Big super battle
A feud between Hostplus and Sydney startup Employment Hero displays the growing power of Australia's mega super funds.
Airtree Ventures is caught between a rock and a hard place. One of its biggest backers, industry super fund Hostplus, and one of its most highly prized portfolio companies, Employment Hero, are at war with each other.
Hostplus, which has money in the Airtree fund that invested in Employment Hero, is calling for the Sydney startup’s founder and CEO Ben Thompson to be fired. Thompson, meanwhile, has accused Hostplus of trying to kill his startup by opposing its ability to offer users the chance to switch super funds when using its onboarding software while starting a new job.
The dispute is spicy in its own right, and from any founder’s perspective it does not look good for Hostplus, which has previously positioned itself as a champion of VC and startups.
But the episode also raises broader questions about the future of the superannuation industry and its growing dominance of the country's broader financial system.
