Brisbane AI sales startup Enrola raises $2.1M seed after pivot from edtech
Brisbane-based Enrola closed a $2.1 million seed round led by Purpose Ventures, with follow-on from Antler, AfterWork Ventures and Skalata. The funding follows an $800k pre-seed in late 2024, bringing total raised to $2.9M.
The catch: Enrola started as an education comparison platform in 2023. Co-founders Jo Thomas (CEO) and Yvette Quinby (CTO) built an AI sales agent to convert their own inbound leads, realised the agent was the actual product, and pivoted in September 2025.
What it does
Enrola's AI answers B2C inbound leads via SMS within seconds, qualifies prospects, handles objections, and either books calls or closes deals without human touch. Target market is high-consideration B2C: telecoms, insurance, broadband, education, legal services.
The platform has processed 250,000+ leads since the pivot. Current customer count sits at 28 across Australia, New Zealand, UK and Ireland. Revenue figures not disclosed, though PitchBook lists the company as generating revenue.
Market context
Enrola competes in crowded AI sales automation space alongside startups like Spara and Alta. Differentiation: asynchronous SMS conversion for sectors where purchase decisions take days or weeks, not instant SaaS trials.
David Johnson, former head of GTM automation at UpGuard, joined as head of growth. Worth noting: Johnson has real go-to-market experience, not just a marketing title.
Why it matters
B2C sales teams lose leads between form fill and first contact. If your inbound response time is measured in hours, not minutes, this is the problem Enrola solves. The SMS channel matters because prospects are already on mobile when researching.
The pivot story is standard startup playbook: build for yourself, discover the real opportunity, kill the original idea. Thomas and Quinby executed fast: nine months from pivot to 28 customers and seed round closed.
Seed funding typically funds 12-18 months runway. Expect Enrola to hire sales, engineering and customer success roles in Brisbane over next quarter. No public headcount or hiring plans disclosed yet.