2026 edition
The complete guide to raising money for an app in Australia
Is your app idea good enough for funding? Find out what investors look for, who funds each stage in Australia, how much equity to sell and how to raise your first round.
Almost every founder I meet asks me the same question in the first 10 minutes.
"So, what do you think of my idea?"
Over the last 10 years I've learned that the honest answer is a bit like asking how long a piece of string is. So many things shape it, from how painful the problem really is and whether anyone will pay to fix it, to who is on your team and how much evidence you've gathered before you ask for money. Each one can make a big difference.
I wanted to create this mega guide as the summary of a decade's worth of learning about what doesn't work and why. If you're at an early stage with your idea, you'll definitely learn something that improves your chances of raising money.
The short answer
In short: An app idea is good enough for funding when it shows investors 5 signals: a painful problem, evidence that people want your solution, a clear way to make money, a realistic path to build and launch and a team that can deliver. In Australia, most first cheques come from founders, friends and family and angel investors.
Investors expect gaps at the early stage. They look for founders who know where their gaps are and have a plan to close them.
The rest of this guide shows you how to check each signal, strengthen the weak ones and find the right people to fund you. It's written for first-time Australian founders with an app or software idea. You don't need a technical background to use any of it. Enjoy!
What makes an idea fundable
Section summary
Investors are always balancing risk versus reward in every deal they make. They ask 5 simple questions: does anyone need this, can it be built without costing a fortune, are you the right person to make it happen, can you reach enough customers, and will it make money? Every piece of evidence you add helps answer one of them.
An Australian angel investor assessing your idea is weighing 2 questions: how likely is it to work, and how big could it be if it does?
Here are the 5 questions every early investor asks, and what helps you answer each one. The scorecard in the next section checks your idea against the same ground.
Does anyone actually need this?
Conversations with real customers, a growing waitlist, businesses willing to sign up
Can it be built without costing a fortune?
A simple prototype people can try, a first version, a trusted build partner
Are you the right person to make it happen?
Your industry experience, the right people around you, a clear plan
Can you reach enough customers?
Partners who can introduce you to customers, early fans, a plan for your first 100 customers
Will it make money?
A price people have agreed to, pre-sales, first revenue
Every piece of evidence shifts the balance
Orange is the risk an investor still carries. Grey is the funding conversation that opens up. Add evidence and the bar moves.
Indicative. The split shows how the conversation changes, not a formula. Section 07 sets out who funds each stage.
The founders who raise fastest treat their idea as a set of assumptions to test. They collect evidence early, and their investor conversations get much easier as a result.
What founders tell us they need most
When we analysed more than 2,000 founder enquiries from 2023 to 2026, the most common need was a trusted partner to help them (36%), followed by help getting started (30%) and capital to get started (15%).
Founders want a clear plan and experienced support, and funding follows readiness.
The Hyper funding readiness scorecard
Describe your idea and answer six questions. The scorecard checks it against the 5 signals, scores it out of 100 and gives you three steps to make it stronger for investors. Your idea stays yours: nothing you enter is stored or used to train AI models unless you choose to send your result to us.
What your score means
The scorecard gives you a result out of 100 across the 5 signals, 20 points each, with a read on where you are and three steps to lift it. The bands below show what each range means, and you can score yourself by hand against them too. Score honestly. An inflated score today becomes a hard question in an investor meeting later.
In our experience, missing evidence of demand is the most common reason pre-seed investors pass. If your score is held back by one signal, it's usually validation.
From a low score to a raise
Ryan couldn't find a gym on the road. Two years later he was launching in Austin.
How a former AFL player turned a problem he'd lived himself into a funded startup, one piece of evidence at a time.
- Scorecard: Too early
The problem
Short-term gym access while travelling. No product, customers or startup experience.
Accelerate
Product, business model and investor story defined with Hyper.
Launch as GymGoer
First version built and launched with the Hyper team in Australia.
$400,000 raised, 2025
At a $4.4 million valuation, with former Country Road CEO Matt Keogh investing.
- Ready to raise
Austin launch, 2026
With Mindbody founder Blake Beltram as co-founder and CEO.
“I went through all three stages with Hyper and the team were brilliant from start to finish. Sam in particular pushed us to think bigger at every step. I couldn't have started without them and I couldn't recommend them more.”
How do I validate my app idea before I raise?
