The Sachin and Adam Show

Venture Capital Partner Elicia McDonald: How to Stand Out From the Crowd in Investing

Apr 29, 2024

Elicia McDonald, Partner at Airtree Ventures, discusses drivers, sales as a VC, personality traits, and more. Topics include authenticity in VC, navigating grief, childhood influences on success, fundraising challenges, and balancing work-life dynamics for founder couples.

54:35

Creator website

Episode guests

Elicia McDonald

AI Summary

Highlights

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Success for Alicia McDonald is defined by working as a team to achieve goals together, emphasizing collaboration over individual victory.

Alicia McDonald values a balance between empathy and competitiveness in her role as a venture capitalist, prioritizing trustworthy relationships over aggressive tactics in deal-making.

Alicia McDonald sets herself apart by seeking out undiscovered investment opportunities, focusing on 'rough diamonds' that others overlook to create value and make meaningful investments.

Deep dives

Alicia McDonald's Definition of Success

Success for Alicia McDonald is not defined by winning, but by working as a team to achieve goals together. She values helping others succeed and cherishes the collaborative aspect of achieving victory.

Sales vs Marketing approach to building a reputation

01:27

Authenticity and Passion Speak Volumes

01:05

Introduction

3min

Balancing Authenticity and Life's Challenges

6min

Navigating Grief and Embracing Resilience

2min

Driven by Childhood Experiences

16min

Navigating Fundraising Challenges and Identifying Passionate Founders

2min

The Power of Founder's Story in Pitching to VCs

6min

Balancing Work and Personal Life in Startup Relationships

19min

Elicia McDonald is a partner at Airtree Ventures, one of the leading VC funds in Australia (where Sachin used to work). Airtree has invested in many unicorns including Canva, Pet Circle, Immutable, Employment Hero and Linktree. There's a lot to admire about Elicia. She's hyper intelligent, analytical, emotionally intelligent, focuses on the work and has a sharp awareness of what's really important in life. We talk to Elicia about drivers, the effect of her mums sickness, learning sales as a VC, personality traits and much more.

Links

Sponsors

⁠Kinde⁠

⁠Viridian Lawyers

About us

We tell the raw stories of the world’s tech leaders, by asking the vulnerable questions that no one else does. Guests have included former Prime Ministers, unicorn tech founders and the world’s top investors.

Join us for these interviews and get a real behind the scenes look into 25 year old best friends building the company of their dreams.

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts

Save insights instantly, chat with episodes, and build lasting knowledge - all powered by AI.

The Sachin and Adam Show

Venture Capital Partner Elicia McDonald: How to Stand Out From the Crowd in Investing

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

Alicia McDonald's Definition of Success

Balancing Empathy and Competitiveness

Seeking Unique Investment Opportunities

The Importance of Resilience in Early-Stage Founders

Balancing Personal and Professional Life as a Founder

Sales vs Marketing approach to building a reputation

Authenticity and Passion Speak Volumes

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts