Expert360

And we're back.

And it was a sad week for the Australian startup community with a sale for parts of Expert360 to international Goliath swipe jobs.

The AFR reported the letter center investors last week in the online recruitment startup were told they had no choice but to surrender their shares to swipe jobs after a deal was signed to acquire the company for just $16 million.

Expert360 been backed by VC firms, individuals raising almost $30 million since 2013 to help companies hire elite talent on demand.

As recently as this June, Street Talk had reported the business was profitable and growing quickly, with revenue of $140 million and heading to the auction block, allegedly spelling a payday for co-founder and Telstra director, Bridget Loudon-Harris.

Former Telstra director.

and the shareholders and the team, not my own outcome.

I expected that Bridget will remain with the business.

One of Australia's best-known startups is being sold in what's being described as a cut-price deal that could leave its founder and some of its earliest investors actually almost with nothing.

Expert360, which is founded by high-profile entrepreneur Bridget Loudon-Harris, is being bought by AI recruitment company Swypejobs for around $16 million.

Wow.

Expert360 launched in 2013 as a marketplace connecting companies with consultants and went on to raise almost $30 million from investors, including Airtree and Rampersand.

But the business lost momentum during the pandemic.

Under this sales structure, only investors holding certain preference shares will receive proceeds.