Insights
and News

Mindset and Strategy for Early Stage Founders

There’s a few topics that come up repeatedly in our conversations with early stage founders when they’re figuring out how to build produc

Announcing our second fund to reinvigorate the next wave of company creation in Australia and New Zealand

We’re excited to announce we’ve opened our second fund to support founders in underserved industries and a wave of new GenAI ventures launching from our venture studio.

What we look for in Ventures

Working so intensively with ventures means we have to be very selective during the application process. For every~500 pitch decks we see we typically only work with 5.

What to expect from the Paloma Ventures application process

So you’ve got a great venture idea, you’d love to partner with Paloma… what’s next?

Challenging VC Rules of Thumb

Do you ever feel like the startup world is stuck on repeat? Playing by the same tired rules and holding Australia back from true innovation?

Code and Compounds: Digitising the Future of the Chemicals Industry

ChemCloud is a Paloma portfolio company that kicked off back in 2021. Since thfen they’ve completed a successful capital raise, grown to a team of 5 and have millions of dollars worth of transactions taking place through their platform.

Knowing When to Quit: The Art of Letting Go in Entrepreneurship

How do you know if success is just around the corner for your startup, or if you’re flogging a dead horse? When are you demonstrating grit and resilience vs. just spending good money after bad?

Venture Studio FAQs

I was lucky enough to speak at SXSW Sydney this October on the topic of venture studios. The big questions that were raised during the audience Q&A are ones that I hear often, so here’s an FAQ.

Simplifying the future of freight with Netlogix

We teamed up with Netlogix to reimagine their shipper portal - revolutionising the way shippers and receivers operate.

How we use 'The 7 Powers' to assess early stage ventures at Paloma

If you’ve ever done an MBA you’ve probably come across ‘The 7 Powers: The Foundations of Business Strategy’ by Hamilton W. Helmer. Whilst pretttttty dense, it does cover some good ground...

A commitment to investing in women

Investing in women is a long term commitment and it’s one I’m glad we’re making at Paloma.

3 reasons why Webflow has become our secret weapon in building successful businesses

In the early stages of building high-growth companies, the tools you use to get there can make a crucial difference in saving time and money. One in particular that has been a heavyweight at Paloma is Webflow. Here's why we love it.

The Paloma Podcast #1

Our very own @Nick Frandsen spoke to the phenomenal founders of Hatch to hear their story from day one all the way to acquisition. Thanks @Natalie Ferguson and @Kristen Lunman for sharing the journey.

Paloma and YouPay, another rocket ship?

Paloma loves helping startups scale. Learn how we're helping YouPay expand their merchant support and customer base.

Choose a product development partner that brings out the best in you

The old idiom of “you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with” applies to businesses too. If your goal is to operate as a top-performing technology company, then you need to be sure to choose your partners wisely.

What is the difference between a digital product studio and a digital product agency?

In this blog post, we explore the key differences between a digital product studio and a digital product agency to help your business make an informed decision.

What do we mean when we say ‘Venture Studio’?

What do we mean when we say ‘Venture Studio’? Poppy walks us through what we at Paloma mean when we say 'Venture Studio'

Why We Rebranded to Paloma

Staying true to our company value of ‘keep it candid’, we wanted to share the full story behind why we have decided to rebrand to Paloma. But first, grab yourself a drink.

Never mind the code, just count the cash

Entrepreneurs will increasingly seek help when it comes to technology.

Why there's no end in sight to disruption

After a year of enormous disruption to business models, the leaders of banks, insurers, property and other established companies are being warned to brace for even more.

How Dovetail Studios designs, builds and maintains billion-dollar fintech companies

I recently had the chance to catch up with Nick Frandsen, co-founder of Dovetail Studios. Dovetail helps design, build, grow, and invest in technology companies, primarily in Australia and increasingly in the US. Read on to discover how...

Startup Victoria x Dovetail: How to identify a great startup idea

This edition of the Startup Success Series provides advice for first-time founders and early-stage startups on how to validate your idea, identify the problem you're trying to solve and determine whether you should pursue it.

Stone & Chalk: Helping build Australia's fastest growing company

Afterpay is one of the biggest tech success stories of the decade - but do you know how a couple of young Kiwi entrepreneurs helped propel it into the multibillion venture it is today?

UX Collective: A guide of UI design trends for 2021

Check out Dovetail's feature in UX Collective's 2021 UI design tends guide.

Heroku Podcast - Codeish: Innovations in business modeling

Evolving a startup into a business can be tough, even after you've raised funds and found a few customers. To get to the next level, you'll need strong product design, investments in marketing, and a strategy to execute it all.

3 mistakes still seen too often in startups

At Dovetail we design, build and invest in technology companies and in the process we’ve learnt a few lessons about what works and what doesn’t. In this article we’ve tried to focus on three mistakes that are relevant to early-stage founder

Why you should be doing product discovery

Before rushing to build your concept to push out to consumers, it’s important to first undertake product discovery.

