Why Niki Scevak invests in companies without any revenue; lessons from Australia's best venture capitalist

This episode featuring Niki Scevak, co-founder of Blackbird and the founder of Startmate, originally appeared on The Australian Investors Podcast. Niki is arguably Australia's most influential and successful venture capitalist (VC). Venture Capital is a name for investing in companies at the earliest stage in their journey. Sometimes, before they've even got a business at all! Niki and Owen talk about venture capital investing, co-founding Blackbird, what startmate did for Aussie tech companies, the Blackbird investment process and so much more. Australian Business Podcast resources Owen Rask’s free business course Ask a question Niki Scevak talking points This Australian Business Podcast Episode is for founders and investors in private companies. Join 2,300+ students in our free business course! If you liked this episode, don’t forget to consider taking our free business course and tuning into the Australian Business Podcast episode one, in which I shared my journey. Love the Australian Business Podcast? Let me know about it by leaving a review on Apple or Spotify.  If you want to help me out with the course, right now the best thing you can do is subscribe and review this podcast in Apple or Spotify. Please use the “Ask a question” menu link on the Rask websites, or leave your questions in the Apple Reviews. ☕️ Rumble Coffee Roasters — our OG sponsor & coffee genuises! Rumble Coffee Roasters is dedicated to helping you drink better coffee. Knock-out blends, world-class single origins, bold espressos and flavour-filled filter roasts. Rumble Coffee prides itself on personal relationships with producers and customers alike.  They pay farmers fairly so that they can invest in their land, their employees and their communities. You can buy some beans to drink at home or in the office via rumblecoffee.com.au. Alternatively, if you’re a coffee shop owner — get in touch and discover better ways to serve your customers. Tell them Rask sent you.  ✅ Grey Space Advisory – accounting today for a smarter tomorrow Do you get stuck worrying about your business’ finances? Or what needs to be paid to ATO, employees, Super funds and so on? The Australian Business Podcast is proud to announce that our sponsor, Grey Space Advisory, is offering all business owners a financial health check. Jordan and Danil’s expert team of accountants will conduct a review of your tax structure, bank set-up, ATO obligations and reporting, business insurance and provide some advice on how to manage all of this — for just $99! You can book a $99 health check with the Grey Space Advisory team and tell them Owen sent you. *** The information on this website and in our podcasts is general financial advice only. That means, the advice does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Because of that, you should consider if the advice is appropriate to you and your needs, before acting on the information. In addition, you should obtain and read the product disclosure statement (PDS) before making a decision to acquire a financial product. If you don’t know what your needs are, you should consult a trusted and licensed financial adviser who can provide you with personal financial product advice. Please read our Terms & Conditions and Financial Services Guide before using this website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices