The High Flyers Podcast with Vidit Agarwal #228 Sam Wong: The Blackbird Partner Redefining VC — Lessons on Identity, Courage and Building a Venture Fund While Pregnant
Episode #228 of The High Flyers Podcast features Sam Wong, General Partner at Blackbird Ventures, one of the leading Venture Capital firms and the first investor in Canva. Born in Perth to Malaysian-Chinese and British-Indian parents, Sam went from packing Sound Blaster boxes to building Blackbird’s New Zealand fund while five months pregnant. A former lawyer turned founder turned investor, she’s known for her humility, conviction, and sharp judgment backing bold founders across Australia and New Zealand.
Note - This is a replay of episode 129 that originally released in May 2023. Since so many of you loved that episode over two years ago, we're re-releasing it today since it's a classic.
In this conversation, Sam Wong reflects on her multicultural childhood in Perth, growing up in an entrepreneurial family where dinner-table talk was all business, and how feeling like an outsider shaped her worldview. She shares her journey from law to startups to venture capital, and the pivotal lessons that helped her transition into investing — including the “2 out of 10” feedback from Blackbird co-founder Niki Scevak that changed her career.
We go deep into building Blackbird’s New Zealand fund while five months pregnant, the early challenges of launching a firm from scratch in a new country, and how she defines courage, success, and integrity in venture. Sam also opens up about identity, bias, and belonging, the balance of being a partner, parent, and leader, and the philosophies that guide her — from her annual “fire yourself and reapply” reflection to Barack Obama’s timeless quote, “Keep it about the work.”
It’s time to explore your curiosity. Please enjoy.
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The High Flyers Podcast is described as a "meticulously researched biography" that uncovers the untold stories of remarkable people and companies -- redefining the "high flyer". Launched in 2020, we have ranked in the global top ten podcasts for past two years, with listeners in 27 countries and over 200 episodes released. Excerpts of the podcast have been featured in Forbes, AFR, Daily Telegraph, and showcased at SXSW.
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