{"id":47650,"date":"2023-10-20T15:54:29","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:54:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/melbourne-startup-readify-bought-by-telstra-after-years-of-laying-the-groundwork-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T15:54:29","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:54:29","slug":"melbourne-startup-readify-bought-by-telstra-after-years-of-laying-the-groundwork-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/melbourne-startup-readify-bought-by-telstra-after-years-of-laying-the-groundwork-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"Melbourne startup Readify bought by Telstra after years of laying the groundwork – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Years of laying the groundwork have paid off for a Melbourne IT developer and consultancy startup after it was acquired by telco giant Telstra.<\/p>\n

Readify was founded in 2002 and works to assist large businesses manage technology shifts through custom app development, software deployment and IT consulting.<\/p>\n

Now the startup has sold a majority stake to Telstra for an undisclosed amount of money, and Readify managing director Graeme Strange says he\u2019s been creating dialogue and building the relationships that led to this deal for years.<\/p>\n

He says he first met Telstra executive director of global enterprise and services Michelle Bendschneider 20 months ago. After discussions with Blue Sky Private Equity, who provided scale funding to Readify in 2013, Strange and his team decided to float the idea of a sale.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe put it out there and Telstra jumped on it, and it closed in a very short amount of time,\u201d Strange tells StartupSmart<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was at lightning speed, they were really impressive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Readify has doubled its digital organic revenue per annum over the last three years and is also working to develop an \u2018IP Factory\u2019 to commercialise what it creates for clients.<\/p>\n

Readify\u2019s operations and teams will remain unchanged for the \u201cforeseeable future\u201d and both companies will greatly benefit from the acquisition, Strange says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt opens up massive opportunities for us,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m still getting my head around how many sales people I\u2019ve got now. That gives us so much reach.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got a pretty stunning capability in software and data analytics, and we can help them in areas they previously haven\u2019t been able to execute in. It\u2019s exciting to be there as they move from a telco to a \u2018techno\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Telstra, the deal is all part of the tech giant\u2019s plans to be continually innovative, Bendschneider says.<\/p>\n

\u201cReadify is recognised globally for its innovative software solutions and will further help us create software-led digital transformations with our customers,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Strange says that startup founders need to be working towards an exit from the very early days by establishing strong relationships with potential buyers.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to build the relationships earlier and figure out how you work together so when you push the button things can go really smoothly,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you don\u2019t do that upfront and you walk up to a big corporate and ask them to buy your company, they won\u2019t know you or understand how it fits. Then it\u2019s going to take a long time and will probably fail.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoing that upfront can take years \u2013 it did for us \u2013 but then it can happen really smoothly and really smoothly.\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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