The process of raising seed funding is notoriously difficult for novice founders and even more so if you don’t have strong connections with the investment community.

Just knowing where to start and breaking in can be the biggest challenge.

Networking has traditionally been the key to opening the door to funding for budding founders. A trusted connection introduces a founder to their friends who are angel investors or VCs.

This one “warm intro” can unlock a world of opportunities for the founder – from valuable advice to growing more connections or raising their startup’s first round of capital.

But what if you don’t have that network? You have a promising idea that solves a real problem. You have the insight, experience and all the qualities to build a great business, but that startup funding is just a conversation away.

The Australian ecosystem is still fairly new, so lack of access to investors is a problem for many founders. But the data shows that this is an even bigger problem for women, minorities, migrants and founders of color.

Rampersandwith the support of AWS Startups and the entire venture capital community, once again hosts The gigantic warm intro to specifically address that issue and create access for all founders — not just those with a warm intro.

What’s the giant warm intro?

The gigantic warm intro matches budding tech founders with active investors from Australia and New Zealand’s leading venture capital funds, angel investors and accelerators. On Wednesday, August 17, 2022, more than 100 investors will meet tech startups for remote mentoring sessions, no warm introductions needed.

So, if you are a startup founder with a promising idea that solves a real problem and you need capital to get there, The gigantic warm intro is your chance to make connections that can help you raise funds and build a successful business.

Submit your candidacy here to join us and meet investors during 2 30 minute sessions in a supportive, collaborative environment.

You will have the chance to meet one-on-one with investors from After work, aerial boom, Alberts, ALIAVIA Ventures, Alium Capital, antlers, Archangel, Aura, Artesian, australian angels, Baiadora, BetterLabs, Blackbird, Black Nova, Black sheep, Breakthrough Victoria, Boson Ventures, Carthona Capital, Climate salad, Starting capital, Common sense companies, CUREator, CyRise, dovetail, Dragonfly Enviro Capital, Euphemia, EPP, Five V Capital, flying fox, Folklore, Galileo, Big step, Grok, Hyper, Investable, In-Q-Tel, jelix, King River Capital, Lighter capital, Macdoch, Main sequence, M8 Ventures, Metagrove, NAB Ventures, OIF, One Ventures, Rampersand, Remarkable, Saniel Ventures, Scale investors, Shearwater, Side Stage Ventures, skalata, Skip capital, Sprint, square pin, Start mate, Superseed Ventures, The Sypkes group, Telstra Ventures, Determined companies, ten13, Tide, tractor, swell, W23, x15 company, 1835i, 77 Partners and more.

You can ask for advice, test your pitch, make connections or just learn more about the fundraising process – and you might be on your way to increasing your round.

Multiple startups involved in past events have raised millions of dollars from VCs, angels, and other sources, including: Veridooh, 1 question, scooters, coveted and old age.

The Giant Warm Intro is open to all founders who are building a technology company that solves a real problem in the market. But in particular, this is an event aimed at founders of underrepresented groups who don’t have access to a warm introduction to investors.

Why we warm founders

Since launch The gigantic warm intro in 2020, record amounts of funding have flowed to startups in Australia and New Zealand. Yet an imbalance remains, with the vast majority of funding going to Australian-born, heterosexual, white men.

The reality is that founders who receive a warm introduction to an investor are more likely to be funded than those trying to break in the cold. And now, in tight quarters, raising capital can become even more difficult for fledgling founders, especially those without established networks.

Rampersand, AWS Startups and every investor and supporter involved in the launch of The Giant Warm is committed to improving access for founders – and through this concerted effort, our mission to get more underrepresented founders funded is closer to reality.

85% of founders who signed up for last year’s edition identified as underrepresented in one or more of the following ways:

• 47% migrant founders
• 42% female founders
• 30% non-anglo founders
• 10% regional founders
• 4% LGBTQ!+ founders
• 4% founders with disabilities
• 1% Aboriginal founders of Torres Strait Islander

Founder applications close July 27th

If you are a founder Submit your candidacy here

If you are an active Australian or New Zealand startup investor Register here

If you are a supporter, get in touch here

More than 200 founders have signed up so far! The gigantic warm intro will try to connect as many founders as possible with investors and share resources with everyone who signs up.

We are grateful to all the people, teams, funds, investors and organizations who have joined to support this movement. Thank you to AWS Startups for sponsoring The Giant Warm Intro.

Not only do they help us bring it to life and provide expert sessions beforehand, but they also bring in $5,000 AWS Activate credits available to eligible startups just for raising their hands to apply.

Also thanks to Airwallex, Cake and Cut through company for the support, guidance and insights and to Start Vic for their fundamental support.

We are committed to creating a stronger, more inclusive startup ecosystem where all founders have the opportunity to succeed.

* Taryn Pieterse is Investment Principal at Rampersand