Brisbane startup hopes to Fostr seed funding for young tech companies

A Brisbane-based startup is looking to match Aussie investors with tech companies hungry for seed capital.

Fostr Funding allows startups to create an online profile similar to an online dating service. From there, investors can then sign in and search for companies they are interested in having a conversation with.

Co-founder Dylan Bigg told StartupSmart Fostr Funding is a tool he wished existed a couple of years ago when he was first looking to invest in tech companies.

“I always figured when it came time to put my money someplace I could just go online and there would be a service to help me find the opportunity I was after,” he says.

“There was nothing that was a totally divorced, stand-alone matching service. So now I have some free time I decided I would make that tool.”

Bigg says he and his co-founder Keaton Neville made sure there was “north of three million dollars” in potential investment capital sitting on the platform before launching to entice startups to come onboard.

“But it’s actually very much a tool targeted at the investor side of the equation,” he says.

“An investor can log in from the investor side of the tool and do a details search. When they find an opportunity or business they want to find out more about they submit and enquiry and we facilitate a meeting between the two parties. It doesn’t allow the startup to conduct a search for an investor, it just allows them to create a profile that is visible.”

Fostr Funding will charge a flat 5% fee on investments conducted through the platform, with a minimum of $2000.

“There’s a pretty token annual fee that a startup pays to be in the system, but that’s largely there as a filter as we do want to attract someone who has a business plan in place and can stand up to the scrutiny of an investor,” Bigg says.

“But our primary income stream is a commission if an investor likes a startup and wants to invest. The more people I talk to in the industry, it’s really becoming apparent that there’s a need for this kind of tool and something really simple.”

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