Black Sheep Capital Research
Investment Thesis
Black Sheep Capital is one of Australia's most active early-stage venture investors, focused on supporting exceptional founders building technology startups across Australia. Founded in 2012 and based in Brisbane, the firm takes a "be the most helpful investor" approach, supporting founders through all stages of their journey from prototype to scale.
The firm believes in being more than just capital — they position themselves as active partners who provide operational support, strategic guidance, and access to their network. Their investment philosophy emphasizes backing founders who are building category-defining companies in large markets.
Sector Focus
Black Sheep invests across multiple technology sectors:
- Logistics & Delivery — Sendle, GetSwift
- On-Demand Services — Airtasker, ShopWings
- EdTech — Go1, Academlo
- CleanTech / Energy — Amber Electric
- FinTech — Valiant Finance, MilestonePay
- SaaS / B2B — Practice Ignition (now Ignition), Brainfish, Dataro
- Marketplaces — BookAnArtist, Appetise
- AI / ML — CuriousThing, Notiv, Haast
The firm is sector-agnostic but focuses on technology-enabled businesses with strong founder-market fit.
Stage Focus
Black Sheep Capital invests across the early-stage spectrum:
- Prototype — Pre-revenue, product in development
- Early Revenue — Initial traction, product-market fit exploration
- Seed — First institutional round
- Scaling — Growth stage follow-ons for portfolio winners
They typically invest at pre-seed and seed stages, with capacity to follow on in successful portfolio companies.
Check Size
- Typical initial checks: $100K - $500K (estimated from portfolio patterns)
- Follow-on capacity for portfolio winners
- Participates in syndicates alongside other Australian VCs
Lead Tendency
Sometimes leads. Black Sheep acts as lead investor in some rounds and participates as a follower in others, depending on the deal structure and syndicate composition.
Recent Activity
The firm has been actively deploying capital:
- 25+ investments over 3 years (as of 2019)
- Recent portfolio additions include AI/ML companies (Haast, Brainfish)
- Ongoing support for portfolio through follow-on rounds
- Portfolio company Go1 raised US$40M+ (2020)
- Portfolio company Sendle raised $20M Series B (2019)
- Portfolio company Practice Ignition raised AU$26M Series B (2019)
Portfolio Highlights
Notable Successes:
- Go1 — Corporate training platform, raised US$40M+, global expansion
- Sendle — Carbon-neutral delivery, $20M+ Series B, DHL partnership
- Airtasker — Task marketplace, $33M+ raised, Coles partnership, UK expansion
- Amber Electric — Renewable energy platform, strong growth
- Practice Ignition (Ignition) — Accounting workflow SaaS, AU$26M Series B
- Valiant Finance — Business lending marketplace, Westpac partnership
Active Portfolio (sample):
- Profit Peak, Haast, Brainfish, Appetise, Beamible, Aerotruth, Modo
- CuriousThing, Layer Licensing, BookAnArtist, Llama Life, Dataro
- MilestonePay, Notiv, Amber Electric, Valiant Finance
- Airtasker, Go1, Sendle, Ignition, GiggedIn
The portfolio spans 40+ companies across logistics, fintech, SaaS, marketplaces, and AI/ML.
Team
Dan Gavel — Director / Founder
- Founded Black Sheep Capital in 2012
- Active angel investor and venture capital operator
- Background in diversified investment strategies
- Based in Brisbane, Australia
- Frequent speaker on VC-as-a-Service and angel investing
Paul Osborne — Partner
- Investment and portfolio support role
- Based in Australia
- Active in deal sourcing and founder support
Decision Process
The firm operates with a partnership model. Decision-making is relatively fast for early-stage deals, with emphasis on founder quality and market opportunity. They syndicate frequently with other Australian VCs and angel groups.
Geographic Focus
Primarily Australia with focus on:
- Brisbane / Queensland
- Sydney / NSW
- Melbourne / Victoria
- Expanding to other Australian tech hubs
They may consider New Zealand-based startups but primarily focus on Australian founders.
Founder Preferences
Black Sheep looks for:
- Strong founder-market fit
- Domain expertise in the problem being solved
- Grit and determination (the "hustler" mentality)
- Large addressable market
- Technology-enabled business models
- Coachable founders who value partnership
Differentiators
- Deep Local Network — One of Australia's most active early-stage investors
- Hands-On Support — "Most helpful investor" philosophy
- Portfolio Depth — 40+ companies provides cross-portfolio learning
- Syndicate Access — Strong relationships with other Australian VCs
- Patient Capital — Willing to support through multiple rounds