{"id":41383,"date":"2023-10-20T15:13:34","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:13:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/adelaide-startup-uniti-scores-multimillion-dollar-investment-to-give-it-a-massive-shot-in-the-arm-in-fight-against-the-nbn-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T15:13:34","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:13:34","slug":"adelaide-startup-uniti-scores-multimillion-dollar-investment-to-give-it-a-massive-shot-in-the-arm-in-fight-against-the-nbn-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/adelaide-startup-uniti-scores-multimillion-dollar-investment-to-give-it-a-massive-shot-in-the-arm-in-fight-against-the-nbn-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"Adelaide startup UNITI scores multimillion-dollar investment to give it a \u201cmassive shot in the arm\u201d in fight against the NBN – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
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South Australian wireless internet startup UNITI has scored a multimillion-dollar investment from two high-profile tech entrepreneurs as it looks to direct take on the trouble-plagued National Broadband Network.<\/p>\n

UNITI offers fast fixed broadband connections wirelessly which it says is quicker and more affordable than the government\u2019s NBN.<\/p>\n

The funding round comes from VOCUS communications founder James Spenceley and serial tech entrepreneur Tony Grist.<\/p>\n

Although the exact amount hasn\u2019t been disclosed, UNITI co-founder and co-CEO Che Metcalfe says it is well into the seven figures.<\/p>\n

Overcoming early rejection<\/h3>\n

He says the cash injection will help the startup rapidly expand across Australia and take the fight directly to the much-maligned NBN project.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis validation is amazing and has given us a massive shot in the arm,\u201d Metcalfe tells StartupSmart<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re fired up, cashed up and ready to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite proven market traction and revenue, Metcalfe says he was met with continual rejection when pitching his tech company to potential investors.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe started to get a fair few knock-backs with people questioning why we were doing it when there is the NBN,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a sensible answer but they wouldn\u2019t listen. Telcos aren\u2019t the flavour of the month.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut through a network of early angel investors and the runs we were putting on the board it started to become harder and harder for people to ignore what we were doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Finding strategic partners<\/h3>\n

After being introduced to Spenceley through a mutual friend, a strong relationship was quickly formed, leading to the recent investment.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the first phone call there was synergy,\u201d Metcalfe says.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s the first person who has invested and understands exactly why we\u2019re doing it. Him and Tony have a longer term vision for the company and where we could take it and they\u2019re going to help us with that journey.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re feeling really lucky at the moment because we know how hard it is to raise money, especially if you\u2019re not in the sweet spot at that point in time.\u201d<\/p>\n

As part of the investment, both of the prominent tech entrepreneurs will also be coming on board as strategic advisors for the next 30 months.<\/p>\n

Metcalfe says the difficult journey through rejection was worth it in order to find an investor that was the right strategic fit for UNITI.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs an entrepreneur you get lots of knock-backs and we\u2019re used to that,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou keep telling your story to everyone and getting runs on the board. We needed to find strategic investors within the industry who knew what we were saying was the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taking on the NBN<\/h3>\n

With the funding under their belt, the UNITI team is now planning a rapid expansion across most of Australia, with a goal to service 100,000 people by 2021 and create 150 new jobs, Metcalfe says.<\/p>\n

UNITI is positioning itself as a direct competitor to the NBN, and he says one of the most difficult challenges he faces is educating the market that there are other options out there.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re letting people know that there are other options and we\u2019re not the only ones,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are other ways to get the internet than being on the NBN. That isn\u2019t an easy job.”<\/p>\n

He says that the UNITI offering has several advantages compared to the NBN.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe NBN roll-out is very slow; we\u2019re very nimble and quicker getting to market,\u201d Metcalfe says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe NBN business model was broken from the beginning. We own our network from end to end and can control the quality of it. We don\u2019t have to worry about another wholesaler in the middle between us and the customer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re never going to be as big or far-reaching as the NBN, and that\u2019s not our goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

And the goal of 100,000 customers is the conservative estimate, Metcalfe says, with the opportunities becoming far greater if the NBN continues to struggle.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe blue sky is to get to 250,000 or 350,000,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really too hard to predict. If the NBN goes from one disaster to another and continues down that path, that creates a much better opportunity for us.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t know how the competitive landscape will look.\u201d<\/p>\n

Staying focused and insular<\/h3>\n

The founder says it\u2019s important for other entrepreneurs to focus on their business first and foremost and not become distracted with the wider startup world.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn this business you need to be very, very focused on achieving your goals and moving forward,\u201d Metcalfe says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we listened to all of the hype, incubators and startup groups that say you need to follow the Silicon Valley model and go to all the events then we would have spent all of our time talking about running a business and not actually doing it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been focused on getting runs on the board and generating revenue \u2013 that\u2019s what eventually wears investors down.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrendy things can come and go but having a business that can scale and generate revenue is what matters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Follow StartupSmart on<\/em> Facebook,<\/em> Twitter, <\/em>LinkedIn <\/em>and <\/em>SoundCloud.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

South Australian wireless internet startup UNITI has scored a multimillion-dollar investment from two high-profile tech entrepreneurs as it looks to direct<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":60925,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41383"}],"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=41383"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41383\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}