Fundraising Fox

Darcy Naunton

Venture capital

Sydney · Pre-Seed–Series A · 32 people tracked

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Investment thesis

Black Nova backs brilliant founders solving acute problems in the B2B SaaS industry. The firm looks for deep domain expertise and determined, ambitious founding teams, investing from Pre-Seed through Series A. It emphasizes transparency, speed, and strong founder support throughout the investment process, positioning itself as a trusted partner with cultural fit and integrity at its core.

Invests inEnterprise SoftwareSaaSAsia-PacificAustraliaSydney

Source: firm website, verified Jul 30, 2026.

Stage
Pre-Seed–Series A
Check
$100K
HQ
Sydney, AU
Instruments
Equity
Tracked investments
5

Team · 32 people

from the firm's website
Darcy Naunton· General Partner
Matthew Browne· Managing Partner
Nick Tonkin· Partner
Joshua Farrugia· Principal, Head of Investment and Operations
Alex Retzlaff· Venture Partner

Technology-focused VP with over a decade of CTO experience, supporting portfolio companies with tech audits and platform assessments.

Alok Kulkarni· Venture Partner

Chairman and co-founder of Cyara, a CX assurance platform he led as CEO for 17 years; now chairs Monash Innovation Labs.

Andrew Nash· Venture Partner

Serial entrepreneur and leader with 35+ years of global tech experience including 28 years in the US, spanning startups, expansions, turnarounds and mergers. Has advised VC and PE portfolio companies in CEO, interim CEO and board roles.

Anthony Woodward· Venture Partner

Founder-operator who co-founded RecordPoint and serves as its CEO, focused on B2B SaaS with governance and privacy at the core and on founders entering the US. Co-hosts the FILED podcast; holds an MBT from UNSW.

Bill Trestrail· Venture Partner

Senior technology executive and dotcom-era veteran with expertise in business model design, partnerships, enterprise sales, governance and business intelligence tools.

Cheryl Mack· Venture Partner

CEO of Aussie Angels and an active angel investor with 20+ startup investments. Leads an angel syndicate of 120+ investors and co-runs the 361 Angel Club.

Chris Petzoldt· Venture Partner

Startup monetization expert focused on pricing, packaging and go-to-market, with 25 years of experience across 20 countries. Former Managing Partner for Simon-Kucher Oceania and an active angel investor.

Damian Janeski· Venture Partner

Technology entrepreneur with 15+ years founding and exiting hospitality and retail SaaS businesses, including MyGuestlist and Sprout (sold to Mr Yum in 2022). Founder of lifecycle marketing company Sophy.

Dan Peters· Venture Partner

Managing Director, Business Development APAC at Uber and a two-time startup founder (Cleardocs, Limepay). Former Google executive with go-to-market and large-deal expertise.

David Kenney· Venture Partner

Founder of Start Growth and former Managing Partner at Hall Chadwick turned founder growth coach. Longtime investor and mentor to Australian startups, including at Startmate and The Founders Institute.

Elon Aizenstros· Venture Partner

Founder and Chairman of data security software RecordPoint and a multi-time founder with 8- and 9-figure exits in information management SaaS. Former economist/game theorist at Telstra Research Labs, focused on governance.

Glenn Parker· Venture Partner

Technology executive and sales strategist experienced in scaling B2B SaaS across APAC. Former MD at Experian, VP APAC at AppDNA and VP Global Sales at Donesafe, with organic and M&A-driven growth expertise.

Grant Thomson· Venture Partner

Senior enterprise technology executive with 30 years across IBM, Salesforce and ServiceNow. Currently Senior Director, Financial Services at ServiceNow ANZ, and founder of advisory firm The Composition Factory.

Leena Wood· Venture Partner

Managing Director, APAC for B2B revenue consultancy Winning By Design and former VP of Enterprise Sales at Salesforce leading APAC's Marketing Cloud division. Specialist in go-to-market and scaling sales.

Leo Neuerburg· Venture Partner

Co-founder of AI contech platform Building Radar with 9+ years building sales and customer success teams. Raised over $30M in venture capital and grew B2B enterprise sales past $10M ARR.

Marcelo Alé· Venture Partner

Physicist and economist by training who became tech co-founder of e-grocery pioneer Leshop.ch. Later an LP and advisor at Antler across Sydney, Singapore and Iberia, and an early-stage angel investor.

Nikhil Pooviah· Venture Partner

Medical doctor turned entrepreneur, co-founder of digital health startup Elly and previously founder of CancerAid. Draws on a large US investor network to help portfolio companies expand into the US.

Oliver Berger· Venture Partner

Twice-exited founder and multiple-time chief product officer with 20+ years running product teams at companies including Stake and MySpace, and consulting to startups globally.

Rob Skillington· Venture Partner

Co-founder and former CTO of Chronosphere (sold to Palo Alto Networks in 2026), now VP and Fellow there. Previously observability tech lead at Uber and creator of the M3DB time-series database.

Scott Handsaker· Venture Partner

Founder of Australian cybersecurity accelerator CyRise and a multi-time founder. Board member for Startup Victoria with a strong network supporting cybersecurity founders.

Scott Heyes· Venture Partner

Finance operator with 20+ years across venture capital and corporate finance who has managed US$130M+ across funds and SPVs. Founder and CEO of First Contact Advisory, helping tech companies expand into North America.

Tom McLeod· Venture Partner

Serial technology founder and executive in enterprise software and AI/ML who has raised over $20M for his ventures. A partner at Startmate and investor in 100+ tech companies.

Yann Burden· Venture Partner

AI and technical specialist, most recently Chief AI Officer at Pendula through its acquisition by Smart Communications. Previously founded and sold utilities SaaS platform Billcap as CEO.

Alex Lennon· Head of Talent
Chris Wanner· Operating Partner
Dan Ross· Operating Partner
Noga Edelstein· Operating Partner
Tim Baker· Financial Services Professional

Investments · 5 tracked

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Functionly
Operata
Pathzero

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Phantm
RightPaw

Frequently asked questions

What stage does Darcy Naunton invest at?
Darcy Naunton invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A stages.
What is Darcy Naunton's typical check size?
Darcy Naunton typically writes checks of $100K.
What sectors does Darcy Naunton focus on?
Darcy Naunton focuses on Enterprise Software, SaaS.
Where is Darcy Naunton located?
Darcy Naunton is headquartered in Sydney, AU.

Media · Podcasts & interviews

featuring the team

Abundance mindset - Stuart Richardson & Darcy Naunton (Adventur.e Capital) | Startup Playbook Ep040 - YouTube

Rohit Bhargava · Darcy Naunton

The Best Advice I Ever Received... Darcy Naunton | YBF Ventures - YouTube

YBF Ventures · Darcy Naunton

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