SYDNEY, 21 April 2022 — Australia’s home for emerging tech, Stone & Chalk Group, has today announced its reinforced commitment to transforming Australia into a sustainable, tech-driven economy with positive impact, offering increased support to the nation’s climate tech startups and scaleups. 

Stone & Chalk Group’s climate technology founders are working to leverage a variety of unique innovations that drive significant and sustained positive impact to combat climate change. From supporting the world’s largest enterprises’ efforts to power their operations with clean energy, to utilising AI models when calculating the risk of future natural catastrophes on cities, Stone & Chalk Group founders are pushing the boundaries of everyday practices in the quest for a more sustainable future. 

“Climate change and the threat it poses to society and our very way of living, has landed right on our doorstep. You only need to look at the ongoing impacts of La Niña, with Australia’s east-coast bracing itself once again for the catastrophic effects of rapid flooding,” said Michael Bromley, CEO of Stone & Chalk Group. 

“Climate technology innovation and advancement are integral to reducing climate change and rising emissions. However, founders looking to create solutions for good require ongoing support to fulfill their ambitions. Stone & Chalk Group is committed to fostering local climate technology startups and scaleups pursuing purpose-driven growth for impact, not only locally but abroad.”

Michael Bromley, CEO of Stone & Chalk Group

Released earlier this month, the United Nations’ IPCC report calls on global leaders and organisations to act now, halve greenhouse gas emissions this decade, and provide the planet with an opportunity to limit future heating to 1.5°C. Various climate technologies will play an integral role in preventing further temperature increases and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the race to prevent irreparable damage. 

“Society needs a variety of tech solutions to mitigate the risks of climate change and bend the emissions curve down,” continued Michael Bromley, “And while investment from venture capital and private equity is pouring in, particularly for the mobility and transport industry as EV’s retain investor attention, there is an opportunity to equalise the distribution of funds and support to areas of climate tech with greater emissions reduction potential.”

Most recently, Stone & Chalk Group partnered with Trellis, the software company for sustainable growth, to forge the path to a more sustainable emerging technology sector. Pressure on Australia’s corporate sector has steadily risen over the last five years as carbon-neutral initiatives and broader ESG goals have evolved from recommendations, to expectations. Through data-driven insights, Trellis provides organisations with access to world-leading software solutions to ignite change and expedite the transition to fast, sustainable growth. 

In contrast, Ping, a world-first acoustics data platform, has with the support of Stone & Chalk in Adelaide, launched its revolutionary Ice Detection System to help wind turbine operators conserve energy and save money. Established in 2019 with the purpose of supporting wind turbine farms by reducing global wastage from poor maintenance practices, Ping is actively working towards a future defined by clean energy. 

By supporting a diverse array of founders and solutions, Stone & Chalk group aims to be the foremost incubator and accelerator of climate technology in Australia. Investing in companies that place the health of the planet at the core of every decision, from ideation through to the scaleup phase, will be a key pillar of the organisation’s strategy now and into the future.

Below is a list of Stone & Chalk Group’s founders working on climate technology:

OPO - https://www.officeofplanetaryobservations.com 

NetZeroPay - https://au.linkedin.com/in/jamie-hughes-009b011 

Stone & Chalk Group is Australia’s home for emerging technology. Our world-class expertise and networks, provides unrivalled knowledge, access to capital, infrastructure and guidance that's driving emerging tech innovation for positive impact.

For more information, visit: www.stoneandchalk.com.au 

Courtney Phelps, M: 0452 663 095, E: courtneyphelps@slingstone.com
Tom Finnigan, M: 0408 867 367, E: tom@austcyber.com

Stone & Chalk Group builds solutions for tomorrow through increased Climate Tech commitment

AUSTRALIA, ADELAIDE, 19 APRIL 2022 — Ping, the world-first acoustics data platform, has today announced the launch of a revolutionary Ice Detection System, poised to help wind turbine operators conserve energy and save money. 

When implementing wind energy in cold climates, atmospheric icing on blades is an important issue due to its negative impact on energy production. In severe cases, 30% of energy is lost in a year. Ping’s Ice Detection System monitors the acoustics from the wind turbine blades to detect early icing, reduce risks and prevent damages.

Wind turbines in cold climate regions are affected by severe icing that damages the blades and is considered a safety hazard. There are 10,000’s wind turbines around the world that don’t have sensitive ice detection systems. This means that icing events cause the turbine to be shut down for longer periods and subject to a dangerous ice load resulting in revenue and energy shortages. To meet this challenge, Ping’s team developed a new approach to continuous blade monitoring using sound. 

“We discovered that wind turbine blades have an acoustic signature — if there is ice build-up on the blades then the acoustic signature changes, which can be heard by our Ping Monitor,” said Matthew Stead, CEO and Co-founder from Ping. “We developed the ‘Ping Monitor’, a world-first device that continuously monitors the sound of wind turbine blades to detect and notify any damage in real-time, using advanced acoustic analysis.”

The Ping Monitor is self-contained using solar power, easy to install and simple to operate. It is attached magnetically to the turbine tower base in less than one minute and once installed,  immediately starts measuring the sound generated by the blades as they rotate. Data is simultaneously transmitted to the cloud which can be reviewed and analysed in near real-time from any device remotely by wind turbine operators.

