Founded in 2023 by James Donald, Josh Nu'u Steele, and Brendan Cervin, Ideally is reinventing research for modern marketing - putting real consumer understanding into the hands of every marketer, strategist, and insights leader who needs it. The platform delivers fast, always-on insight to understand what customers want, where categories are heading, and how to test ideas, products, and campaigns before they hit the market.

We first backed Ideally through Seed Fund I, when James and the team set out to challenge an industry built on six-week timelines and six-figure price tags. The premise was simple: brands should not have to wait months and spend a fortune to understand what their customers think.

Ideally raised a $16m Series A in 2026, valuing the company at over $100m. From a founding team in Auckland, Ideally has grown to 50+ employees across Auckland, Sydney, Melbourne, and New York - with more than 250 brands and agencies across the US, UK, and APAC, including Google, Treasury Wine Estates, Burger King, and DoorDash, trusting the platform to make better decisions, faster.