OIF Ventures Research
Investment Thesis
OIF Ventures (formerly Our Innovation Fund) is a Sydney-based, founder-led venture capital firm built around what it calls the "5 T's": Team, TAM, Traction, Timing, and Terms. The firm is explicitly sector and technology agnostic, looking to back exceptional founders building companies in large markets with a durable competitive advantage and favorable tailwinds, rather than committing to a narrow thematic mandate. Its guiding purpose is to partner with exceptional founders building world-class businesses and to help grow those founders as people and CEOs. The firm is distinctive in the Australian market for being backed entirely by high-net-worth individuals, family offices, and a network of successful tech founders and operators rather than institutional investors such as superannuation funds - a deliberate structural choice that the partners say lets them move quickly and align closely with the operators in their network.
Sector Focus
OIF has invested across B2B SaaS, FinTech, digital marketplaces, and hardware, spanning industries including cyber security, construction technology, HR tech, EdTech, legal tech, AI and robotics, and even a D2C digital-first cremation/end-of-life business. The current 53-company portfolio clusters most heavily around AI & Computer Software, FinTech, Construction, HR Tech, Cyber Security, Marketing/AdTech, and EdTech, with smaller positions in Gaming, Legal Tech, Manufacturing, Real Estate, Volunteer Management, and Web3.
Stage Focus
OIF typically invests at Seed, Pre-Series A, and Series A through its earlier-stage funds, and at Series B through a dedicated later-stage vehicle (the Opportunity Fund). The firm reserves substantial capital to continue supporting portfolio companies beyond initial stages. While its stated preference is for companies with a product in market, product-market fit (or early signs of it), and commercial validation, the partners note they will occasionally break their own rules to back pre-product, pre-revenue, or even pre-name businesses in unique cases where they know the founders well.
Check Size
Disclosed check sizes across investment notes range from roughly NZ$2.7M (DataMasque, a first-round lead) up to $7.5M (Biza.io Series A, co-led) and $5.5M (eQ8 Series A). The 2023 Opportunity Fund raised $55M (targeting $75M) specifically to write larger checks into existing portfolio companies at growth stage and selectively into new Series B opportunities, with its first deployment a $4M commitment inside Advanced Navigation's $108M round led by KKR.
Lead Tendency
Mixed - OIF has led or co-led several early rounds outright (DataMasque, Biza.io, LoveHeart AI) while also participating as a syndicate member alongside larger leads such as Blackbird (Factor House), VMG Partners (Zitcha), Icehouse Ventures (Ideally), and EQT/Square Peg (Neara).
Recent Activity
OIF has been active through 2024-2025: Zitcha's $15M US-expansion Series A (Oct 2024, led by VMG Partners), Neara's $45M round led by EQT and Partners Group (Oct 2024), LoveHeart AI's $2.3M seed (Aug 2024), Ideally's $5.5M round (Oct 2024), Factor House's $5M first external raise led by Blackbird (Feb 2025), and Rosterfy's $5.5M raise tied to its Super Bowl LIX volunteer-management deployment (Feb 2025). Fund status appears to be actively deploying, including from the dedicated Opportunity Fund for growth-stage follow-ons.
Portfolio Highlights
Notable current and past portfolio companies include Go1 (EdTech unicorn), Kasada and XM Cyber (cyber security, XM Cyber exited), Advanced Navigation (robotics, partially exited via the KKR-led round), Enboarder (HR tech, growth stage), and Instaclustr - OIF's most notable exit to date, acquired by Nasdaq-listed NetApp for more than $500M.
Team
- Geoff Levy AO - former CEO/Chairman of Investec Bank Australia, Freehills partner, currently Chairman of Monash Private Capital
- David Shein - founder of Com Tech Communications (sold for $1B+, considered Australia's first tech unicorn), author
- Jerry Stesel - Partner, quoted leading the Opportunity Fund strategy and the Factor House investment
- Laurence Schwartz - Partner, co-founder of InsideSherpa and Earnd, built US VC relationships from New York
- Kevin Wilson - Partner (joined Jan 2023), former Global Head of Corporate Development at Xero and Head of Technology Investment Banking at Bank of America Merrill Lynch
- Isabella Rich - Investment Team, ex-BCG, co-founded an angel syndicate
- Andrew Yeo - Investment Team, ex-AirTree Ventures, led the LoveHeart AI investment
- Peter Lilley - Instaclustr co-founder, joined OIF's Investment Committee as an LP
- Mark Schubert - Chief Financial & Operations Officer
- Jess Heffernan - Head of Distribution and Investor Relations
Decision Process
OIF operates with a formal Investment Committee that includes external founder-LPs such as Peter Lilley, alongside the core partnership (Schwartz, Stesel, Wilson) making day-to-day investment calls.
Founder Preferences
Across partner bios, recurring traits sought include founder integrity, grit, domain expertise, vision paired with execution discipline, willingness to attract and empower senior talent, and (per Kevin Wilson) a "unique insight or edge" combined with humility and openness to feedback.
Geographic Focus
Primarily Australia and New Zealand, with an explicit strategy of helping portfolio companies expand into the US - OIF maintains relationships with top-tier US VCs (Laurence Schwartz's New York network) and has co-invested with firms like VMG Partners and Icehouse Ventures on portfolio companies' US pushes.