November 19, 2025 • 32 mins
Are you developing a medical science innovation and need funding for your venture?
MTPConnect and Wholesale Investor are collaborating on a dedicated capital engagement program designed for life science companies looking for private investment.
Wholesale Investor Co-Founder and Managing Director Steve Torso is behind one of the largest capital raising platforms in Australia, and he joins the podcast to talk about how the MTPConnect Investor Ready program can help life science companies develop an investor network, build a skill base in investor communications and avoid some of the pitfalls when engaging with investors.
He covers what to expect at our upcoming inaugural Life Science Investor Day as part of Wholesale Investor’s Emergence 2026 conference, which will bring together ASX-listed innovators, breakthrough private companies, and global investors driving the future of health, diagnostics, and therapeutics.
To find out more about the MTPConnect Investor Ready program and to register your interest, visit our website or contact Steve Torso. There are limited places still available.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Natalie Vella (00:01):
This is the MTP Connect podcast, connecting you
with the people behind thelife-saving innovations driving
Australia's growing lifesciences sector from bench to
bedside for better health andwell-being.
MTP Connect acknowledges thetraditional owners of country
that this podcast is recorded onand recognises that Aboriginal
(00:22):
and Torres Strait Islanderpeoples are Australia's first
storytellers and the holders offirst science knowledge.
Caroline Duell (00:33):
Welcome to the podcast.
I'm Caroline Duell.
Are you developing a medicalscience innovation and need
funding for your venture?
MTP Connect and WholesaleInvestor are collaborating on a
dedicated capital engagementprogram designed for life
science companies looking forprivate investors.
Steve Torso is the co-founderand managing director of
(00:55):
Wholesale Investor, the largestcapital raising platform in
Australia.
We take a look at how the MTPConnect Investor Ready program
can help companies develop aninvestor network and build a
skill base in investorcommunications.
And Steve shares some tips forsuccess and the pitfalls to
avoid.
Steve Torso (01:18):
Thanks, Caroline.
Caroline Duell (01:19):
What's the inspiration behind your capital
raising platform wholesaleinvestor?
Steve Torso (01:24):
We've been in this space since 2008.
We initially started out as amagazine and then sort of 2012
we got rid of the magazine andthen we started focusing on
online to offline.
And so we did have a websiteand all that sort of stuff, but
as the sort of years went on, Irealized that capital raising
wasn't quite what I thought itwas, which was sort of explained
(01:46):
to me and what you sort of readeverywhere, which is basically
a process of sending out a pitchdeck or sending out an IM and
then waiting for an investor tocome back with a yes or a no.
It was a little bit more, youknow, sort of um nuanced than
that, in that there was more ofan engagement process.
And I realized that unless youcan actually have a centralized
(02:06):
sort of source of truth aroundyour capital raising, it's
actually very difficult.
And every time you go to raisemoney, you're basically starting
the process from the startagain.
So it was a combination of myown experience when I had
investor uh InvestTech becomingan investor in my business, and
I realized that I wasn't ready,I wasn't prepared.
And, you know, so I basicallystarted designing the product in
(02:30):
what I was experiencing from acapital raise perspective.
And then I started using theproduct to, you know, it's
around 2019 to start raising formy own business.
And then that's sort of wherethe whole sort of capital HQ
come from is I started buildingit to basically make my life
easier when raising capital.
And life is never easy whenyou're raising capital.
(02:51):
So it was just more about howdo I do this and just keep on
creating efficiencies in theprocess.
And I was just fortunate enoughthat I could also build a
software tool that could assistwith that as well.
Caroline Duell (03:02):
So tell us a little bit about the what the
capital HQ concept is.
Steve Torso (03:07):
The three parts that I think about it is that
one, um, you know, providingaccess to investors and being
able to see sort of who is in anecosystem, I think is sort of a
key part of that.
The second part is streamliningand simplifying the process.
And then the third part isremoving friction from the
process.
So the only way you could dothat is if you think about it
(03:30):
from both sides.
If you think about it, okay,what's an investor's experience
when they come across a company?
Basically, typically it'snormally just a wall of
information.
So it's like, well, then how doyou think about what are the
key parts that you you speak tothat get an investor's
attention, you know, about anopportunity?
And then likewise from thefounder side, when you're
raising capital, it is just sofrustrating saying the same
(03:53):
thing over and over again,answering the same questions.
In fact, one of my mentors saidit best.
He goes, when you're raisingcapital, you just feel like
you're the chief repeatingofficer.
You know, you're just sayingthe exact same thing.
So it's like, well, how can youhave and also I remember my
frustration in that I was havingthese calls and I felt like it
wasn't that the deal room itselfwasn't actually working for me
(04:16):
when I wasn't pushing it.
Where the way I sort of thinkabout now is as how as I have
how do I have it in an always onstate so that if existing
investors want to come back toit a different time, or if
potential investors want to comeback or shareholders, et
cetera, it basically can be inthat always on state for the
process.
(04:36):
So it's there's a whole bunchof things which also align, like
in the design of it, align withmy belief around the thesis of
sort of capital raising, whichhas become more and more
prominent now for many lifescience companies, just given
that you know, over the lastcouple of years, you've seen you
know the ASX make it more andmore difficult for sort of
(04:57):
earlier stage companies to listwith their sort of changing of
requirements in sort of 2022 and2023.
And then likewise at that timethere's been a corresponding
sort of you know introduction ofso many different grants that
have been made available.
But you realize now that, youknow, a lot of the state and
sort of federal governmentbudgets are are under pressure,
(05:17):
and you just sort of have thatfear that, you know, what if
they do start sort of cuttingthose programs?
So, you know, it's sort of Isuppose my thesis, you know, is
that if you're targeting highnet worth and family offices,
which many companies will haveto because there's only a
handful of sort of VCs, andthere's a different approach in
how you do that.
That's where I've spent a lotof my time trying to understand
(05:39):
what is the art and I supposethe science of raising money.
Caroline Duell (05:44):
Yeah, so that's that's what we're going to talk
about today.
It's really this focus on thelife sciences sector and
startups and small to mediumenterprises that are looking for
backing and an opportunity thatMTP Connect and Wholesale
Investor have worked up reallyfor our life sciences sector.
Maybe you could talk to us alittle bit about that.
Steve Torso (06:06):
So those things I just mentioned before, I suppose
they sit at the foundation ofsort of why you know this sort
of program became available.
For me, I got the life sciencebug in 2009.
We worked with uh Q Biotics andwe've obviously worked with a
lot of life science companies,ranging from you know 4D medical
when they come out of sort ofMonash University.
(06:26):
Likewise, you know, I've gotRecy Pharmaceuticals coming to
mind.
We've been there with sort ofImogen as they've gone through
their various sort of ups anddowns, etc.
So I understand the nature ofhow hard it is with raising
capital, but also I understandthat the majority of life
science companies who comeacross, they've all been the
majority being funded, you know,in the early days by high
(06:46):
networks and family officers.
So that's where sort of thisconversation between us was
really about how do we put aspotlight on the what great
work's happening in lifesciences, because you guys do a
great job of communicating thesuccess about what people are
doing and where they're at, butvery few other people really get
to get a real big feel for howmany great success stories and
(07:09):
all the incredible things thatpeople are building sort of in
that space.
And then when you havebuzzwords like AI come over and
you start to see all those startto dominate, it's like, well,
you know, how do you sort ofthen capture investors, uh
investors' attention?
