{"id":44637,"date":"2023-10-20T15:37:21","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:37:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/why-this-australian-startup-said-no-to-1-million-startupsmart-2\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T15:37:21","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:37:21","slug":"why-this-australian-startup-said-no-to-1-million-startupsmart-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/why-this-australian-startup-said-no-to-1-million-startupsmart-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Why this Australian startup said no to $1 million – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
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When Melbourne-based entrepreneur Troy Westley held an oversized cheque worth nearly $1 million above his head on a stage in Helsinki, he already knew it was unlikely that he\u2019d actually be accepting it.<\/p>\n

The CareMonkey co-founder had earned the chance to compete in the Slush international startup pitch challenge<\/a> after taking out the local competition in Melbourne.<\/p>\n

It was more an opportunity to network and meet potential partners rather than a cash-grab, Westley says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t for a second thinking that we were going to win,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t even look up what the prize was until he was in the final four.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven then I was thinking it would be unlikely that we would take it,\u201d Westley says.<\/p>\n

The startup did end up winning the competition, but after finding out the 650,000 euro prize was in the form of an investment Westley knew it wasn\u2019t in the best interests of his company.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat wasn\u2019t my reason for entering the competition. I still wanted to win and it was great publicity for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rapid growth spurs revenue<\/h3>\n

The Melbourne-based medical information startup<\/a> has been growing rapidly while still being bootstrapped, expanding from a team of eight in November to 17.<\/p>\n

The company saw more revenue in November and December last year than all of the previous financial year and is \u201cquite profitable\u201d, Westley says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe business is growing fast \u2013 we\u2019re earning good revenue,\u201d he says. \u201cWe\u2019ve turned into a profitable organisation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Because of this Westley says he isn\u2019t interested in any outside investments at the moment \u2013 even a $1 million one.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did take it seriously and had a look at taking the investment but my co-founder and I decided that our focus is on generating revenue and proving we can be a profitable company,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a little bit further down the track before we want to put effort and commitment into raising capital and working out who would be the best partners.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re very grateful for the offer but we\u2019re not desperate for cash \u2013 we think we\u2019re doing lots of good things.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re trying very hard and the focus right now is on funding the business through creating a great product, having happy customers and earning revenue.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t need to take money to grow the business.\u201d<\/p>\n

Product over capital<\/h3>\n

CareMonkey provides a system of managing sensitive personal and medical information stored by schools, clubs and groups with a duty of care.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight from the get-go we decided that unless we could prove that customers were going to get massive value and want to pay to use the service then we weren\u2019t really a business,\u201d Westley says.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the very first customer we had revenue \u2013 I think that\u2019s a good way to build a sustainable business.\u201d<\/p>\n

While admitting the startup may have been able to expand quicker with the prize money, Westley says a move into the US and UK is already in the works.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m happy with the course we\u2019ve chosen and right now we\u2019re starting operations in the UK and US, and we\u2019ll do the same there as we\u2019ve done here,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll get a foothold, get happy customers, earn revenue and understand what we need to do to be a dominant player in those markets.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter that it\u2019d be a good time to go to investors.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

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