Section summary
Start with research into your customers and competitors. Then collect evidence from weakest to strongest, moving from customer conversations and a waitlist to a simple prototype people can try, a manual version of the service, demonstrable traction and finally pre-sales. You can do all of this without a finished product. Signed commitments and paying customers carry the most weight with investors.
Validation comes down to one question. Will real customers change what they do, or pay money, to fix this problem?
In the internal scoring our team uses to assess readiness to raise, traction is worth 35 out of 100 points, more than any other factor. A waitlist or a prototype people can try earns 10 to 15 of those points. Pilots in progress (a trial with a real customer) earn 15 to 20. Signed letters of intent earn 25. Any revenue at all earns 30 to 35.
That weighting reflects how investors respond. In our experience, a few signed commitments from the right customers can be enough to start serious investor conversations.
The evidence ladder
Each rung carries more weight with investors than the one before. Orange is how much weight the evidence carries. The right column is the traction points it earns in Hyper's readiness scoring, out of 35.
Traction is worth 35 of 100 points in Hyper's readiness scoring, more than any other factor.
Two famous examples. In 2008, Dropbox posted a 3-minute video showing how its product was meant to work, and its beta waiting list grew from 5,000 to 75,000 people overnight (Timeline of Dropbox). In Airbnb's early days, the founders went door to door in New York, recruiting hosts, helping them improve their listings and photographing their apartments themselves (Paul Graham, Do things that don’t scale). Both tested demand and learned from customers before automating anything.
Four validation mistakes we see often
Asking friends and family if they like it
They want to support you, so their opinion is the weakest evidence you can collect.
The fix: ask people who have the problem, and ask about their last experience of it.
Collecting sign-ups from the wrong people
A waitlist only counts if the people on it would actually use your app.
The fix: share it with people who have the problem, and track where each sign-up comes from.
Treating compliments as commitments
When someone says "I’d definitely use that", that is not yet evidence.
The fix: ask them to join the waitlist, sign a letter of intent or pay a small deposit. Real interest shows up as action.
Falling in love with your solution
Make sure there's a real problem that people are willing to pay to fix.
The fix: prove the problem first. Once you have, the right solution becomes much clearer.
Launch Ready starts with this work. Our team defines your product strategy, analyses your market and competitors, and builds an early traction plan with you, including how to secure expressions of interest. Learn more about Launch Ready.
How will your app make money?
Section summary
Investors want a clear, believable way to make money from day one, even if revenue comes later. The 6 most common models for apps are subscription, marketplace fees, freemium, in-app purchases, advertising and B2B licensing. Choose one primary model, and know the numbers that prove it works.
A business model is simply how your app turns value into revenue. At the idea stage, you should be able to explain in one sentence who pays, how much and how often. A detailed financial model can come later.
Subscription
A monthly or annual fee
Monthly recurring revenue and churn (the share of customers who cancel)
Tools people use every week, especially business software
Marketplace
A fee or commission on each transaction
Total transaction value, your percentage take and repeat use
Connecting buyers and sellers, such as trades, services and bookings
Freemium
A free core product with paid upgrades
Free-to-paid conversion rate
Products with broad appeal and a clear premium tier
In-app purchases
One-off purchases inside the app
Average revenue per user
Consumer apps, games and content
Advertising
Selling your audience's attention
Daily active users and engagement
Very large consumer audiences only
B2B licensing
Businesses pay per user, per site or per contract
Contract value and length of the sales cycle
Industry experts selling into their own sector
Two numbers every founder should understand
A common rule of thumb is that lifetime value should be at least 3 times customer acquisition cost. At the idea stage, a sensible estimate of both shows investors you understand how your business will grow.
Why industry experts have a head start
If you've spent 15 years in construction, finance or healthcare, you already know who signs off on purchases, what they pay for today and how long decisions take. That knowledge is the foundation of a strong business model, and it's one of the most valuable things a first-time founder brings.
One caution for Australian founders: advertising-funded apps need a very large audience to work. In a market of about 27 million people, most early-stage apps are better served by subscription, marketplace or B2B models.
If you want specific advice on an idea for your industry, it might be worth a free 30 minute chat with us.
Do your industry and market size matter?
Section summary
Yes. Investors need a market big enough to return their money many times over, and they follow sectors with momentum. In 2025, Australian startups raised $5.4 billion across 390 deals, and 61% of that capital went to startups with an AI offering. Your job is to show, with simple maths, how an investment could grow 10 times.
