Rampersand
Helen Souness serves as the Chair of Hireup since November 2023, contributing to the organization's mission to enhance support for Australians with disabilities through an innovative online platform. Helen also holds the role of Non-Executive Director at Education Perfect, helping the K-12 edtech firm expand its reach globally, and serves as a Venture Partner at Rampersand, supporting early-stage companies across Australia and New Zealand. Additional board positions include Non-Executive Director at Camplify, facilitating accessible van life experiences, and at Sendle, enhancing delivery services for small businesses. Helen's past experience includes leading RMIT Online as CEO, driving growth for Etsy in the Asia-Pacific region, and serving on the board of CanTeen Australia. Helen is an alumnus of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and Victoria University of Wellington, where a BA LLB(Hons) degree was obtained.
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Rampersand
Rampersand is the first investor for Aus/NZ early-stage startup founders with abnormal potential. Since 2013/14, we have been active seed investors in Australia and New Zealand, writing the first cheques for companies like Goterra, JigSpace, and Expert360. We invest thoughtfully and with high conviction to help startups ramp through the early stages and beyond. We have invested AUD$100 million in 34 companies and returned millions to our investors. Across our portfolios, companies have increased in value by 800% on average and raised more than AUD$500 million from investors such as Lightspeed, SutterHill and Acrew. We’ve been involved in startups and tech for decades and have been actively investing for ten years. We’re a dedicated seed fund with $100m invested, a portfolio value of $1B+, and 50+ founders across 30+ startups. We’ve returned millions to our investors. We embrace uncertainty, move fast, experiment and grow. While the industry has grown immensely since we started backing founders, our mission remains unchanged. We back the founders who back themselves to change the world.