{"id":44362,"date":"2023-10-20T15:35:26","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:35:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/sydney-startup-data-republic-closes-10-5-million-series-a-round-led-by-qantas-and-nab-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T15:35:26","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:35:26","slug":"sydney-startup-data-republic-closes-10-5-million-series-a-round-led-by-qantas-and-nab-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/sydney-startup-data-republic-closes-10-5-million-series-a-round-led-by-qantas-and-nab-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"Sydney startup Data Republic closes $10.5 million Series A round led by Qantas and NAB – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Data<\/div>\n

A Sydney startup offering a platform that allows companies and government to share data securely has scored a $10.5 million investment from some big corporate players.<\/p>\n

The Series A funding round in Data Republic includes Qantas\u2019 first every investment in a startup in its 95-year history as well as the first investment from NAB Ventures.<\/p>\n

Westpac\u2019s Reinventure Group, which led a seed round in the startup, also participated in the latest round.<\/p>\n

Data Republic offers a bank-level secure platform facilitating the exchange of users\u2019 data between companies<\/a>. With a governance framework built by law firm Allens, the startup gives users full control over their own data and the legal right to protection.<\/p>\n

A strategic investment<\/h3>\n

Data Republic founder Paul McCarney says he\u2019s been in discussions with the big businesses for more than a year, well before the startup launched a beta service in November last year.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s much more than just a capital injection too, he says, with the businesses also looking to utilise the platform.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think they all have a very good insight into the risks that are associated around the exchange of data,\u201d McCarney tells StartupSmart<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they\u2019re going to use data or exchange data in the future they want to be able to be controlling the governance of that. It\u2019s about having the framework to allow them to manage privacy restrictions and the ethical use of customer records.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Sydney-based entrepreneur says companies are already looking to share customer data but that this usually occurs on an ad-hoc basis in private.<\/p>\n

If privacy and security is placed at the forefront, McCarney says the Data Republic platform can result in more mutual beneficial relationships between companies and customers.<\/p>\n

\u201cData governance goes up and down a whole organisation,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt means they can offer customers the right product at the right time for the right price.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut trying to exchange data comes with enormous risks. You need to really understand the responsibilities and liabilities. We\u2019ve got a framework for that so it\u2019s all understood upfront \u2013 it enables organisations to scale the exchange of data that\u2019s centred around consumer rights and law.\u201d<\/p>\n

A difficult problem<\/h3>\n

The large funding round will be used to help accelerate the startup into its next growth phase.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not a trivial problem we\u2019re trying to solve \u2013 we\u2019re trying to be at the forefront of creating a well-governed data environment,\u201d McCarney says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a difficult problem but we\u2019ve achieved our first phase, we\u2019ve managed to govern the exchange of data.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow it\u2019s about how you think about providing insightful analytics at scale to be resold, redeveloped and redeployed across various applications.<\/p>\n

\u201cData is at the centre of a whole bunch of decisions that weren\u2019t able to draw on that in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since launching a beta product in November last year, McCarney says the growth has been \u201csolid\u201d but there\u2019s a lot of things still to be done before the platform is fully launched.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot more work to be done productising our offers,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe discussions are broadening and increasing in frequency. People are actually talking about exchanging data. Some understand the risks involved and some of them don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

He says Data Republic will be a useful tool for other startups that use big data as an asset.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see lots of pitch decks that say the startup is building data assets but they generally don\u2019t get valued in the valuation model,\u201d McCarney says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019re building is a mechanism for them to unlock that value and be able to distribute to the people they want to and manage the governance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Data Republic is also looking to make inroads in the US, hiring former chief solutions strategist at EMC\u2019s emerging technologies division Ryan Peterson.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur core development team will continue to be in Australia but there are certain skillsets that are hard to find here,\u201d McCarney says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important that we\u2019ve got some development capability in the US to take advantage of the skills over there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Getting everything out in the open<\/h3>\n

Across the year-long discussions with the huge corporate players, McCarney says it was important to be as open as possible about the key differences in objectives and operations.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been as transparent as I possibly could with the three people I\u2019m working with and I have great working relationships with all of them,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey need to understand clearly at a senior level what the objectives are around your future capital structure and where they sit inside that framework. You need to find a way to maintain communication because the cadence and the expectations are very different from a startup to a corporate.”<\/p>\n

It\u2019s possible for startups to partner with corporates so long as the inherent differences between the two are made clear, he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI absolutely understand the rationale as to why they move in the way they move and the speed they move, but when you\u2019re running a startup you need to make mistakes faster and manage a small group of investors\u2019 expectations,\u201d McCarney says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey can\u2019t afford to make mistakes in the same way I can. That needs to be open and you need to be grown-up about discussing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

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