The Merton Monthly: July
Last month, there was a lot of activity at the Merton Lawyers' office, with the team celebrating successes, achieving employee milestones, and attending a variety of exciting events!
Earlier last month, the staff in Merton's Melbourne office spent time polishing up their bowling skills. The staff were randomly allocated into three teams, with the team scoring the highest knocked over pins winning a grand prize. Unfortunately, no amount of legal knowledge was of any assistance. The afternoon came to an end at Cargo Bar & Eatery in Docklands with a large selection of delicious food and beverages.
Merton Lawyers' Director, David Rennex, had the pleasure of moving Matilda McNeil's admission into the Supreme Court of Victoria yesterday, followed by a celebratory lunch with her parents and our Practice Manager, Lisa Barbaro. Congratulations, Matilda, on achieving such an amazing milestone in your career!
Merton Lawyers New York, San Fran, Palo Alto and LA Trip
Merton Lawyers landed back in US recently, visiting the Project Frontier US law firms and our key investor and founders clients in New York, Palo Alto, San Francisco and Los Angeles. There were many takeaways, but for founders looking for US investment, get US clients first. Easier said than done, but this validates your operations in the US and unlocks a range of investors.
Telstra Ventures Alpha Square event
Merton Lawyers were fortunate to partner with Telstra Ventures and Alpha Square Group at their offices in New York for a panel discussion on the topic about practical implementation of AI.
From real-time challenges to strategic insights on rapid deployment and ROI, the discussion was rich in practicalities and realities for the ecosystem.
A huge thank you to the panelists:
- Dimitrios Pilitsis - founder/CEO of Intelas
- Jonathan Dambrot - founder/CEO of Cranium
- Stephanie Wang - Founding Engineer at MotherDuck.
- Thiam L - Chief Data Science Officer at WorldQuant Predictive.
Also to Maggie Zhou and Sebastian Zhou for their hard work on curating this event.
Lastly thanks all our friends, clients and partners who attended. Very proud to see many people lifting up the Australian innovation ecosystem globally.
Tractor Ventures Partner Programs
Merton Lawyers are absolutely thrilled to share that we have teamed up with Tractor Ventures to become a Growth Partner in their Tractor Ventures Partnerships program. This exciting collaboration allows us to better support up-and-coming businesses in boosting their growth and we look forward to helping each and every one of you.
Linktree Tractor Ventures and Side Stage Event
Last month, Merton Lawyers were invited to a special event held by Tractor Ventures at Linktree’s HQ in Collingwood Melbourne. The event brought together various individuals, including founders of funded companies, partners, investors, ambassadors, and lego enthusiasts. It provided an opportunity to conduct rare interviews with early believer investors Rowan Simpson from Hoku Group and Jaddan Comerford from UNIFIED Music Group & Side Stage Ventures. Rowan shared insights from his experience as an investor and employee. At the same time, Jaddan discussed his role as the Founding CEO of UNIFIED Music Group and Venture Partner at Side Stage Ventures.
Expanding to the US? Register for Merton Lawyers Project Frontier Program
Register for Merton Lawyers Project Frontier Program.
VC Firms Lured to Queensland by Government Funding
📷: Financial Review
Venture capital firm Jekara, founded by early investors in Tritium who sold out of the Brisbane-based company near the peak of its valuation, is increasing its focus on Queensland tech start-ups. They are betting that they will discover the next global energy disruptor in the Sunshine State.
Meanwhile, Sydney-based Tidal Ventures will be moving its senior investment associate and Atlassian alumnus Fee Lal to Brisbane, with the intention of finding the state’s most talented artificial intelligence and software entrepreneurs.
What we’re watching
We are big fans of The Bear. We are pumped season 3 has launched with a beautiful episode 1. The highly anticipated new season of FX's "The Bear" is now available for streaming exclusively on Disney+. Carmy and his crew strive for the ultimate restaurant accolade: a Michelin star.
Upcoming*
Immersive Executive Education Program
Our friends at Wade Institute of Entrepreneurship are now accepting applications for their upcoming Immersive Executive Education Program, VC Catalyst. Delivered online in August, this program is led by key facilitator Rachael Neumann, Founding Partner at Flying Fox Ventures, and Pedram Mokrian, Adjunct Professor at Stanford University. VC Catalyst is designed to equip active investors with the best practice tools and skills needed to make successful early-stage, high-growth venture capital investments. To learn more about Wade Institute’s investor education, reach out to their Program Director, Andrew Middleton (aka Midsy).