So that's where we sort ofstarted designing this whole
program around how do you createsomething where it puts a
(07:30):
spotlight on it?
It allows the sort of CEOs andthe people behind the business
to tell the story behind thebusiness, but also the
technology as well.
And then how do you, I suppose,create the story for the
companies where it's simple,it's more personal, it's more
humanized, and much moreengaging to involve people in.
(07:53):
So, you know, as I said, it'sit's multi-step in the way in
which we've thought about it.
But my my biggest hope is thatsort of by the time we sort of
finish this program and by thetime we've finished the the sort
of life sciences investor day,that people share the same
enthusiasm that I have, youknow, after sort of chatting
with all the various companiesthat will be participating.
Caroline Duell (08:13):
And what you're talking about really is um your
wholesale investor network,you've built up a huge ecosystem
of like 45,000 privateinvestors, high net worth
investors, who tap into a numberof different opportunities
throughout the year for you knowto invest in different sectors.
(08:33):
Um this is the first timeyou've actually looked at doing
a specific uh life scienceinvestor day.
It's due to happen next um nextyear in February.
Um, tell us about thatopportunity.
Steve Torso (08:46):
I'm a big believer in concentration of energy.
And so whilst we've alwaysworked with you know life
science companies, the thereality is that when we've done
it, there's we've basically hadthem in amongst all sort of
other types of opportunities.
So, for example, we could havehad like an ag tech opportunity
or a you know renewable energyopportunity or a fund, for
(09:08):
example.
And so, you know, whilst wewould always have you know life
science companies presenting,there was never that one time
where it's like just lifescience.
And so that way, you know, youknow, like for every company
that's presenting, they knowthat every single person in that
room is there to listen to lifesciences, listen to medical
(09:28):
device, listen to healthcareopportunities and there to
engage.
And I know also from apsychology factor as well, in
building up something like this,when you're promoting it, it's
so much easier when you'repromoting something sector
focused, you to attract likewiseall the investors that have an
interest in that area, eventhough they won't be as
(09:49):
technical as probably one everyCEO wants them to be.
You know, they want tounderstand the science.
They want, you know, the factthey've got an interest is a
great starting point.
And you find that the way itworks with sort of high net
worse is they could say theythey could go through all the
sessions they want and say, Oh,don't don't invest in something
you don't understand.
Don't do the reality is, youknow, I've had so many times
(10:10):
where investors said, I onlyinvest in this type of deal.
And then you see that they'vegone and invested into a life
science company or in a biotechbecause they've got some sort of
personal connection.
So, you know, if we do this, dothis right, we're basically
helping the companies articulatethe humanized story of what
they're doing.
We're helping them sort ofcommunicate what is the critical
(10:33):
pathways or sort of, I suppose,inflection points in the
valuation of their business, andthen helping them take the
investor uh along for thejourney as well.
And then obviously the outcomeis we want them to participate.
Caroline Duell (10:47):
So the whole idea is to try and help life
science companies get investorready.
What do you need to be investorready?
Because you need more than awebsite, right?
Steve Torso (10:56):
Investor ready has become like I suppose a term
that people like to use.
I sort of frame it slightlybecause the hardest part is I I
just don't feel like you're everreally investor ready, no
matter who your business is.
So the way I think about it isit's more about you're you're
articulating what you're doingin a way that engages investors.
(11:17):
So you're gonna do all yourstuff like preparing your
preparing your deal room,getting your information,
getting IP, getting what all theall the stuff that you expect.
That's sort of when someone'salready interested.
That's when that becomes reallyimportant.
The question is, is how do youget someone interested?
So I suppose the part I focuson is what is the narrative that
(11:39):
that a technical business isgoing to sell to high net worth
and family obviously investorsthat makes them want to know
more.
So in marketing, you're taughteffectively there's three stages
of someone buying something.
There's the awareness of it,then there's a consideration,
and then there's a decision.
Most people, when they'reraising money, they think about
(12:01):
it like, hey, you're aware ofme, right?
And you should make a decision,you know.
And unfortunately, thatconsideration part is the part
that sort of people forget, youknow, in that.
So, you know, that that thatinvestor ready part I talk about
is more around how do youcommunicate what is your three
(12:21):
to seven-word hero text aboutwhat you're doing that is
relevant to high net worth andfamily offices.
You know, what is that seven?
Because effectively you getseconds of headspace with
someone before they're decidingif they're interested.
You know, there's anotheracronym in in marketing they
call awareness, interest,desire, action, right?
And you only have seconds tocapture someone's awareness.
(12:43):
So the hardest part for every,you know, every life science
founder or medical devicefounder is just sitting there
thinking that I spend my life24-7 thinking about this,
working on it, solving problems.
But the truth is the personyou're going to be pitching it
to gives you seconds ofheadspace to decide if they're
interested.
So that's why I always startwith what is that headline hero
(13:05):
text?
The next part that I reallylove to go into is how do you
succinctly summarize that sortof problem solution statement?
So, you know, do you know howto identify the problem?
What we do is identify thesolution.
And then the next part that Ilove is that what are the
investment highlights?
(13:26):
And investment highlights canalso get misconstrued and to
think about, oh, I need to sellwhat's revenue, what's, you
know, it's that that can be apart at some stage, but at this
early stage, it's really about,you know, who is the team?
What is the team's been there,done that experience?
How can that be explained inone to two lines?
That when an investor sees it,they think that's interesting.
(13:48):
You know, I think that's the Ithink that's the key word you're
going for is you you're tryingto get into the headspace of
investors where they look atwhat you're doing and think,
that's interesting.
I want to know more.
So headline hero text, thenproblem solution statement, and
then the next one is thosehighlighting of those investment
highlights.
So teens been there, done thatexperience.
Who has backed you to date?
(14:10):
You know, and what is what formhas that been in?
You know, have you put in asignificant amount of money
yourself into the actualbusiness?
That's always a good sign.
Have you had investors alreadyput money, you know?
For example, one of thecompanies I spoke to had, you
know, the Mayo Venture Fund putmoney into them.
That's interesting, right?
(14:31):
Or have you had private highnet worth that uh sort of known
put money in?
Even if it's 25k, 50k, 100k, itdoesn't matter.
The fact they invested is asignal for other investors.
And then have you received whatgrants have you received?
Because often the grant processsort of goes through a lot more
(14:51):
you know technical depth as faras what you're actually doing
before you've actually receivedfunds.
And if there's biggerinvestment groups, fantastic.
So whether they be personalinvestors or bigger investors,
highlight that.
So they're the sort of twostarting ones.
And then the next one is iswell, where are you actually at?
You know, are you you knowgoing through your trial
(15:12):
process?
Have you done some of the earlydata work, you know, etc.?
Where where is that, you know,what have you got to do?
Yeah, correct.
Caroline Duell (15:21):
Are you close to getting regulatory approval or
you know, are you just startingout with your first clinical
trial?
Like all of those sort ofmilestones they can position
companies in a particular in aparticular way.
Steve Torso (15:33):
And did you get any partnerships with that?
You know, is do you have anypartnerships with hospitals,
research institutes, you know,et cetera, that you can sort of
speak to?
Because again, once again, it'sall leveraging off brands that
would be known, you know, likewhether it be, you know, I'm
just trying to think of thename, but there was like various
research institutes that sortof got mentioned in in a lot of
(15:55):
the conversations, or varioushospitals that got mentioned.
That becomes about yeah,correct.
