Scale takes aim at Australia's venture gender gap with $100m fund
The former angel syndicate is raising a $100m fund to back female founders, who receive just 4% of Australia's venture funding.
Scale Investors, an 11-year-old Australian angel investment group focused on women-led startups, is raising a $100 million fund following a management buyout by four senior women executives. That will make it one of the few women-led venture funds in Australia targeting the gender funding gap.
The buyout, which happened 18 months ago, transformed Scale from a not-for-profit to a for-profit venture firm. The new owners — Samar Mcheileh, Roo Harris, Chelsea Newell, and Solai Valliappan — are now leveraging Scale's existing portfolio of over 30 companies to attract institutional capital.
Together they bring diverse experience: Mcheileh's 15 years in financial services including senior roles at JBWere, Harris's background in international law advising Qatar's royal family, Newell's decade in wealth management and brokerage firms, and Valliappan's combination of actuarial expertise and startup investing.
The firm is aiming for a first close date for the new fund in April next year at $50 million.