Ping’s Ice Detection System is a software upgrade to the standard Ping system which continuously monitors blade damage, significantly reducing maintenance costs by 25 to 30% over the life of the turbine, minimising catastrophic blade failures which can cost up to $10 million, and improving overall wind turbine performance.

“Climate change is no longer a distant theoretical concern. It has become increasingly immediate and personal. From the recent floods to the historic La Niña event in Australia this summer, climate change has begun to assert itself in people’s lives in unmistakable and painful ways. It has become a real issue very quickly,” said Michael Bromley, CEO of Stone & Chalk Group. “Climate tech is rearing its head as a way to address this immediate need and at Stone & Chalk, we are dedicated to fostering companies like Ping on their mission to create impact for good.”

Ping was established four years ago with the purpose of supporting wind turbine farms by reducing global wastage from poor maintenance practices, and working towards a future with clean energy. Its newest innovation, the Ice Detection System, builds on this mission as Ping continues to find innovative ways to conserve energy and improve wind turbine performance.

Even though there are different ice-detection solutions in the market, Ping has developed a less costly, more effective, and sensitive system with self-monitoring capabilities, providing additional rotor icing detection time compared to traditional methods.

Today, Ping has 600 installations of Ping Monitors on wind turbines in 15 countries. These monitors have given operators the confidence to operate wind turbines with less downtime and maintenance costs, increasing with time the number of wind turbines that are being monitored by the Ping device.

For more information 
www.pingmonitor.co 
info@ping.services 
+61 408 805 293

Media Enquiries: Tom Finnigan, PR and Production Manager at Stone & Chalk
M: +61 408 867 367
e: tom@austcyber.com

Adelaide climate-tech startup, Ping, to sell ice detection to the Nordics

AUSTRALIA, SYDNEY, 12 APRIL 2022 — Trellis, the software for sustainable growth, has announced it has partnered with Australia’s home for emerging tech innovation, Stone & Chalk Group, to forge a path to a more sustainable emerging tech sector. 

Climate change and net-zero commitments are reshaping the Australian corporate landscape. Stone & Chalk Group, through the use of Trellis’s data solutions, is cementing its path for a more sustainable future by achieving carbon neutrality. 

Carbon-neutral initiatives and broader environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals are gaining huge traction, from small Australian startups to global conglomerates. Some of Australia’s leading tech organisations like Stone & Chalk Group, Canva and TechnologyOne are already attaining net zero certification. What sets Trellis apart is its ability to provide the everyday business with the means to ignite real change and expedite the transition to fast, sustainable growth. 

Stone & Chalk Group’s net-zero journey started with data collection. To have any understanding of what needs to change, you need to know what is currently happening, and what has already happened; and the best way to do this is through data. Through the automatic conversion of unstructured transactional data through the Trellis system, the Stone & Chalk Group team were able to establish their baseline, set benchmarks to assess and identify areas for change. 

All businesses and governments need information at their fingertips, to have full visibility on impact and spend. Matthew Shorten, CEO and Co-founder of Trellis, said: “Having a strong digitised framework for sustainability disclosures is like gold.”

“Trellis provides revolutionary software solutions that empower organisations to take the necessary action to build a more sustainable future, using key data insights for decision-making. As more business leaders regularly look at their financial information, the broader ESG data provided by Trellis’s systems is allowing for ESG data to be woven into this story.” 

Trellis customers are implementing around 4 major ESG initiatives per annum. As the user number grows, and success stories increase, the data depicts a brighter future for Australian companies operating and maintaining a sustainability journey. 

“Climate change is no longer an issue for the next generation to face. It is the responsibility of those with the ability to make a difference to act. Australian climate tech is addressing climate issues locally, and abroad, so Stone & Chalk Group is dedicated to fostering companies making a big impact, like Trellis,” said Michael Bromley, CEO of Stone & Chalk Group. “Stone & Chalk Group has been carbon neutral for some time, and is proud to be working with Trellis in maintaining our net-zero carbon journey. The work Trellis does is important for us as we strive to transform Australia into a sustainable technology-driven economy.”

For more information
https://yourtrellis.com/ 
info@yourtrellis.com
(08) 1300 775 410

Stone & Chalk Group is Australia’s home for emerging technology. Our unrivalled national community provides vital access to the experience, knowledge, capital, capabilities, infrastructure and guidance that startups and scaleups require to be successful. 
For more information, visit:                                                                                                                  
Stone & Chalk Group: www.stoneandchalk.com.au

Trellis partners with Stone & Chalk Group to build a sustainable emerging tech sector

Michael Bromley, CEO, Stone & Chalk Group

Published in The Australian Business Review, Thursday Mar 24, 2022

We find ourselves in an unprecedented health and climate crisis. We are at a critical point in history, and have a unique opportunity to hit the reset button, and put Australia on a more sustainable path. But to achieve this, we need to transform the sectors that form the backbone of our economy – our healthcare system, our industries, our infrastructure, energy and transport systems. In short, we need to transform our everyday life. 

When we talk about building a ‘sustainable’ tech-driven economy, sustainable has, in this case, two meanings. It reflects both our economy and our ecology. It is about making sure that the economy is driven not just now, but also into the future. Australia’s economy is driven primarily on digging things out of the ground, mining and selling them, and that’s both not sustainable for our economy (because we eventually run out), and ecology (because we’re overloading carbon into the atmosphere). 

The good news is, we have a unique window of opportunity to transform our economy, but there is work to be done to get there. 

Companies now overwhelmingly embrace sustainability as integral to their mission. While encouraging, there is a larger blindspot we need to address when it comes to sustainability – the pathway for sustainable technology innovation in Australia doesn’t exist. 

Right now, most emerging technology companies don’t have a clear path to success. A company or a person will think of a new idea, and for the most part, try to figure out how to develop a product or a service. They may or may not  do product market fit before they dive into creating it. They may or may not look at IP, they may or may not look at security. But essentially, they’re on their own. They’re flailing around, trying to figure out what they need; what they should have, what they should do and who to trust to help them. The truth is a lot of good and potentially successful ideas have never materialised because there hasn’t been a support system surrounding them. This is exactly what we provide at Stone and Chalk but even that isn’t enough.

We need to fundamentally change how the current and future innovators of Australia are supported because right now, they’re left isolated in their garages. If you want to be a tradie or a lawyer or a doctor or go to business school, there’s a clear track you know you need to follow to get there. However, if you want to be an entrepreneur, the pathway doesn’t exist, you’re just on your own. We need to make it a curated pathway — starting as early as teaching entrepreneurship in schools. Kids of today should be able to grow up believing being an entrepreneur is a viable career path and this is where we are headed at Stone and Chalk.

Australia’s economy is currently driven by mining and resource-based industries (with mining being the country’s largest industry with a 10.4 per cent share of the economy). However, if we’re going to rely on digging rocks out of the ground, or natural gas, or other types of natural resources, we will eventually run out and we will do damage to our planet while we do that. We need to change course. 

By 2030, technology sector activity has the potential to contribute more to GDP in Australia than primary industries or manufacturing. Over the coming decades, emerging technologies such as space tech, cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence (AI), quantum computing, blockchain and more will reshape global economies, improve people’s lives and solve some of the greatest challenges facing our world today. 

In Australia, we don’t have a large enough emerging technology ecosystem. However, we have an enormous opportunity for emerging technology. It is not a commodity we can run out of – there will always be emerging technologies. Nobody’s going to run out of ideas. No one’s ever run out of ideas.

As a nation, we need to find ways to foster these emerging and unlimited resources like ideas and technology, and focus our economy on that. That is the only way that we can both do better for our planet, and our country at the same time. It’s an economic and ecological sustainability win — and our mission at Stone & Chalk. 

I use the word “curated” purposefully, because building our future economy is a process of bringing together not just people but also ecosystems — across startups, industry, government, and corporations. It takes a village to raise a child. Well, it takes a village to create a startup as well. At Stone & Chalk, we like to talk about folks who are part of our communities as our ‘village’ and we care for our community the way a village would care for a child. When speaking to our village, I often hear from them that the sharing of ideas and experiences is the most valuable part of our community. It’s the secret sauce. Although it’s a simple concept, shared experiences have a deep impact on not only human socialisation, but also the socialisation of new ways of doing things. Sharing that sense of community is critical to success for an emerging technology company. 

This concept of shared experience also applies to how you do business. I don’t care whether you’re an emerging technology company, or whether you sell combs or cars. The product you sell isn’t a thing. It’s the experience of dealing with you as an organisation. It doesn't matter how good your product or services are. If it’s too hard to deal with your organisation, you’ve already lost. It’s the combination of the right technology, the right people, and most of all the right experience that will continue to breed sustainable businesses. We’re driving that into our village so that it becomes the focal point.

To conclude, this ecosystem of emerging technology needs to be a national focus. To do that, we need to make the ecosystem of startups and scaleups in Australia both bigger and more supported. It needs to be consistently supported with an emphasis on scaling. Failure to develop this ecosystem could lead to missed opportunities for our economy and tragic consequences for our ecology.

Achieving a sustainable tech-driven economy in Australia

From 23 March 2022, Stone & Chalk Group CEO Michael Bromley will become AustCyber’s CEO, supported by Jed Horner as the interim General Manager. This follows the departure of Michelle Price, who is pursuing other opportunities following the successful completion of AustCyber’s merger with Stone & Chalk.

Stone & Chalk Group CEO Michael Bromley also becomes AustCyber's CEO

To celebrate International Women's Day on 8 March, we're shining a spotlight on some of our exceptional women founders and the innovative ways they're making a big difference in their respective fields.

We recently spoke with Carly Shamgar, Co-Founder and CEO of Shouta, about how she came to start her company, the challenges facing women in emerging technology, and advice she'd pass along to women considering a career in the industry. 

I've been in the tech startup world for over a decade as a co-founder,  senior business leader, and investor. I had the incredible experience of being a founding member of another startup in the retail tech space which went on to a successful exit in the US and I'm hoping to do it all again with Shouta. Outside of work, I'm a mum to two beautiful boys and I am very driven to show them both that a woman can have it all and doesn't need to choose between a successful career and being a parent.

Can you tell us a bit about the company you founded, Shouta, and what made you decide to launch it?

Shouta is a digital gifting app that lets you shout anyone in Australia nano-gifts (small, digital gifts) like coffee, drinks, or anything else as a gesture. Shouts are perfect for saying thanks, congrats, cheer up, and more. My co-founder Nick Redwood and I decided to launch the business because we both have friends and family scattered everywhere and there had been many times we would have liked to have sent a token of our thoughts to them - beyond an email or SMS -  but there just wasn't an instant or inexpensive solution. Since the launch of the App, we've also launched Shouta Biz, a web version of Shouta which is built for businesses to send shouts to teams.

