🎧 New First Cheque Episode 🎧 

First Cheque exists to take you behind closed doors on some of the most interesting and informative early-stage investing conversations in Australia, and around the world.

This week, we’ve got a brand new episode for you, and a wrap-up of the latest First Cheque news for investors.

🎯 Meet Samantha Wong 🎯

General Partner at Blackbird based in Auckland, New Zealand

In the latest episode of the First Cheque podcast, Samantha Wong from Blackbird shares insights into how they invest in the most ambitious founders in Australia and New Zealand.

Before joining Blackbird, Samantha was a startup founder, a product manager and a lawyer.

Samantha has led the Blackbird's investments in clean meat companies like Sunfed and Heuros and also spear-headed the release of the Model Code of Conduct for the Startup Community.

Listen to co-hosts Cheryl Mack from Aussie Angels and Maxine Minter from Co Ventures interview Samantha Wong about pre-seed investment strategies on the First Cheque podcast.

📰 Latest News for Investors in Aus 📰

ABC Radio National Breakfast: ‘Sophisticated Investor’ changes may risk Aussie startup success

Cheryl Mack was interviewed by Patricia Karvelas about the proposed early-stage investor changes and what that could mean for founders. Cheryl goes into detail into what these changes could mean for the Australian economy and estimates that the proposed updates could reduce the angel investor pool from 3% to just 0.4% of the of Aussie population. Listen to the 7min radio interview

Capital Brief: Startups with Treasury submission extension amid sophisticated investor backlash

Cheryl Macks weighs in on behalf of the startup and VC community, which are reliant on angel investors, sharing their concerns for how raising the investor threshold could disqualify many current investors. Read more in Capital Brief

💡 Lessons from First Cheque Episodes 💡

• 🛠️ Anabel Lippincott Paksoy from 43 invests in pre-seed and pre-product startups based out of the Bay Area discusses community and evaluating early-stage founders by their ‘why’. Anabel’s interview

• 📝 2023 Reflection Episode with co-hosts Cheryl Mack and Maxine Minter reviewing trends and challenges from 2023. Learn more about the investing environment for startups, key early-stage founder traits, standout investment industries, and different perspectives leading into 2024. Reflection episode

• 🦄 Elaine Stead from M8 Ventures in Adelaide has made +100 personal investments (including two unicorns) discusses bravery and risk when supporting startups. Elaine’s interview

• 🚀 Rayn Ong from Archangel Ventures in Sydney is one of the best connected investors with +100 personal investments and more through Archangel with +$10M invested into +40 Australian companies with +90 founders and across +60 rounds. Rayn’s interview

• 🌱 Judy Anderson-Firth from Euphemia in Melbourne invests with a focus on Fintech, ClimateTech, and women-led startups supporting +40 companies and +20 funds with their ~$70M portfolio. Judy’s interview

• 🐑 Daniel Gavel from Black Sheep Capital in Brisbane aims to invest with a ‘everyone wins’ approach. Running multiple strategies, Dan runs a fund, a syndicate and personally invests in startups. Daniel’s interview

• ⚡ Jessy Wu from AfterWork Ventures in Sydney invests in startups with +$100M revenue ambition. With $20 million in funds under management, they’ve invested in +50 companies. Jessy’s interview

• ✅ Your Warm Intro with co-hosts Cheryl Mack and Maxine Minter covers the importance of understanding risk, the distinction between betting and investing, and the need for better decision-making processes. Warm Intro episode

🎙️ More DayOne.fm Podcasts 🎙️

First Cheque is supported by our wonderful sponsors,

Turo & Scendar.

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