So so there's some of thethings like when I think about
investment ready, I think aboutmarketing, I suppose marketing
marketing ready, you know, forfor for going out to sort of
high net worth and familyoffices.
Caroline Duell (16:13):
And what do you think about the need to educate
investors about investing in thelife sciences sector?
Because it's it's a differentgame to perhaps other
technology.
It's it might be a longer game,for instance, um, depending on
what it is, whether it might bea therapeutic versus a medical
(16:34):
device or um a diagnostic orsomething like that.
But yeah, as part of theprogram that that MTP Connect is
running with um wholesaleinvestor, there's also some uh
investor education as part ofthat.
What does that look like?
Steve Torso (16:49):
So when you started mentioning that, I thought
straight away we had a keynotefrom Hashan DeSilva from KPRX at
our Emergence Conference, andit was one of the best
educations about where he likesto invest in into life science,
you know, in life sciencecompanies.
But I think the the educationis a key part because if you
hear how investors explain howthey're trying to assess
(17:13):
opportunities, you can then alsoreframe your narrative to align
with that.
So for example, you know, whenyou're when you're, you know,
you always got to think about inyour decks about use of funds.
So you're raising X amount ofmillion to go and do X trials or
(17:34):
you know, basically get to nextsort of data point or
prototyping or first products orgo to market strategy, et
cetera.
Well, I suppose in their mind,they're trying to assess how
you're using that money, right?
And this is where invest andthis is where it's helpful to
understand that that investoreducation part, how you're using
(17:54):
that money and how itcorrelates with a value
inflection point if you achievethat milestone.
So many companies will tell meabout oh, we want to do this
because we want to get our trialto you know this next stage or
you know, phase two or whateverit is.
So effectively, if that's thecase, what does that actually
(18:15):
mean?
If you get it to that, how doesthat change the valuation
profile of the business?
What opportunities does thatmean?
You know, what companies arethere that are in your sort of
simulator area where you canlook to as references?
So that investor education isimportant because however they
receive their education, youneed to understand that they
(18:38):
will also then want to hearopportunities communicated, then
in the way that they haveunderstood what to be looking
for.
Caroline Duell (18:45):
You've worked with so many companies over the
years.
You know, you've been doingthis for about 14 years now.
Steve Torso (18:51):
It's actually our this October was our 17th
birthday, which is you know,it's comes out when it comes out
of your mouth.
That's it's like when you getolder, you only realize your age
when it comes out of yourmouth.
Caroline Duell (19:02):
It must be um rewarding to be sort of
matchmaking these investmentopportunities for companies and
and seeing you know companyexits and you know that type of
success.
How do you feel about being thematchmaker?
Steve Torso (19:17):
Ultimately, like I'm I realize that we play a
small role, but it's a highvalue role.
I think where you getsatisfaction is from you know
seeing what you've actuallyassisted with in the early days
then sort of come to fruitiondown the track.
Like 40 medical comes to mind.
You know, I said working withthem as a siege stage company,
(19:38):
sort of coming out of MonashUniversity and speaking with
Andreas, you know, just as hewas going into IPO and just
telling me how important it wasthose 50, 100k, 200k checks were
sort of in those early dayscompared to how much easier it
was when he was going to IPO andhe was being offered 5 million,
you know, 2 million, 10 millionfrom different instants.
(19:58):
That's that's pretty rewarding.
You know, it doesn't really getacknowledged, you know, too
much, but that's sort of a veryrewarding fact.
Or someone like Cube Ice said,you know, we are coming out the
back end of the GFC and theyneeded to raise 2 million and
seeing our network sort ofdeliver on that 2 million, then
sort of 2021 seeing TDM go infor 50 million, you know, in
(20:21):
into the company, and nowthey're sort of making their
pathway sort of more, you know,towards an exit as well.
That's pretty cool.
Or, you know, looking at someof the, you know, some of the
life science companies like aRecce, you know, go through
their journey through all theirdifferent sort of stages and
like it's very rewarding.
It's also you realize all youranti-portfolio of what you
(20:41):
didn't invest into, but it'sit's rewarding to see them hit
their goals and and you knowthat you played a small role
sort of in that.
I think that's where I get alot of satisfaction from.
Caroline Duell (20:51):
Tell us about what the Life Sciences Investor
Day is going to look like inFebruary.
What's involved in a wholesaleinvestor day?
Steve Torso (20:59):
So the Life Science Investor Day is part of our
bigger conference calledEmergence.
So Emergence is the biggestthing that we do each year.
We last year, I think we hadsomewhere between 750 to 1,000
come along to it.
This year, obviously, you know,no different than everyone
else.
I want to make it bigger.
Um, so it's a really simpleformat, and we typically have
like three sort of panelsessions, and you know, with
(21:21):
that, we have differentinvestment groups provide their
sort of investment thesis abouthow they're sort of looking to
invest.
And you know, you typicallyhave a couple keynotes, but the
main part is that we we providevarious networking sort of
sessions, both in the morning,during the event, and then sort
of in the afternoon, so that youknow investors can go around
(21:41):
and chat to the variouscompanies that are being
featured.
And then each company getstheir own sort of eight-minute
presentation as well.
So it's not just about having atrade table and being at it,
you actually get to present toinvestors your opportunity and
effectively they can then sortof come up and engage with you.
But the the key part to howwe've worked together on this is
(22:02):
that you know we're going tostart doing all the recording of
CEO interviews, we're gonna bedoing articles on the companies
involved.
Um, it within our Capital HQsoftware.
We've actually got aconferencing component in there.
So the companies that arepresenting can access the
investors in in the conferenceas well and can message them
directly and invite them to comeand chat with them.
Plus, we're also recordingeveryone's presentation, so
(22:24):
we'll make that available tothem afterwards.
We'll be doing interviews atthe event as well.
So all this sort of stuffbecomes all the different touch
points that you can sort ofbuild, you know, in the process
of your own capital raising andyou can share across your
LinkedIn media, et cetera.
So my look, basically, my hopeis that thousands of people get,
you know, a whole bunch ofcontent around.
Oh, and we also live stream aswell, which is the other
(22:47):
component.
But my the big hope is is thatjust so many different touch
points around life sciences andmedical device and healthcare is
created for us across the nextfew months and where bring a lot
more investor interest sort ofinto the area.
Caroline Duell (23:03):
I suppose this, you know, what we've termed a
tight funding environment.
Yeah.
Can you share any sort ofcapital insights that are
relevant for the life sciencessector?
Steve Torso (23:14):
Yeah, I'll I would just say like capital raising is
frustrating at the best oftimes, except for that beautiful
spot of late 2020 and uh earlyand 2021.
But you know, I would say focuson engagement of investors.
Instead of focusing on justraising from investors, focus on
the engagement component.
Let them sort of, you know,said that going back to that
(23:36):
awareness, consideration,decision part, spend let them
spend time in that considerationpart, but make it easy for them
to spend time in thatconsideration part.
So have things like yourfrequently asked questions
already prepared.
You know, so all the questionsthat other investors have
previously asked you, don't makethem ask it to you again.
Have it ready for them, sort ofin you know, in your deal room.
(23:58):
Um have a video that's reallyeasy, that's very humanized
about sort of what you're doing,where you're at, you know, as
and obviously we do that as partof our CEO interview.
And and then also there's gonnabe a key part.
There's a key part of raisingmoney where you've got interest
in what you're doing and you'reyou're massively frustrated
(24:20):
because you've got this interestand then no one's converting.