What three words would you use to describe working at a startup, and why?

We start every single day with a team meeting at 9:15am. We work in fortnightly sprint cycles so it's a way for us to check in on the sprint and with each other and have any further discussions needed to get the sprint done. From 10am I start external meetings. These are super varied and include investors (new and potential), potential partners, corporate customers, and various one on ones with the team. These meetings are peppered throughout the day. Between meetings, I'm working on specific tasks that need to get done to bring projects or new initiatives to life. If I'm working from home, I'll always break at 4pm to welcome my kids home from school and check in with them about their day, give them some snacks, and then I'll jump back online until around 5. I'm typically not online again until around 8 (if I need to be) which is after the boys have been taken care ie: after sport drop off/pick up, homework, dinner, etc.

What have been the biggest challenges you’ve faced launching your company?

I would say that would absolutely have to be the lack of resources, specifically bums on seats! Nick and I have a pretty good roadmap of where we're going and what we want to achieve but we need more people on the team to do it all. With that said, I am genuinely blown away by the sheer amount of work and milestones we have reached with the small team that we have! We just want to do things faster.

Do you notice a lack of women in emerging technology? If so, why do you think that's the case?

I have to say that yes, I do. I'm not 100% sure why that is but I would say that sadly, people are still conditioned by stereotypical gender-based ideals and that some of these sectors are considered more "male" even from as early as high school. What I do see though is change on the horizon. Having kids of my own I can see the way schools are starting to promote pathways in tech, even from a very early age, equally to both genders. The NSW government has also done a great job in announcing various grants for female founders and there are more and more awards for female-led businesses so I think all this will work to encourage more women into tech.

What advice would you give to women considering a career in the emerging technology industry? What do you wish you had known?

If I can compare my past experiences to my current one at Shouta, the main difference would be the network of women in the industry and the various opportunities to tap into, from awards and co-sharing spaces to programs and grants. My advice would be to get involved in it all! They do genuinely help immensely.

At Stone & Chalk, we believe in supporting innovative women who are making a difference. That's why we've launched the Stone & Chalk IWD Scholarship, aimed at supporting a Melbourne-based startup whose founder identifies as a woman.

The 6-month scholarship will be geared towards helping take a woman-led startup to the next level, offering curated services to drive impact, growth, recognition, and investment, as well as 24/7 access to our start-of-the-art facilities in Melbourne.

International Women's Day: Q&A with Carly Shamgar

We recently spoke with Summer Petrosius, Founder and CEO of Kindship, about how she came to start her company, the challenges facing women in emerging technology, and advice she'd pass along to women considering a career in the industry. 

I am 31 years old and am originally from Canberra though have spent much of my life travelling and have called many places home. I earned my Bachelor of Speech Pathology at the University of Newcastle and chose to specialise in paediatric disability. After graduating, I spent two years working at a Sydney school for children with Autism, which is where the idea for Kindship originally bubbled from. During that time I also met my now-husband, Andrius Petrosius, and he encouraged me to pursue my entrepreneurial ambitions. This meant packing up my home and moving halfway around the world to a city called Plovdiv in Bulgaria where the low tax rate meant I could afford to invest my time and energy into figuring out the problem I wanted to solve and what a solution could look like. Aware that this discovery process would need to be community-led, I interviewed 500 parents of children with disabilities to understand their individual journey and pain points. These conversations led me to understand that the vast majority of parents experienced chronic social isolation and loneliness, which put them and their family unit at greater risk of ill-health. 

It was on the back of this research that we were accepted into Remarkable, Australia’s disability-tech accelerator, where we built and launched our first MVP.

Since then, we have grown in stumbles and leaps. Today, Kindship has a product team of 10 and a community team of 4 mothers of children with disabilities. Still pre-public-launch, we have welcomed 1,600+ parents to the app and facilitated thousands of peer-to-peer connections. In 2020, we closed our first investment round, led by the South Australian Venture Capital Fund totalling $595,000. I have also been recognised for Kindship’s contribution to the disability community with a Westpac Social Change Fellowship and Winston Churchill Fellowship.

You founded the company Kindship, can you tell us a bit about the company, and what made you decide to launch it?

Kindship is the first digital social networking app for parents raising children with disabilities. Available to download for free on iOS and Android, Kindship operates like a platonic dating app, connecting parents with individuals and peer groups matched on diagnoses, child age, parent interest, and locality. Other features include an indexed library of community-authored educational content, a local parent-hosted events calendar, parent reviews of local providers, and in-app audio chat rooms. 

Our story started with a passion for parent advocacy and a dream to change the world. Growing up with undiagnosed Autism, I recognised and wanted to do something about the isolation and loneliness experienced by families living with disabilities. So, I started talking to parents - literally, hundreds of them, and those conversations led me to Sandy Golder and Steph Wicks. 

As founders of one of (if not, the most) successful grassroots parent communities, Sandy and Steph joined me as Kindship’s co-founders. Together with Tara Thompson, Kindship's head of all things education, we share an unstoppable passion for supporting parents to build friendships, share knowledge, and truly own the narrative around what raising a child with a disability really looks like.

Rollercoaster - because you experience the highest of highs and the lowest of lows

Lifechanging - because whether your startup flourishes or fails, you will never be the same again.

