Female VC partners emerge to ride the tech wave
One of Australia’s biggest venture capital firms, AirTree Ventures, has moved to address the increasingly competitive hunt to back the country’s next wave of tech star companies by promoting two of its principal investors to the partner level.
Elicia McDonald and Jackie Vullinghs will take on the title and are charged with leading early-stage investments with a growing team. AirTree has added five new recruits in the past month with at least five more to come before the end of this year.
Jackie Vullinghs and Elicia McDonald of Airtree Venture have been promoted to partner level. Rhett Wyman
“I think this is significant because we represent the first generation trained in venture in Australia coming through the ranks, learning the craft, and leading investments in the next wave of breakout companies,” Ms Vullinghs said of her appointment.
“When I started in VC in Australia, I initially thought it would be a great way to meet talented people in tech to go and start a company with. But then I fell in love with it as a career because I get to chase curiosity every single day in my job ... I know I will enjoy this job forever because the thing that I value most highly, which is curiosity, is so completely built into it.”
The duo said they usually put the most weight on the vision and strength of the founder when deciding what companies to tip their investors’ money into.
Since joining in 2016, Ms McDonald has led investments into robotic AI technology Abyss, property technology start-up :Different, and workflow software Process Street. Since joining in 2018, Ms Vullinghs has backed blockchain-friendly superannuation fund infrastructure builder Grow, e-bike rental company Zoomo, addiction support social media platform Arli, and direct-to-consumer disruptor Eucalyptus.
Ms Vullinghs said she was most interested in consumer products, brands, and technologies that promote positive behaviour change, while Ms McDonald said she has a soft spot for enterprise software-as-a-service.
In terms of what success in the new role would look like to her, Ms McDonald said her aspiration was to be seen as a valued adviser and supporter to the founders she backs.
Their appointments mark a positive step towards greater gender balance in senior positions in the local venture capital scene. In late 2019, The Australian Financial Review polled leading firms and found that of 50 partners, only 11 were women.
On the question of a lack of gender diversity in venture capital, which director of Amnesty International’s Silicon Valley Initiative Michael Kleinman has framed as a human rights issue, Ms Vullinghs and Ms McDonald said they had mixed feelings, following their promotions.
The type of diversity that matters most for making sound investment decisions, in Ms Vullinghs’ view, is diversity of thought.
“What I love about how the team works together is that we are all really curious people that love products and technology and that’s what brings us together. But we also have the psychological safety to disagree with one another on investments without disagreeing with each other personally,” she said.
She said others keen to get into coveted venture capital roles needed to immerse themselves in the sector and start hunting for leads before they find a role.
“Start doing the job before you get the job,” Ms Vullinghs said.
“You can investigate trends, meet founders, and create a fantasy portfolio on paper. Any VC fund will be impressed if you can tell them which companies are in your fantasy portfolio and why.”
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