And it's at that stage, that isthe most crucial point, is
where you've got to have thecourage to put a deadline in
place.
By human nature, we typicallywork towards deadlines,
manufactured or real, everyoneworks towards deadlines like an
(24:41):
IPO.
An IPO puts a deadline onsomething and makes everyone
move towards that deadline.
And so effectively, when youhave that, when you have that
sort of feel that momentum, youswitch on a deadline and then
you crank up the activity.
So you crank up things likeinformation sessions, crank up
sort of doing more one-to-oneconversations, boardroom
(25:03):
sessions, etc.
You know, it's just leaving itout there.
They've got to feel thosemultiple touch points.
So focus on the engagementsystem and then also, you know,
I've called it capitalengagement system, but and then
also even when you close yourraise, keep communicating like
there's a raise coming up.
So the best lesson I learnedwas from a journalist where he
(25:25):
said, uh, companies only want tospeak to me when they're going
to raise money, and then whenwhen I'm done, they never speak
to me again.
And that can also happen, youknow, with companies.
So, you know, that just focuson that engagement, make sure,
and every time you send out aninvestor update about where, you
know, about an announcement orwhatever it is, try and do at
(25:46):
least every month to two months.
So that way they feel likeyou're not out of sight, out of
mind.
So try and stay top of mind,focus on engagement, and content
plays a role.
And content's so much easier tocreate now with AI and make
sure it's human-centric in theway in which you communicate.
Of course, your instantinvestors and you're more
(26:07):
technical investors, you maywant to have different sort of
communications for them.
But if you're dealing with highnet worth and family officers,
you know, make sure it's sort ofvery, very humanized.
Caroline Duell (26:16):
Yeah, so it's you've really got to think about
that investor strategy in termsof the continuing that
connection and thatcommunication.
Steve Torso (26:23):
Yeah, and running a process and actually running it
as a process.
But then I said, just rememberthat key inflection point where
you've got lots of interest andno one's converting.
That's when you've got toswitch on a deadline.
And that's the scariest thingto do because you know you could
look like a failure.
Caroline Duell (26:39):
What can go wrong?
Where do companies go wrongwhen they're approaching
investors?
Steve Torso (26:44):
Firstly, thinking that they'll understand the
science.
Number one.
Number two is treatinginvestors like a transaction.
Right.
As I said, all of us as humans,we want to feel, you know, like
we've got some sort ofconnection.
I think they would be the thetwo biggest things, you know,
and and then also not actuallyrunning in process.
(27:04):
Like I'd say would be thethree.
So typically what happens witha capital raise is that you
know, you start out the raise,you're very because to get your
energy up, you get reallybullish, really confident, and
you start out with, I want toraise five million from five
investors, right?
And then as you find out thatthat's not as realistic as what
you thought, then you suddenlystart to think, you know, so
(27:28):
you've got to be confident, butnot overconfident.
Humanize the the process andactually run, you know, to a
process and just make sure youfactor in sort of multiple touch
points in it.
Caroline Duell (27:40):
So one of the um opportunities through the
program that we're running thatwe've asked companies to um sign
up for, which is kicking off inNovember, as part of that
package, they get access to yourum capital HQ program.
Steve Torso (27:56):
The idea is that so they don't have to bother about
setting up other data rooms orsetting up other, you know,
effectively they can createmultiple rooms, they can have a
high-level room to engageinvestors in, they can have a
deeper data room if they wantto, they can even use create a
room for their their boardmeetings, you know, if they want
to for the earlier, for theearlier sort of companies, you
know, other down the track theycan get sort of official board
(28:18):
software, etc.
But yeah, it's more like Isaid, it's just taking a
long-term approach to the raiseand appreciating that as a life
science company, medical devicecompany, capital is going to be
a consistent requirement goingforward.
So if an investor can come intoyour room three years from now
and they can see everymilestone, every progress that
(28:38):
you've done, every announcementthat you've made, and every
announcement you've deliveredon, you don't have to answer the
question about the history ofyour business because it's all
summarized in one area.
And instead of asking you allthose questions, they can spend
that time with your room.
So, you know, I found for methat sort of cut down me having
to spend four to six hours withevery investor down to 30
(29:00):
minutes to an hour.
I know there's going to beother opportunities that
companies will want to beinvolved in, sort of whether it
be our events or dedicatedemails or whatever it may be.
But the core foundation is ifthey're already set up, they've
got that sort of, you know, getready, stay ready, always be
raising sort of mindset, thenthey're ultimately just setting
(29:20):
themselves up for success longterm anyway.
Caroline Duell (29:22):
Brilliant.
Tell us how companies can findout more about wholesale
investor and and your Capital HQplatform.
Steve Torso (29:30):
They can obviously reach out to you guys, or uh, or
they can just come towholesaleinvestor.com and uh you
know just basically sort of youknow register on one of the
sort of capital raising pagesand you know come and chat to us
and learn more.
Caroline Duell (29:45):
You run a lot of programs.
I mean, every week you've gotseminars and webinars, and you
have a lot happening um on yourplatform.
Things are up on YouTube, youcan kind of see how how you roll
at wholesale investor.
Steve Torso (30:00):
The thing I'm most excited about is I want people
to feel how I felt after twoweeks of chatting to, you know,
chatting to various sort of lifescience and medical device
companies.
And the easiest takeaway thatI've been saying to people is
I'm very bullish aboutAustralian innovation after
having all these conversations.
So I just hope that, you know,when we sort of get the feedback
(30:22):
from attendees of that day,they feel the same way that I
do.
And if we've set everyone upright and done all the right
promotion and helped everyonetell their stories right, etc.,
then they should feel that.
Caroline Duell (30:34):
Well, it's only a few months away now, the the
investor day.
So we're starting to work withcompanies that have signed up
for the program.
And um it's really exciting.
Steve Torso (30:43):
It's very exciting.
I said, I think I think whenthis is all when we're sort of
finished, this, I think, youknow, I said for me on the on
the personal side, this has beenone of the most fun things that
I I've enjoyed.
Ultimately, you know, it willbe on the day where I said I I
just hope that the companies,you know, when they sort of
finish their presentation, theyfinish the engagement across
(31:06):
even across the rest of theconference as well, just going
around and sort of meeting witheveryone.
But they also feel bullishabout investor interest in
Australian life sciencecompanies as well.
Because I know that's been acommon theme along a lot of
companies, as they think, oh,Australian investors just don't
understand us, or Australianinvestors don't back life
science, they just want to backsoftware.
And I just don't think that'sthe case.
(31:26):
So there's too many investorsthat have invested into you know
listed list, you know, if youthink about the share registries
of all the public unlistedcompanies and listed companies,
it's littered with high networth and family offices.
Caroline Duell (31:38):
Lots of opportunity out there, so we're
just trying to make that happen.
Steve Torso (31:42):
Correct.
You know, if you if you aren'table to make the program because
we've sort of finished theallocations and sort of at least
come along and feel the energyof the day itself.
Caroline Duell (31:53):
Thank you, Steve, for coming on the MTP
Connect podcast.
Steve Torso (31:57):
Thanks, Caroline.
I appreciate the interview.
Caroline Duell (31:59):
That was Wholesale Investor's Steve Torso
joining us from Sydney to talkabout raising capital and the
new MTP Connect Investor Readyprogram.
The program culminates with theinaugural Life Sciences
Investor Day, which is part ofthe Emergence 2026 conference,
to be held on the 18th ofFebruary in Sydney.
(32:20):
If you want to get involved,check our website for details or
contact Wholesale Investor.
You've been listening to theMTP Connect podcast.
This podcast is produced on thelands of the Wurundjeri people
here in NAARM, Melbourne.
Thanks for listening to theshow.
If you love what you heard,share our podcast and follow us
(32:41):
for more.
Until next time.
This is the MTP Connect podcast, connecting you
with the people behind thelife-saving innovations driving
Australia's growing lifesciences sector from bench to
bedside for better health andwell-being.
MTP Connect acknowledges thetraditional owners of country
that this podcast is recorded onand recognises that Aboriginal
(00:22):
and Torres Strait Islanderpeoples are Australia's first
storytellers and the holders offirst science knowledge.
Caroline Duell (00:33):
Welcome to the podcast.
I'm Caroline Duell.
Are you developing a medicalscience innovation and need
funding for your venture?
MTP Connect and WholesaleInvestor are collaborating on a
dedicated capital engagementprogram designed for life
science companies looking forprivate investors.
Steve Torso is the co-founderand managing director of
(00:55):
Wholesale Investor, the largestcapital raising platform in
Australia.
We take a look at how the MTPConnect Investor Ready program
can help companies develop aninvestor network and build a
skill base in investorcommunications.
And Steve shares some tips forsuccess and the pitfalls to
avoid.
Steve Torso (01:18):
Thanks, Caroline.
Caroline Duell (01:19):
What's the inspiration behind your capital
raising platform wholesaleinvestor?
Steve Torso (01:24):
We've been in this space since 2008.
We initially started out as amagazine and then sort of 2012
we got rid of the magazine andthen we started focusing on
online to offline.
And so we did have a websiteand all that sort of stuff, but
as the sort of years went on, Irealized that capital raising
wasn't quite what I thought itwas, which was sort of explained
(01:46):
to me and what you sort of readeverywhere, which is basically
a process of sending out a pitchdeck or sending out an IM and
then waiting for an investor tocome back with a yes or a no.
It was a little bit more, youknow, sort of um nuanced than
that, in that there was more ofan engagement process.
And I realized that unless youcan actually have a centralized
(02:06):
sort of source of truth aroundyour capital raising, it's
actually very difficult.
And every time you go to raisemoney, you're basically starting
the process from the startagain.
So it was a combination of myown experience when I had
investor uh InvestTech becomingan investor in my business, and
I realized that I wasn't ready,I wasn't prepared.
And, you know, so I basicallystarted designing the product in
(02:30):
what I was experiencing from acapital raise perspective.
And then I started using theproduct to, you know, it's
around 2019 to start raising formy own business.
And then that's sort of wherethe whole sort of capital HQ
come from is I started buildingit to basically make my life
easier when raising capital.
And life is never easy whenyou're raising capital.
(02:51):
So it was just more about howdo I do this and just keep on
creating efficiencies in theprocess.
And I was just fortunate enoughthat I could also build a
software tool that could assistwith that as well.
Caroline Duell (03:02):
So tell us a little bit about the what the
capital HQ concept is.
Steve Torso (03:07):
The three parts that I think about it is that
one, um, you know, providingaccess to investors and being
able to see sort of who is in anecosystem, I think is sort of a
key part of that.
The second part is streamliningand simplifying the process.
And then the third part isremoving friction from the
process.
So the only way you could dothat is if you think about it
(03:30):
from both sides.
If you think about it, okay,what's an investor's experience
when they come across a company?
Basically, typically it'snormally just a wall of
information.
So it's like, well, then how doyou think about what are the
key parts that you you speak tothat get an investor's
attention, you know, about anopportunity?
And then likewise from thefounder side, when you're
raising capital, it is just sofrustrating saying the same
(03:53):
thing over and over again,answering the same questions.
In fact, one of my mentors saidit best.
He goes, when you're raisingcapital, you just feel like
you're the chief repeatingofficer.
You know, you're just sayingthe exact same thing.
So it's like, well, how can youhave and also I remember my
frustration in that I was havingthese calls and I felt like it
wasn't that the deal room itselfwasn't actually working for me
(04:16):
when I wasn't pushing it.
Where the way I sort of thinkabout now is as how as I have
how do I have it in an always onstate so that if existing
investors want to come back toit a different time, or if
potential investors want to comeback or shareholders, et
cetera, it basically can be inthat always on state for the
process.
(04:36):
So it's there's a whole bunchof things which also align, like
in the design of it, align withmy belief around the thesis of
sort of capital raising, whichhas become more and more
prominent now for many lifescience companies, just given
that you know, over the lastcouple of years, you've seen you
know the ASX make it more andmore difficult for sort of
(04:57):
earlier stage companies to listwith their sort of changing of
requirements in sort of 2022 and2023.
And then likewise at that timethere's been a corresponding
sort of you know introduction ofso many different grants that
have been made available.
But you realize now that, youknow, a lot of the state and
sort of federal governmentbudgets are are under pressure,
(05:17):
and you just sort of have thatfear that, you know, what if
they do start sort of cuttingthose programs?
So, you know, it's sort of Isuppose my thesis, you know, is
that if you're targeting highnet worth and family offices,
which many companies will haveto because there's only a
handful of sort of VCs, andthere's a different approach in
how you do that.
That's where I've spent a lotof my time trying to understand
(05:39):
what is the art and I supposethe science of raising money.
Caroline Duell (05:44):
Yeah, so that's that's what we're going to talk
about today.
It's really this focus on thelife sciences sector and
startups and small to mediumenterprises that are looking for
backing and an opportunity thatMTP Connect and Wholesale
Investor have worked up reallyfor our life sciences sector.
Maybe you could talk to us alittle bit about that.
Steve Torso (06:06):
So those things I just mentioned before, I suppose
they sit at the foundation ofsort of why you know this sort
of program became available.
For me, I got the life sciencebug in 2009.
We worked with uh Q Biotics andwe've obviously worked with a
lot of life science companies,ranging from you know 4D medical
when they come out of sort ofMonash University.
(06:26):
Likewise, you know, I've gotRecy Pharmaceuticals coming to
mind.
We've been there with sort ofImogen as they've gone through
their various sort of ups anddowns, etc.
So I understand the nature ofhow hard it is with raising
capital, but also I understandthat the majority of life
science companies who comeacross, they've all been the
majority being funded, you know,in the early days by high
(06:46):
networks and family officers.
So that's where sort of thisconversation between us was
really about how do we put aspotlight on the what great
work's happening in lifesciences, because you guys do a
great job of communicating thesuccess about what people are
doing and where they're at, butvery few other people really get
to get a real big feel for howmany great success stories and
(07:09):
all the incredible things thatpeople are building sort of in
that space.
And then when you havebuzzwords like AI come over and
you start to see all those startto dominate, it's like, well,
you know, how do you sort ofthen capture investors, uh
investors' attention?
So that's where we sort ofstarted designing this whole
program around how do you createsomething where it puts a
(07:30):
spotlight on it?
It allows the sort of CEOs andthe people behind the business
to tell the story behind thebusiness, but also the
technology as well.
And then how do you, I suppose,create the story for the
companies where it's simple,it's more personal, it's more
humanized, and much moreengaging to involve people in.
(07:53):
So, you know, as I said, it'sit's multi-step in the way in
which we've thought about it.
