Investment Thesis with Kali Norman

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Host Kali Norman invites listeners to join her on her journey as a startup investor, as she builds her own investment thesis from the ground up—learning directly from experienced investors who have already defined (and redefined) theirs. Through candid, structured conversations, Kali uncovers the thinking, frameworks, and experiences that shape the way money moves in early- and growth-stage investing. Investment Thesis with Kali Norman is a Day One® show. Day One is the podcast network dedicated to founders, investors, and operators.

Episodes

  1. Aug 6

    Don McKenzie's Investment Thesis | Investment Thesis with Kali Norman

    In this episode, Kali Norman sits down with Don McKenzie, Co-Founder of Tribe Ventures, to unpack how his investment thesis has evolved over more than two decades of angel investing and company building. From building internet-based businesses before cloud computing existed to helping Australian and New Zealand B2B startups expand into the UK and US, Don shares the lessons that only come from backing companies through both wins and failures. The conversation explores why the best investors develop systems rather than relying on instinct, how confirmation bias quietly influences investment decisions, and why founder execution matters just as much as product quality. Whether you're an angel investor, VC, founder, or simply interested in how experienced investors think, this episode offers a practical look inside the decision-making process behind successful investing. In this episode: Don's unconventional path from entrepreneur to investorHow an investment thesis develops through experience-not theoryWhy Tribe Ventures focuses on B2B companies expanding internationallyBuilding competitive advantage using Hamilton Helmer's Seven PowersThe importance of defensibility, switching costs, and avoiding commodity productsWhat "product-market fit" really means before scalingWhy founder execution often matters more than the original ideaHidden due diligence: getting to know founders beyond the pitch deckAvoiding confirmation bias and the pressure to deploy capitalLessons from investments that didn't go to planHow angel groups can accelerate learning for new investorsWhy market quality can matter just as much as founder qualityGuest: Don McKenzie, co-founder of Tribe Global Ventures Host: Kali Norman Investment Thesis is a Day One Network production. Listen at https://dayone.fm/show/investment-thesis

    Don McKenzie's Investment Thesis | Investment Thesis with Kali Norman

  2. Jul 23

    Alex Khor's Investment Thesis | Investment Thesis with Kali Norman

    Kali Norman sits down with Alex Khor, co-founder of AfterWork Ventures, to keep building her investment thesis from the ground up.Alex traces his path from research mathematician to McKinsey to angel investing — and the early realisation that selling time only takes you so far, and that real wealth comes through ownership. With his long-time business partner Adrian Peterson he started writing "archetypal broke angel" cheques into early-stage Australian and New Zealand startups around 2017, before co-founding AfterWork.In this episode:• Expected-value thinking, and why investing is about pricing risk rather than being right or wrong• Discipline as the biggest lever on long-term returns — "profit is exit price minus entry price"• The game theory of a smaller fund counter-positioning against bigger, better-capitalised VCs• Why the founders are the one thing a business can't pivot• The Lyka bet, and letting go of the "tech or manufacturing?" question• "Pessimists sound smart, but optimists make money"Guest: Alex Khor — co-founder, AfterWork VenturesHost: Kali NormanInvestment Thesis is a Day One Network production. Listen: https://dayone.fm/show/investment-thesis

    Alex Khor's Investment Thesis | Investment Thesis with Kali Norman

  3. Jul 9

    Alan Jones of M8 Ventures — Syndicates, distribution barriers, and backing founders you want to be mates with

