Funding
SafetyCulture closes $50M Series D
Workplace safety platform raises fresh capital to expand ANZ operations and push into US market.
The Wire
Real-time updates from ANZ tech sales
BREAKING
News
Investors now sit in on live prospect calls during fundraising diligence
## Investors now sit in on live prospect calls during fundraising diligence Forget reference calls. VCs are asking founders to pitch real buyers while they watch. Amanda Robson, GP of Modern Technical Fund, introduces founders to prospects in her network who have never seen the product. Then she sits in on the pitch as a fly on the wall. The shift is straightforward: reference calls are backward-looking. They tell you who already bought, not who would buy. Existing customers like the founder, they have favorable early-adopter contracts, and they want the company to succeed. They are incentivized to give a rosy review. A live buyer has no skin in the game. Their feedback is raw and objective. ### Why it works **It tests real positioning.** Can the founder clearly articulate what problem they solve, why it is urgent, why it is different, and why now? Watching someone lead a call and someone react to it in real time tells you more than a 15-minute reference call ever will. **It measures urgency-to-budget.** The most critical question in diligence is not "Does this work?" It is "Is this a priority?" By watching the pitch, the VC can see exactly where the product sits in the buyer's mental hierarchy. Nice-to-have gets "That is interesting, let us touch base next quarter." Urgency gets "How fast can we get this integrated? Who else are you working with in my industry?" **It removes access bias.** You are not just hearing a polished narrative after the fact. You are watching how the founder handles objections, where they lean in, where they hesitate, and how they adapt. ### What it means for sales teams If your company is fundraising, your sales team needs to be ready. This is not just about the CRO doing reference calls. Your AEs might be running live pitches with investors listening in. Prepare your team: tighten positioning, know your numbers, practice objection handling. Investors are not evaluating the product in a vacuum anymore. They are evaluating how well you sell it to someone who does not already believe. From the founder side, it is also a win. Even if the prospect does not convert, you get immediate market feedback. You learn what resonates, what falls flat, and where the story needs work. This trend aligns with broader 2026 fundraising reality: investors want live traction, not narratives. Companies like Monaco, which recently raised $35M from Founders Fund, are being built for this world: AI-native CRMs targeting Seed and Series A sales teams, emphasizing efficiency and leverage without headcount expansion. The bar for diligence just moved. Sales performance is no longer behind the scenes. It is the main event.
News
SaaStr cuts sales team 10 to 1.2 humans, adds 20 AI agents
# SaaStr cuts sales team 10 to 1.2 humans, adds 20 AI agents Jason Lemkin just posted the ratio that should worry every sales leader: his company spent $500,000 on AI agents last year versus $10,000 on Salesforce. That is 50x more on agents than CRM. The SaaStr founder went from 10+ humans in sales to 1.2 humans and 20+ AI agents. Same net productivity. He is not predicting what 2026 sales teams will look like, he is running one. The shift is not theoretical anymore. Lemkin's advice to sales leaders: deploy an AI agent yourself. Not through an agency. Not by delegating to your team. Do it yourself so you understand what changes. For junior sales and GTM roles, his message is clear: embrace it or get left behind. Be the person who knows how to run agents, not the one replaced by them. The question is not whether AI replaces sales roles. It is which ones, and how fast. Lemkin breaks it down role by role in his full post, separating what AI can handle today from what still requires human judgement. If you are still running a 2021 sales org structure in 2026, you are already behind. The companies figuring out the human-plus-agent model now are the ones that will scale efficiently. The ones waiting for clarity will be playing catch-up with worse unit economics. Worth noting: this is not about eliminating salespeople entirely. It is about fundamentally rethinking which tasks justify headcount versus agent spend. The best sales leaders are already making that calculation. **Related:** Sales automation trends 2026, AI predictions for sales teams, how AI changes sales jobs, future of sales teams with AI.
Hiring
Atlassian expands Sydney sales team by 50 roles
The software giant is hiring aggressively across enterprise and mid-market segments, with new leadership positions open.
Funding
SafetyCulture closes $50M Series D
Workplace safety platform raises fresh capital to expand ANZ operations and push into US market.
Deal
Canva lands major enterprise deal with federal government
Design platform wins contract to provide services across multiple federal departments.
News
HubSpot opening Melbourne office
CRM giant expanding ANZ footprint with new local presence to support growing customer base.
Hiring
Linktree seeking VP of Sales APAC
Social bio platform looking for experienced leader to head regional sales strategy.
News
Salesforce ANZ revenue up 35% YoY
Strong quarter driven by enterprise wins in financial services and government sectors.
Hiring
SafetyCulture now hiring 30 AEs
Fresh from funding round, company accelerates sales hiring across Australia and NZ.
Deal
Atlassian wins $25M contract with NSW Government
Collaboration tools selected for statewide digital transformation initiative.
Funding
Canva valued at $40B after secondary sale
Employee share sale implies significant valuation increase for design unicorn.
News
Sales Summit Sydney sells out in 48 hours
Annual B2B sales event hits capacity with record registration numbers.
Deal
HubSpot partners with CommBank for SMB initiative
CRM provider selected as preferred vendor for small business banking customers.
News
Linktree revenue doubles in 2025
Social platform sees explosive growth as creator economy expands.
Hiring
Former Salesforce CRO joins Canva
High-profile executive move signals Canva enterprise ambitions.
News
ANZ tech sales salaries up 12% in 2025
Latest salary data shows continued strong demand for sales talent.
News
Atlassian launches AI sales assistant
New tool uses AI to help enterprise sales teams close deals faster.