In a marketplace inundated with tech start-ups, the key to success doesn’t solely revolve around the innovative product or service being spruiked. Start-ups need to be paired with the right strategic investors who can share in their vision and, ultimately provide the right capital to bring their idea into reality and into a commercial success.
In a recent survey of start-ups, TechInvest identified a big shift in the way start-ups are conducting their sourcing of capital. More and more start-ups have realised that ‘strategic’ capital is far more valuable than ‘idle’ capital. They also acknowledge that getting access to the “right” capital is not easy and are becoming far more willing to partner with the right advisory groups to identify these investors.
From left: Brett Mikelsen, Randolf Clinton, James Tennant
In our conversations, Clinton Capital Partners was frequently mentioned as an advisory group with a strong track record in delivering “strategic” capital.
Clinton Capital Partners is a Sydney-based privately owned and non-aligned advisory business that specialises in providing venture capital advisory, capital raising and investment; from seed funding through to IPO.
For an industry that is quite prolific with its promotion, you won’t often see Clinton Capital Partners on the talking circuit.
They thrive on strong word of mouth referrals from the investors and companies they have worked with.
The firm’s motto is “Yesterday’s Principles, Tomorrow’s Companies”. Principal of the firm, Randolf Clinton, said that getting strong foundations in place at an early stage is paramount for long term success. Clinton Capital Partners considers themselves as a “high touch advisory business in the low touch ecosystem”.
They pride themselves on:
Clinton said there are several great ‘providers’ in the Australian market, and that it’s critical for founders and investors to understand which type of provider has the expertise and the structure best matched to their desired outcome.
“Our portfolio companies have been our best source of marketing and it has resulted in us seeing many opportunities each week,” he said.
Clinton, who has over 30 years in global investment banking and financial markets with firms including JPMorgan, Credit Suisse, ABN Amro and RBS, believes the firm aims to simplify complex business problems and provide the opportunity for partnership-style investments that benefit both investor and company alike.
“Our goal is to facilitate the success of all parties involved, creating a win-win situation,” he said. “We are big on having skin in the game; so company, investor and advisor are all commonly aligned. We strongly feel that when one party is unaligned with the others, it ultimately leads to tears.”
Clinton is joined by other highly experienced advisors including James Tennant who has spent his working career in Venture Capital and Seed Funding as an analyst for a variety of companies including large institutions, stockbroking firms, capital raising companies and angel investment groups.
The team also includes ex-UBS wealth management and venture capital specialist Brett Mikelsen, with 16 years’ experience in investments, growth strategy, and technology.
For investors, the firm offers experience and understanding when investing in venture capital opportunities. The combined team has over 50 years of advising and/or following financial markets and they pride themselves on their rigorous due diligence process, the fact they have skin in the game alongside investors, their reputation and track record.
The firm has assisted a number of companies in recent times including: Sparkke, Dementia Care Group, Fulcrum, Edstart, CancerAid, Tribe, AgriWebb, Leezair, LOC8 and Rezdy to name a few.
Clinton just concluded a raising for Dementia Care Group which resulted in strong investor interest, increasing its offer from $2 million to $3 million.
Founder & CEO Jon Kontopos said, “Clinton Capital Partners access to influential money, ability to simplify our transaction and the doors they opened for us were by far the best we have seen in the market place”.
Another company is 2016 Ernst & Young Accelerating Entrepreneurs winner CancerAid, which has developed a revolutionary app to support those with cancer by providing an easy to use organisational platform and a medically reliable source of cancer information.
Clinton Capital Partners assisted in a Series A funding round for CancerAid which resulted in the start-up raising $1.25 million.
CancerAid CEO and founder Dr. Nikhil Pooviah said, “Clinton Capital Partners have played a crucial part in our startup journey. Without their work ethic and networking expertise, we would not have secured important strategic investors for our investment round. The team not only afforded us great access and guidance throughout the process, but also secured our new stakeholders far ahead of schedule.”
TRIBE CEO Anthony Svirskis said: “Clinton Capital Partners have been brilliant to deal with and have made our capital raising significantly more successful. Their network and experience has served us well and opened numerous doors in Australia and beyond.”
2016 iAward Winner for Startup of the Year, AgriWebb CEO & co-founder Kevin Baum said, “Clinton Capital Partners were by far the most impressive we have encountered.”
Sparkke directors, Rose Kentish and Anouk Darling said: “Clinton Capital Partners exceeded our expectations by closing our capital raise oversubscribed in three days. The strategic investors and level of guidance they offered was the most professional we have experienced.”