But my my biggest hope is thatsort of by the time we sort of
finish this program and by thetime we've finished the the sort
of life sciences investor day,that people share the same
enthusiasm that I have, youknow, after sort of chatting
with all the various companiesthat will be participating.
Caroline Duell (08:13):
And what you're talking about really is um your
wholesale investor network,you've built up a huge ecosystem
of like 45,000 privateinvestors, high net worth
investors, who tap into a numberof different opportunities
throughout the year for you knowto invest in different sectors.
(08:33):
Um this is the first timeyou've actually looked at doing
a specific uh life scienceinvestor day.
It's due to happen next um nextyear in February.
Um, tell us about thatopportunity.
Steve Torso (08:46):
I'm a big believer in concentration of energy.
And so whilst we've alwaysworked with you know life
science companies, the thereality is that when we've done
it, there's we've basically hadthem in amongst all sort of
other types of opportunities.
So, for example, we could havehad like an ag tech opportunity
or a you know renewable energyopportunity or a fund, for
(09:08):
example.
And so, you know, whilst wewould always have you know life
science companies presenting,there was never that one time
where it's like just lifescience.
And so that way, you know, youknow, like for every company
that's presenting, they knowthat every single person in that
room is there to listen to lifesciences, listen to medical
(09:28):
device, listen to healthcareopportunities and there to
engage.
And I know also from apsychology factor as well, in
building up something like this,when you're promoting it, it's
so much easier when you'repromoting something sector
focused, you to attract likewiseall the investors that have an
interest in that area, eventhough they won't be as
(09:49):
technical as probably one everyCEO wants them to be.
You know, they want tounderstand the science.
They want, you know, the factthey've got an interest is a
great starting point.
And you find that the way itworks with sort of high net
worse is they could say theythey could go through all the
sessions they want and say, Oh,don't don't invest in something
you don't understand.
Don't do the reality is, youknow, I've had so many times
(10:10):
where investors said, I onlyinvest in this type of deal.
And then you see that they'vegone and invested into a life
science company or in a biotechbecause they've got some sort of
personal connection.
So, you know, if we do this, dothis right, we're basically
helping the companies articulatethe humanized story of what
they're doing.
We're helping them sort ofcommunicate what is the critical
(10:33):
pathways or sort of, I suppose,inflection points in the
valuation of their business, andthen helping them take the
investor uh along for thejourney as well.
And then obviously the outcomeis we want them to participate.
Caroline Duell (10:47):
So the whole idea is to try and help life
science companies get investorready.
What do you need to be investorready?
Because you need more than awebsite, right?
Steve Torso (10:56):
Investor ready has become like I suppose a term
that people like to use.
I sort of frame it slightlybecause the hardest part is I I
just don't feel like you're everreally investor ready, no
matter who your business is.
So the way I think about it isit's more about you're you're
articulating what you're doingin a way that engages investors.
(11:17):
So you're gonna do all yourstuff like preparing your
preparing your deal room,getting your information,
getting IP, getting what all theall the stuff that you expect.
That's sort of when someone'salready interested.
That's when that becomes reallyimportant.
The question is, is how do youget someone interested?
So I suppose the part I focuson is what is the narrative that
(11:39):
that a technical business isgoing to sell to high net worth
and family obviously investorsthat makes them want to know
more.
So in marketing, you're taughteffectively there's three stages
of someone buying something.
There's the awareness of it,then there's a consideration,
and then there's a decision.
Most people, when they'reraising money, they think about
(12:01):
it like, hey, you're aware ofme, right?
And you should make a decision,you know.
And unfortunately, thatconsideration part is the part
that sort of people forget, youknow, in that.
So, you know, that that thatinvestor ready part I talk about
is more around how do youcommunicate what is your three
(12:21):
to seven-word hero text aboutwhat you're doing that is
relevant to high net worth andfamily offices.
You know, what is that seven?
Because effectively you getseconds of headspace with
someone before they're decidingif they're interested.
You know, there's anotheracronym in in marketing they
call awareness, interest,desire, action, right?
And you only have seconds tocapture someone's awareness.
(12:43):
So the hardest part for every,you know, every life science
founder or medical devicefounder is just sitting there
thinking that I spend my life24-7 thinking about this,
working on it, solving problems.
But the truth is the personyou're going to be pitching it
to gives you seconds ofheadspace to decide if they're
interested.
So that's why I always startwith what is that headline hero
(13:05):
text?
The next part that I reallylove to go into is how do you
succinctly summarize that sortof problem solution statement?
So, you know, do you know howto identify the problem?
What we do is identify thesolution.
And then the next part that Ilove is that what are the
investment highlights?
(13:26):
And investment highlights canalso get misconstrued and to
think about, oh, I need to sellwhat's revenue, what's, you
know, it's that that can be apart at some stage, but at this
early stage, it's really about,you know, who is the team?
What is the team's been there,done that experience?
How can that be explained inone to two lines?
That when an investor sees it,they think that's interesting.
(13:48):
You know, I think that's the Ithink that's the key word you're
going for is you you're tryingto get into the headspace of
investors where they look atwhat you're doing and think,
that's interesting.
I want to know more.
So headline hero text, thenproblem solution statement, and
then the next one is thosehighlighting of those investment
highlights.
So teens been there, done thatexperience.
Who has backed you to date?
(14:10):
You know, and what is what formhas that been in?
You know, have you put in asignificant amount of money
yourself into the actualbusiness?
That's always a good sign.
Have you had investors alreadyput money, you know?
For example, one of thecompanies I spoke to had, you
know, the Mayo Venture Fund putmoney into them.
That's interesting, right?
(14:31):
Or have you had private highnet worth that uh sort of known
put money in?
Even if it's 25k, 50k, 100k, itdoesn't matter.
The fact they invested is asignal for other investors.
And then have you received whatgrants have you received?
Because often the grant processsort of goes through a lot more
(14:51):
you know technical depth as faras what you're actually doing
before you've actually receivedfunds.
And if there's biggerinvestment groups, fantastic.
So whether they be personalinvestors or bigger investors,
highlight that.
So they're the sort of twostarting ones.
And then the next one is iswell, where are you actually at?
You know, are you you knowgoing through your trial
(15:12):
process?
Have you done some of the earlydata work, you know, etc.?
Where where is that, you know,what have you got to do?
Yeah, correct.
Caroline Duell (15:21):
Are you close to getting regulatory approval or
you know, are you just startingout with your first clinical
trial?
Like all of those sort ofmilestones they can position
companies in a particular in aparticular way.
Steve Torso (15:33):
And did you get any partnerships with that?
You know, is do you have anypartnerships with hospitals,
research institutes, you know,et cetera, that you can sort of
speak to?
Because again, once again, it'sall leveraging off brands that
would be known, you know, likewhether it be, you know, I'm
just trying to think of thename, but there was like various
research institutes that sortof got mentioned in in a lot of
(15:55):
the conversations, or varioushospitals that got mentioned.
That becomes about yeah,correct.
So so there's some of thethings like when I think about
investment ready, I think aboutmarketing, I suppose marketing
marketing ready, you know, forfor for going out to sort of
high net worth and familyoffices.
Caroline Duell (16:13):
And what do you think about the need to educate
investors about investing in thelife sciences sector?
Because it's it's a differentgame to perhaps other
technology.
It's it might be a longer game,for instance, um, depending on
what it is, whether it might bea therapeutic versus a medical
(16:34):
device or um a diagnostic orsomething like that.
