I’m a second-gen Aussie and was raised across all cultural corners of Sydney. My interest in startups bloomed from making a (perhaps ill-advised) decision to spend my entire youth allowance cheque, which was meant for university textbooks, on investing in a healthcare company, and it only took a small victory to ignite a quiet passion for trying to unpack what drives a company.

Fortuitously, I landed in venture capital right after graduating, and I’ve loved working shoulder-to-shoulder with gritty founders since. It’s been amazing to see the ANZ startup ecosystem grow over the last decade and I’m pumped to see us continue to blossom over the next decade.

Something I learned the hard way

I threw myself at a startup opportunity back in university because I had the itch to build and saw a large opportunity. We had a good crack at it but ultimately shut it down when we came across a very well-funded competitor emerge from stealth. The key thing I learned seems obvious in hindsight—Founder-Product-Fit is critical. If you’re going to do something hard, you better make sure you seriously care about the outcome.

Beyond the pitch deck

Pictures and slides may be worth a thousand words, but people and their drive are infinitely more complex. You are more than your ideas, and given an investment term is usually around 10+ years, we’ll want to get to know you and your motivations well.

On weekends you’ll find me

Immersed in social activities that lead to great banter (bragging rights). This involves playing poker, video games, basketball, and (naively) endurance sporting events.