<description>&lt;h2&gt;Episode Summary:&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;p&gt;Join Cheryl Mack and Maxine Minter on First Cheque as they chat with Tim from Turo, one of Australia's pioneering operator angels. Tim shares his journey from working at Uber to his current role at Turo, detailing the insights and risks involved in being an early-stage investor. The conversation covers Tim's first investment, his transition from medicine to business, and the challenges of balancing operator and investor roles. They discuss the Australian tech ecosystem, liquidity issues, and policy needs, along with the significance of strong talent and multicultural acceptance. Tim also shares a personal story about leading a national campaign against antisemitism in Australia. This episode is rich with practical advice for budding angel investors and insights into the growth of Australia's tech landscape.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;h2&gt;Key Takeaways:&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Importance of Top-Tier Talent&lt;/strong&gt;: Emphasising that success is driven by individuals who are in the top 1% of their field, Tim focuses on investing in founders and teams that demonstrate exceptional capabilities.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Building and Utilising Networks&lt;/strong&gt;: The "ex-Uber mafia" and connections from his professional journey have been instrumental in providing deal flow and collaborative opportunities in both his operating and investing roles.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Interplay Between Operating and Investing&lt;/strong&gt;: While Tim views operating and investing as distinct activities, he acknowledges cross-pollination in networking and strategic opportunities, such as recruiting talent through connections made in the investment community.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Successful Launch Strategies&lt;/strong&gt;: Sharing the story of Turo's launch in Australia, Tim highlights the effectiveness of building hype and the importance of a well-executed go-to-market strategy, even when facing competition from established players like Uber CarShare.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Leadership Beyond Business&lt;/strong&gt;: In response to rising antisemitism, Tim organised an open letter from Australian business leaders condemning hate and promoting multiculturalism, demonstrating his commitment to societal impact.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Advice for Aspiring Angels&lt;/strong&gt;: Tim advocates for a balanced approach to angel investing—being available and supportive without overwhelming founders, and recognising when to offer help based on founders' requests.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;h1&gt;Sponsors:&lt;/h1&gt;&lt;h2&gt;First Cheque is supported by our wonderful sponsors:&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Vanta:&lt;/strong&gt; Join 7,000 global companies like Atlassian and Dovetail that use Vanta to build trust and prove security in real time. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Get 10% off https://dayone.fm/vanta&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Rocking Horse: &lt;/strong&gt;Rocking Horse helps startups access their R&amp;amp;D tax rebate early. Get up to $3M in non-dilutive finance, solve cash flow challenges, and accelerate growth. Easy application, fast approval. Smart investment for innovative startups. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;https://dayone.fm/rockinghorse&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Galah Cyber:&lt;/strong&gt; Galah Cyber are perfect for founder-lead and SAAS businesses. Galah provides advice, education, and training. Get in touch with Galah Cyber for a complimentary call to make sure you’re secured.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;https://dayone.fm/galah&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;h1&gt;The Day One Network&lt;/h1&gt;&lt;h2&gt;First Cheque is part of Day One, the podcast network dedicated to founders, operators &amp;amp; investors.&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;p&gt;To learn more, join our&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="https://dayone.fm/podcast-network/newsletter/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;newsletter&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;to be notified of new and upcoming shows. The only content we create is content that will help Australian founders.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;If you want to learn about upcoming guests and when a new First Cheque episode is available, join the&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="https://dayone.fm/podcast-network/first-cheque/newsletter" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;First Cheque newsletter&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Mentioned in this episode:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a...</description>

First Cheque

DayOne.fm

Navigating Early-Stage Investing and Scaling with Tim from Turo

NOV 4, 202449 MIN
First Cheque

Navigating Early-Stage Investing and Scaling with Tim from Turo

NOV 4, 202449 MIN

Description

Episode Summary:

Join Cheryl Mack and Maxine Minter on First Cheque as they chat with Tim from Turo, one of Australia's pioneering operator angels. Tim shares his journey from working at Uber to his current role at Turo, detailing the insights and risks involved in being an early-stage investor. The conversation covers Tim's first investment, his transition from medicine to business, and the challenges of balancing operator and investor roles. They discuss the Australian tech ecosystem, liquidity issues, and policy needs, along with the significance of strong talent and multicultural acceptance. Tim also shares a personal story about leading a national campaign against antisemitism in Australia. This episode is rich with practical advice for budding angel investors and insights into the growth of Australia's tech landscape.

Key Takeaways:

  • Importance of Top-Tier Talent: Emphasising that success is driven by individuals who are in the top 1% of their field, Tim focuses on investing in founders and teams that demonstrate exceptional capabilities.
  • Building and Utilising Networks: The "ex-Uber mafia" and connections from his professional journey have been instrumental in providing deal flow and collaborative opportunities in both his operating and investing roles.
  • Interplay Between Operating and Investing: While Tim views operating and investing as distinct activities, he acknowledges cross-pollination in networking and strategic opportunities, such as recruiting talent through connections made in the investment community.
  • Successful Launch Strategies: Sharing the story of Turo's launch in Australia, Tim highlights the effectiveness of building hype and the importance of a well-executed go-to-market strategy, even when facing competition from established players like Uber CarShare.
  • Leadership Beyond Business: In response to rising antisemitism, Tim organised an open letter from Australian business leaders condemning hate and promoting multiculturalism, demonstrating his commitment to societal impact.
  • Advice for Aspiring Angels: Tim advocates for a balanced approach to angel investing—being available and supportive without overwhelming founders, and recognising when to offer help based on founders' requests.

Sponsors:

First Cheque is supported by our wonderful sponsors:

Vanta: Join 7,000 global companies like Atlassian and Dovetail that use Vanta to build trust and prove security in real time.

Get 10% off https://dayone.fm/vanta

Rocking Horse: Rocking Horse helps startups access their R&D tax rebate early. Get up to $3M in non-dilutive finance, solve cash flow challenges, and accelerate growth. Easy application, fast approval. Smart investment for innovative startups.

https://dayone.fm/rockinghorse

Galah Cyber: Galah Cyber are perfect for founder-lead and SAAS businesses. Galah provides advice, education, and training. Get in touch with Galah Cyber for a complimentary call to make sure you’re secured.

https://dayone.fm/galah

The Day One Network

First Cheque is part of Day One, the podcast network dedicated to founders, operators & investors.

To learn more, join our newsletter to be notified of new and upcoming shows. The only content we create is content that will help Australian founders.

If you want to learn about upcoming guests and when a new First Cheque episode is available, join the First Cheque newsletter.

Mentioned in this episode:

November 2024 - Rocking Horse

June 2024 – Vanta First Cheque

November 2024 - Galah Cyber



This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

Spotify Ad Analytics - https://www.spotify.com/us/legal/ad-analytics-privacy-policy/