian raises: telehealth player Updoc landed $20m from listed investor Bailador, AI receptionist builder Phonely joined Y Combinator's Summer 2024 batch with US$500k, and Citizen Wolf crowdfunded over $380,000 via Birchal.
Also Startup Daily
Weekly roundup listing seven Australian startups and their raises, totalling $17.7 million across AI, packaging materials, fintech, digital health, music licensing, construction software and swimwear.
Also Startup Daily
Ethical fintech Maslow attracted 288 backers for a $409,676 equity crowdfunding round, largely founders from the impact sector, and hired two staff as it builds a subscription-based, at-cost financial services platform.
Weekly roundup covering five Australian startups' raises: an insurtech Series E, a digital ID Series A, medtech and proptech funding, and a recycling platform's equity crowdfunding campaign.
RecycleSmart has raised $1.15 million from more than 1000 crowdfunders, its second crowdfunding campaign, to fund a national rollout of its doorstep collection service for difficult-to-recycle waste.
Startup Daily's The Ask column profiles RecycleSmart, a Sydney startup collecting hard-to-recycle waste, as it pitches a live Birchal offer to bankroll a national rollout, closing May 16.
Weekly roundup of nine Australian startups that together raised over $233 million, led by Hysata's $172 million Series B, with rounds also for V2 Digital, AgriWebb, Disco, Genero, Brainfish, Kite Therapy, Nucanon and Maslow.
Weekly roundup of seven trans-Tasman raises totalling $27.4 million, headlined by Xefco's $10.5 million round, plus Hometime board appointments and Matrak's China expansion.
Also Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily
Earth Day roundup of fifteen Australian climate and sustainability startups that have secured funding in 2024, from RayGen's $51 million Series D down to CarbonHQ's $600,000 pre-seed round.
Also SmartCompany·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily
Fremantle Seaweed, Vanable, FLK it over, Bae Juice, Nullify, Recce Pharmaceuticals, Broad Radio, VaultEscrow, Esper, Anni, CSF Enterprises, and Jupiter Ionics secured funding through various rounds including crowdfunding, seed, and grants.
Also SmartCompany·SmartCompany
Roundup of five raises across Australia and New Zealand: Constantinople's $50m Series A, Illuvium's US$12m, Forever Network's $6m, Starboard's NZ$5m seed and Medibis's $736,000 crowdfunding.
A data review of 2023's ten largest Australian agrifoodtech raises, topped by Loam Bio's US$73.2 million Series B, showing funding down 33% as capital concentrated in upstream climate-mitigation startups.