{"id":31954,"date":"2023-10-20T14:26:26","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T14:26:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/host-of-angels-innovation-bay-dinner-set-for-melbourne-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T14:26:26","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T14:26:26","slug":"host-of-angels-innovation-bay-dinner-set-for-melbourne-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/host-of-angels-innovation-bay-dinner-set-for-melbourne-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"Host of angels: Innovation Bay dinner set for Melbourne – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/div>\n

With a change in leadership and an increased focus on innovation and startups, it\u2019s an exciting time for angel investing in Australia, Innovation Bay<\/a> Melbourne organiser Jodie Imam says. <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Imam, the founder of Occasional Butler which was acquired by AirTasker, says angel investing has been growing in the country for a while recently, but has been accelerated by Malcolm Turnbull\u2019s ascension to the top job.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s more interest in angel investing than ever before,\u201d Imam tells StartupSmart. <\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople used to talk about how many properties you owned, now it\u2019s about what (startups) you\u2019re investing in.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone is talking about entrepreneurs, high-tech and innovation, and that\u2019s been further supported with the new government. It\u2019s a very exciting and growing opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not Shark Tank<\/i>\u201d<\/b><\/h2>\n

Innovation Bay will be hosting its first angel investor dinner in Melbourne next month, bringing together entrepreneurs and potential investors in an informal, networking environment.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a night focusing on support and creating relationships, Imam says.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a very supportive environment, it\u2019s not Shark Tank<\/i>,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cEven if they don\u2019t invest, they\u2019re getting in front of a network of people looking to help.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not always on the night that they\u2019re going to shake hands and sign a deal, it\u2019s the networking effect.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Established startups with customers and revenue that are looking for funding can submit a 90-second video detailing who the founders are, what they do, the value proposition, market size and traction.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The applications will be voted on by the angel investors, with the top four getting to participate in the pitch night.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Looking for authentic entrepreneurs<\/b><\/h2>\n

Angel investor and entrepreneur Dean McEvoy knows full well the opportunities on offer at Innovation Bay, and he\u2019s been on both sides.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

McEvoy co-founded Spreets<\/a>, and pitched at an Innovation Bay event. The startup was eventually acquired by Yahoo7! in 2011, and now McEvoy will be appearing at the Melbourne dinner as a potential investor.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

He\u2019s says that above all else he\u2019s looking for genuine entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI look for a deep, authentic connection with the problem,\u201d McEvoy says.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re in the industry and know the problem, they\u2019ve felt it first-hand.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf someone has an inauthentic connection that\u2019s always a red flag that they\u2019re in it just to make money.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The four startups will also get half an hour of pitch training from Pollenizer\u2019s Phil Morle before the night.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

About 40 angel investors from Melbourne and around Australia will be present at the event, Imam says.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not huge, but it\u2019s well-curated,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of work that goes into that in the background. It\u2019s a specific niche and it\u2019s the right people.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s this quality of investors that makes Innovation Bay stand out, McEvoy says.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s definitely one of the best angel groups in Australia in terms of the people it tends to attract,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThey come from a tech background and there are a lot of ex-entrepreneurs. There\u2019s always interesting people in the room, and that\u2019s not true of other angel groups where there\u2019s just some rich people looking for something to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s all about the networking opportunities, McEvoy says.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cEven if someone\u2019s not investing, they might be able to add value,\u201d he says. \u201cI was chatting to a guy afterwards over a glass of wine who ended up introducing me to my investors.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Finally in Melbourne<\/b><\/h2>\n

Innovation Bay has been running in Sydney for eight years now, and this marks the Melbourne launch.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The program has also recently expanded to Perth and Silicon Valley.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The events have helped entrepreneurs to raise more than $10 million in funding, with past alumni of the angel investor dinners including freelancer platform Expert360,<\/a> taxi app GoCatch<\/a> and photo library service ImageBrief.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Entrepreneurs can apply for the Innovation Bay Melbourne angel dinner here<\/a>, with submissions closing on Friday.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Want to grow your business with Instagram? <\/i>StartupSmart School can help.<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With a change in leadership and an increased focus on innovation and startups, it\u2019s an exciting time for angel investing<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31954"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31954"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31954\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}