Australian startup funding in 2025
According to Cut Through Venture's State of Australian Startup Funding 2025 report, published February 2026, Australian startups raised $5.4 billion across 390 deals in 2025, up 31% on 2024 and the third largest year on record.
Where Australian startup funding went in 2025
Top funded sectors, with everything else grouped. Counting startups in every sector that build AI into their product, 61% of all capital went to companies with an AI offering. If your idea has no AI element, you are pitching for the smaller share.
Whatever sector you're in, work out where AI genuinely makes your product better for the customer, and build it in from the start. Ideas without an AI element are competing for the other 39% of the capital.
Source: Cut Through Venture, State of Australian Startup Funding 2025. Updated every February when the new report is released.
Momentum helps, and founders raise successfully in every sector. Every investor wants to see a problem you understand deeply and a market large enough to matter.
Market size: is it big enough to 10x an investment?
You'll often hear founders and advisors talk about TAM, SAM and SOM (total, serviceable and obtainable market). In my view, it overcomplicates what an investor at the idea, pre-seed or seed stage actually wants to know, and the numbers are usually made up anyway.
Put yourself in the investor's position. If I give you $100,000, is the market big enough for that to become $1 million in the next 5 to 7 years? If it is, show me how, using real numbers and simple maths.
- Proof the market already pays: what similar products earn today
- Evidence of unmet demand: what users say is missing
- A niche you can win: a group the big players serve poorly, with simple maths on realistic revenue
- A believable exit: who might buy the business, what they've paid before and how long it took
A worked example: a niche dating app
Say you're building a dating app for a group the big apps serve poorly in Australia. Here's how to answer the 10x question.
The 10x test
$100,000 in, about $1.2 million out. The assumptions are illustrative and are the ones you'd need to test.
The revenue maths
About 12 times their money, before later rounds dilute it.
Alternatively, pitch an acquisition
Match Group has a long history of buying dating apps. Showing investors a realistic buyer makes an exit part of the pitch, which is attractive in itself.
Tinder earned US$1.94 billion in 2024 from 9.7 million paying users. Hinge earned US$550 million from 1.5 million, who spent an average of US$29.94 a month. Niche apps get bought.
Sources: Match Group full-year 2024 results, Forbes Health 2024 survey, TechCrunch. Then check the assumptions: how many people are in your niche, and what share would realistically pay?
Now work backwards to find what you need to raise. If each paying member costs $50 in advertising fees to secure, 10,000 members means $500,000 in marketing, plus the product and a small team. That tells you how much to raise, and which milestones each round needs to hit.
Regulated industries need a plan early
If your app touches money, health or personal data, Australian investors will ask about regulation in the first meeting. Know which rules apply to you and how you'll meet them, even if some licences come later.
Offers financial products or financial advice
Australian financial services licence
ASIC
Handles payments, remittance or digital currency
Anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing registration
AUSTRAC
Is a medical device, or makes health claims
Therapeutic goods regulation
TGA
Hosts user-generated content or social features
Online safety obligations
eSafety Commissioner
Collects sensitive personal information
Privacy obligations
OAIC
A founder who can answer the regulation question clearly stands out in any regulated sector.
A strong business can suit other funding
Venture investors look for businesses that could grow very large, very quickly. Plenty of excellent Australian businesses grow steadily and profitably, and they're often better funded through revenue, loans or grants. Knowing which path suits you saves months of pitching investors who don't fund your kind of business.
Why do good ideas fail to raise?
Section summary
Good ideas usually fail to raise for fixable reasons: no evidence of demand, too many features, an unclear business model, no realistic way to build, a valuation picked out of the air, or pitching the wrong investor for the stage. In our experience, missing evidence of demand is the most common reason pre-seed investors pass.
Each of these can be fixed before your first investor meeting.
No evidence of demand
Opinions carry no weight with investors.
The fix: collect letters of intent, pre-sales or active users.
A product with everything in it
It signals a long, expensive build.
The fix: define a simple MVP around one core problem.
"We’ll work out how to make money later"
There's no visible path to a return.
The fix: choose a model and test your price with real customers.
No clear way to build it
"I just need a developer" is a risk in itself.
The fix: define the scope, budget and timeline with a trusted build partner.
A valuation picked out of the air
It makes the round hard to price.
The fix: benchmark against recent Australian rounds at your stage.
