Voluntas Group launches advisory firm for tech founders

Voluntas Group has announced the launch of Voluntas Elevate, a strategic advisory firm aimed at supporting underserved tech founders.

The newly established company is designed to aid early-stage founders, those with momentum ready to scale, and those stalled between growth phases. Its core services focus on growth and scaling, planning and governance, capital acquisition, along with talent development and acquisition. Currently, Voluntas Elevate has 12 clients and holds equity in three of these ventures. In addition to advisory services, the firm assists in capital raising within the Voluntas ecosystem. An amount of NZD $11.3 million is being raised for nine clients, with an average raise of USD $1.25 million.

"Not every opportunity must be a 10x or 100x unicorn. Our mission is to elevate tech founders who have struggled to access the support they need through the traditional venture capital model. There are a lot of good businesses that are simply overlooked because they may 'only' demonstrate triple annual recurring revenue - that's still a good sustainable business that can potentially scale rapidly," stated Jason Holdsworth, Founding Partner at Voluntas Group.

Many tech founders encounter challenges in obtaining the capital and strategic support necessary for long-term growth and value. Voluntas Elevate aims to address this gap by offering comprehensive services and a global network, providing strategic support to build and expand businesses.

Voluntas Elevate is committed to fostering innovation and entrepreneurship by empowering tech founders who do not typically fit into traditional venture capital models, often due to a lack of track record or challenges in managing growth. It offers an ecosystem of expertise, technology, and capital to promote growth and access to global markets.

The firm operates as an international network with offices in cities including Auckland, Sydney, Hong Kong, London, and Los Angeles. It launches with an advisory and investment network comprised of professionals such as Anthony Quirk, Naomi Ballantyne, John Catarinich, Brett Roberts, Brett O'Riley, David Ding, Nikolai Elmqvist, and Anthony McNamara.

Looking ahead, Voluntas Elevate plans to onboard approximately 70 clients globally and aims to raise over USD $15 million in capital for clients during the next financial year, while generating an additional USD $7 million in revenue for them.

"We take a holistic approach to supporting founders, starting with strategy execution, sales enablement, talent development, and when required, funding acquisition. The firm is deeply rooted in its core purpose of uplifting founders who may not fit the traditional VC mould. With Voluntas Elevate, founders receive the necessary guidance and resources to achieve rapid, sustainable growth," commented Darren Ward, Partner at Voluntas Group.

Entrepreneurs often face the "Founders' Dilemma", where they sacrifice equity early on and subsequently spend limited funds on consultancy services that do not provide the strategic and operational support needed. This predicament often leaves founders with reduced company ownership and operational capital, as well as lacking a roadmap for potential growth.

"Voluntas Elevate solves this dilemma by partnering with founders to take a long-term, holistic view of their journey. We place their aspirations at the forefront and minimise the outflow of equity. The firm helps them navigate crucial stages of growth, ensuring that equity is preserved and value is maximised. For our strategic advisory clients, we never seek more than a 10% stake in any venture we support," added Darren.