Investor Profile: Folklore Ventures — Thesis, Cheque Size & How to Apply

For software founders in Australia and New Zealand, Folklore Ventures funding has become a familiar early milestone. The Sydney-based firm, founded in 2013 by Alister Coleman — previously a co-founder of ShippingEasy, acquired by Stamps.com for $80 million in 2016 — backs tech founders from before they have a product, customers or revenue. Its tagline says it all: "From first cheque to forever."

Thesis and stage

Folklore takes an industry-agnostic approach, as long as software is at the core of the company's competitive advantage. The firm invests in companies from pre-product and pre-revenue through to Series A — a genuine early-stage specialist. Its investors include institutions, family offices and sophisticated private investors through the Australian government's Early Stage Venture Capital Limited Partnership (ESVCLP) programme.

Cheque size and fund size

Folklore's FAQ states it has the flexibility to invest from micro-cheques up to $2.5 million for a first cheque — and it is already thinking about the second, third and fourth cheques at the time of the first investment. The firm was described as a $55 million pre-seed and seed stage VC fund in 2021, and its founder has since been reported to have capped a newer fund raise at $100 million, though no closing announcement was found. Current total assets under management are not publicly disclosed.

Notable portfolio companies

Source-confirmed portfolio names include clinical-trial platform HealthMatch, retail loss-prevention company Auror, crypto tax platform SUMM, and Ansarada — Folklore invested in its $24 million Series A in early 2018 and the company's ASX listing marked the fund's first investee listing. Other confirmed names: Visionary Machines (a $7.5 million seed round led by Folklore), Strong Compute ($7.8 million seed round), Swoop Aero, Sphere, and defence dual-use bets Arkeus and Hullbot. The firm's process takes 4–10 weeks from first meeting, and a "no" after a first meeting is always delivered by phone, with reasons.

Key partners and programmes

Founder and Managing Partner Alister Coleman leads the firm, joined by Partner Albert Bielinko (formerly of Titanium Ventures, previously Telstra Ventures) and CFO Clare Power. Folklore runs Office Hours — 20-minute slots with the investment and operations team for ANZ founders building tech companies, no warm intro needed — and co-authors the annual State of Australian Startup Funding Report with Cut Through Venture. It achieved B Corp Certification in May 2025.

How to apply for funding

The application route is folklore.vc/get-in-touch, which offers three paths: an "I'm interested in getting funded" pitch link, general enquiries at [email protected], and an Office Hours sign-up. The firm's FAQ advises founders to keep decks under ten slides, own their IP, and engage directly — and reassures that there is no such thing as too early.