The wrong investor for the stage
Most venture funds write their first cheque after early traction.
The fix: match the investor to your stage (see section 08).
Regulatory blind spots
Regulated sectors get asked about compliance early.
The fix: name the rules that apply and your plan to meet them.
Keeping the idea secret
You can't validate or raise in secret.
The fix: share with the right people, and protect what matters.
A word on protecting your idea
One of the most common fears we hear from first-time founders is that someone will steal their idea, and it holds many founders back.
An idea gains its value through execution. In our experience, the founders who struggle most are those who wait too long to show anyone. Protect the things that can be protected: register your company, make sure it owns the intellectual property, trade mark your brand name, and use a confidentiality agreement with partners where it makes sense. Then start talking to customers.
Most investors won't sign a non-disclosure agreement before a first meeting, simply because they see hundreds of pitches. That's standard practice, and it shouldn't delay your raise.
Legal questions about your startup?
Not sure how to protect your idea, who owns your app's intellectual property or what agreements you need? Our partner Lawpath offers a free consultation to discuss your questions and help you work out what legal support you need.
Not sure how to protect your idea or what agreements you need? Lawpath offers Hyper founders a free legal consultation.
Claim your free legal consultation with LawpathClaim your free consultationWho funds startups at each stage in Australia?
Section summary
Founders and their friends and family fund the idea stage. Angels and pre-seed funds invest once there's early evidence. Seed funds invest once there are customers, and venture capital funds lead Series A once growth is repeatable. In our experience, a first-time founder's pre-seed round is usually $100,000 to $400,000, and a seed round is usually $500,000 to $1 million.
The stages, defined
- Idea stage: you have a problem and a proposed solution, with little or no evidence yet.
- Pre-seed funding is usually the first round a startup raises from investors, often to validate the idea and build a first version of the product.
- Seed funding is raised once a product is in the market, to find product-market fit and grow early traction.
- Series A is the first major venture capital round, raised once a startup has a repeatable way to grow revenue.
Who funds each stage in Australia
Risk falls at every stage, and falling risk is what investors pay for. Grey is the risk left in the business. Green is the capital that opens up. Round sizes are from our experience with first-time founders.
Round sizes: Cut Through Venture, State of Australian Startup Funding 2025. The 2025 medians across tracked rounds were higher: $1.0 million at pre-seed, $2.5 million at seed and $11.0 million at Series A.
Hyper Ventures, Hyper's investment arm, backs Australian startups with proven revenue traction that are ready to scale, combining capital with hands-on support and investor network access. It led Early Bird's oversubscribed $1.5 million seed round. Learn about Hyper Ventures.
Medians hide a wide range
A median is the middle of the range, and many first rounds are much smaller. For a first-time founder, a first raise is often a few hundred thousand dollars from friends and family and a small group of angels.
Kubo is a good example. Its founder, Mark Sellar, worked with us to rethink the idea, and within 3 months Kubo raised its first $400,000 at a $2.3 million valuation. That round was the right size for the milestones Kubo needed to hit next.
What you give up at each round
Each time you raise, you sell part of your company, so your ownership shrinks with every round. Raise what you need to reach your next set of milestones, and protect enough ownership for the rounds that follow.
Pre-seed
$100,000 to $400,000
20% to 40%
Enough runway to launch and prove demand, with founders keeping a clear majority
Seed
$500,000 to $1 million
Around 20%
A round sized to hit clear growth milestones over the next 12 to 18 months
Series A
$5 million+
Around 15% to 20%
Founders still hold a meaningful stake, so they stay motivated for the long run
How ownership changes across rounds
Illustrative example using the table above. Every raise is different. Small, well-timed rounds protect your ownership.
Black is the founders' share. Orange shades are the pre-seed, seed and Series A investors.
Illustrative only. Rounded so the pattern is easy to read.
Which funding option suits you?
Section summary
The right funding depends on your stage and how much control you want to keep. Australian founders can draw on their own money, friends and family, angel investors, venture capital, the R&D Tax Incentive, grants, accelerators, equity crowdfunding and debt. Each has a different cost: equity, control, time or repayments.
