Rob Nathan
About Rob Nathan
Rob Nathan is based in Perth, Western Australia. He is a qualified engineer with more than 30 years in the IT sector, mostly in product management and marketing, selling Australian technology to global markets. He holds a Bachelor of Telecommunications Engineering from Curtin University and an MBA from the University of Western Australia. Before starting his own company he was a business development manager at ERG Transit Systems.
In 2009 he founded Australian Tenders, which he still leads as CEO. One investor profile says it was bootstrapped with $5,000 borrowed from his super fund. In 2015 he co-founded the Upstart accelerator program and Upstart Investments, where he is managing director. In 2019 he co-founded the Freo Startup Fest.
He won the Pearcey WA Entrepreneur of the Year Award at the 2019 WAITTA Incite Awards.
A 2019 Startup West podcast episode said he had made 22 startup investments, counting both the Upstart accelerator and his personal investments. An investor directory profile says he has invested in more than 20 WA startups over seven years. A 2024 LinkedIn recommendation calls him one of the most active angel investors in Western Australia.
He is a founding member of the West Tech Investor Network, a group of angels, entrepreneurs and mentors focused on WA startups. The network invests through a syndicate on Aussie Angels. He also shares deals with the Curtin Angel Syndicate, including an opportunity in Matilda Health, whose founders he first met through the Curtin Accelerate program in 2023.
His public profiles describe support for emerging Western Australian startups, with an emphasis on technology. Directory listings tag his interests as technology, web and app companies. Another listing shows the focus areas of his one recorded portfolio company, GeoMoby, as wearables, location-based services and information services.
He invests at the pre-seed and early stages, and Crunchbase records a pre-seed round in GeoMoby. His check size is not public. I found no public statement from him on what he looks for in a pitch, and no AI-specific investment thesis.
- GeoMoby: location-based services company; Crunchbase lists a pre-seed round with Rob Nathan as an investor (date not public).
- Matilda Health: Curtin Accelerate alumnus whose pitch he brought to the Curtin Angel Syndicate as an investment opportunity. His own participation is not confirmed in public sources.
- linkedin.com/in/robertnathan
- crunchbase.com/person/rob-nathan-255d
- businessnews.com.au/Person/Rob-Nathan
- askforfunding.com/investor/rob-nathan-angel-investor
- startupnews.com.au/podcasts/startup-west/startup-west-podcast-ep23-rob
- angelbacked.co/investor/rob-nathan
- linkedin.com/posts/robertnathan_west-tech-investor-network-activity-71
- live.freightwaves.com/event-speakers/robert-nathan
Investing activity
Rob Nathan is listed on Lounge as an angel investor. The deals desk records Series A and later AI rounds and seeds over $10M, so smaller checks may not show here yet.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Rob Nathan
Does Rob Nathan invest in AI startups?
I found no public record of AI-specific investments or an AI thesis. His public profiles describe a general focus on early-stage technology startups in Western Australia.
What check size does Rob Nathan write?
He has not published a check size. He also invests through angel syndicates such as the West Tech Investor Network and the Curtin Angel Syndicate.
What stage does Rob Nathan invest in?
Public sources show early-stage investing. Crunchbase lists a pre-seed round in GeoMoby, and he has worked with startups through the Upstart accelerator and Curtin Accelerate.
Where is Rob Nathan based?
He is based in Perth, Western Australia. His focus is on WA startups, and he co-founded the Freo Startup Fest in Fremantle.
Is this the same Rob Nathan as Robert Nathan of Envoy AI?
No. This profile covers the Perth-based founder of Australian Tenders and Upstart Investments. Robert Nathan of Envoy AI and Value Chain Ventures is a different person who works in freight and logistics.
Is Rob Nathan an angel investor?
Yes. Rob Nathan invests personally as an angel.
How can founders reach Rob Nathan?
Founders on Lounge can see Rob Nathan's contact details in AI Investor Contacts (paid plans), check for a warm introduction through members who worked with them under Warm Paths, and add Rob Nathan to their Investor Pipeline to track the conversation.