Kirstin Hunter joins equity platform Birchal as CEO

The news: Crowdsourced equity platform Birchal has appointed Kirstin Hunter as CEO, effective immediately. Hunter replaces co-founder Matt Vitale, who is stepping down after eight years to focus on his health and wellbeing while remaining a major shareholder.

The numbers: Birchal has facilitated more than $218 million in investments across over 300 successful offers, with a community exceeding 318,000 members. The platform commands more than 80% of Australia's crowdfunding market and has enabled over 130,000 investments. The company recently completed its own $2 million capital raise and launched Birchal First Syndicate, which provided $2.5 million in funding to hardware technology founders.

The context: Hunter joins Birchal with significant experience in the startup and investment sectors, having previously served as co-founder and chief executive at Future Super and managing director (NSW) at Techstars. During her tenure at Techstars Tech Central Sydney accelerator, 83% of startups in the 2024 program had at least one woman founder. The appointment comes as Birchal reports its busiest start to a calendar year to date.

What they said: "Crowdsourced equity has a crucial role to play in building a thriving innovation ecosystem in Australia," Hunter said. "What really excites me is crowdsourced equity increases the economic power of retail investors by taking business funding decisions away from a small number of professional investors and placing it in the hands of the community."