Starboard Maritime Intelligence is a maritime domain awareness platform designed to tackle illegal fishing and transnational crime, prevent biosecurity outbreaks, and protect at-sea assets.
Snowball Effect was recently the sole advisor on their $5m seed funding round. This raise was led by Altered Capital and included Icehouse Ventures, Invest South, Soul Capital, and Whakatupu Aotearoa Foundation, as well as US-based SeaAhead.
Before engaging with Snowball Effect, Starboard Maritime Intelligence met with a number of institutional investors. While there was a lot of interest in the product and business and a strong interest to co-invest, securing a lead investor was key to setting terms and converting these into investment commitments. The funding environment had also become increasingly difficult as the interest rate cycle turned, with many investors focused on the needs of their existing portfolio rather than new investments.
Snowball Effect has the benefit of being able to access a broad range of institutional investors across the country and engage its extensive wholesale network to create a sense of urgency. Snowball Effect supported Starboard Maritime Intelligence with its investment materials and investor outreach. It liaised with potential investor groups through the capital raise process, to help find a lead, negotiate the terms, and secure early momentum for the raise.
Once a lead investor was secured, and terms agreed upon, the rest of the round quickly fell into place, and the raise closed comfortably oversubscribed. Starboard successfully secured the capital it was seeking along with a broad range of investors, including institutions and HNWs, who will support its growth aspirations in the years to come.
Read the full Starboard press release