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Eastend backs experienced teams at the stage where bootstrapping ends and the later-stage VC funds haven't shown up yet. We move quickly, write clear term sheets, and provide hands-on support to the companies we back.
Before you apply, here is what we invest in, what we don't, and how our process runs. If you're a fit, we want to hear from you. If you're not, we'd rather you know now.
You're a likely fit if:
- You're building a B2B technology company. We are sector-agnostic.
- You're founded, headquartered, or have a connection to SA, WA, or QLD. We also consider companies from the ACT, Tasmania, the Northern Territory, regional New South Wales and Victoria — essentially, anywhere outside Sydney and Melbourne.
- Your team has real depth and maturity. We love repeat founders, deep domain operators, and technical specialists. We back people who have done the work and have some scars.
- You have evidence of traction. Revenue is the strongest signal. If you're pre-revenue, we look at successful pilots or proof-of-concepts, signed letters of intent, or high-intent waiting lists.
- You have a defensible position. Proprietary technology or dataset usage, deep IP, or hard-won customer relationships that a competitor can't replicate quickly.
- Your valuation is realistic for your stage. As a guide: under $5M post-money at angel, under $10M at early-stage, under $20M at growth.
- You have a clear use of capital. You're raising to fund a specific milestone (expansion, hires, a market entry, a key product release), not because the round name says it's time.
- You can see a path to a trade sale in the $100M to $500M range inside roughly five years.
- You're addressing a global market and the product is exportable without heavy localisation. We prioritise companies that can leverage our international network to enter the US, UK, Canada, or European markets.
You're not a fit if:
- You are pre-team, pre-product, or pre-customer signal.
- Your valuation is meaningfully above the ranges we work to. Above $5M post-money at angel, above $10M at early-stage, above $20M at growth.
- Your traction is thin or untested. Revenue, signed letters of intent, or genuine pilot programs are the minimum we look for; we don't underwrite future hypothetical traction.
- You're a consumer-facing brand or B2C business.
- You're a marketplace business. Two-sided economics rarely deliver the capital efficiency and exit profile we're looking for in our portfolio.
- Your market is geographically constrained. Your TAM needs to be global or at minimum cross-continental to support our exit thesis.
- You're a services business positioned as software. We invest in genuine product companies, not consulting in a SaaS or AI wrapper.
- You're building a long-term company you don't plan to sell. We have real respect for that, but our fund delivers returns to investors through exits.
Plus some Regulatory exclusions:
Eastend Ventures Fund 1 is a registered ESVCLP and the Venture Capital Act 2002 (Cth) framework we adhere to has specific requirements that exclude certain types of investment regardless of merit.
Investee company requirements
- The company must be an Australian resident entity at the time of investment.
- At least 50% of the company's employees must be located in Australia, maintained for at least 12 months after the initial investment.
- At least 50% of the company's assets, including intellectual property, must be located in Australia, with the same 12-month maintenance requirement.
- Total assets must be under $50M at the time of investment, with a proposed increase to $80M in 2027.
Excluded activities
We cannot invest in companies whose predominant activity is:
- Property development or land ownership
- Banking, finance, insurance, leasing, factoring, or securitisation
- Construction or acquisition of infrastructure facilities
- Income derived from rent, royalties, interest, dividends or other passive sources
Value-based exclusions
We also do not invest in tobacco, gambling, controversial weapons, or companies with direct ties to sanctioned countries.
We invest across three stages
Validated technology and product, with early commercial signal.
Initial traction and revenue, building the foundations to scale.
Product-market fit and scaling, plus follow-on into our top performers.
These are the ranges we work to — specifics reflect each opportunity.
We lead or co-lead, and re-up or increase in subsequent rounds where the case is strong.
We have a structured selection process
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01
Sourcing
We meet founders through a mix of ecosystem networks, direct outreach, lots of referrals, and partner relationships, with ~1,000+ companies reviewed historically and 1-2% proceeding to full due diligence.
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02
Selecting
Companies apply via our website and we assess every opportunity using a screening framework called 5TX. The deal lead and assigned contributors score independently across seven domains:
TeamFounder experience, depth, and execution capabilityTractionEvidence of market pull, commercial validation, and growthTechnologyInnovation, defensibility, and product readinessTotal MarketSize and shape of the addressable opportunityTermsDeal structure, valuation, and cap tableeXposureRisk factors across financial, legal, market, and operational dimensionseXitStrategic interest and path to liquidityOpportunities that pass screening enter due diligence. This is a deeper review covering opportunity, market, team, technology, intellectual property, ESG, risk, financial, legal, and reference checks.
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03
Signing
Companies that pass diligence are presented to the Investment Committee for approval, which requires a unanimous Partner decision.
We tell founders where they stand and why at every stage. The answer might be yes, no, or "not yet."
Once we invest, we've got your back
Supporting
We work alongside the companies we back through the life of the investment. The work is shaped by what the company needs, not by a templated playbook. Examples of what that has looked like across the portfolio:
- Strategic counsel — Direct access to partners, an experienced Investment Committee, and a Venture Partner network spanning legal, cyber, technical, cleantech, marketing, and ecosystem specialisms.
- Customers and partnerships — Introductions across our networks in SA, WA, QLD, the east coast, and internationally, with a focus on the US, Canada and the UK.
- International expansion — Helping founders prepare for and execute entry into key markets, particularly the US, Canada and the UK.
- Follow-on capital — Round coordination, bridge facilities where the case is strong, and co-investor introductions when the company is ready to raise.
- Talent — Founding-team and senior hires, including technical leadership and operating roles.
- Ecosystem and government — Connections into innovation programs, research institutions, university spin-out pipelines, and the broader angel and syndicate networks across our markets.
- Board involvement — Where it adds value to the company and is appropriate for the size of the investment.
- Mentoring and operational depth — Ongoing engagement from the partners, the operations team, and venture partners as the company grows.
Summitting
We back companies with clear trade-sale pathways and we support founders through the exit process when the company is ready. That means buyer relationship development, exit positioning, and helping founders navigate the transaction itself.
Two principles. Both are real
We take reporting seriously
Our investors expect rigorous portfolio monitoring, and our ESVCLP registration carries specific compliance obligations. We work with founders to make these as efficient as possible, but they're not optional.
Each Eastend portfolio company commits to:
- Quarterly portfolio monitoring covering financials, resources, customer metrics, and key business updates. Submitted through our portal, a shared spreadsheet, or whatever fits the company's existing workflow.
- Annual ESG data collection, aligned to the ESG_VC framework. Designed for early-stage companies, with phased adoption as the company grows.
- Notification of material events including key personnel changes, fundraising activity, M&A approaches, and material changes to the business.
- An annual statutory declaration of compliance with ESVCLP eligibility requirements, supported by board confirmation of asset location, staff location, and predominant activity.
We supply templates, walkthroughs, and direct support from our portfolio team. The intent is to make compliance straightforward, not to add overhead.
We stay out of the day-to-day
The work we do alongside founders happens because the company has asked for it, not because we've decided to insert ourselves.
Beyond the reporting cadence above, we leave founders to run their companies. We don't auto-take board seats. We don't impose operating processes. We don't second-guess hiring or strategic decisions. We make ourselves available when founders need us, and step back when they don't.
Building a B2B technology company
that fits the mandate above?
Our application form is hosted on Notion and includes questions about stage, traction, team, capital ask, and your pitch deck. Open in a new window so you can reference your own materials side by side.