YBF Ventures

YBF Ventures is run by four operators: Matt Browne, Steve Grace, David Kenney and Jeremy Cabral. There is no centralized investment committee because YBF does not operate a discretionary fund. Capital allocation decisions — when founders are introduced to corporate buyers or individual angel investors — happen through the dinner series and founder circles, where Browne's venture fund, Black Nova VC, and Grace's Stride Equity network can participate on a deal-by-deal basis.

No. YBF does not raise or manage a commingled fund. The firm generates revenue from corporate-access dinners, peer-group memberships and advisory programs. Matt Browne's firm, Black Nova Venture Capital, is a separate early-stage VC that may invest alongside introductions made through the YBF network, but YBF itself does not take carried interest or management fees.

Sourcing is entirely operator-driven. The four partners use their personal networks — Browne from Donesafe and Black Nova, Cabral from Finder, Grace from The Nudge Group — to identify founders building enterprise software and AI tools for large corporate buyers. The firm does not run open applications. Deal flow is curated through direct relationships and referrals within the Australian startup ecosystem.

Matt Browne is a founder of both YBF Ventures and Black Nova Venture Capital. Black Nova is an independent early-stage VC fund with its own limited partners and investment strategy. YBF functions as a community and corporate-access platform where Black Nova may see deal flow, but the two entities have no formal capital-sharing or management-fee arrangement.

Yes, YBF maintains the YBF Mesh Foundation Program. The firm has not publicly disclosed funding sources or grant-making criteria for the foundation, but it operates separately from the commercial dinner series, podcast and membership programs.

YBF does not co-invest as a firm because it does not manage a balance sheet or fund. External VCs, including Black Nova and Stride Equity, may independently fund startups introduced through the dinner series, but YBF itself acts as a facilitator rather than a co-investor.

The original York Butter Factory co-working hub in Melbourne closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Matt Browne and Steve Grace acquired the brand and relaunched it in early 2024 as an operator-led community with no physical co-working component, focusing instead on curated dinners, peer groups and media.