Why did you build Connect?

We used a variety of funding partners for our own portfolio companies over the last few years and saw that when speaking to founders, there are many types of finance available that founders either didn’t know about, didn’t know they could be eligible for or didn’t know the right providers to speak to.

What kind of funding is available?

Connect’s funding partners focus on low dilution and non-dilutive funding. There are quite a few different types of funding available and suitability depends on your industry, use of funds and specific situation. Funding types include:

• Growth finance: debt arrangements in the form of term loans (a fixed time period to borrow a fixed amount of money) or lines of credit (flexibility to borrow funds when needed) for businesses that wish to refinance existing borrowings, finance growth or a finance a transformational change. Depending on your situation, there may be secured or unsecured options available. Some funding partners require director guarantees while others don’t.

• Revenue finance: a funding partner provides capital based on revenue data (from your accounting platform (Xero, MYOB etc.) and/or digital marketing platforms). You pay back a fixed percentage of ongoing revenue to repay the financed amount.

• Venture debt: a funding partners provide a term loan (typically, related in size to your last funding round or based on your revenue and growth) and the funding partner usually receives some warrants or options as part of the agreement. Venture debt is usually focussed on businesses that have received venture capital or other institutional investment.

• Inventory finance: a short-term loan or line of credit used to purchase inventory. Inventory financing is usually secured by your existing inventory with no need to pledge personal collateral.

• Accounts receivable finance: allows you to borrow funds based on the value of your unpaid receivables. The lender will collect the invoice on behalf of your business and use the proceeds to repay the loan.

• Purchase order finance: allows you to pay suppliers directly for goods based on purchase orders from your customers. You pay a fee to the lender, and the sales profit is returned to your business.

How much does it cost to use Connect?

Our standard Connect request (connecting you with eligible funding partners) is free for founders.

Whilst not applicable for most founders, for companies that require additional assistance (for complex situations like acquisitions or where meaningful work is required to prepare a submission), we may be able to provide additional services for a fee. We’ll always discuss this with you prior to commencing any paid work and will provide you with a clear engagement letter.

In some instances we receive a referral incentive from funding partners.

How long does it take?

It only takes a minute or two to fill in the form. Following this, we will request some financial information as part of the process so we can identify appropriate funding partners for you.

We typically review and respond to Connect requests within two business days. We can often get key terms for eligible Connect requests within 7 days of submission.

When I’ve filled in a Connect request, what will I get back (and who sees my data)?

Once we’ve reviewed the information you’ve supplied, we’ll send you an email with an overview of potential funding partners.

You select which partner (or partners) you’re interested in and we share your anonymised data with them. If they are interested in your anonymised profile and indicate interest, we provide a personalised introduction via email.

We do not share your identity with our funding partners before a Connect personalised introduction. We do not share the names of our funding partners prior to you submitting your application.

For more info see our privacy policy.

Would you like to join Connect as a funding partner?

We’re building a network of low dilution and non-dilutive funding partners and are connecting them with founders.

If you let us know what you’re looking for and can demonstrate that you treat founders fairly and respectfully, we can connect you with companies that fit your requirements.