Folklore Ventures
Folklore Ventures is an Australian venture capital firm that provides first-cheque seed and early-stage investment to Australian and New Zealand technology founders, supported by the gated Campfire platform offering portfolio toolkits, community, perks and advisory.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersSydney, Australia
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Folklore Ventures does
Folklore Ventures is an Australian venture capital firm headquartered in Redfern, NSW, that invests in Australian and New Zealand technology founders from seed stage onward under a "first cheque to forever" long-term partnership thesis. The firm deploys capital into early-stage software and advanced technology companies, and surrounds its investments with a non-capital support layer: the gated Campfire member platform (toolkit, Slack community, perks and providers network, 1:1/1:many advisory), the annual State of Australian Startup Funding Report co-authored with Cut Through Venture, a portfolio job board (roles.folklore.vc), and bookable Office Hours for prospective founders. Operational structure sits on two entities — Folklore Ventures Pty Ltd (ABN 72 614 351 058) as the operating/investment company and Folklore FS Pty Ltd (AFSL 553 201, ABN 69 667 728 538) as the holder of the Australian Financial Services Licence under which Folklore Ventures operates as a corporate authorised representative (CAR No. 001246978).
The firm's commercial model follows standard venture capital economics: management fees on assets under management charged to limited partners (LP-facing investor portal hosted on Dynamo Software) plus carried interest from successful exits. Deal flow is generated through a self-serve "Get funding" application flow, Office Hours bookings, community engagement via the Campfire platform, and brand presence from annual research, fireside chats with notable founders (Canva co-founders, Boyd Multerer of Xbox Live), and earned media coverage in outlets such as the Australian Financial Review. The team is small (11-50 employees) and led by Alister Coleman (Founder and Partner), with Clare Power as CFO (joined May 2024), Laura Warden as Head of Operations, and Duncan McPherson referenced on the Code of Conduct Committee. The portfolio spans healthtech (HealthMatch), public safety SaaS (Auror), consumer/retail (SUMM), industrial IoT cybersecurity (Kry10, co-invested with In-Q-Tel), and defense/autonomous systems (Arkeus, deployed with US Department of War and Australian Department of Defence).
Folklore Ventures firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Folklore Ventures
- Legal name
- Folklore Ventures Pty Ltd
- Website
- https://folklore.vc
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Folklore Ventures is an Australian venture capital firm that provides first-cheque seed and early-stage investment to Australian and New Zealand technology founders, supported by the gated Campfire platform offering portfolio toolkits, community, perks and advisory.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Folklore Ventures industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Early-Stage Venture Capital
- NAICS
- Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Other Financial Vehicles (525990), Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities (523)
- SIC
- Investment Advice (6282), Finance Services (6199)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B) (FSANAAAB)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Corporate Fintech / Insurtech CVC (Financial-services-led CVC) (FSANAHAK)
Keywords
Where Folklore Ventures is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Sydney
- HQ country
- Australia
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices1 record
Markets served
Folklore Ventures business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Venture capital fund management: Folklore raises venture capital funds and invests in startups. Standard VC revenue model inferred: recurring management fees on assets under management (charged to LPs), plus carried interest on profitable exits. The corporate entity (Folklore Ventures Pty Ltd, ABN 72 614 351 058) operates as a corporate authorised representative of Folklore FS Pty Ltd (AFSL 553 201).
- Investment returns / carried interest: Returns from portfolio company investments (e.g., participation in Arkeus $18M Series A led by QIC Ventures). Realized through exits and ongoing fund performance.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | — | Investment capital and Support Stack for portfolio companies |
| Other | — | Campfire platform access for portfolio companies |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels8 records
Folklore Ventures product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Folklore Ventures is an Australian venture capital firm that invests first-cheque seed and early-stage capital in Australian and New Zealand technology founders and provides long-term portfolio support through its gated Campfire member platform, Support Stack advisory, perks and providers network, and the annual State of Australian Startup Funding Report. The firm raises and manages venture capital funds, earning revenue from management fees charged to Limited Partners on assets under management plus carried interest on exits, and co-invests alongside partners in later-stage rounds such as Arkeus's $18M Series A.
Product overview
Folklore Ventures operates as a venture capital firm rather than a packaged software product; its offering combines a public marketing website (folklore.vc) with the gated Campfire member platform as the primary community-and-resources product delivered to portfolio founders. The Campfire platform itself is a module-based portal grouping toolkits into nine categories — Revenue, Growth, Engineering, Finance and legal, Investment, Product, Comms and brand, People and culture, and Company building — augmented by a Campfire Slack workspace, a perks-and-providers directory, the State of Australian Startup Funding Report as an annual research product, the roles.folklore.vc portfolio job board, and the Support Stack offering of 1:1 and 1:Many advisory services for portfolio companies. Together these components form a single integrated platform-plus-services architecture built around Folklore's "first cheque to forever" investment thesis, with the public site acting as the acquisition surface and Campfire as the post-investment delivery surface.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Campfire: Folklore's member community platform providing portfolio companies access to resources, perks, providers, advisors, and a Slack community (folklorescampfire.slack.com). Includes the Campfire toolkit of explainers, templates and videos.
- State of Australian Startup Funding Report
Products and services
- Folklore Ventures (Seed and Early-Stage Venture Capital Fund) Venture capital fund that invests first-cheque seed and early-stage capital in Australian and New Zealand technology founders, providing long-term partnership from initial investment through scaling. Operates as Folklore Ventures Pty Ltd (ABN 72 614 351 058), a corporate authorised representative of AFSL-holder Folklore FS Pty Ltd (AFSL 553 201). Earns revenue from management fees on AUM and carried interest on exits.
- Campfire (Portfolio Member Platform) Gated member platform for Folklore portfolio companies providing curated explainers, templates and videos across nine functional categories (Revenue, Growth, Engineering, Finance and Legal, Investment, Product, Comms and Brand, People and Culture, Company Building), a Slack-based community, perks and providers network, and 1:1/1:Many support. Provided free/included to portfolio companies as part of the long-term partnership.
- Support Stack (Portfolio Advisory Service) Professional advisory service providing 1:1 and 1:Many sessions to Folklore portfolio founders on topics beyond the self-serve Campfire toolkits, accessed via the Campfire support form (folklorevc.typeform.com/campfiresupport). Included as part of the long-term partnership for portfolio companies.
- State of Australian Startup Funding Report Annual flagship research publication co-authored with Cut Through Venture, providing the largest crowd-sourced dataset on the Australian startup funding landscape, including trends across AI, healthtech, robotics, fintech, cyber, climate tech, and B2B SaaS. Distributed publicly via the australianstartupfunding.com microsite.
Quantifiable outcome
- Largest crowd-sourced dataset on Australian startup funding (4th year, 2024)
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Folklore Ventures
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Folklore Ventures technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration5 records
Feature3 records
Folklore Ventures partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Cut Through Ventureflagship research partnerCut Through Venture is Folklore's co-author and report partner for the annual State of Australian Startup Funding Report (now in its 4th year, 2024); the partnership produces the largest crowd-sourced dataset on the Australian startup landscape, surveying 1,000+ founders, investors and angels in the 2023 edition.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Folklore Ventures competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Blackbird Ventures: Australia's largest and best-known seed/early-stage VC, investing in ANZ tech founders from pre-seed through Series A. Directly comparable to Folklore in geographic focus, stage, and founder-first brand; significantly larger fund sizes.
- AirTree Ventures: Leading Australian early-stage VC investing in ANZ tech founders from seed onwards. Directly comparable on geography, stage, and portfolio support orientation; competes for the same founder pipeline.
- Square Peg Capital: ANZ-focused VC investing across seed to growth stages in technology companies. Directly comparable on geography and sector focus, though typically writing larger cheques at Series A and beyond.
- Main Sequence Ventures: Australian deep-tech/early-stage VC (CSIRO-backed) investing in ANZ founders. Comparable on geography and stage; deep-tech orientation overlaps with Folklore's Arkeus and Kry10 portfolio companies.
- Cut Through Venture: Australian early-stage VC that is Folklore's research co-author on the State of Australian Startup Funding Report. Directly comparable on ANZ seed focus and community-led brand positioning.
- Tidal Ventures: Australian seed-stage VC investing in ANZ tech founders with an operator-led model. Comparable on stage and geographic focus; competes for similar seed deals.
- Flying Fox Ventures: Australian pre-seed/seed VC focused on ANZ tech founders; runs community programs similar to Folklore's Campfire platform.
Regional players
- Icehouse Ventures: New Zealand's leading early-stage VC; comparable on founder-first, community-led model but operates primarily in NZ rather than Australia, where Folklore is HQ'd.
- Movac: New Zealand-focused early/growth-stage VC. Comparable on ANZ founder focus and tech orientation; primarily NZ-domiciled, serving as Folklore's NZ peer.
Broad incumbents
- Antler: Global early-stage VC with significant ANZ presence running founder-residency programs. Comparable on seed-stage founder development but operates globally and at much larger scale.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Folklore Ventures social profiles
Digital presenceFolklore Ventures compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Folklore Ventures financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Folklore Ventures leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Folklore Ventures subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Folklore Ventures funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Folklore Ventures M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments49 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Folklore Ventures
What does Folklore Ventures do?
Folklore Ventures is an Australian venture capital firm that invests first-cheque seed and early-stage capital in Australian and New Zealand technology founders and provides long-term portfolio support through its gated Campfire member platform, Support Stack advisory, perks and providers network, and the annual State of Australian Startup Funding Report. The firm raises and manages venture capital funds, earning revenue from management fees charged to Limited Partners on assets under management plus carried interest on exits, and co-invests alongside partners in later-stage rounds such as Arkeus's $18M Series A.
Is Folklore Ventures a public or private company?
Folklore Ventures is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Folklore Ventures founded?
Folklore Ventures was founded in 2014. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Folklore Ventures based?
Folklore Ventures is headquartered in Sydney, Australia, in the Oceania region.
How does Folklore Ventures make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Venture capital fund management is the primary driver. The others are investment returns / carried interest.
Who are Folklore Ventures's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Blackbird Ventures, AirTree Ventures, Square Peg Capital, Main Sequence Ventures, Cut Through Venture, Tidal Ventures and Flying Fox Ventures. Regional players are Icehouse Ventures and Movac. Antler is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Folklore Ventures have an API?
No public API is recorded for Folklore Ventures.
What industry is Folklore Ventures in?
Folklore Ventures's product category is Early-Stage Venture Capital. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSANAAAB, Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B), with a secondary code of FSANAHAK, Corporate Fintech / Insurtech CVC (Financial-services-led CVC). Its NAICS code is 523940 and its SIC code is 6282.