My guest for Ep149 of The Startup Playbook Podcast was Phil Morle, Partner of Main Sequence Ventures
Phil started his career as a Theatre Director, before taking those skills into tech initially as CTO of file-sharing company, Kazaa before going on to Co-found the first tech incubator in Asia-Pacific, Pollenizer.
He is now a Partner at CSIRO’s venture capital fund, Main Sequence Ventures, which has $490M in funds under management to invest in emerging Australian deep-tech and science based startups to solve the world’s biggest problems.
In this interview we discussed:
Why 50-50 equity splits between co-founders are a bad signal to investors
Taking leaps and having a high velocity of learning
The art of Flearning
The important balance between “soft skills” and Venture science
& much more!
Timestamps
2.26 – How Phil got started in theatre and transitioned into building startups
10.19 – Common mistakes and traits Phil has seen in business since working with startups
19.54 – The importance of taking leaps and the success of Spreets
28.25 – Decision to close Pollenizer after two final chances and the importance of closing when it’s the right time
38.00 – The importance of reputation and being willing to put your reputation on the line
44.51 – The power of giving employees equity for motivation and commitment
49.14 – Bringing together the CSIRO and Hungry Jacks to create v2food
56.48 – The important lessons for startups working with large companies
1.03.34 – Collaborative work with businesses and coming together to share experiences
1.09.11 – Identifying opportunities and the balance between soft and hard skills in founders
1.13.55 – Main Sequence Ventures new fund and what projects they are working on
1.18.24 – Where to find Phil and Main Sequence Ventures
Pingback: dark chocolate keto