Uncomfortable - because you are forever operating outside of your comfort zone.

I have a 2-year-old little tornado, so my mornings usually look like wrestling him through breakfast and onto the day’s activities. Then, I’m off to the office. We are fortunate to be a part of the Stone & Chalk community at Lot14, which has been game-changing for productivity and networking, and also for my marriage - it’s not always easy to live and breathe your business alongside your husband. 

In between work and meetings, I try to fit a lunchtime workout in and then I’m on the tram at 5 PM to be home for dinner, bath, and bed. After that, I tend to use the evening hours for big-picture dreaming and planning.

We operated on a shoestring budget for a number of years, which caused a lot of stress. It was a huge milestone for us to close our first investment round in 2021, which was led by SAVC and totalled $595,000.

I think that running a startup also demands a certain amount of personal growth which, at times, was unwelcome, exhausting, and down-right confrontational. 

Do you notice a lack of women in emerging technology? If so, why do you think that’s the case?

Yes. Although, I have noticed that numbers are increasing. It is my experience that the problems women are often looking to solve with technology are systemic and complex. I believe that our limited number is not due to a lack of ideas or ability but rather the archaic and often patriarchal systems that we rely on to give those ideas wings. We need more dedicated funding sources and incentivised eco-system backing in addition to all of the female-oriented mentorship that is on offer. 

I would tell them (and myself) that you don’t need to have all the answers or in-depth knowledge of how all the cogs in the wheel will work. A successful startup is the result of teamwork and one of the best parts of building a business is recruiting people who know more and can upskill you.

International Women's Day: Q&A with Summer Petrosius

We recently spoke with Laura Hall, Co-Founder and Director of Helio, about how she came to start her company, the biggest challenges she's faced launching a company, and advice she'd pass along to women considering a career in the industry. 

Originally from Wales, I arrived in Australia in 2005 and very quickly knew Sydney was to become home. 

I started my career selling out-of-home advertising across cultural and sporting events over 17 years ago. After working my way through the ranks, I took the leap with Peter (Helio co-founder) to set up our first media business, MediaSeed in 2011, a sales representation agency assisting media owners across the country. MediaSeed went on to be acquired in 2017 and the Helio journey began!

Can you tell us a bit about the company you founded, Helio, and what made you decide to launch it?

Helio is an advertising marketplace that connects buyers and sellers, making the complex process of booking ad space easy.

Ways for businesses to advertise have advanced massively over the last two decades, yet the way we book and buy advertising has largely stood still. We knew that on any given day there were thousands of available advertising opportunities, but with no easy way to find them, buyers were missing out on great opportunities and sellers left with idle inventory to fill.

Consumers have moved online and expect information on-demand and with personalised digital journeys. Yet advertising remains inconvenient, difficult to access and complex to buy. Even transparent pricing is hard to come by!

And so we built Helio to remove the inefficiencies experienced on both sides of the marketplace, and make it simple and easy for any business of any size to find options to promote their business in minutes.

1. Rewarding. There's no better feeling than building something new, and witnessing the growth and traction a new business delivers.

2. Fast-paced. Working in a startup environment means there are a lot of areas requiring attention and focus and many hats to wear. Sales one day, marketing the next, customer service, design, capital raising, and more. We all work hard together to ensure we keep the business moving forward.

3. Educational. The learning never stops! 

Typically, I’ll have 1-2 meetings daily working with our marketplace partners, team, and clients, crafting sales pitches for new business opportunities, and working on marketing to drive engagement and awareness.

Having structure during the week to allocate time to specific areas of the business is really important for me. The start of the week will see team meetings, goal planning, and objectives set allowing everyone to focus on critical outputs to support growth. Then the rest of the week is split across different parts of the business.

Planning is super important, but often days can change quickly so being ready to jump between tasks and re-organising focus is a regular thing in the life of a startup!

The first would be fundraising and balancing this important part of our growth whilst continuing to drive the business forward. Having bootstrapped our previous agency, navigating the investment landscape was new ground for us and came with a period of learning as we understood the process and how best to approach potential investors. 

And managing the chicken-and-egg problem, growing buyers and sellers at the same time to ensure we are adding value to both sides of the marketplace. This is a constant balancing act and requires careful attention on a consistent basis.

Look for opportunities to learn and grow as much as you can and connect with other founders and employees in this space to get a feel for what life in the industry is really like.

What do I wish I had known? Just how much support there really is when you put yourself out there. Whether it’s an incubator or accelerator, a government grant, or throwing yourself into the startup community by attending events and accessing networking opportunities, connecting with others on the journey opens doors and relationships every day!

International Women's Day: Q&A with Laura Hall

We recently spoke with Tracie Thompson, Co-Founder and CEO of HackHunter, about how she came to start her company, the challenges facing women in emerging technology, and advice she'd pass along to women considering a career in the industry. 

Tell us a bit about yourself and your story so far.

Hi, I'm Tracie, the CEO of HackHunter. I've been working in IT and security for most of my career, and before HackHunter, I was the COO of a security consulting and software company with over 200 customers, including Medibank, Centrelink, HostPlus, Village Roadshow, and Allianz Insurance.

HackHunter started in 2018 and in the first 12 months we did 3 accelerator programs – Startmate, CyRise, and SBE Australia – which really challenged me and kickstarted the startup journey.

