Daniel Van Boom

1 week ago | capitalbrief.com | Bronwen Clune |Daniel Van Boom

The Tech Council of Australia and the Australian Investment Council warn the proposed tax will hurt startup funding and work against the productivity agenda. Australia’s two main tech and investment advocacy groups have spoken out on the government’s proposal to tax unrealised gains on superannuation balances of over $3 million, arguing the policy will have a “significant negative impact” on early-stage investment.

2 weeks ago | capitalbrief.com | Daniel Van Boom

A Victorian court ruling has sparked refund rumours, but crypto tax experts say it changes nothing about how Bitcoin is treated under Australian tax law. A Victorian judge’s ruling that Bitcoin is roughly comparable to currency has sparked claims that the cryptocurrency may no longer be taxed — and that investors who previously paid capital gains tax on appreciating tokens could be eligible for refunds. Not so fast, say crypto tax experts.

2 weeks ago | capitalbrief.com | Daniel Van Boom

For the first time, Australia’s big three venture firms — Blackbird, Airtree and Square Peg — have backed the same startup in the same funding round. Australia’s largest venture capital firm has conceded that its investment in Airwallex’s US$300 million ($465 million) Series F round is a correction of a nine-year-old misstep. Blackbird passed on the Victorian startup in 2016, forcing Airwallex to turn to overseas investors for its first funding round.

2 weeks ago | capitalbrief.com | Daniel Van Boom

After years of struggling to win over investors, CEO Will Lopes is finally earning applause following a strong earnings report for the sports tech company. Catapult’s stock surged to new peaks on Wednesday, signalling a return to form for the once-hyped sports tech company — and marking a high point for chief executive Will Lopes, nearly six years into his tenure.

2 weeks ago | capitalbrief.com | Daniel Van Boom

Catapult expects its fixed costs to stay where they are now, at around US$42 million annually, and for variable costs to grow slower than revenue earned from this point. The incremental profit margin for new revenue generated during the year was 65%, it said. US$66 million of the company's revenue came from Catapult's "Performance & Health" segment, which are the wearables it sells to teams that allow them to track player performance and biometrics.