Venture capitalist Daniel Petre on what makes a good founder; why he invests in startups like Canva; how Australia must ride the digital wave & the valuable lessons he learned working for Bill Gates at Microsoft.

Co-founder of AirTree Ventures, Daniel Petre is a serial entrepreneur - not only did he build successful digital startups inside bigger companies for bosses like Bill Gates and Kerry and James Packer, but in the past 7 years he’s built up over $600million in Venture Capital funds to invest in many promising Aussie startups, creating one of Australia’s largest VC companies in AirTree Ventures. 

In Part 1 of this interview, Daniel Petre talks about how he came to work for the brilliant Bill Gates in Microsoft’s heady heyday of the late 80’s; & what he learnt about rigorous thinking that informs the way he appraises tech startups to invest in today via his VC funds. But he also speaks candidly about personal issues that he continues to deal with; and why Australia must ride the current wave into a genuine digital future.

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