Co-Architecture founder Kevin Mitchem with Skalata's Shahirah Gardner

WHY SKALATA

Working with our investment before going all in

We invest at the seed-stage which is a high-risk but high-return asset class. Our investment philosophy focuses on mitigating risk to increase both the performance of successful investee companies and reduce the failure rate in the portfolio – increasing the chances of achieving high-returns.

Long-term capability

Our experienced team works intensively with founders to help them increase the capability of their business and achieve product-market fit, build a growth engine and develop a sustainable business model.

Strong risk management

We limit risk up-front and scale our commitment over time, allocating additional funding and resources to highly promising companies as we validate assumptions.

Flexible funding structure

We invest a relatively small amount in companies initially and provide quick follow-on investments in companies that demonstrate strong progress through our support model.

Diverse portfolio

We invest in a large and diversified portfolio of companies, which is proven to be the most significant method of reducing the risk in this asset class.

Decades of expertise

Our experienced team has helped grow hundreds of early-stage companies over the years. We help founders overcome short-term challenges, while ensuring they are well placed to achieve long-term success.

Co-investment opportunities

Fund investors gain access to investment opportunities in portfolio companies. When companies are raising further capital, investors are notified of capacity in the round.

All investments carry risks. There can be no assurance that a Skalata Fund will achieve its targeted rate of return and no guarantee against loss resulting from an investment in a Skalata Fund. Past fund performance is not indicative of future performance.

Bucking the trend

According to the 2022 State of Australian Startup Funding report, 62% of Australian founders don't believe investors live up to their promise of "value beyond capital".

We're proud to offer more hands-on support than any investor in Australia.

Support model

Alina Hunter

Co-founder

Cleverbean

“For us, choosing an investor was about value well beyond cash. We’re so privileged to have the Skalata crew partner with us, understand us, and open themselves up to genuinely help us on our unique journey.”

Read

Cleverbean

story

Afonso Firmo

Co-founder

NetNada

“From our first meeting with Skalata, it was very clear they shared a similar mentality towards entrepreneurship, innovation, opportunity and impact.”

Read

NetNada

story

Lewi Software co-founders Geraldine Terada-Bellis and Vishnu Avudainayagam

Geraldine Terada-Bellis & Vishnu Avudainayagam

Lewi Software (UQ)

Faculty Firepower

A direct link to the university talent pipeline

Skalata's partnerships with leading Australian universities – also investors in our funds – gives us access to emerging startups before they hit the market

We host regular roundtables that bring universities together to discuss knowledge commercialisation, and bridge the gap between academia and the business world. We’re the first and only VC to facilitate this kind of dialogue.

Our deep academic networks are how we connected with recent investments: NetNada (UNSW), Lewi Software (University of Queensland) and Omni Biotech (Curtin University).

See our recent investments

Mark Smith

COO

La Trobe University (Skalata Fund I Investor)

“The connection Skalata maintains with the university sector is both noticeable and reassuring. They are the natural next step in the commercialisation equation.”