ALIAVIA, established by two seasoned tech professionals, is committed to narrowing the funding gap for female entrepreneurs. It specializes in funding startups led by women, particularly those aiming to connect the Australian and American markets. The venture firm recently declared the successful closure of its inaugural fund, amassing $13.5 million AUD (equivalent to $8.7 million USD). Notable investors include Carol Schwartz, founder of Trawalla Group; Tattarang, which represents the Forrest Family Office; Robyn and Victoria Denholm of the Wollemi Capital Group; Dom Pym, founder of Euphemia and Up Bank; and Cynthia Scott, managing director and group CEO of Zip Co.
Since its inception in 2021, ALIAVIA has invested approximately AUD $8.4 million in nine startups founded by women. These startups include Eugene, an at-home genetic testing company; HowToo, an online training platform; Othelia, specializing in culture AI; and Loupe, an art-streaming startup.
Anchor investor Schwartz expressed her admiration for ALIAVIA, describing Marisa and Kate as trailblazers. They represent the first and only pre-Series A venture capital firm in Australia established by and exclusively for women, and they continue to lead the charge for gender equality in VC funding.
Despite women-led tech companies yielding a 35% higher ROI, only 1.9% of the $238.3 billion in U.S. venture capital went to all-women teams last year, according to the Kauffman Foundation. ALIAVIA’s founders, Marisa Warren and Kate Vale, aim to change this disparity. Their venture firm focuses on Australian and American pre-seed and seed-stage startups with at least one female founder in the B2B or B2C tech sector, spanning verticals such as health tech, fintech, edtech, HR tech, media, and entertainment. The typical investment size from their first fund ranges from US$250,000 to $750,000, with provisions for follow-on funding. ALIAVIA prefers to lead deals, a critical aspect since finding lead investors can be a challenging element for female founders seeking funding.
About five of the startups backed by ALIAVIA’s initial fund are Australian-based companies. These startups receive guidance on when and how to expand into the U.S., including assistance in navigating the differences between the two markets and connecting with potential customers, investors, and talent. For example, the Sydney-based online training platform HowToo, which launched during the pandemic, expanded successfully into the U.S., with the guidance and support of ALIAVIA.
Marisa Warren and Kate Vale experienced gender imbalance in the tech industry during their previous careers. Vale, a former managing director at Google and Spotify in Australia, played a significant role in leading these companies from early stages to IPOs. Warren, with 18 years of experience in enterprise software sales and channel management for companies like SAP, Microsoft, and Workday, felt the lack of female mentorship and support during her corporate career. This led her to create opportunities for women, including launching ELEVACAO in New York in 2015, a pre-accelerator program for women tech founders. ALIAVIA Ventures was initiated to address the funding challenges faced by female tech founders, particularly during the pandemic.
ALIAVIA’s focus on Australian startups is driven by the fact that many of them struggle to attract U.S. investors without first demonstrating success in the U.S. ALIAVIA acts as a bridge by investing in these startups and helping them accelerate their growth in the U.S. With a successful expansion, Australian businesses typically experience a 30% to 40% increase in valuation due to differences in market valuations.
For U.S. investors and LPs, ALIAVIA identifies opportunities by investing in underfunded U.S. and Australian startups with the potential to become unicorns. The team leverages its U.S. base to connect with early operators and investors across the U.S. and Australia.
ALIAVIA’s team includes venture partners Levi Aron and Alexis Versandi, along with head of platform Sheetal Singh Tobin. They work closely with ALIAVIA’s portfolio companies, providing strategic advice, tactical execution support, bootcamp training, and e-learning. This encompasses sales and marketing guidance, talent acquisition, market expansion, fundraising, and exit strategy planning.
In essence, ALIAVIA is fully dedicated to supporting founders in their business endeavors, helping them succeed in a balanced and prosperous tech ecosystem. Backing gender-diverse teams, ALIAVIA aims to achieve a 35% higher return on investment compared to all-male teams, fostering diversity and inclusivity in the tech industry.
