Episode SummaryTom Humphrey, Partner at Blackbird and former operator, joins Cheryl and Maxine to reframe the conversation around Australia’s AI ecosystem. While headlines paint a picture of Australia falling behind, Tom argues we’re quietly sitting on world-class talent, global-first AI companies, and a capital-efficient edge that’s being overlooked. They unpack Tom’s recent AFR opinion piece on the AI talent landscape, why Australia’s university-to-startup pipeline is broken (and slowly improving), and how “boomerang” PhDs are returning from Anthropic, Meta, and DeepMind to build ambitious companies onshore. Plus, Tom breaks down how product-led growth is evolving in the AI era, why enterprise motions are happening sooner, and what the new GTM playbook looks like when AI agents are selling to AI agents. Time Stamps02:21 – Tom’s first investment: BHP shares via his parents, now passing on the habit to his son 05:19 – Robinhood, meme stocks, and the shift to founder-led brands 07:06 – Why Tom wrote the AFR piece: Australia’s culture of doubt vs the US lens of opportunity 08:08 – Australia’s untapped AI talent advantage: 8% of APAC experts, top-tier unis, and PhD immigration 12:18 – Six model releases, global leaderboard wins… that no one in Australia talks about 14:03 – The dangerous cost of silence: how lack of domestic celebration dampens ambition and capital 17:33 – Why Australia is absurdly capital-efficient (and how we squeeze every dollar) 19:23 – Commercialisation bottlenecks at Aussie unis, and what’s slowly changing 25:39 – How this affects investors: AI engineering vs AI research, the boomerang effect, and talent arbitrage 30:56 – Time zones, USD revenue, and Australia’s secret weapon: the 43% R&D tax credit 33:17 – Role gaps and brand new roles: the rise of AI architects and forward deployed engineers 34:27 – What PLG really means, and why it’s not just a freemium sign-up form 39:31 – Spammy AI agents, SEO collapse, and why brand and community are back 45:15 – Why enterprise motions are showing up earlier (and how that changes GTM) 48:32 – Single-player AI value unlocks a different sales motion: fast, bottom-up adoption 51:15 – AI fits into your workflow, not the other way around 54:14 – Picking your motion: don’t force PLG if it’s not a natural fit 55:05 – Capital-starved ecosystems and why enterprise is still harder to fund in Aus 56:15 – Tom’s Big Cojones moment: three boys under six and a startup-founder partner Resources👤 Tom Humphrey LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomhumphrey1/ 🚀 Blackbird Ventures – https://blackbird.vc/ Sponsors:First Cheque is supported by our wonderful sponsors:Aussie Angels makes it easy for accredited investors to back early-stage startups alongside experienced syndicate leads. With no platform fees and minimum cheques from $2,500, you can build a diversified portfolio of high-growth companies with confidence. https://www.aussieangels.com/ 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 First Cheque is part of Day One.Day One helps founders and startup operators make better business decisions more often. To learn more, join our newsletter to be notified of new First Cheque episodes and upcoming shows. Mentioned in this episode: November 2024 - Galah Cyber Aussie Angels - the preferred fund and syndicate admin platform for emerging managers...
