Mist, founded by John Crutchley and Dave Malcolm, offers a one-stop mobile marketplace where international students can complete a single KYC process and secure essential banking, payments, SIM cards, insurance and lifestyle services pre-departure. By aggregating multiple service providers inside an easy-to-use app, Mist removes the fragmented, in-person onboarding that typically awaits students after arrival. The company has locked in exclusive infrastructure partnerships with Novatti (banking/payments), Xtreme Communications (telco) and ISIC (student ID), and distribution agreements with leading education consultants such as Global Study Partners, StudyLink, MSM Unify and StudyMe that collectively touch roughly 227,000 Australia-bound students annually. Management believes it has first-mover advantage in a market where >90% of students express demand for a single financial-and-lifestyle platform. The addressable market in Australia alone rebounded to 577,295 student visas granted in FY23, a 119% YoY increase, with similar trends expected in the UK, Canada and the US. Backed by founders with deep experience in international banking (Volt Bank, ANZ) and D2C marketing (Marley Spoon, Rockstar Games, Banxa), Mist aims to scale its B2B2C go-to-market model globally. The newly secured pre-seed funding provides the capital base to execute its Australian launch and prepare for expansion into other major study destinations.

Total raised

$1M

Funding rounds

1

Latest round

Seed

Latest activity

Dec 2023