Ep 99 Dr Elaine Stead On The Human Side Of Venture Capital, Tackling Taboos, Authenticity

We're back after an early Christmas break, thanks for sticking with us! As you know we talk to interesting people doing amazing things, and this couldn't be more true for our guest, Dr Elaine Stead. Elaine is Head of Venture Capital at Blue Sky Investments, which includes overseeing South Australia's $50 million VC fund. More broadly Blue Sky manages $3 billion worth of investments across infrastructure, real estate and private equity. A lot of people think of VCs as khaki wearing white men with a God-like ability to 'giveth and taketh away', but Elaine breaks the VC mould with complete authenticity. She's unafraid to share not only her insights and opinions but also her vulnerabilities on social media and blogs. Elaine is open about her story, mental health challenges and taboo issues, which she admits may be confronting for investors and her stakeholders. But little by little, she's changing the culture of her industry. While the world of venture capital is seemingly driven by numbers, we have an in depth conversation about the humanistic side of founders, startups and business, and the human cost of entrepreneurship. We talk about the the inner workings and processes of a venture capital firm, why Elaine has pitched more than "300 times in the last year" and her brutal travel regime. We also chat about Elaine's pathway, before entering venture capital she was a stem-cell biologist and also a startup founder. Enjoy our fascinating chat with Dr Elaine Stead. Blue Sky: https://blueskyfunds.com.au Rooster Radio is hosted by Andrew Montesi and James Begley. We talk to interesting people doing amazing things. If you like what we're doing, you can now support the show with a few dollars (we really appreciate it) https://www.patreon.com/roosterradio Also please subscribe and review on iTunes or your favourite podcast player. Connect with Rooster Radio - sign up to our mailing list and join our Facebook community: http://roosterradio.biz http://facebook.com/roosterradioHQ For podcasting strategy, production and commercial services, visit: http://apiropodcasts.com For other content and marketing services, visit: http://www.apiroconsulting.com (Andrew Montesi) For leadership and and high performance services, visit: http://www.jamesbegley.com.au (James Begley)