Our story
From first hire to IPO and exit.
Sean founded MyDeal.com.au in 2011, listed it on the ASX in 2020 and sold an 80% stake to Woolworths Group in 2022. We've built and scaled companies ourselves, so we know what the journey actually asks of a founder, and we respect anyone who chooses it.
[Paragraph: why Sean set up HMS Capital after MyDeal, and what he wanted it to be for the next generation of founders]
Our philosophy
Four things we hold to.
Founders first
We back people before we back plans. We've built and scaled companies ourselves, from first hire through IPO and exit, so we know what the journey actually asks of a founder, and we respect anyone who chooses it. We look for founders with real ambition, clear thinking and the resilience to keep going when the plan changes, and then we get behind them properly: available when it's hard, out of the way when it's not.
Early, with conviction
We can invest at any stage, but early is where we're most useful and most at home. We'd rather form a view before the market has, and we're comfortable being wrong about timing if we're right about the business.
What we won't compromise on is defensibility. Even at the earliest stage we want to see the shape of a moat: proprietary data, distribution, network effects, regulatory position, or a product that's hard to copy. Early doesn't mean undifferentiated.
Strong thematics
We concentrate on themes where we believe the next decade's great companies will be built and where we can add real perspective. We invest in businesses riding genuine structural shifts, not businesses that need to create their own tailwind.
Support that fits the company
No two businesses need the same thing from an investor, so we don't run a playbook. What we can bring, when it's useful:
- Introductions to customers, talent, co-investors and the people who've solved the problem you're facing
- Help raising capital: round structure, investor targeting, materials and the negotiation itself
- Operational support from operators who've scaled businesses, not advisers who've watched others do it
- Finance support: the numbers, the board, the reporting, and the path to a liquidity event when the time comes
How we invest
A family office, not a fund.
Our typical cheque is $200k to $2m. We're happy to follow a strong lead, and we can lead when it's the right fit.
No deployment clock
No fundraising cycle and no pressure to exit on someone else's timeline.
Patient capital
We can be patient and back our winners into later rounds.
Quick decisions
You deal directly with the people who actually write the cheque. A clear answer within two weeks.
See what we look for, how we decide and how to reach us.