This September marks the 1-year anniversary of Atlassian Ventures, a fund that invests in companies building apps for the Atlassian cloud ecosystem, established ecosystem product partners, and members of the Atlassian Partner Program. In its first year, Atlassian Ventures has closed 19 investments, including 10 seed investments distributed to early-stage startups. In total, Atlassian Ventures distributed $14M in capital.
The Atlassian ecosystem adds tremendous value to the Atlassian platform, both for the customers who rely on apps to support their unique workflows and for the developers who build their businesses in the Marketplace. The 5,350 apps in the Atlassian Marketplace give customers thousands of ways to tailor the Atlassian platform to their specific needs and use cases. Filling these needs represents a significant opportunity for developers. Building a Marketplace app is a springboard to growing a full-fledged business, career independence, and commercial success. In fact, 50 businesses built on the Marketplace have grossed over $1M in annual recurring revenue.
Atlassian is committed to meaningful actions that contribute to the success of the ecosystem, including direct financial investment. Atlassian Ventures seed investments level the playing field, so a developer with an innovative idea has the resources to make that idea a reality—and build a successful business in the process. Atlassian Ventures investment agreements are designed with the needs of early-stage founders in mind, including standardized, friendly terms.
One year later, we've seen firsthand the impact this funding has had on the ecosystem. Developers have turned side projects into full time jobs, founders have expanded operations and hired new talent, and companies have brought innovative new apps to market. Read on to hear how three developers have experienced accelerated growth as a result of funding.
Meet the developers partnering with Atlassian Ventures
The Hello Clerk invoices app was my side project, and I wanted to make it a full-time job and fully dedicate myself to this business. The Atlassian Ventures funding was a chance for me to do this.
Anton Skorniakov, Hello Clerk
Among the Atlassian Ventures investees for fiscal year 2021 are Jexo, Hello Clerk, and ikuTeam. At Developer Day 2021, Lucy Gregory from the Atlassian Ventures team led a panel discussion with founders from these three Marketplace partners. Investees shared their companies’ origin stories, their motivations for pursuing seed funding, and their experience during the application process and beyond.
Key takeaways from the conversation include:
- Successful app ideas often originate from a problem developers have experienced themselves.
- Companies that have received funding previously can accelerate their growth through investment from Atlassian Ventures.
- Consider finding an investment partner who understands the Atlassian Ecosystem, a key reason Luis Gomes, co-founder of ikuTeam, chose Atlassian Ventures.
Watch the full, recorded session:
Growing the ecosystem, one seed at a time
Infusing $14M into the Atlassian ecosystem gives us a lot to celebrate, but we're just getting started. Atlassian Ventures plans to increase the number of startups funded in fiscal year 2022.
Atlassian Ventures makes investments in two sizes: scale and seed. Scale investments are are made alongside traditional lead institutional investors and are distributed to mid-size to large partner companies. Seed investments are typically $250K and are distributed to early-stage startups. See our FAQs for more details on terms.
Seed investments are the cornerstone of the Atlassian Ventures program, and our goal is to make funds available to qualifying startups with as little friction as possible. After applying, most applicants are contacted with feedback within 4-6 weeks. The terms of Atlassian Ventures investments are standardized to streamline the legal review process, allowing us to expedite approval. In short, we want to enable developers to spend more time building and less time negotiating terms.
Support for Atlassian Ventures investees isn't just financial. Atlassian connects portfolio companies with an Atlassian mentor and provides opportunities for exposure, like placement at Team events.
We're accepting applications now for the next cohort of investees. We encourage founders (or would-be founders) to get in touch and apply—even those still in the idea or prototype stage.
Learn more about applying to Atlassian Ventures
Have an idea for an Atlassian app, or want to take your Marketplace startup to the next stage of growth? Find out if Atlassian Ventures is the right fit by visiting our website. There you can read about companies we've funded in the past, review investment terms, and browse FAQs.
Before you apply, you'll need to have a business plan based on building an app for Atlassian Cloud. Participation is open to Marketplace Partners and Solution Partners, and you can apply even if your company has raised a funding round previously. Atlassian Ventures is a global program, and participation is open to companies based around the world.
Even if you haven't figured out all of the details yet, we want to hear from you. Reach out to learn more about funding through Atlassian Ventures.