My name is David Bonython and I am the founder and CEO of QiTek Group. 

We have developed a suite of smart air purifiers and air quality filters linked to a cloud-based management system. 

Our purification can kill viruses and bacteria in the air and on surfaces.

This allows us to remotely measure contaminants in the air, deliver real time reporting and then treat the air by removing viruses, bacteria, mold and odors.

Before starting QiTek I had a multi-decade career in IT and manufacturing.

We’ve raised a total of $345k over several rounds. The latest valuation was $5M.  

We started pre-COVID and thought we would see massive growth in that period given that our systems filter and treat COVID.

There was so much chaos at the time and so many new entrants in the market, so we did not get the type of traction we expected. 

There was an obsession with silver bullet remedies versus sensible multi-layered approaches. 

As a result we waited until the market settled down — those new entrants have fallen away and the adults are back in charge making sensible decisions. 

We are raising now that the market has stabilized and we hope to raise enough to service large industrial customers in Australia and then start our push into Asia.

The Australian tech investing ecosystem is a lot more conservative. 

We have been trying to find investors who have a global view and understand  the importance of air quality issues in other countries.

The main thing we needed the capital for was manufacturing and distribution of our equipment.

We already had the cloud system developed — the hardware is mature and ready for mass manufacturing — we needed build and sell.

Our main criteria are working with investors who believe in the mission and believe in us as a team.

Founders often get caught up with the prestige of the investment firm or the size of the check and forget to consider whether the investor is going to be a good partner or not.

We have worked mostly within our own network.

Our first calls were people we had previously done business with. We then asked them if they knew anybody else who might be interested.

We reached out to over 100 investors and have ended up with 20 on the cap table so far.

Our emphasis was the core feature of the technology that kills viruses and bacteria in the air and on surfaces — it can clear aerosols from the air like smoke and odors. 

Seeing COVID and the wildfires that have been happening around the world, we argued that the demand for these types of products will only continue to grow.

Given that we have mostly raised from people we knew, when we had meetings they were fairly decisive about saying yes or no. 

Going from raising from within our network to raising from institutional investors has been a challenge. 

The criteria they use and the way they approach the meeting is quite different. 

There is a lot more concern with who else has invested in us rather than the underlying idea or fundamentals of the business. 

This is particularly important to the smaller angel investors — some can be very risk averse.

We tried raising money from the Australian government during the COVID pandemic. 

We sent out proposals to several departments with the idea that — since our products were incredibly useful during the outbreak of an airborne virus — they would be keen to at least see the technology.

Most of them said no because we did not check the right boxes — they only offered to match funds rather than provide the beginning capital.

Try to learn as much as you can about the startup funding ecosystem such as the terminology and the typical documents needed. 

When we first began I was not very familiar with the elements of startup funding. 

The reality is that you need to almost constantly be raising — that requires a clear multi-year strategy.

There are concepts and structures that you will see in every deal, so it helps to be familiar with these before you begin.

One of my advisers spent time getting me to sit on the other side of the table and think like the investor. That sounds simple, but there are nuances that are not obvious at first.

Also be disciplined about how much equity you offer and the valuation you offer it at — try and get advice at the start about that.

The one that has been of the most help to us with sensible advice and a global outlook is Daniel Hallawi of KapVista Ventures.

There are great webinars run by accounting firms and law firms that can help you get up to speed on the startup funding ecosystem. 

I also like LivePlan; it is a simple tool that will help you forecast financials and clarify your business plan.