We back technology or technology-enabled businesses that are not just participants but pioneers in their industries, with a clear vision of the influential future role they will play.

We invest in businesses that are profitable, or on a rapid path to becoming profitable, with revenue from $10 million to $150 million.

We invest in businesses that offer mission-essential solutions, which, despite being a minor part of their clients’ overall operating expenses, have high switching costs.

We support industry leaders, be it in a specific sector or geography, that provide a robust platform for us to invest in both organic and inorganic growth opportunities.

We invest in businesses with Australian or New Zealand headquarters that have corridors for growth into Asia. We also consider businesses growing in global markets through our international network.

As the only technology-focused private equity fund in Australia and New Zealand, we aim to develop strong relationships with local B2B technology businesses. Our goal is to see a thriving local software industry in our region.

We dedicate substantial time and effort to collaborating with founders and executives over extended periods. As such, a disproportionate number of our portfolio companies have come to us exclusively.

Our adviser network is extensive – compiled of people and businesses we have worked with before and who know our capabilities. When we participate in competitive sales processes, we engage constructively and transparently.

Our due diligence is a comprehensive process encompassing both internal and external perspectives. We pride ourselves on our data-centric approach, delving deep into the available business data to extract meaningful insights.

Building strong relationships with the people we partner with during the deal assessment period is paramount to us. We recognise that the most valuable asset of any software business is its people, especially in intellectual property-based businesses, so we strive to establish solid connections with the management team during the diligence period.

We strive to be a business partner, not just an effective capital provider. Our team of professionals has a mix of investment knowledge and operational skills.

This combination enables us to deeply understand your business and thereby back bold strategies. In the first 100 days, we invest the time to ensure we see the world through your eyes. We will work with you to develop a deep alignment between your business management and the Potentia team.

This period should culminate in a clearly articulated future state of the industry and vision for the business. It will lead to developing and testing a comprehensive five-year financial and operating plan. Once agreed upon, we will work with you to ensure all key initiatives we plan are resourced and easily tracked.

As investors, we aim to focus on the moments that matter. This means we will sometimes be close, but other times, we will stand back, providing management with a clear space to get on and do what they do best.

Once we have achieved great things together, there will come a time for us to transfer ownership to a new set of investors.

When this time comes, we aim to find the right owner for the business who will continue investing in the company’s success. Through the sale process, we will work hard to ensure management is not unduly distracted and that the business has the resources to continue performing.

In the formative stages of most software businesses, pricing and product bundling is more art than science.

Founders often spend time with customers to get a feel for what is possible, and product bundling and pricing tend to get locked in from there. Over time, businesses evolve, and early pricing decisions are frequently not revisited.

We believe in objectively assessing client needs, competitive positioning and product vision. We then perform a profoundly analytical process to inform pricing decisions.

A structured pricing and packaging methodology creates the opportunity for different licensing, bundling and pricing strategies, which deliver incremental value to clients and more value to the business.

A product management focus is part of our DNA.

While excellence across all domains is important, we are passionate about having a solid product and a vision for how that product will deliver transformative capabilities to a business’ clients. We have experience operating across the entire product lifecycle, from building new products and entering new markets to scaling and driving product excellence. We work with management teams to clearly align on a product vision and build robust investment cases to support the product strategy.

Is it best to be a branded house or a house of brands?

The weight of gravity to the answer to this question has undoubtedly changed in the software industry in the past ten years, but there is no one-size-fits-all response. We have expertise in unpacking this question and assisting management teams in navigating the pros and cons of different approaches.

We think about organisations through the lens of the lifetime of a customer.

This lens enables us to make medium- and long-term decisions and invest in a competitive advantage. We have a simple and transparent methodology to ascribe value to each customer and measure profitability through the customer lifecycle.

The art of selling has become increasingly scientific.

From optimising the sales methodology to structuring pipeline and performance management, measuring, assessing and unlocking go-to-market teams’ capabilities has become increasingly structured and data-driven.

At Potentia, we have a wealth of expertise in designing, building and scaling high-performing go-to-market teams across various sales models. We believe strongly in their transformative potential and will work with our executives to ensure we structure sales teams for success.

At the heart of our investment decisions and strategy development is the belief that the businesses we invest in should contribute positively to the world we live in.

We believe this is simply good business. The value proposition of most software is the efficiency it creates. It can lower the resources needed to complete a task and, in some cases, make the world safer.

B2B software generally serves a positive purpose and helps inform proactive decision-making. We work with our portfolio companies to ensure this purpose is clearly articulated and understood. We also ensure they measure and improve their social impact and establish and maintain strong governance processes and models.