Why you should build your mobile app with react native

Before rushing to build your concept to push out to consumers, it’s important to first undertake product discovery.

How to tell business stories through design: A 9 step process

Ready for a lesson in visual storytelling? Based on their experience designing an animated story for the folks at Afterpay, our friends at Dovetail share a step-by-step guide to help your design team create an engaging business story...

YBF Ventures - People Building Businesses Podcast: Dovetail's Nick Frandsen

Host Jason Lim and Nick talk about how a seemingly typical childhood eventuated into entrepreneurship and the journey from dropping out of high school to Dovetail and its inevitable success.

Business Essentials Daily Podcast: Startup in a box

How many times have you said or heard “I’ve got a great business idea!” Well, if indeed the idea is sound but lacks the funds or tech know-how to build, then Dovetail Ventures is for you.

Celebrating female leaders and entrepreneurs in the tech world on #IWD2021

Our very own Head of Quality Engineering, Georgia de Pont, speaks to iTWire for International Women's Day.

How these 9 female executives cracked the c-suite

Here are nine women who are challenging expectations and stereotypes while soaring to the top of their game in the corporate world.

Dynamic Business - Let’s Talk: Making the hard business choices

It can be a challenge to admit when something isn’t working, particularly when it’s something that we’ve put our blood, sweat and tears into. But, prolonging the hard choices because they’re hard, simply make them harder down the track.

Marketing on a budget: How startups can make every dollar count

When it comes to the early days at a startup, marketing isn’t always the number one priority.

Dovetail, the venture studio that has worked with startups like Afterpay, is raising a new fund

Based in Sydney and Auckland, Dovetail is a full-service venture studio that works closely with founders who have a great idea, but may lack technical backgrounds.

Techies demand top dollar as skills shortages bite

Australian tech companies are turning down new business because soaring pay rates being charged by workers with in-demand skills are making projects unprofitable, instead turning to training and other non-financial strategies to try to lur

Technology predictions for 2022 and beyond

What are Australia's IT leaders expecting? Our CTO, Toby Cox, shares his thoughts with BIT.

Dynamic Business - Let’s Talk: How to find and keep great staff

Never has it been more critical for you to understand how to position yourself as an employer of choice and establish a nurturing culture that inspires loyalty within your existing team.

Key ingredients for startup success

Venture capital (VC) is a common denominator for most successful businesses. But often, even with money, many budding startups still don’t get to the finish line. According to reports, a whopping nine out of 10 Aussie startups fail...

Building your Australian start-up success story

What it takes to start your own business in 2021.

Venture builders: can they fix it?

How venture studios are changing the face of Australian entrepreneurship.

Why 2021 is the year for non-technical founders

Despite common belief, someone no longer needs to be technical or have a technical co-founder to launch a successful technology startup.

Building a scalable ecommerce platform without a technical background

Australia alone is home to almost 500 retail startups, many of which were started by non-technical founders—from online marketplace Catch, to fashion retailer The Iconic, to beauty marketplace Adore Beauty.

From the ground up: The Kiwi masterminds behind Afterpay’s technology

A key component to Afterpay's success is the development and support from Dovetail, a Kiwi tech company that is the mastermind behind Afterpay’s app and website platforms.

A day in the life: Dovetail’s managing partner Nick Frandsen

Idealog speaks to Dovetail co-founder and managing partner, Nick Frandsen, about what it's like to walk a day in his shoes.

Dynamic Business - Let’s Talk: Getting the right people in

Taking the plunge and starting your own business can be scary. However a good team and support network can make the process much smoother. Having the right roles and also the right people in those roles can determine the success of your bus

Fintech report reveals top differentiators that will help you better engage mobile users

By providing great user experience, a variety of money management tools, lower fees and extensive security features, mobile-first fintech apps are setting a new benchmark for handling personal finances.

Dynamic Business - Let’s Talk: Success Secrets

Success looks different for each business. There is a huge variety in the business models that we hold up as success stories. This week we ask: “How have you built a great company?

Five tips for emerging start-ups from a Kiwi founder

In our experience designing and building products for a range of start-ups from retail to fintech, it’s safe to say we’ve learnt a few lessons about what works and what doesn’t. If you’re starting a new company, I encourage you to consider

The mobile and digital transformation behind Afterpay's rapid international rise

Chief product officer of the ASX-listed payments darling and its digital agency partner share the mobile web and digital programs supporting its global growth ambitions.

Afterpay’s $39bn sliding doors moment

This week’s blockbuster Square deal – the largest in Australian corporate history – almost happened four years ago.

Venture studio Dovetail raising $10 million for first fund

Successful founders and family offices can expect to hear from venture studio Dovetail in the coming weeks, as it kicks off the process of raising its first $10 million fund.

Meet the two Wanaka friends behind Afterpay technology

Stuff spoke to Ash Fogelberg and Nick Frandsen from their Sydney branch office about their work in the tech industry and involvement in the meteoric rise of Australia's fastest growing company.