Bootstrapping (your own money or revenue)
Idea to early revenue
Personal financial risk
You keep 100% of your company
Friends and family
Idea to pre-seed
Equity or a loan, plus relationship risk
Often made under the small-scale personal offer rules (see section 10)
Angel investors and syndicates
Pre-seed to seed
Equity and some influence
Angel groups and platforms include Sydney Angels, Melbourne Angels and Aussie Angels
Venture capital
Seed onwards
Equity, regular reporting and often a board seat
2025 medians: $2.5 million at seed, $11.0 million at Series A
R&D Tax Incentive
Once you're spending on eligible R&D
Time on registration and record-keeping
A refundable offset for eligible companies with turnover under $20 million
Government grants
Varies by program
Time to apply, and often matched funding
Programs open and close through the year
Accelerators and venture studios
Idea to seed
Equity or fees
Models vary, so check what you give up
Equity crowdfunding
Pre-seed onwards, with a strong community
Equity spread across many small investors, plus compliance
Up to $5 million in 12 months through a licensed platform
Debt and revenue-based finance
Once you have revenue
Repayments and interest
Rarely suits pre-revenue startups
The funding options map
Indicative. Across: how much control you give up. Up: how much money is typically available. Grants and the R&D Tax Incentive are non-dilutive, so they sit on the far left: you give up no equity.
ESIC incentives
Aim to qualify as an early stage innovation company (ESIC) before you raise. Most early-stage startups can, and angel investors will ask about it, because it makes your round much more attractive to them.
- A tax offset of 20% of the amount they invest, up to $200,000 a year for an investor and their affiliates combined
- Capital gains on qualifying shares held for at least 12 months and less than 10 years may be disregarded
- Investors who don't meet the sophisticated investor test can only claim on $50,000 or less a year
Work through the early-stage and innovation tests with your accountant before you pitch. Read the ATO's ESIC guidance.
The R&D Tax Incentive
Plan for the R&D Tax Incentive from day one. For companies with aggregated turnover under $20 million, the refundable offset is your company tax rate plus 18.5%: 43.5 cents back on every eligible dollar at the 25% base rate.
The test is whether the outcome of your work is unknown at the start, so you have to experiment to get to the finished product. Most startups building something new have work that fits. Be deliberate about it: write down the technical questions you're answering, keep a record of what you tried and learned, and separate that work from routine development in your books. Register within 10 months of the end of your income year.
Talk to an R&D tax adviser early so your records are right from the start. Read the ATO's R&D Tax Incentive guidance.
Grants and crowdfunding
Grant programs open and close regularly. The federal Industry Growth Program, which offers early-stage commercialisation grants of $50,000 to $250,000, was paused to new applications at the time of writing. Search the grants and programs finder on business.gov.au and your state government's startup programs for what's open now.
Under the crowd-sourced funding rules, eligible companies with less than $25 million in assets and annual turnover can raise up to $5 million in any 12 months through an ASIC licensed platform. Retail investors can put in up to $10,000 per company each year. It suits startups with a loyal customer community, and it adds compliance and reporting obligations.
The value of friends and family
Section summary
For most first-time Australian founders, the first outside money comes from people who already know and trust them. Friends and family money is fast and flexible, and it shows later investors that the people closest to you believe in you. Treat it as a real investment: document it properly, follow the rules and only accept what people can afford to lose.
I'm a massive believer in friends and family funding, and it's something we spend a lot of time at Hyper explaining the value of. Done properly, it's often the money that pays for validation and a first version of the product, which is exactly the evidence that unlocks angel investment later.
Why it matters
- Speed. A friends and family round can come together in weeks, because trust is already there.
- Signal. One of the first questions an angel asks is who has already invested. Backing from people who know you well tells them something about you.
- A path to evidence. It funds the work that turns an idea into proof: interviews, a prototype, a first version and first customers.
Your first cheque tells every investor who comes next that the people who know you best believe in you.
The circles of trust
Most founders raise from the inside out. Trust is highest at the centre and cheque sizes grow as you move outward. Each ring opens the next.
Indicative. Each ring introduces you to the next, which is why warm introductions matter so much in section 11.
How to accept help from friends and family, and look after them
- Set up your company first. Use a proprietary limited company, and make sure the company owns the intellectual property.
- Only accept money people can afford to lose. Early-stage startups are high risk, and many don't succeed. Say this plainly, in writing.
- Choose the right instrument. Common options are ordinary shares, a convertible note or a SAFE.
- Put everything in writing. The amount, the terms, what happens if the startup fails and how often you'll send updates.
- Follow the fundraising rules (below), and get legal advice before you accept any money.
