If you’re a business operating in Australia’s fast-growing space sector, high costs and the nature of developing emerging technologies means it pays to have a close connection to your financiers and bankers.

Myriota is a great example. The South Australian company helps connect remote monitoring devices through their satellite network, delivering critical status and location data to users from anywhere, even in remote areas where reliable connectivity isn’t available.

Together with their industry partners, Myriota is bringing new insights to industries where assets are commonly living beyond the last tower. A case in point is their collaboration with global water technology leader, Grundfos, to develop a remote monitoring system for water pumps on an outback cattle station.

Myriota's satellite connectivity enables farm tanks and pumps to be monitored remotely, providing near real-time data on their status and performance. This helps in managing water supply, reducing the need for physical inspections and ensuring the equipment is working correctly.

Tens of thousands of Myriota’s units have been rolled out so far across almost every continent, with strong growth in the North American, Latin American, European, Middle Eastern and Asian markets, as well as here in Australia.

Myriota’s vice-president of finance, Karina Nottr, explains Myriota manages its banking and finance operations through a blend of in-house expertise and partnerships with external agencies

“We use an external partner for our payroll and accounts payable while our internal team takes charge of invoicing and corporate finance initiatives, including grant submissions, incentives and managing departmental budgets and corporate funding. This allows our internal resources to be flexible, dynamic and focused on mission-critical finance operations.”

Nottr explains being a tech company, optimisation and improvement are second nature for Myriota. “We use platforms such as expense management apps Weel and Airwallex for corporate budgets and spend management across our global team. This streamlines financial processes and enhances our operational efficiency.”

Myriota manages its banking and finance operations with a keen awareness of the unique challenges faced by space-related companies, particularly in securing venture capital funding and managing an investment runway, which requires acute financial planning. Investments may take longer to yield returns than anticipated, making it crucial to extend the runway while still driving operational growth.

“There are high costs involved in research and development of innovative technologies such as Myriota and this variability necessitates meticulous budgeting and forecasting. We must balance our short-term financial needs with long-term strategic goals. While immediate funding is necessary to sustain operations, there is also a pressing need to invest in innovation and scalability for future growth,” says Nott.

Securing ongoing investment from venture capitalists requires effective communication and relationship management and investors want to be kept informed about progress, milestones and potential risks. Navigating these complexities while maintaining focus on the company’s mission is a balancing act.

“The costs, timelines and inherent risks associated with space-based technologies necessitate a special type of investor who possesses the patience to support our long-term journey to unlock the full potential of Myriota,” Nott says.

Shee says despite being a small team, managing banking and finance for a rapidly growing, global company is rewarding. “We love this challenge and we overcome it by hiring exceptional talent and collaborating with outstanding agencies to ensure our financial operations run smoothly.”

Being a global company, the Myriota team also navigates the regional requirements and subsequent complexities of managing banking and finance in a range of countries.

“While this can present its own set of hurdles, it is equally an exciting opportunity to develop a dynamic and innovative financial environment,” Nott says.

Space Machines Company’s chief of staff and head of business operations, Ben Spoor, says as a start-up, the business uses automation as much as possible to manage its banking operations, given limited resources.

Space Machines is building the first roadside assistance in space – like NRMA but for satellites on orbit. The company creates spacecraft that can maneuver in space, and provide security and assistance to critical space infrastructure. While its operations are out of space, its banking needs are firmly earthbound.

“We have outsourced bookkeepers and an outsourced, fractional CFO for those really curly finance questions,” Spoor explains.

As an early-stage Australian venture, raising funds is challenging, and Ben says “we have to be incredibly capital efficient with what we have to make our funds go further..”

Spoor says this works in Space Machines’ favour. “It’s a differentiator for us. When we go to venture capital firms and banks and we're looking to raise finance, one of the things we can say is we are more capital efficient than competitors, so investors’ money goes further.”

The business has successfully raised a seed round in 2022, and is now working towards it’s next capital raise. It’s high R&D spend has provided the opportunity for debt financing against the company’s research and development tax offset as security. This is an annual tax refund against which funders will offer terms based on the company’s actual and projected expenses. This gives start-ups early access to capital to maintain their momentum.

Looking ahead, he says the team is fully focused on the company’s purpose to “safeguard space for humanity’s progress.”

“We think space has been taken for granted too long and we want to address that by building roadside assistance in space. Every day is fascinating, solving a problem that matters for humanity.