Fireside Chat with Andy McLoughlin OBE, Partner at Uncork Capital and Julia French, UTS Diploma in Innovation, part of TD School

Join us at Sydney Startup Hub at 8 am on Wednesday 9th June for a unique opportunity to hear directly from Andy McLoughlin, Partner at Uncork Capital (formerly known as SoftTech VC), Silicon Valley's #1 Angel fund - a first for Australian audiences! 

Andy will be in conversation with Julia French, UTS Diploma in Innovation, part of the TD School.

Who is Andy McLoughlin?

Andy is not your average Silicon Valley VC. 

A UK native, Andy was a co-founder of Huddle, which was acquired in 2016. Andy first visited Silicon Valley in the mid-00's with WebMission, a UK trade mission giving British businesses a unique taste of Silicon Valley life and the opportunities it offered. Unable to deny the possibilities for growth, Andy took the leap and relocated to Silicon Valley where he built out Huddle, established a team, and grew their networks. 

An active angel investor, Andy's personal portfolio includes Intercom, Postmates (acquired by Uber for $2.65B), Calm, Pipedrive (acquired by Vista Equity for $1.5B), and Apiary (acquired by Oracle). Uncork Capital's portfolio includes Eventbrite, bit.ly, Postmates, fitbit, to name but a few...

Who should attend this event?

This conversation is unmissable for founders with Silicon Valley ambitions and VCs looking to better understand the founder mindset. 

What will I learn?

• A greater understanding of the landscape in Silicon Valley, their approach to angel investments, and what they look for in a founder and startup. 
• Cultural differences - what do Australian founders need to know before pitching in the US? How does the approach differ?
• Tall Poppy Syndrome - why is it so prevalent? How can we change that mentality? 
• Learn from the two biggest Australian successes - Canva & Atlassian, what did they do differently? How can you adapt?
• Designing your product with a monoculture in mind.
• How is innovation enabled by cultural change? 

Ok, but why is this UNMISSABLE? 

There will be time dedicated for attendees to speak directly and ask questions of Andy and Julia relevant to their own startup. This is the first time, anybody from Uncork Capital has spoken with an Australian audience, and it might not happen again. With borders closed, and deal-flow opportunities significantly reduced, there has never been a better time to share your startup with one of Silicon Valley's leading angel investors.  

This event is brought to you by Sydney Startup Hub in partnership with UTS Diploma in Innovation, part of the TD School and UTS Startups. If you are unable to attend in person, you can register for a virtual ticket! 

BIO's

Andy McLoughlin 

Andy McLoughlin OBE is a partner at Uncork Capital, investing in software startups that help businesses operate like the best companies in the world. Investments include LaunchDarkly, Tailscale, Human Interest, Focal Systems, Fountain, Mutiny, Crossbeam, and Coder. Prior to joining Uncork in 2015, Andy was co-founder of Huddle. He is a co-founder and US Trustee of the Founders Pledge and serves as a founding Director of GBx. 

Julia French

I believe the future is built by entrepreneurs pushing beyond existing boundaries and limits. I think there is no greater work to be done in this life than educating and transferring all the knowledge we can to the next generation. I have over 15 years of experience working in Silicon Valley, such as Atlassian, Dropbox and most recently WhatsApp. I have supported Australian Innovation from Silicon Valley. I am an angel investor with my most recent investment Pillow acquired by Expedia. I helped to kick off AirTree Ventures' community after landing in Australia and brought the first TechCrunch event to Sydney before starting a community for Founders in Australia.