But yeah, as part of theprogram that that MTP Connect is
running with um wholesaleinvestor, there's also some uh
investor education as part ofthat.
What does that look like?
Steve Torso (16:49):
So when you started mentioning that, I thought
straight away we had a keynotefrom Hashan DeSilva from KPRX at
our Emergence Conference, andit was one of the best
educations about where he likesto invest in into life science,
you know, in life sciencecompanies.
But I think the the educationis a key part because if you
hear how investors explain howthey're trying to assess
(17:13):
opportunities, you can then alsoreframe your narrative to align
with that.
So for example, you know, whenyou're when you're, you know,
you always got to think about inyour decks about use of funds.
So you're raising X amount ofmillion to go and do X trials or
(17:34):
you know, basically get to nextsort of data point or
prototyping or first products orgo to market strategy, et
cetera.
Well, I suppose in their mind,they're trying to assess how
you're using that money, right?
And this is where invest andthis is where it's helpful to
understand that that investoreducation part, how you're using
(17:54):
that money and how itcorrelates with a value
inflection point if you achievethat milestone.
So many companies will tell meabout oh, we want to do this
because we want to get our trialto you know this next stage or
you know, phase two or whateverit is.
So effectively, if that's thecase, what does that actually
(18:15):
mean?
If you get it to that, how doesthat change the valuation
profile of the business?
What opportunities does thatmean?
You know, what companies arethere that are in your sort of
simulator area where you canlook to as references?
So that investor education isimportant because however they
receive their education, youneed to understand that they
(18:38):
will also then want to hearopportunities communicated, then
in the way that they haveunderstood what to be looking
for.
Caroline Duell (18:45):
You've worked with so many companies over the
years.
You know, you've been doingthis for about 14 years now.
Steve Torso (18:51):
It's actually our this October was our 17th
birthday, which is you know,it's comes out when it comes out
of your mouth.
That's it's like when you getolder, you only realize your age
when it comes out of yourmouth.
Caroline Duell (19:02):
It must be um rewarding to be sort of
matchmaking these investmentopportunities for companies and
and seeing you know companyexits and you know that type of
success.
How do you feel about being thematchmaker?
Steve Torso (19:17):
Ultimately, like I'm I realize that we play a
small role, but it's a highvalue role.
I think where you getsatisfaction is from you know
seeing what you've actuallyassisted with in the early days
then sort of come to fruitiondown the track.
Like 40 medical comes to mind.
You know, I said working withthem as a siege stage company,
(19:38):
sort of coming out of MonashUniversity and speaking with
Andreas, you know, just as hewas going into IPO and just
telling me how important it wasthose 50, 100k, 200k checks were
sort of in those early dayscompared to how much easier it
was when he was going to IPO andhe was being offered 5 million,
you know, 2 million, 10 millionfrom different instants.
(19:58):
That's that's pretty rewarding.
You know, it doesn't really getacknowledged, you know, too
much, but that's sort of a veryrewarding fact.
Or someone like Cube Ice said,you know, we are coming out the
back end of the GFC and theyneeded to raise 2 million and
seeing our network sort ofdeliver on that 2 million, then
sort of 2021 seeing TDM go infor 50 million, you know, in
(20:21):
into the company, and nowthey're sort of making their
pathway sort of more, you know,towards an exit as well.
That's pretty cool.
Or, you know, looking at someof the, you know, some of the
life science companies like aRecce, you know, go through
their journey through all theirdifferent sort of stages and
like it's very rewarding.
It's also you realize all youranti-portfolio of what you
(20:41):
didn't invest into, but it'sit's rewarding to see them hit
their goals and and you knowthat you played a small role
sort of in that.
I think that's where I get alot of satisfaction from.
Caroline Duell (20:51):
Tell us about what the Life Sciences Investor
Day is going to look like inFebruary.
What's involved in a wholesaleinvestor day?
Steve Torso (20:59):
So the Life Science Investor Day is part of our
bigger conference calledEmergence.
So Emergence is the biggestthing that we do each year.
We last year, I think we hadsomewhere between 750 to 1,000
come along to it.
This year, obviously, you know,no different than everyone
else.
I want to make it bigger.
Um, so it's a really simpleformat, and we typically have
like three sort of panelsessions, and you know, with
(21:21):
that, we have differentinvestment groups provide their
sort of investment thesis abouthow they're sort of looking to
invest.
And you know, you typicallyhave a couple keynotes, but the
main part is that we we providevarious networking sort of
sessions, both in the morning,during the event, and then sort
of in the afternoon, so that youknow investors can go around
(21:41):
and chat to the variouscompanies that are being
featured.
And then each company getstheir own sort of eight-minute
presentation as well.
So it's not just about having atrade table and being at it,
you actually get to present toinvestors your opportunity and
effectively they can then sortof come up and engage with you.
But the the key part to howwe've worked together on this is
(22:02):
that you know we're going tostart doing all the recording of
CEO interviews, we're gonna bedoing articles on the companies
involved.
Um, it within our Capital HQsoftware.
We've actually got aconferencing component in there.
So the companies that arepresenting can access the
investors in in the conferenceas well and can message them
directly and invite them to comeand chat with them.
Plus, we're also recordingeveryone's presentation, so
(22:24):
we'll make that available tothem afterwards.
We'll be doing interviews atthe event as well.
So all this sort of stuffbecomes all the different touch
points that you can sort ofbuild, you know, in the process
of your own capital raising andyou can share across your
LinkedIn media, et cetera.
So my look, basically, my hopeis that thousands of people get,
you know, a whole bunch ofcontent around.
Oh, and we also live stream aswell, which is the other
(22:47):
component.
But my the big hope is is thatjust so many different touch
points around life sciences andmedical device and healthcare is
created for us across the nextfew months and where bring a lot
more investor interest sort ofinto the area.
Caroline Duell (23:03):
I suppose this, you know, what we've termed a
tight funding environment.
Yeah.
Can you share any sort ofcapital insights that are
relevant for the life sciencessector?
Steve Torso (23:14):
Yeah, I'll I would just say like capital raising is
frustrating at the best oftimes, except for that beautiful
spot of late 2020 and uh earlyand 2021.
But you know, I would say focuson engagement of investors.
Instead of focusing on justraising from investors, focus on
the engagement component.
Let them sort of, you know,said that going back to that
(23:36):
awareness, consideration,decision part, spend let them
spend time in that considerationpart, but make it easy for them
to spend time in thatconsideration part.
So have things like yourfrequently asked questions
already prepared.
You know, so all the questionsthat other investors have
previously asked you, don't makethem ask it to you again.
Have it ready for them, sort ofin you know, in your deal room.
(23:58):
Um have a video that's reallyeasy, that's very humanized
about sort of what you're doing,where you're at, you know, as
and obviously we do that as partof our CEO interview.
And and then also there's gonnabe a key part.
There's a key part of raisingmoney where you've got interest
in what you're doing and you'reyou're massively frustrated
(24:20):
because you've got this interestand then no one's converting.
And it's at that stage, that isthe most crucial point, is
where you've got to have thecourage to put a deadline in
place.
By human nature, we typicallywork towards deadlines,
manufactured or real, everyoneworks towards deadlines like an
(24:41):
IPO.
An IPO puts a deadline onsomething and makes everyone
move towards that deadline.
And so effectively, when youhave that, when you have that
sort of feel that momentum, youswitch on a deadline and then
you crank up the activity.
