Andrey Shirben has $50 million for 35 ‘habit forming’ Australian startups

"The venture capital model has barely changed in 40 years, says Sydney-via-Israel entrepreneur Andrey Shirben, who’s raised $30 million of a $50 million pre-commitment target for a fund that will take $0.5-$2 million stakes in up to 35 local startups, using proprietary data analysis to slash due diligence time and find investees from “outside the usual suspects”. Shirben, an angel investor in two-dozen startups during his five years in Australia (including Ingogo), says his ilk still rely heavily on gut instinct, and that for investees, “who you know is still as important as what you know”." Read more

Michael Bailey BRW 10 Sep 2015