Open the Pod Bay Doors E14 - Niki Scevak, Blackbird
9 snips
Aug 30, 2017 Niki Scevak, founder of Startmate and partner at VC Blackbird, dives deep into Australia's startup landscape. He shares insights on the evolution of investment, especially in autonomous technologies and space, emphasizing the shift from traditional automotive models to innovative solutions. Niki reflects on the early challenges of the startup ecosystem and highlights the importance of community collaboration. He also discusses the pivotal role of emerging technologies like LiDAR in self-driving cars and the aspiration of local startups in a global context.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
From Return To Founder-Led Investing
- Niki Scevak moved back to Australia in 2009 after running a startup in the US and founded Startmate in 2010 to begin angel investing.
- Startmate grew into Blackbird, which Niki co-founded in 2012 to invest more seriously in product-led founders.
Success Before Local Capital Existed
- Many successful Australian startups began with little or no early capital or local investor help.
- That gap signaled a large untapped opportunity to add capital and founder-to-founder support.
Two-Year Fundraise For Blackbird
- Raising Blackbird's first fund took two years and many meetings, culminating in a ~AUD29M first close.
- The process was very hard because local venture capital was scarce at that time.
