Ep159 - Niki Scevak (Co-founder - Blackbird VC) on raising ambition

The Startup Playbook PodcastInsights and lessons from the world's best entrepreneurs and investors Twitter Facebook YouTube Instagram Ep159 – Niki Scevak (Co-founder & Partner – Blackbird VC) on raising ambition April 21, 2022 rohitbhargava Podcast My guest for Episode 159 of The Startup Playbook Podcast was the Co-founder & General Partner of Blackbird Ventures, Niki Scevak. Blackbird Ventures is one of the leading Venture Capital funds in Australia and NZ, counting companies such as Canva, Culture Amp and Safety Culture as part of its portfolio. Niki and previous podcast guest, Rick Baker, Co-founded Blackbird in 2012 with an initial $29M. That initial fund proved to be hugely successful, with the fund selling 40% of fund 1 for $100M. The sale provided a guaranteed 3x return to all 96 investors who contributed to fund 1, while retaining an interest in the 12 portfolio companies with a carrying value of $6.50 per $1 invested. In this interview we covered the story behind how Niki and Rick Baker first met and decided to launch Blackbird together, how the power law shapes Blackbird’s investing philosophy and how their approach to raising the ambition for their portfolio led them to change their own strategy from building the “Craigslist of VC” to growing from 4-60 people and raising Australia’s first $1B fund. Timestamps  4:39 – An introduction to Niki 6:15 – The importance of being around the right people early in Niki’s career8:10 – What led Niki and Rick to launch Blackbird together despite not knowing too much about each other at the time10:50 – How founders can do their own due diligence on potential cofounders14:22 – How Rick and Niki’s own background and experience helps their approach in “backing the hungry, not the proven”16:50 – What Blackbird looks for when investing early in founders and ideas that haven’t got revenue or haven’t launched 23:00 – How Niki and Blackbird support their portfolio companies and help calibrate their founders25:54 – Blackbird’s approach to ownership of portfolio companies and their follow-on strategy30:35 – How Blackbird and Startmate builds an internal ecosystem of raising ambition 33:45 – A deep dive into Blackbird’s investment in Zoox, their first non-software investment that paved the way for a new approach Blackbird took to investing39:49 – A reflection on Blackbird’s initial investments and how their approach has evolved as they have built up confidence42:35 – The role that the power law plays in how Blackbird decides to invest in companies45:45 – What led to the shift from Blackbird’s approach to building the “Craigslist of VC” i.e. small team/company to now growing from 4 to 60 people and raising Australia’s 1st $1B fund51:15 – Blackbird and Startmate’s internal culture and environment to raise their own ambition53:19 – How founders can recreate their own version of Blackbird’s culture57:00 – How founders can identify their own team cultural values Links Mentioned  A big thank you to our podcast partners for this episode Lawpath Lawpath’s Legal Advice Plan gives you access to lawyers on demand for one low monthly fee. Create legal documents, sign online and have a lawyer on-call to help you through any legal need for a fraction of the cost.  Lawpath has helped Australian businesses save over $100 million in legal fees, and are offering Startup Playbook listeners up to 20% off their most popular legal plans. Visit lawpath.com/playbook for your exclusive discount and discover an easier way to get your legals sorted. Scendar  We’re Scendar, an accounting and advisory practice better described as Finance as a Service (FaaS). We’re focused on founders, funders and startups. Clients that are ever-changing and adapting. We like fast movers. And as you might have guessed, we’re not your basic accountancy. We can take care of tax and the books whilst building a syndicate fund and a multimilliondollar exit strategy.  At Scendar, we’re empowered by our client’s potential. Find out more at Scendar.com Dovetail Studios  Dovetail Studios operates a venture studio and VC to transform ambitious ideas into unstoppable businesses. On top of being a renowned product development partner for startups like Afterpay, they also operate a VC fund to invest in early-stage companies that go through their venture studio program. So if you’re a non-technical, early-stage founder looking for a talented team to help supercharge your success, check out dovetailstudios.com Links Mentioned  Niki’s Links  Niki’s TwitterNiki’s email People Mentioned  Mike Cannon BrookesRick BakerSam WongRory San MiguelFrancis VierboomMel PerkinsLuke AnearRayn OngNick CrockerTim Kentley KlayJesse LevinsonSophia Witherington Companies Mentioned  StartmateBlackbird VenturesAndreesen HorowitzAirtreeSquare PegSunrisePropeller AeroCanvaSafety CultureAtlassianZoox Resources Mentioned  Netflix culture deckStripes operating principlesFingerprint for success Previous Episodes Mentioned  Ep150 – Rick Baker on culture, innovation and the rule of no exitsEp132 – Guy Pearson on vision, storytelling and ecosystems Special Thanks: Special thanks to Rick Baker, Nick Crocker, Rayn Ong and Rory San Miguel for their help with research for this interview!  Feedback/connect/say hello: Rohit@startupplaybook.co @RohitBhargava7 (Twitter) /rohbhargava (LinkedIn) @rohit_bhargava (Instagram) My Youtube Channel Credits: Music: Paycheck Other channels: Don’t have iTunes? The podcast is also available on Spotify, Soundcloud & Stitcher Audio Player. Find all links to the podcast here. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/startupplaybook/Ep159_-_Niki_Scevak_Co-founder__Partner_-_Blackbird_on_raising_ambition.mp3 Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed Subscribe: RSS admin January 1, 2014 Reply Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat admin January 1, 2014 Reply Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat admin January 1, 2014 Reply Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. 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