In March we hosted our first Portfolio Showcase for LPs at the National Wine Centre — a side event of Southstart, the national tech conference held in Adelaide each year. The brief for the evening was simple: get the founders we back into the same room as the people backing us.
It worked. Across two hours, every Fund 1 portfolio company got eight minutes on the floor with our LP base. Real questions about pipeline, hiring, runway, regulatory exposure. Real answers — not pitch theatre.
Who was in the room
Founders from across our seven Fund 1 portcos: Steven Benn (Priori Analytica), Liam Cook and Daniel Morton (JACK App), Fiona Triaca, Kate O'Keeffe and Rutger Coolen (Heatseeker), Chris Were (BlueNexus), Nick Boniciolli (Optible AI), Louis Gordon-Latty (Legend Sports), and Edward and George Hartley (Nitrosend). Plus LPs joining from Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Singapore.
What we learned
Three things stood out from the LP feedback afterwards.
First, founders welcomed the format. Most VC fund updates happen via PDF deck — a one-way channel. Letting LPs ask questions directly tightens the loop and builds the kind of confidence that survives a tough quarter.
Second, the geography did the talking. Hearing seven founders, all building in SA, WA or QLD, in the same hour, makes the thesis self-evident. There's no need to argue that there's deal flow beyond the coast — we just had it lined up at the bar.
Third, the relationships compound. Two LPs now have direct lines to founders for follow-on rounds. One has introduced a portfolio company to a major customer. That's the kind of value-add a quarterly PDF can't replicate.
Cadence
The Portfolio Showcase is now an annual event, anchored to Southstart. Next one: March 2027. LPs in the fund are invited automatically; if you're considering an investment and you'd like to attend the next one as a prospective LP, get in touch.