- Keep them informed. A short monthly or quarterly update builds trust, and your first investors often become your best introducers.
A SAFE (simple agreement for future equity) lets someone invest now and receive shares later, usually at your next priced round, often with a discount or a valuation cap. A convertible note works in a similar way, structured as a loan that converts into shares. Airtree, a Sydney venture capital firm, publishes a free SAFE template through its Open Source VC resources.
The rules for raising money in Australia
In Australia, offering shares generally requires a disclosure document, such as a prospectus, unless an exemption under section 708 of the Corporations Act applies. 2 exemptions matter most for early rounds:
- Small-scale personal offers. You can raise from up to 20 investors and up to $2 million in any 12 months, where the offer is personal to people who are likely to be interested, such as people you know (Holding Redlich).
- Sophisticated investors. People with net assets of at least $2.5 million, or gross income of at least $250,000 in each of the last 2 financial years, certified by a qualified accountant, or anyone investing at least $500,000 in a single offer (ATO). This is a separate exemption from the small-scale offer rules.
These offers can't be advertised publicly, so get legal advice before you mention a raise on LinkedIn or other social media. A proprietary company can also have no more than 50 shareholders who aren't employees, which matters if your round has many small investors.
What never to accept
- Money someone needs for retirement, a home deposit or living costs
- Money that comes with pressure, or expectations of control you aren't comfortable with
- Any investment without clear written terms
Legal advice before you raise?
Our partner Lawpath can help with the legal documents for your friends and family round and answer questions about the fundraising rules. Hyper founders can claim a free consultation to talk it through before any money changes hands.
Lawpath can help with the documents for your friends and family round. Hyper founders get a free consultation.
Claim your free legal consultation with LawpathClaim your free consultationHow to raise your first round in Australia in 7 steps
Section summary
Set how much you need and what it will achieve, get your company structure right, build your evidence and data room, list investors who fit your stage and sector, secure warm introductions, pitch and follow up, then close with the right documents. In our experience, most first rounds take 3 to 6 months.
- 1Set the amount and the milestones.Work out what you need to reach your next set of milestones, such as launching, reaching 100 active users or signing your first 10 paying customers. Many founders aim for 12 to 18 months of runway.
- 2Get your structure right.Register a proprietary limited company, assign all intellectual property to it, set up a shareholders agreement and keep a clean cap table (the record of who owns what). Check whether you qualify as an early stage innovation company.
- 3Build your evidence and data room.Gather your traction, pitch deck, revenue forecast, cap table and company documents in one organised, shareable folder.
- 4Build a target list.List 30 to 50 investors who invest at your stage and in your sector. Angel groups and platforms such as Sydney Angels, Melbourne Angels and Aussie Angels are good places to start.
- 5Secure warm introductions.Investors respond best to an introduction from someone they trust. Ask your existing investors, advisors and industry contacts.
- 6Pitch, follow up and keep people updated.Send a short monthly update to everyone you've spoken to. Investors who pass today often invest later, once they've watched you make progress.
- 7Close the round.Agree terms, complete due diligence, have the documents reviewed by a lawyer, collect funds and set up regular reporting to your new investors.
The 7-step raise timeline
Most of the work happens before the first pitch. About 3 to 6 months is typical for a first round.
We regularly share investment opportunities on Apollo
Apollo is Hyper's online founder community, with more than 7,000 members. It's where we share opportunities as they come up, from investor and funding opportunities to partner offers and our weekly founder events. Joining Apollo is a simple way to stay close to the Australian startup community and hear about opportunities early while you build your evidence.
Learn about ApolloWhat will investors ask to see?
Section summary
Australian early-stage investors will ask for a pitch deck, evidence of demand, a clear business model, a realistic revenue forecast, your cap table and company documents, and a plan for any regulation that applies. The stronger your evidence of demand, the faster the conversation moves.
Use this checklist to prepare your data room before your first investor meeting.
Evidence
Date every number and note its source.
Business
Financial and legal
The raise
Free download
Investor readiness checklist
The checklist above as a branded one-page PDF, with a link back to this guide. Free to download.
Hyper's pitch deck structure
We build pitch decks for founders using a tried and tested structure. It follows the order investors think in: the problem and how big it is, your solution, how you make money, the size of the opportunity and what you need to get there.