My life revolves around HackHunter and my family, as I work with my daughter, and my co-founder is my husband, Mike. I feel very lucky to be able to combine work and family to that extent.

Can you tell us a bit about the company you founded, HackHunter, and what made you decide to launch it?

HackHunter locates WiFi threats with precision, to within centimeters. 

I ran a security software and consulting company previously, along with Mike and a business partner. The company was sold in 2017 and our partner moved to the new owners, so Mike and I took some time to work out what to do next.

We knew from the previous company that WiFi is a security issue for most organisations – they don't know what WiFi is in their environment, and even if they do know, it's really hard to find it to check if it should be there or not.

Combining our security background with Mike's expertise in electronics and sensors, HackHunter was born.

Challenging – I've never been so challenged in my life! I love learning how to do something completely new and then applying it in the context of HackHunter.

Inspirational – My co-workers are all experts in their fields and I'm so inspired by how quickly and creatively they can resolve an issue and the amazing, unique products they have invented and built. Plus, they are all really good humans (slight bias there as I'm related to some of them)! And the people I've met in startup land are all doing incredible things. 

Limitless – It's taken some time, but I've realised that I'm the only one stopping myself from doing something. I put the limits there, no one else. If there are no limits, there's no excuse. I've found this incredible liberating.

No two days are the same, but I try to start each day with a morning walk to get into a good mindset and think about what I have to do that day.

On any day I could have a product demo, online program/grant application, bills to pay, sales leads and quotes to follow up, legal agreements to review, meetings with the team/resellers/investors/prospects/customers/partners, or conferences to attend, amongst other things. 

Finding enough resources – $ to hire staff, staff to develop products quicker to reduce time to get more $, staff to make sales to increase $ to hire more staff, and around it goes.

The complexity of hardware development – the physical hardware, firmware, and software all need to be developed separately and then made to work nicely together. This takes a lot of time and resources. See above. 

A lack of women has always been an issue in deep tech. I'm very used to being the only woman in the room and it really irritates me – surely we are beyond that now!

I think women haven't been encouraged or supported to get into emerging tech (or VC, management, boards...) and it starts from childhood. There is no reason for this to continue and it needs to change.

Stick with it if you have the support, it's really worthwhile to know that you are creating something new that will really help the world in some way.

It took me a long time to find what I now know I was meant to be doing. I wish I had known that this was even an option when I started my career.

International Women's Day: Q&A with Tracie Thompson

There are few partners who share the same panache, excitement and support for Australia’s technology ecosystem than we do. But we’ve finally found someone who not only shares those values, we even share an eerily similar name!

We’re excited to announce we are now working with award-winning PR agency Sling & Stone, to help tell Stone & Chalk Group’s stories of supporting Australia’s startups, scaleups and beyond to help our country’s economic prosperity. 

An unrivalled national community for emerging technology, Stone & Chalk Group provides vital access to the experience, knowledge, capital, capabilities, infrastructure and guidance that startups and scaleups require to be successful. 

Our footprint currently spans 11 locations across Australia, supporting almost 1,000 residents from more than 560 startups and scaleups. The Stone & Chalk Group village of residents and alumni has raised in excess of $520 million in capital and created more than 2,500 jobs over the past six years.

Stone & Chalk Group supports some of the fastest-growing companies in the economy, while working with enterprises and government to shape the policy and regulatory landscape required for critical and emerging technology products and services.

Sling & Stone will help raise the profile of Stone & Chalk Group in Australia and globally as we embark on an exciting strategic change, providing education and strategic consulting to residents, giving them the tools, resources and support to grow and expand themselves.

Olivia Grandjean-Thomsen, Head of Communications, Media and Events at Stone & Chalk Group, said:

“We are preparing for a massive 2022, building on the work we’ve done to date with our community with an even stronger program of work and support over the next year and beyond. It takes a village to raise a startup and Sling & Stone’s expertise, authority and smart thinking are all crucial ingredients to give our community the support they need in the future.”

James Hutchinson, Global Head of Business at Sling & Stone, said:

“As an organisation focused heavily on supporting and expanding Australia’s technology ecosystem, Stone & Chalk Group is exactly why we created Sling & Stone. Individually, we’ve already both helped support startups and scaleups raise funding, change industries and go global. Together, we’ll be able to do even more.”

Stone & Chalk selects long-lost twin Sling & Stone as PR agency of record

We’re excited to announce we are now working with award-winning PR agency Sling & Stone

Stone & Chalk Group today announced it has been appointed by NSW Government as the operator of the new Scaleup Hub at Tech Central, following a competitive tender process. 

SYDNEY, 29 NOVEMBER 2021 — Stone & Chalk Group today announced it has been appointed by NSW Government as the operator of the new Scaleup Hub at Tech Central, following a competitive tender process. 

Michael Bromley, CEO of Stone & Chalk Group says the appointment reflects Stone & Chalk Group’s ambition to be the country’s home of emerging technology. 

“We are delighted to be acknowledged for our expertise in supporting Australia’s technology community and are proud to be the partner of choice for the NSW Government’s important growth agenda. 

“From 1 July 2022, when the new Hub will be in operation, we’ll be able to support domestic and international emerging tech startups in their transition to becoming scaleups by providing vital access to resources and infrastructure that scaleups require to be successful.

