Hyped Aussie social start-up Linktree lost nearly $50m last year but won Google backing

Linktree’s spokesman defended the company’s performance, saying its growth and focus on using its money efficiently gave it a clear path to profitability.

“Linktree is in a stage of hyper growth, focusing on expanding our offering in markets around the world, investing in expanding our team in the US, and marketing efforts to grow the brand,” the spokesman said. “Linktree has and continues to invest in its growth.”

In March last year, Linktree raised $US110 million, or about $150 million Australian near the peak of the market, from investors in a deal that valued the company at an enormous $1.7 billion.

In Linktree’s case, even after its big-spending 2022 financial year, the results show it still had about $110 million in cash and equivalents on hand.

The accounts show that Linktree spent about $80 million on operating last financial year, with $32 million on employee expenses, $13.7 million on contractors and ad spending of $14.8 million among the major costs. During that period, its workforce jumped from 92 to 283 people.

About $11.6 million that Linktree reported as “other income” was due to currency fluctuations, the results note.

Linktree, which was founded in 2016, has already done well for its founders. A separate document lodged with the regulator show that a trust named for the company’s co-founding brothers, Alex Zaccaria and Anthony Zaccaria, sold almost $14 million of shares in the company last year to some of its biggest investors. A third co-founder, Nick Humphreys, sold almost $7 million.

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All the founders still retain much larger stakes in the company than they sold. The Zaccaria brothers’ trust company, for example, still has more than 660,000 shares in Linktree compared to the roughly 21,000 it sold last year.

Filings with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission are required for firms over a certain size and give an impression of a company’s performance in accordance with federal law, but do not have the level of detail that an investor would use and are not up-to-the-minute.

Linktree’s spokesman defended the company’s performance, saying its growth and focus on using its money efficiently gave it a clear path to profitability.

“Linktree is in a stage of hyper growth, focusing on expanding our offering in markets around the world, investing in expanding our team in the US, and marketing efforts to grow the brand,” the spokesman said. “Linktree has and continues to invest in its growth.”

In March last year, Linktree raised $US110 million, or about $150 million Australian near the peak of the market, from investors in a deal that valued the company at an enormous $1.7 billion.

In Linktree’s case, even after its big-spending 2022 financial year, the results show it still had about $110 million in cash and equivalents on hand.

The accounts show that Linktree spent about $80 million on operating last financial year, with $32 million on employee expenses, $13.7 million on contractors and ad spending of $14.8 million among the major costs. During that period, its workforce jumped from 92 to 283 people.

About $11.6 million that Linktree reported as “other income” was due to currency fluctuations, the results note.

Linktree, which was founded in 2016, has already done well for its founders. A separate document lodged with the regulator show that a trust named for the company’s co-founding brothers, Alex Zaccaria and Anthony Zaccaria, sold almost $14 million of shares in the company last year to some of its biggest investors. A third co-founder, Nick Humphreys, sold almost $7 million.

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All the founders still retain much larger stakes in the company than they sold. The Zaccaria brothers’ trust company, for example, still has more than 660,000 shares in Linktree compared to the roughly 21,000 it sold last year.

Filings with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission are required for firms over a certain size and give an impression of a company’s performance in accordance with federal law, but do not have the level of detail that an investor would use and are not up-to-the-minute.