None of these started with a deck or a fundraise. They started on the side.
- Linktree (Melbourne). Built in six hours at a music agency in 2016 because the founders hated changing Instagram bio links. Now 70M+ users. The move: fix something that already annoys you every day.
- Blinq (Melbourne). Jarrod Webb built it on weekends while at Uber Eats. Went full time in 2021, Series A in 2025. The move: quit on data, not feelings. He waited for paying users to tell him to leave.
- Andromeda Robotics (Melbourne). Grace Brown built Abi in her bedroom during COVID while studying mechatronics. Now valued at $100M. The move: she built one robot for one person. Specific beats ambitious.
- Lyrebird Health (Melbourne). Kai Van Lieshout co-founded it young, in 2023. Now handles around 30,000 consults a day. The move: build for a customer you understand completely.
- June Health (Sydney). Grace Toombs built an at-home cervical and STI screening platform. The move: in health, distribution through the right partners comes first.
- Fluency (Melbourne). Finnlay Morcombe and Oliver Farnill started at uni as self-taught developers. Now backed by Accel and DST Global. The move: validate before raising a dollar.
- Leonardo.ai (Sydney). Founded December 2022. 19M users in two years. Acquired by Canva in 2024. The move: own a niche before going broad.
The playbook
Build for yourself. Validate before quitting. Lock distribution early. Stay niche until you own it. None of them waited for permission.