So you crank up things likeinformation sessions, crank up
sort of doing more one-to-oneconversations, boardroom
(25:03):
sessions, etc.
You know, it's just leaving itout there.
They've got to feel thosemultiple touch points.
So focus on the engagementsystem and then also, you know,
I've called it capitalengagement system, but and then
also even when you close yourraise, keep communicating like
there's a raise coming up.
So the best lesson I learnedwas from a journalist where he
(25:25):
said, uh, companies only want tospeak to me when they're going
to raise money, and then whenwhen I'm done, they never speak
to me again.
And that can also happen, youknow, with companies.
So, you know, that just focuson that engagement, make sure,
and every time you send out aninvestor update about where, you
know, about an announcement orwhatever it is, try and do at
(25:46):
least every month to two months.
So that way they feel likeyou're not out of sight, out of
mind.
So try and stay top of mind,focus on engagement, and content
plays a role.
And content's so much easier tocreate now with AI and make
sure it's human-centric in theway in which you communicate.
Of course, your instantinvestors and you're more
(26:07):
technical investors, you maywant to have different sort of
communications for them.
But if you're dealing with highnet worth and family officers,
you know, make sure it's sort ofvery, very humanized.
Caroline Duell (26:16):
Yeah, so it's you've really got to think about
that investor strategy in termsof the continuing that
connection and thatcommunication.
Steve Torso (26:23):
Yeah, and running a process and actually running it
as a process.
But then I said, just rememberthat key inflection point where
you've got lots of interest andno one's converting.
That's when you've got toswitch on a deadline.
And that's the scariest thingto do because you know you could
look like a failure.
Caroline Duell (26:39):
What can go wrong?
Where do companies go wrongwhen they're approaching
investors?
Steve Torso (26:44):
Firstly, thinking that they'll understand the
science.
Number one.
Number two is treatinginvestors like a transaction.
Right.
As I said, all of us as humans,we want to feel, you know, like
we've got some sort ofconnection.
I think they would be the thetwo biggest things, you know,
and and then also not actuallyrunning in process.
(27:04):
Like I'd say would be thethree.
So typically what happens witha capital raise is that you
know, you start out the raise,you're very because to get your
energy up, you get reallybullish, really confident, and
you start out with, I want toraise five million from five
investors, right?
And then as you find out thatthat's not as realistic as what
you thought, then you suddenlystart to think, you know, so
(27:28):
you've got to be confident, butnot overconfident.
Humanize the the process andactually run, you know, to a
process and just make sure youfactor in sort of multiple touch
points in it.
Caroline Duell (27:40):
So one of the um opportunities through the
program that we're running thatwe've asked companies to um sign
up for, which is kicking off inNovember, as part of that
package, they get access to yourum capital HQ program.
Steve Torso (27:56):
The idea is that so they don't have to bother about
setting up other data rooms orsetting up other, you know,
effectively they can createmultiple rooms, they can have a
high-level room to engageinvestors in, they can have a
deeper data room if they wantto, they can even use create a
room for their their boardmeetings, you know, if they want
to for the earlier, for theearlier sort of companies, you
know, other down the track theycan get sort of official board
(28:18):
software, etc.
But yeah, it's more like Isaid, it's just taking a
long-term approach to the raiseand appreciating that as a life
science company, medical devicecompany, capital is going to be
a consistent requirement goingforward.
So if an investor can come intoyour room three years from now
and they can see everymilestone, every progress that
(28:38):
you've done, every announcementthat you've made, and every
announcement you've deliveredon, you don't have to answer the
question about the history ofyour business because it's all
summarized in one area.
And instead of asking you allthose questions, they can spend
that time with your room.
So, you know, I found for methat sort of cut down me having
to spend four to six hours withevery investor down to 30
(29:00):
minutes to an hour.
I know there's going to beother opportunities that
companies will want to beinvolved in, sort of whether it
be our events or dedicatedemails or whatever it may be.
But the core foundation is ifthey're already set up, they've
got that sort of, you know, getready, stay ready, always be
raising sort of mindset, thenthey're ultimately just setting
(29:20):
themselves up for success longterm anyway.
Caroline Duell (29:22):
Brilliant.
Tell us how companies can findout more about wholesale
investor and and your Capital HQplatform.
Steve Torso (29:30):
They can obviously reach out to you guys, or uh, or
they can just come towholesaleinvestor.com and uh you
know just basically sort of youknow register on one of the
sort of capital raising pagesand you know come and chat to us
and learn more.
Caroline Duell (29:45):
You run a lot of programs.
I mean, every week you've gotseminars and webinars, and you
have a lot happening um on yourplatform.
Things are up on YouTube, youcan kind of see how how you roll
at wholesale investor.
Steve Torso (30:00):
The thing I'm most excited about is I want people
to feel how I felt after twoweeks of chatting to, you know,
chatting to various sort of lifescience and medical device
companies.
And the easiest takeaway thatI've been saying to people is
I'm very bullish aboutAustralian innovation after
having all these conversations.
So I just hope that, you know,when we sort of get the feedback
(30:22):
from attendees of that day,they feel the same way that I
do.
And if we've set everyone upright and done all the right
promotion and helped everyonetell their stories right, etc.,
then they should feel that.
Caroline Duell (30:34):
Well, it's only a few months away now, the the
investor day.
So we're starting to work withcompanies that have signed up
for the program.
And um it's really exciting.
Steve Torso (30:43):
It's very exciting.
I said, I think I think whenthis is all when we're sort of
finished, this, I think, youknow, I said for me on the on
the personal side, this has beenone of the most fun things that
I I've enjoyed.
Ultimately, you know, it willbe on the day where I said I I
just hope that the companies,you know, when they sort of
finish their presentation, theyfinish the engagement across
(31:06):
even across the rest of theconference as well, just going
around and sort of meeting witheveryone.
But they also feel bullishabout investor interest in
Australian life sciencecompanies as well.
Because I know that's been acommon theme along a lot of
companies, as they think, oh,Australian investors just don't
understand us, or Australianinvestors don't back life
science, they just want to backsoftware.
And I just don't think that'sthe case.
(31:26):
So there's too many investorsthat have invested into you know
listed list, you know, if youthink about the share registries
of all the public unlistedcompanies and listed companies,
it's littered with high networth and family offices.
Caroline Duell (31:38):
Lots of opportunity out there, so we're
just trying to make that happen.
Steve Torso (31:42):
Correct.
You know, if you if you aren'table to make the program because
we've sort of finished theallocations and sort of at least
come along and feel the energyof the day itself.
Caroline Duell (31:53):
Thank you, Steve, for coming on the MTP
Connect podcast.
Steve Torso (31:57):
Thanks, Caroline.
I appreciate the interview.
Caroline Duell (31:59):
That was Wholesale Investor's Steve Torso
joining us from Sydney to talkabout raising capital and the
new MTP Connect Investor Readyprogram.
The program culminates with theinaugural Life Sciences
Investor Day, which is part ofthe Emergence 2026 conference,
to be held on the 18th ofFebruary in Sydney.
(32:20):
If you want to get involved,check our website for details or
contact Wholesale Investor.
You've been listening to theMTP Connect podcast.
This podcast is produced on thelands of the Wurundjeri people
here in NAARM, Melbourne.
Thanks for listening to theshow.
If you love what you heard,share our podcast and follow us
(32:41):
for more.
Until next time.
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