Carolyn Breeze and the Hands-On Model Behind Scalare Partners
Scalare Partners presents itself on LinkedIn as an Australian technology accelerator and investment and advisory firm, and the person steering that public identity is Carolyn Breeze, the company's…
Scalare Partners presents itself on LinkedIn as an Australian technology accelerator and investment and advisory firm, and the person steering that public identity is Carolyn Breeze, the company's chief executive. Carolyn was appointed to the newly created CEO role at Scalare, joining from the payments company Zepto where she had served as Chief Commercial Officer. Her tenure began in early 2023, and under her leadership the company reached a notable milestone later that year.
In December 2023, Scalare Partners listed on the ASX under the ticker SCP. Carolyn described the listing as a first of its kind, calling Scalare 'the first tech accelerator to list in this country.' Since then the company has pursued a growth-by-acquisition strategy, bringing in businesses including Tank Stream Labs in a deal worth around $5.5 million, along with Tech Ready Women, the Australian Technologies Competition, Inhouse Ventures and the Brisbane-based virtual CFO service Planet Startup.
Carolyn brings more than 20 years of experience across technology, telecommunications, eCommerce, payments and fintech to the role. Her earlier career included senior positions at GoCardless, where she was General Manager for the ANZ region and led the UK company's expansion into Australia and New Zealand, as well as roles at Braintree, PayPal and eBay. That background in scaling businesses across markets informs how she now approaches Scalare's portfolio.
Carolyn argues that Scalare differs from traditional venture capital firms by taking an active, hands-on role in supporting its portfolio companies. She believes founders deserve to benefit financially from secondary sales, and encourages them to prioritise their own self-care and salaries rather than defer everything to the business. Her stated purpose is to empower organisations to drive inclusion and equality through technology and accessibility, and she champions diversity and supports female and culturally diverse founders.
That perspective extends to how Carolyn thinks about the wider ecosystem. Writing in Forbes Australia, she has argued for what she calls a 'circular startup economy,' where capital, lessons and relationships feed back into the next wave of founders. It is a view that connects Scalare's acquisition activity, its accelerator work and Carolyn's own focus on building a more sustainable pipeline for Australian technology companies.