Slide 1: Cover
1
Cover
Your company name, logo and a one-line description of what you do
Slide 2: The team
2
The team
Who you are, why you're the right people to solve this, and who backs you
Slide 3: The problem
3
The problem
One clear statement of the problem you solve
Slide 4: Extent of the problem
4
Extent of the problem
3 numbers that show how big and costly the problem is
Slide 5: The solution
5
The solution
Your product in one sentence, with a screen from the product
Slide 6: Features and benefits
6
Features and benefits
What the product does and why it matters to your customer
Slide 7: How it works
7
How it works
The customer journey in 3 simple steps
Slide 8: Business model
8
Business model
How you make money, with real prices
Slide 9: Why now
9
Why now
The change in the market that makes this the right time
Slide 10: Initial market opportunity
10
Initial market opportunity
Your first target customers, your price and a 3-year revenue forecast
Slide 11: Market positioning
11
Market positioning
How you compare with competitors, feature by feature
Slide 12: Go-to-market strategy
12
Go-to-market strategy
Who you'll sell to first, how you'll reach them and your traction goals
Slide 13: Our ask
13
Our ask
How much you're raising, why now and why you
Slide 14: Capital raise
14
Capital raise
The instrument (such as a SAFE), what you've raised to date, your terms and the milestones the money unlocks
Slide 15: Thank you
15
Thank you
Your contact details
Make every number specific, quantified and dated. Write "312 waitlist sign-ups from electricians since 1 August", so an investor has something concrete to assess.
Want a deck built on this structure? Hyper builds investor pitch decks for founders, and Launch Ready includes a 17-page pitch deck, a pitch narrative with structured practice and an investment-ready data room.
Talk to us about your pitch deckExamples of founders who followed this process
Section summary
Founders who have worked with Hyper have raised $482 million. Goer raised $400,000 at a $4.4 million valuation, Magic Mountain raised $6.9 million before it was acquired, Empiraa has raised $3.2 million, and Splend and Ambl are live and have raised more than $100 million and $15 million respectively.
“Hyper turned our idea upside down and within 3 months, helped us raise our first $400k at a $2.3m valuation. We couldn't have done this without them.”
“Honestly without Hyper, I wouldn't have my business. At such an early stage, you need the advice and mentorship, then the validation of the idea. Hyper provides that and more.”
“One of the most valuable things I gained from Hyper was learning how to cut through the noise and double down on what truly moved the needle.”
Don't take my word for it. We're rated 4.9 on Google in Sydney and Melbourne, so have a read of what other founders say.
Why we created Hyper
Section summary
We started Hyper in 2015 because first-time founders kept making the same expensive mistakes after the idea. Launch Ready takes you from idea to a launched product in about 12 weeks, with your pitch deck and data room ready for investors. Accelerate is for founders who want to be sure what to build before they build it.
I started Hyper with my co-founder Tom in 2015, based on a simple observation. Most founders don't fail because of the idea. They fail on the hundred decisions that come after it: what to build first, who to listen to, and how to spend limited time and money. I'd watched enough founders get those decisions wrong to know the fix wasn't better code. It was better decisions, earlier.
If you're ready to build, Launch Ready is for you
Most founders who come to us already know they want to build. Launch Ready is how we do it with them. Over about 12 weeks we work out what the first version needs to do, design it, build it and launch it, and we get the business ready for investor conversations at the same time. It runs in 4 stages:
What's included: business foundations, brand and positioning, product definition, web application development, a marketing website, launch preparation, investor readiness, and ongoing guidance and support, including 3 months of warranty support after launch and access to Apollo, our founder community.
Most founders launch in 12 weeks. Learn more about Launch Ready.
If you're not sure yet, start with Accelerate
Some founders aren't sure they should build at all, or what to build first. That's what Accelerate is for. Over about 6 weeks we test the idea with real customers, work out the business model and get your pitch ready, so you can decide with confidence whether to build, raise or both. Learn more about Accelerate.
Your pathway with Hyper
Launch Ready covers every stage. Accelerate covers the first four, for founders who want confidence before building.
- Idea, covered
- Business, covered
- Product, covered
- Capital, covered
- Build, covered
- Traction, covered
- Idea, covered
- Business, covered
- Product, covered
- Capital, covered
- Build
- Traction
Not sure which path is right for you? See how Hyper helps founders at each stage.
