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Artwork for First Cheque with Cheryl Mack & Maxine Minter

First Cheque with Cheryl Mack & Maxine Minter

Day One®
Artificial Intelligence
Australia
Venture Capital
International Expansion
Pre-Seed
United States
Europe
ESOP (employee Stock Ownership Plan)
Bubble In Tech/ai
Boring Businesses
Enterprise Software
Jargon
Secondaries
Prosus Ventures
Advance VC
Canva
Growth Investing
Open Source
Genai
Hustle Fund

First Cheque is powered by Deel & Pear Tree. Founders scale faster on Deel — set up payroll, hire anyone anywhere, and handle visas, HR and compliance in 150+ countries from one platform. Get started: deel.com/dayone Pear Tree builds high-performing offshore teams without the agency middleman. Day One listeners get a free team audit + 20% off your first hire: dayone.fm/peartree Fir... more

PublishesMonthlyEpisodes62Founded3 years ago
Number of ListenersCategories
InvestingEntrepreneurshipBusiness

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Artwork for First Cheque with Cheryl Mack & Maxine Minter

Latest Episodes

Side Stage Ventures and Dealroom have just released the 2026 edition of their landmark report on Australian venture. Grab your copy of the Australia Venture & Startup Report 2026 here: www.sidestage.vc/outliers-report-2026

Australia has crea... more

Episode Summary

Alex Feldman is the founder of Tiger and Bear, an M&A advisory focused on tech and services businesses. Before that, he was Chief Strategy Officer and General Counsel at Amaysim, where he ran three acquisitions simultaneously during ... more

YouTube

Episode Summary

Alexey Mitko is a partner at Co-Ventures, the architect behind Eucalyptus' ESOP plan, and widely known in the Australian ecosystem as "ESOP Guy." He was around employee number twenty at Canva and one of the early employees at Koala, ... more

Episode Summary

In this 101 episode, Cheryl and Maxine go deep on the fundamentals of pre-seed investing, from how the stage came to exist to why the perceived risk gap between pre-seed and seed is much smaller than most investors think.

They break... more

YouTube

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Recent Guests

Alexei Mitko
Partner at Coventures; early employee at Koala and Canva; ESOP expert
Coventures
Episode: How to Think About Equity as a Startup Employee
Noga Edelstein
Lead at Equity Clear Initiative
Equity Clear
Episode: Closing the Gender Investment Gap with Data with Noga Edelstein
Elizabeth Yin
Founder of Hustle Fund
Hustle Fund
Episode: How to Build a Global Pre-Seed Fund from Scratch
Brennan McHugh
Partner at Frontline, growth investor focused on international expansion
Frontline
Episode: How to Pick Your First Market for International Expansion
Max Kausman
Founder and Managing Partner, Advance VC
Advance VC
Episode: What are VC Fund Secondaries?
Matt Browne
Founder, investor, and operator; co-founder of Black Nova
Black Nova
Episode: Why “Boring” Businesses Make the Best Startups (Replay Ep with Matthew Browne)
Sachin Bhanot
General Partner at Prosus Ventures
Prosus Ventures
Episode: How Prosus Ventures Became an “Honorary Australian” Fund | Sachin Bhanot
Georgie Healy
Host of In The Blink of AI collaboration
In The Blink of AI
Episode: How VCs Really Assess AI Startups | Cheryl Mack, Maxine Minter and Georgie Healy
Charles Hudson
Founder/General Partner at Precursor Ventures
Precursor Ventures
Episode: Scaling Solo: How Charles Hudson Built a High-Volume VC Model at Precursor Ventures

Hosts

Cheryl Mack
Host with long-standing involvement in the show; part of the Day One network.
Maxine Minter
Co-host and long-time host; active in global venture discussions.

Reviews

4.9 out of 5 stars from 28 ratings
  • Listen learn and laugh along seriously dive deep and come up inspired

    Extraordinary three way conversations that move at pace, powerful insights, curated subjects all generously shared. 🚀

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    3johnnys
    Australia2 years ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Listeners praise the show for fast-paced, high-signal conversations with actionable takeaways.
Audiences appreciate data-driven discussions on diversity in venture and practical fundraising insights.
The hosts' candid storytelling and real-world anecdotes help translate complex topics into usable guidance.

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Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

How to Think About Equity as a Startup Employee
Q: What is the first thing you ever invested in?
The guest described buying General Motors stock in the US and then suffering a 90% loss during the 2008 crisis, learning that stock picking public markets was not his Forte and that diversification or different bets could have been better.
How to Build a Global Pre-Seed Fund from Scratch
Q: What was the first thing you ever invested in?
Elizabeth recalls Coca‑Cola stock at age 10, bought with savings, and notes how the experience highlighted the long-term value of building businesses rather than owning tiny fractions of public brands; she emphasizes early lessons about growth and compounding even from a small starting point.
What are VC Fund Secondaries?
Q: What is the very first thing you ever invested in?
Max says his first investment wasn't a financial asset but a training course for the first job he did as a basketball coach, highlighting the importance of learning and discipline over initial financial stakes.
Why Australia Builds More Unicorns per Dollar Than Anyone | with Ben Grabiner from Side Stage Ventures
Q: Why is Australia able to produce more unicorns per dollar invested, and how might that trend evolve?
The hosts and Ben attribute it to a culture of resourcefulness born from capital constraints, which fosters creativity and efficiency. They note that the ecosystem has historically been capital-constrained, supporting high unicorn output per dollar and strong activity in Dekacorn production, with potential for this to evolve as more capital is deployed and local pre-seed and angel ecosystems strengthen.
Why Australia Builds More Unicorns per Dollar Than Anyone | with Ben Grabiner from Side Stage Ventures
Q: What is the first thing you ever invested in, and what did you learn from it?
Ben shares that his first investment was buying shares in Tottenham Hotspur, helped by his dad. He emphasizes the power of compounding and investing in things you're passionate about, which yielded a 50x+ return over 25 years, illustrating long-term value in personal interests translating into investing discipline.

Audience Metrics

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Frequently Asked Questions About This Podcast

What is This Podcast about and what kind of topics does it cover?

A focused fintech and venture-capital oriented show that centers on early-stage investing, cross-border funding, and global growth strategies for tech startups. Episodes frequently cover pre-seed dynamics, international expansion, AI-driven markets, and data-informed decision making in funding, with a strong emphasis on practical frameworks for founders, angels, and early funds. Noteworthy strengths include a data-driven lens on diversity in investing, global-first startup playbooks, and candid talks with well-connected investors who operate across Australia, the US, and Southeast Asia. The hosts' mix of veteran insight and founder/operator perspective tends to yield actionable takeaways, giving listeners clear signals on how to approach fu... more

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1. The Startup Podcast
2. The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch
3. The Fin
4. Equity Mates Investing Podcast
5. Chanticleer

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this podcast launched 3 years ago and published 62 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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What guests have appeared on this podcast?

Recent guests on this podcast include:

1. Alexei Mitko
2. Noga Edelstein
3. Elizabeth Yin
4. Brennan McHugh
5. Max Kausman
6. Matt Browne
7. Sachin Bhanot
8. Georgie Healy

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