“The Hub will be a place of convergence for great minds, founders, talent, capital and commercial growth; creating and sustaining the high-quality jobs of the future and contributing significantly to the economy’s underlying productivity.”

Split over 6 levels and 8,000 sqm of open and flexible commercial office space, the Scaleup Hub offers a range of private office suites, meeting rooms, event spaces and spillover workspaces for companies scaling operations. It will also serve as an important landing pad for international companies looking to enter the Australian market.

The new Scaleup Hub marks Stone & Chalk Group’s second location in Sydney and will build upon the Group’s mission to transform Australia into a sustainable technology-driven economy by catering for all business sizes. 

The Startup Hub, located on York street in the Sydney CBD, currently houses 120 companies.

Departing Stone & Chalk Group CEO Alex Scandurra said the announcement reflected the expertise of the team and the capability of Stone & Chalk leadership. “I’m extremely proud of the work the team has done over the past 18 months to make the Scaleup Hub at Tech Central a reality. I congratulate Michael on his appointment as Stone & Chalk’s new CEO and look forward to seeing the Scaleup Hub brimming with local and overseas talent.” 

Sydney's Tech Central precinct is set to become a global technology hub, and Stone & Chalk Group will join a number of influential technology tenants at the site including Atlassian, Commonwealth Bank, University of Technology Sydney, Cicada Innovations and The University of Sydney.

The Hub is currently undergoing a specialist fit out to meet the tech sector’s needs and specifications. 

Expressions of Interest (EOI) are now underway to provide scaleups, and those who support their success, a chance to secure space. Find out more by visiting: www.stoneandchalk.com.au/techcentral.

Stone & Chalk Group is Australia’s home for emerging technology. Our unrivalled national community provides vital access to the experience, knowledge, capital, capabilities, infrastructure and guidance that startups and scaleups require to be successful. 

For more information, visit: www.stoneandchalk.com.au/techcentral.

Stone and Chalk: www.stoneandchalk.com.au 

Stone & Chalk Group: www.austcyber.com/shapingthefuturetogether 

Tara Pereira, M: 0416 876 496, E: tara@slingstone.com 

Olivia Grandjean-Thomsen, M: 0402 136 788; E: olivia@austcyber.com

Stone & Chalk Group wins bid to operate new Tech Central Scaleup Hub 

The new appointment builds on Stone & Chalk Group’s commitment to growing Australia’s flourishing emerging tech community

SYDNEY, 26 NOVEMBER 2021 — Stone & Chalk Group today announced that current Chair Leona Murphy will be retiring from the Board following the end of her second term, post today’s AGM, and will be succeeded by seasoned technology executive and entrepreneur, Richard Kimber. 

Ms Murphy was one of Stone & Chalk’s original board members, having been appointed in 2015 when the board was first formed. She stepped into the role of Chairman in 2018, replacing Craig Dunn.

Ms Murphy played an integral role in shaping and supporting the growth of Stone & Chalk over her tenure of six years on the Board. During this time, she helped guide the evolution of Stone & Chalk from a startup community of 120 residents in a single hub in 2015, to the national innovation network it is today.

Stone & Chalk Group’s footprint currently spans 11 locations across Australia and supports 850 residents from more than 560 startups and scale-ups. Its network of residents and alumni has raised in excess of $520 million in capital and has created more than 2,500 jobs over the last six years. 

Commenting on her time as Chair of the board, Ms Murphy said, “I’ve seen a nascent startup community transform into a thriving innovation ecosystem over the past six years, and Stone & Chalk played a pivotal role in this. It’s been an absolute pleasure to be a part of this journey, and to witness how corporations, government and startups have come together to make Stone & Chalk Group the success it is today.”

Having advised the board of her intentions earlier this year, the board conducted an orderly succession process and Leona will be succeeded by Richard Kimber as Chair of the board. Mr Kimber brings a wealth of global digital, innovation and financial services experience to the role, combined with a deep understanding of Stone & Chalk, having served on its board since 2018. His international executive experience spans senior leadership roles at OFX, ANZ, Friendster, Google, First Direct Bank and HSBC.  Mr Kimber is currently the CEO and founder of Daisee, an Australian AI software company that builds cutting-edge applications for contact centres.

“Richard brings a unique skill set to the role, combining a valuable corporate background with the hands-on experience of building successful startups,” said Ms Murphy. “Having worked with him for the last three years, I’m confident Richard has the right experience, attitude and values to continue to shape the organisation. Together with Michael Bromley — S&C’s newly appointed CEO — they will bring strategic leadership to drive the next phase of growth for Stone & Chalk Group.”

Mr Kimber said, “Stone & Chalk occupies a unique position in the Australian innovation landscape. I’m honoured to have the opportunity to carry on the great work Ms Murphy has done to date and look forward to working closely with our residents and partners to accelerate Australia’s technology ecosystem.” 

Eva Yao, M: 0449 899 618, E: eva@slingstone.com 

Chairman Leona Murphy announces retirement from Stone & Chalk Group

Stone & Chalk Group today announced that current Chair Leona Murphy will be retiring from the Board following the end of her second term, post today’s AGM, and will be succeeded by seasoned technology executive and entrepreneur, Richard Kimber. 

Stone & Chalk Group has appointed experienced digital leader Michael Bromley as CEO, effective 25 October 2021.

