Investible appoints Charlie Ill as Chief Investment Officer

The appointments are part of our broader strategy to unify our early-stage investment funds and team into a centralised structure.

Charlie will lead Investible’s funds and portfolio management teams, including the continued deployment of our A$51.6m Early Stage Fund 2 and our Climate Tech Fund, which has closed 11 investments and continues to fundraise.

The restructure creates a single, unified investment team with pooled resources and expertise. It is designed to efficiently deliver on our increased global activity, including support for and management of the later-stage companies in our portfolio.

In the past three months, Investible has deployed A$9.8m in capital, including A$3.4m directly through Club Investible. We’ve closed 18 investments during the period, including in Hotelmize (Israel), BintanGO (Indonesia), and Quantum Brilliance (Australia/Germany). Eight of these were follow-on investments, all at markups to their initial valuation. Several are yet to be announced.

We recently celebrated our first successful exit from our vintage 2021 Fund 2, with the Indian HR tech giant BetterPlace snapping up Indonesia’s MyRobin less than 18 months after our initial investment.

A distinct approach to venture capital

Since our Co-founders Trevor Folsom and Creel Price assembled a syndicate of angel investors over a decade ago, Investible’s group portfolio has grown to 130+ investments across 10 countries, including Canva, Ipsy, and Car Next Door (now Uber Carshare).

Four years after its formal founding in 2014, we established a unique model, pairing a syndicate of active investors and venture partners with a more traditional Fund-based VC investing approach. The syndicate, known as Club Investible, boasts over 140 members and venture partners; the vast majority of whom are LPs in an Investible Fund.

Commenting on the firm’s evolution, Investible co-founder Trevor Folsom said, “When we set out to establish early-stage technology investment as its own asset class, we knew this unique structure would be a logical next step. The Club has helped us source incredible companies and investments, enable founders direct access to more capital, and extend our network effects globally.”

Members, including former founders, executives, and experienced tech operators, actively co-invest alongside Investible’s funds, via which they already have broader passive exposure. The Club adds substantial support to the entire venture lifecycle; from identifying investment opportunities through to supporting portfolio companies as they scale.

Global early-stage investment at scale

Charlie Ill brings over a decade of venture capital experience to the team, having invested in and supported early-stage technology companies across three continents. This includes stints at Red Dot Ventures in Singapore, investing in renewables and infrastructure through the Northern Territory’s government investment arm, and as Managing Director of the Oman Tech Fund.

“Charlie has a truly global perspective that aligns with Investible’s mandate and growth plans. Australia represents around 1% of the global VC market and we are excited about broadening our horizons, leveraging our networks and expertise to expand in the Asia-Pacific region and more broadly. Most importantly, founders and investors greatly value this broader exposure,” said Investible CEO Rod Bristow.

Commenting on our firm’s ambitions, Charlie said “Over the past several years, Investible’s model has been crafted and validated. Now, we are entering an ambitious growth phase. While Australia remains a hotbed of innovation and a great place to do business, opportunities are equally promising in emergent tech sectors in geographies such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam.”

“This is particularly true of climate tech, seen by the overwhelming number of founders coming through our pipeline from beyond Australia – over 1,500 in the past year,” he added.

Our portfolio includes companies from 10 countries, including some of Southeast Asia’s tech upstarts gathering traction such as Eden Farm, Parcel Perform and BintanGO. While a majority of its investments are Australian, the firm is well positioned for global expansion including from its Singapore office where it has operated since 2017.

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