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Start-up lender Mighty Partners, née Fundabl, is expanding its footprint in Australia’s start-up ecosystem after bringing in a former Macquarie banker and securing backing from Zip Co co-founder Larry Diamond.

The venture debt firm, founded by Ethan Singer and David Salkinder in 2021, has appointed Kal Jamshidi as managing director. Jamshidi will be tasked with growing Mighty Partners’ loan book to $100 million over the next two years by tapping into family office and high-net-worth networks. Diamond’s family office has committed to funding part of the book.

Diamond invested in Mighty Partners in recent months, slotting in behind its largest shareholder, founder of online broker Stake, Matt Leibowitz.

Read the full story tomorrow and more on the Street Talk page.

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A recruitment marketplace co-founded by Telstra director Bridget Loudon and backed by AirTree Ventures is gearing up to make a major acquisition, tapping Highbury Partnership to hunt a capital partner.

Expert360, a platform that matches skilled contract workers with employers like Atlassian, Qantas, AirTrunk and Westpac, is seeking $25 million to fund the cash component of the acquisition, which it projects will turbocharge earnings to $26 million.

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Click here for the latest equity market wrap.