Mr Bromley brings a wealth of digital, innovation and financial services experience to the role, having most recently served as APAC Managing Director of NYSE-listed experience transformation provider Rightpoint. His executive experience spans senior leadership roles at Bank of Queensland, IAG, Blackberry, nbn Australia and Telstra. 

Mr Bromley said the opportunity to lead Stone & Chalk Group was compelling because of the unique position the organisation occupies in the Australian innovation landscape. 

“I’m excited and invigorated to be asked to lead Stone & Chalk Group through the next phase of its evolution as an indispensable part of Australia’s innovation infrastructure,” Mr Bromley said. 

“At a time when the Australian technology sector is poised to transform our economy, secure our digital borders, create countless jobs and deliver prosperity for future generations, the mission of Stone & Chalk Group has never been more important.

“I look forward to engaging with residents, partners and stakeholders to accelerate a better future for everyone in our country through the growth of emerging and critical technologies.” 

Stone & Chalk Group Board Chair, Leona Murphy, said that the board was thrilled to have secured Mr Bromley’s services after a thorough and competitive search process. 

“Mr Bromley brings formidable experience in innovation, transformation and technology commercialisation to the Group CEO role,” Ms Murphy said. 

“His experience in senior leadership roles, along with his proven ability to develop and lead national strategies for critical technology-focused organisations, made him a unanimous choice to lead the Group.

“The board looks forward to welcoming him to the role, and we extend our thanks to Stone & Chalk Non-Executive Director Richard Umbers for his service as Interim CEO.” 

Stone & Chalk Group appoints Michael Bromley as new CEO 

The digitisation of residential mortgage lending is well underway thanks to the rapidly expanding Proptech industry. We are joined by three passionate proptech entrepreneurs who are busy disrupting the traditional home loan application process:

Melissa Christy, Lending Product Lead at 86 400

Tony Harris, Co-Founder & CEO at Nel.fund

The session was hosted by Jennifer Harrison, Vice President of Proptech Association Australia.

Jennifer recalls her own tedious experience of applying for a mortgage, describing the process as “manual, archaic and quite frankly brutal”. In the first meeting she was asked to provide screenshots for proof of deposit and three months of printed credit card statements – from her own bank.

Give us an ‘elevator pitch’ introduction to your business

Tic:Toc is a home loan platform providing a simplified digital home loan experience, and, as a SaaS product, is in the process of making its technology available to the industry. The name is a nod to time saving. “By automating and digitising the process we are giving time back to the customer, and to ourselves”, Anthony explains. Their fastest end-to-end home loan application took just 58 minutes.

Melissa describes 86 400 as Australia’s first smart bank, providing customers a single platform on which to control their entire financial world. They also offer digital home loans, using data for customer information instead of paperwork: “For a purchase all we need is a contract of sale”. The name also derives from time: “It is the number of seconds in a day… we help customers control their money every second of every day”.

Nel.fund (Nest Egg Living), a current Stone & Chalk resident, aims to unlock home ownership for more Australians by providing ‘co-funded’ special-purpose loans to clients who, despite earning good salaries, are unable to save adequate deposits. The loans are secondary to the mortgage, Tony explains, meaning that the company has a vested interest. “That’s why we take the time upfront to help with the process and property selection”.

For 86 400, securing buy-in from brokers and aggregators has been a long process. While many brokers recognise the advantages of a purely digital approach, others remain vehemently attached to traditional paper based methods. The same is true for a segment of customers, who are averse to a digital scraping of their finances.

Anthony has had a similar experience in his discussion with banks, including the Big Four. While they are starting to recognise the need to collaborate with Fintechs, there is still a build-bias. “It will take time, but it will happen, especially as success stories increase”.

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Stone & Chalk and SASIC Town Hall #4

WHAT'S HAPPENING?

The latest news at Stone & Chalk

Stone & Chalk Group builds solutions for tomorrow through increased Climate Tech commitment

Adelaide climate-tech startup, Ping, to sell ice detection to the Nordics

Trellis partners with Stone & Chalk Group to build a sustainable emerging tech sector

Achieving a sustainable tech-driven economy in Australia

Stone & Chalk Group CEO Michael Bromley also becomes AustCyber's CEO

International Women's Day: Q&A with Carly Shamgar

International Women's Day: Q&A with Summer Petrosius

International Women's Day: Q&A with Laura Hall

International Women's Day: Q&A with Tracie Thompson

Stone & Chalk selects long-lost twin Sling & Stone as PR agency of record

Stone & Chalk Group wins bid to operate new Tech Central Scaleup Hub

Chairman Leona Murphy announces retirement from Stone & Chalk Group

Stone & Chalk Group appoints Michael Bromley as new CEO

Proptech Panel - How Technology is Changing Residential Mortgage Lending

Before you join a startup, you need to read this.

Adam wasn't looking to work in a startup, but a startup had everything he was looking for.

Stone & Chalk launches Pivott Careers

Tested Marketing Tactics with Fiverr

Thriving In A Male Dominated Tech Industry

The Future of Food and Sustainable Farming

HIREYOUR EVENTSPACE

UPCOMING EVENTS

Stone & Chalk Presents: Proptech Panel - How Proptech maximises sales for property developers

PIVOTT Talent Jam - Speed Networking

PIVOTT Talent Jam - Speed Networking (Meet the talent)

Mobility in the cities of the future – What will it look like?

Stone & Chalk and SASIC Town Hall #4

HIRE
YOUR EVENT
SPACE