Startup · $19.7m raised
Eco-friendly products company that broke Australian crowdfunding record
Byron Bay, NSW
Every investor coverage indicates participated in a round Zero Co raised.
| Investor | Rounds | Invested |
|---|---|---|
| SmartCompany | Accelerator | - |
| Square Peg Capital | Accelerator · Unnamed stage · Series A | $12,000,000 |
Investors whose own portfolio pages list Zero Co, even though we haven't found any coverage of the round yet.
| Investor | Listed on |
|---|---|
| Shearwater Capital | its portfolio page ↗ |
Companies Zero Co acquired or merged with, per published coverage. Buying a company is not investing in one: nothing here counts in the deals column.
| Name | Role | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Dan Krasnostein | Director (former) | Startup Daily |
| Mike Smith | CEO · Founder | Startup Daily (1 Sep 2025), Dealroom, SmartCompany (23 Apr 2025), Startup Daily (22 Apr 2025), SmartCompany (16 Nov 2022), Startup Daily (22 May 2022) |
Stories naming Zero Co. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.
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
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
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
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.
Birchal's co-founder and CEO argues in an opinion piece that letting customers invest alongside venture backers builds loyalty, pointing to past raises by Replit, Zero Co and Thriday as examples.
Crowdfunding platform Birchal has opened a new raise on its own site, seeking $3 million; the piece recalls its 2022 raise, 2023's top platform raises and several CSF-funded failures and a listing.
Collie medicinal cannabis firm Cannaponics matched Birchal's equity crowdfunding record with a fully subscribed $5 million round; two other recent platform raises are noted in passing.
Square Peg announces James Tynan as its newest partner, with reflections from Vow's CEO and Square Peg's investment team on his approach, plus his board roles at Partly and Neara and sector outlook.
SmartCompany names its 2022 Smart50 winners: July tops the list, Ofload ranks second after a $60 million raise, and Mad Paws, Zero Co, Code Like a Girl and Hero Packaging take out category awards.
Startup Daily promotes its Money Milestones panel with SAP Concur, featuring founders of Zero Co, Unhedged and Her Black Book discussing revenue building and fundraising, recalling several earlier raises.
PledgeMe's Australian crowdfunding arm, bought by Finley Capital Partners, rebrands as Microwd under new Head of Equity Crowdfunding Megan Owen to back female-led startups; past campaigns include Mungalli Creek Dairy and Food Connect Shed.
Birchal's CSF Yearbook 2021 found Australian equity crowdfunding hit record levels in 2021, with $71 million raised across 89 companies, and recalls Biome Australia becoming the first CSF-backed business to join the ASX.
A year-in-review of Startup Daily's most-read 2021 stories, recalling major Australian tech exits including A Cloud Guru, Afterpay and Sweat, Canva's soaring valuation across three raises, Zero Co's crowdfunding record, and new VC funds.
Also Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Fintech News Australia·Business News Australia·Crunchbase News·LaunchVic
Cut Through Venture's November newsletter rounds up October 2021's record deal count for Australian startups, listing raises across climate, fintech, cybersecurity and legal tech, plus Startmate Demo Day graduates and active investors.
Also SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Women's Agenda·Forbes Australia·Startup News (WA)·Forbes Australia·rnz.co.nz·Dealroom·insolvencyinsider-au.com·Forbes Australia