What it's like to work with us
We work alongside you like a co-founder, with a structured process from the first week. We charge a fixed fee, so you keep all of your equity. And when you're ready, we introduce you to the investors and partners we've built relationships with over 10 years. Since 2015 we've worked with 1,528 founders, and the founders we've supported have gone on to raise $482 million.
Book a free idea assessmentFrequently asked questions
Sometimes, usually from friends and family or angels who know you well. Raising on an idea alone typically means a smaller round at a lower valuation. Most first-time founders raise on better terms once they have evidence of demand, such as signed letters of intent, pre-sales or a live product with early users.
As a guide, we recommend giving up 20% to 40% at pre-seed and around 20% at seed, depending on how much you raise and your valuation. Raise enough to reach your next milestones, protect enough ownership for future rounds, and get advice before you agree terms.
No. Investors need confidence that your product can be built well and at a sensible cost. A credible build partner, a clear product scope and a realistic budget can give them that confidence. Many Hyper founders are non-technical industry experts who work with our team to define, build and launch their product.
It's possible, and it's one of the most common fears we hear. An idea gains its value through execution, so speed and evidence are your strongest protection. In Australia, copyright automatically protects your original code, written content and artwork, a registered trade mark protects your brand name, and a confidentiality agreement can cover sensitive details with partners. Most investors won't sign a non-disclosure agreement before a first meeting.
In our experience, most first rounds take 3 to 6 months from the first investor conversation to funds in the bank. Preparing your evidence, data room and target investor list before you start shortens that time considerably. Friends and family rounds can come together faster.
Some, and they change often. The most widely used support is the R&D Tax Incentive, which offers a refundable tax offset to eligible companies with turnover under $20 million. Grant programs open and close through the year, and the federal Industry Growth Program was paused to new applications at the time of writing. Check business.gov.au and your state government's startup programs.
A SAFE (simple agreement for future equity) lets an investor put money in now and receive shares later, usually at your next priced funding round. It often includes a discount or a valuation cap to reward the early risk. SAFEs are common in early Australian rounds because they're quick and relatively simple to set up.
An ESIC is an Australian company that meets the ATO's early-stage and innovation tests. Investors in a qualifying ESIC may claim a 20% tax offset on their investment, capped at $200,000 a year, and may disregard capital gains on shares held for at least 12 months and less than 10 years. ESIC status can make your round more attractive to angel investors.
Most early rounds rely on exemptions under section 708 of the Corporations Act: small-scale personal offers (up to 20 investors and $2 million in any 12 months) and offers to sophisticated investors. Crowd-sourced funding through an ASIC licensed platform is another option. Get legal advice before you accept any money.
An angel investor invests their own money, usually at the pre-seed or seed stage, and often brings industry experience and connections. A venture capital fund invests money from its own investors, usually writes larger cheques from seed onwards, and typically expects fast growth, a board seat and regular reporting.
Sources
- Cut Through Venture, State of Australian Startup Funding 2025, published February 2026
- Australian Taxation Office, About the tax incentives for early stage investors
- Australian Taxation Office, The sophisticated investor test
- Australian Taxation Office, Rates of R&D tax incentive offset
- Baker McKenzie, Budget Bites: R&D Tax Incentive, May 2026
- business.gov.au, Industry Growth Program
- ASIC, Crowd-sourced funding
- Holding Redlich, Useful exemptions for private company fundraising
- Airtree, SAFE template
- SmartCompany, Lat raise to cap raise: Ex-AFL star secures $400,000 for gym pass startup, August 2025
- Business Wire, Goer launches in Austin to turn empty fitness and wellness spots into last-minute deals, September 2026
- Hyper, GymGoer case study
- Wikipedia, Timeline of Dropbox
- Paul Graham, Do things that don't scale, July 2013
- Hyper internal data: enquiry survey (2,653 responses, July 2024 to August 2026), analysis of more than 2,000 founder enquiries (2023 to 2026) and Hyper's capital readiness scoring
General information notice. This guide provides general information only and doesn't take your personal circumstances into account. It isn't legal, tax or financial advice. Hyper doesn't hold an Australian financial services licence. Speak to a qualified adviser before raising capital or making investment decisions. Figures are current as at 30 September 2026 and may change.
About the author
Sasha Reid is the co-founder and CEO of Hyper, an Australian startup studio. Since 2015, he has helped more than 1,528 founders turn early ideas into viable products and businesses. Founders supported by Hyper have raised $482 million in capital. Read more from Sasha or connect on LinkedIn.
Next step
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