Just Raised. Now What? | What I Wish I Knew LIVE
Description
Just raised? This is the part nobody puts in the announcement post. A founder and the VC who backed him unpack what happens next. Same moments, opposite sides of the table.
Everyone tells you how to raise. Almost nobody tells you what happens after the money lands.
This is a live recording of What I Wish I Knew On Day One, KC Ventures' vodcast hosted by Luke Rix, about what actually happens to a founder after the wire hits. Not the pitch deck version. The real one.
For Spark, we're putting two chairs on stage.
Daniel Lord-Doyle of Mary Technology goes first and talks honestly about his raise, including the messy middle. Then Oliver Darwin of OIF Ventures takes the same questions from the other side of the table.
Same moments. Two very different perspectives.
Bring the question you actually want answered.
The last fifteen minutes we will have questions from the room. No panel scripts, no need to make it sound clever. Just a small room of founders, with the chance to ask the questions that don't always get asked on stage.
Who it's for
Founders who have just raised, are raising now, or are about to.
If you've taken capital and the next twelve months look less obvious than you expected, this is the room.
Free to attend. Seats are capped, with a waitlist. Light refreshments from 3:30pm.
This is a recording, not a livestream, so there will be cameras in the room. Nothing goes out unedited.
With thanks to Song Kitchen and Spark Festival
We're recording at Song Kitchen, the restaurant and bar downstairs at Song Hotel Sydney on Wentworth Avenue. Song is Australia's first profit-for-purpose hotel. It operates under YWCA Australia, and the profits go back into YWCA's work supporting women across housing, services and leadership.
This session is part of Spark Festival 2026. Thanks to the Spark team for putting it in the program.
Agenda
- 3:00 pm - 3:45 pm
Session one: the founder
Daniel Lord-Doyle on his raise, honestly. Day one, what changed when the money landed, and the messy middle nobody puts in the announcement post.
- 4:00 pm - 4:45 pm
Session two: the investor
Oliver Darwin takes the same questions from the other chair. What he sees from the investor side, what founders often don't, and what actually gets a founder to yes.
- 4:45 pm - 5:00 pm
Your Questions
Lineup
Luke Rix
Host · Founder, KC Ventures Luke runs KC Ventures, the finance firm founders call after the raise. He has this conversation privately most weeks. This is the first time he's having it in front of a room.
Daniel Lord-Doyle
Daniel co-founded Mary Technology, the platform taking on litigation's fact chaos problem. In March the company raised A$7m to take it into the US market. He's six months on the other side of that wire, which makes him exactly the person to ask what the last two quarters have actually been like.
Oliver Darwin
Oliver invests at OIF Ventures. Before that he spent two years in Bank of America's investment banking division, advising some of Australia's best known companies on M&A and capital markets, so he has seen the raise from the side founders never get to watch. He has a specific, unsentimental view on what makes him back a founder. Session two is where he says it out loud.
FAQs
- Is it really free?
Yes. KC Ventures covers the room, the crew and the refreshments. Seats are capped, so the only cost is turning up.
- Will I be on camera?
The cameras are focused on the two chairs at the front. You may appear in wide shots, and if you ask a question during the Q&A you may appear in the published episode.
- Can I come to just one session?
Yes. There's a small allocation of single-session tickets. If you're booked for session two only, arrive during the break at 4:30pm rather than at 4:45pm, so you're not walking in on a recording.
- What if I can't make it after all?
Cancel your ticket so we can release it to the waitlist. The room is small and we'd love every seat to go to someone who can be there.
- Getting to the event
Song Kitchen, Song Hotel 5-11 Wentworth Avenue, Sydney NSW 2000
We are on the lower level of Song Kitchen. Come in through the Song Hotel entrance on Wentworth Avenue and head down to the lower floor. Our team will be at the door from 3:00pm.
BY TRAINMuseum Station is the closest, about a 2 minute walk. Take the Liverpool Street exit, walk east along Liverpool Street, and Wentworth Avenue is the turn on your right.
Town Hall Station is about an 8 minute walk.
Central Station is about an 11 minute walk, straight up Elizabeth Street or Wentworth Avenue.
BY LIGHT RAIL
Capitol Square is about a 10 minute walk.
BY BUS
Buses along Oxford Street and Elizabeth Street stop at the Museum Station interchange, a couple of minutes away.
DRIVING
There is no parking at the venue. Goulburn Street parking station on the corner of Goulburn and Elizabeth Streets is the closest option.
A note on our venue Song Hotel and Song Kitchen are profit for purpose businesses owned by YWCA Australia. They have given us this space for the afternoon, and their profits go back into housing and support for women. If you enjoy the room, they are worth coming back to.
Tickets for good, not greed Humanitix dedicates 100% of profits from booking fees to charity
