$100M for infinite recycling, Telstra exits VC & Canva's ESOP clauses

$100M for infinite recycling, Telstra exits VC & Canva's ESOP clauses

$100M for infinite recycling, Telstra exits VC & Canva's ESOP clauses

0:00/1:34

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In this episode of Startup Retro, hosts Will and Gemma discuss the latest news and funding events in the Australian startup ecosystem, including the significant $100 million deal and an in-depth interview with Kim Hansen from Cake Equity about ESOP clawback clauses. 

Hosts, Will & Gemma cover major headlines such as the Future Made in Australia legislation, Telstra rebranding its venture fund to Titanium, and several notable venture raises. They also highlight Tenacious Ventures' latest funding and delve into the week's interesting startup raises, with a focus on Aquila and Samsara Eco. The episode concludes with a knowledge-sharing segment featuring insights from Rampersand on how they invest in startups.

Headlines

• Latest news and $100 million deal in Australian startups

• Interview: Kim Hansen on ESOP clawback clauses

• Major headlines: Future Made in Australia legislation

• Telstra rebrands venture fund to Titanium

• Notable venture raises: Tenacious Ventures, Aquila, Samsara Eco

• Rampersand insights on startup investments

Chapters

00:00 Welcome to the Startup Retro

00:41 Top Startup News Headlines of the Week

03:23 New Venture Funds and Rebranding

05:55 Adelaide's Space Machines Company

07:37 Weekly Startup Raises

15:13 Interview with Kim Hansen on ESOP Clawback Clauses

25:33 Knowledge as a Service: Rampersand's Investment Insights

29:29 Wrapping Up and Feedback

Resources

To get all the links to the stories we mentioned in this episode, you can read this week’s Overnight Success newsletter

Startup Raises

• Aquila

• Samsara Eco

• Klean

• Diraq

• Affinda

• National Renewable Network 

Interview

• Kim Hansen (Cake Equity) LinkedIn

KaaS - Knowledge as a Service

Our favourite startup-relevant read, listen or watch of the week

• Rampersand article

Send feedback to the hosts

• Gemma on LinkedIn

• Will on LinkedIn

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Join 755 other founders & investors receiving our emails. They're cool, are you? :)

* Regrettably, mel@canva.com is not on our list… yet.

Day One® is a registered trademark of W2D1 Media Pty Ltd. All rights reserved. © 2026 W2D1 Media Pty Ltd.