Female-founded, purpose-driven accommodation platform Heartful has announced its closure after an unexpected cybersecurity crisis eliminated its core early funding source.
CEO and founder Jen Clark launched the company in October 2024 as Australia’s first online accommodation booking marketplace dedicated to accessible and sustainable travel.
The platform serves two fastest-growing tourism sectors: accessible tourism (worth $29.2 billion in 2024) and sustainable tourism, with a particular focus on regional communities and Indigenous heritage.
In 14 months, Heartful achieved finalist recognition in the 2025 Travel Weekly Women in Travel Awards, with 550+ high-quality listings across Australia and 130+ shareholders through equity crowdfunding. The company also had zero debt and strategic partnerships with impact organisations including Homes for Homes Australia, the Australian Bedding Stewardship Council (ASBC) and Soap Aid Australia.
Nevertheless, over a period in October and November 2025, the Heartful website was attacked by sophisticated AI bots originating in China and Singapore. The attacks got past security measures to eliminate the average 20-25 monthly client enquiries that had been generating income to fund Heartful’s early operations.
“Within days, our primary revenue stream was gone, ” said Clark. “By the time we restored functionality, our runway had evaporated. Despite my best efforts in recent days to secure bridge funding or find an acquisition partner, we ran out of time. ”
Now, the company is set to close on December 22, 2025 and is actively seeking an acquisition partner or buyer to continue or evolve its mission.
Emphasising that this situation was not a failure of execution, Clark said “Heartful had the team, technology, market validation, and clarity of vision to succeed. What we didn’t have was access to the capital that would have allowed us to weather an unexpected crisis. This business could have been – and still could be – an enormous success with the right backing. ”
As a 47-year-old LGBTIQ+ founder diagnosed as autistic/ADHD in 2021, and a finalist in the 2025 Australian Women in Travel Awards ‘Rising Star’ category, Clark represents multiple underrepresented cohorts in the startup ecosystem.
She’s been candid about the systemic challenges for female founders, saying that “projected figures for 2025 suggest funding for female-founded startups in Australia could fall below 0.5 per cent, the lowest level on record.”
“Solo female founders building purpose-driven companies are even less likely to receive investment,” she adds.
Despite its impending closure, Clark’s Heartful platform says it maintains a highly competitive commission structure while committing 1 per cent of booking proceeds to Homes for Homes Australia for affordable and social housing projects.
“We’ve solved the hardest problems: building enterprise-grade technology, achieving product-market fit on one side of the marketplace, validating the business model, and creating genuine community engagement, ” said Clark.
“For the right acquirer, this represents an exceptional opportunity to enter the ethical travel market with a ready-made, validated platform and passionate community already in place.”
Speaking to the potential of Heartful, Clark said “accessible and sustainable tourism aren’t niche segments – they’re the future of travel.”
Clark also expressed gratitude to Heartful’s hosts, guests, shareholders, advisors, and the community built around her successful podcast ‘Hosting With Heart’, saying that “this closure doesn’t in any way diminish what we’ve built together. I truly hope the right partner will carry this torch forward.”