    Veteran angel investor and M8 Ventures co-founder Alan Jones joins host Kali Norman to unpack his 20-year investing journey—from writing A$30K–A$50K early cheques to building a syndicate model that opens up early-stage tech investing with A$5K minimums. Alan shares how his framework evolved from sourcing deals through top accelerators like Startmate to backing deeply mission-aligned founders across renewables, deep tech, and mental health. Alan traces his path from tech journalism at the dawn of the web to serving as product director for Yahoo Asia Pacific during the dot-com boom and bust, followed by a ten-year stretch as a startup founder. He covers why product and people are equal, non-negotiable pillars, his strict stance on offshore technical teams vs world-class engineering equity, and why diversity is a critical operational indicator. He also reveals why true coachability means acting on advice between meetings, how to spot fatal flaws in a startup’s distribution channel strategy, and whether he would have backed Uber or Airbnb pre-seed. M8 Ventures — https://m8.ventures Alan Jones on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/alanjones Startmate — https://www.startmate.com Bug Herd — https://bugherd.com Investment Thesis on dayone.fm — https://dayone.fm/show/investment-thesis Day One Network — https://dayone.fm 00:00 - Cold open00:14 - Alan’s path into tech: media journalism to Yahoo Asia Pacific 01:11 - Transitioning from corporate leader to a decade of startup founding 02:00 - Moving into angel investing to spread bets across a portfolio 04:19 - Sourcing via early accelerators and the first framework (Bug Herd) 07:23 - Cultivating "M8 Ventures" — backing founders you want to be mates with 08:27 - Thesis expansion into renewables, mental health therapeutics, and deep tech 10:30 - The structural freedom of an angel portfolio vs strict VC fund mandates 14:19 - Splitting minimum check sizes down to A$5K through an angel syndicate 16:41 - The 50/50 rule: product and team as non-negotiable checkboxes 18:31 - The myth of the outsourced tech stack and demanding engineering equity 21:40 - Why structural lack of diversity eventually catches up to high-growth teams 23:03 - Solo founders vs co-founding teams: bridging non-technical blind spots 26:54 - Spotting true coachability: founders who execute between coffees 30:19 - Staying sharp via local startup media and macro tech ecosystems 33:56 - The overlooked pillar: distribution barriers, gatekeepers, and market strategy 36:46 - The final question: would he have backed Uber or Airbnb pre-seed? Kali Norman is the host of Investment Thesis, building her own investment thesis in public by sitting down with experienced angels and venture capitalists to unpack the frameworks, lived experiences, and turning points behind how they invest. Alan Jones is the co-founder of M8 Ventures, an angel investor syndicate, and one of Australia's most prominent ecosystem advocates. Formerly a product director at Yahoo Asia Pacific, he went on to build his own startups, coach hundreds of founders across accelerators like Startmate, Remarkable, and BlueChilli, and spend more than two decades backing early-stage innovation. Investment Thesis is part of the Day One Network — a network of podcasts for founders, operators, and investors building the next generation of companies. New episodes drop fortnightly. Subscribe wherever you listen. Learn more at https://dayone.fm LinksTime StampsAbout the hostAbout the guestAbout Day One Network

    Alan Jones of M8 Ventures — Syndicates, distribution barriers, and backing founders you want to be mates with

  4. Jun 25

    Rohan Workman of Skalata — Backing overlooked founders as AI rewrites the thesis

    Skalata Ventures co-founder and CEO Rohan Workman joins host Kali Norman to unpack a thesis built on backing overlooked founders — capital-lean companies with a defensible edge, founders who can read a balance sheet and ship an MVP, and cheques up to A$500K at valuations to ~A$10M. Rohan explains why Skalata paused new investments to rebuild its frameworks for the AI era, and why — at pre-seed — you're really backing founders and a portfolio, not predicting Links Skalata Ventures — https://skalata.co Rohan Workman on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/rohanworkman University of Melbourne Accelerator Program (MAP) — https://themelbourneaccelerator.com Xero — https://www.xero.com Investment Thesis on dayone.fm — https://dayone.fm/show/investment-thesis Day One Network — https://dayone.fm Investment Thesis — building a thesis from the ground up, one investor at a time. Time Stamps 00:00 - Cold open 01:38 - Welcome to Investment Thesis 01:56 - Accountant in the GFC, to founder, to VC 04:46 - Skalata's first formulaic thesis (and why they unwound it) 06:04 - The thesis today: innovative, capital-lean, market-ready 07:42 - Sector-agnostic — and AI-native operating leverage 10:00 - Cheque sizes: up to $500K at valuations to ~$10M 12:08 - What he looks for in a founder 14:25 - First-time vs repeat founders; backing the overlooked 15:22 - Breaking the rules: Brossa and an ASX-listed medtech 18:43 - Selling Xero too early — why great companies take 10–15 years 19:21 - Staying sharp while AI rewrites the frameworks 22:16 - Eye-watering AI valuations 23:49 - The final question: would he have backed Uber pre-seed? 25:30 - A portfolio approach to backing founders About the host Kali Norman is the host of Investment Thesis, building her own investment thesis in public by sitting down with experienced angels and venture capitalists to unpack the frameworks, lived experiences and turning points behind how they invest. About the guest Rohan Workman is co-founder and CEO of Skalata Ventures, an Australian pre-seed and seed investor. Before Skalata he co-founded the HR software company Rostercloud and built and ran the University of Melbourne Accelerator Program, after beginning his career in corporate recovery and advisory at McGrathNicol. About Day One Network Investment Thesis is part of the Day One Network — a network of podcasts for founders, operators and investors building the next generation of companies. New episodes drop fortnightly. Subscribe wherever you listen. Learn more at https://dayone.fm

    Rohan Workman of Skalata — Backing overlooked founders as AI rewrites the thesis

  5. Jun 11

    Taryn Pieterse of Rampersand — How a VC backs early-stage founders

    Rampersand partner Taryn Pieterse joins host Kali Norman to unpack how she backs early-stage founders — from A$250K–A$2M first cheques to the founder traits she screens for (grit, execution, balanced optimism). Taryn explains why second-time founders and shipped MVPs de-risk a deal, and how AI is shifting her thesis from domain expertise toward defensibility. Taryn traces her path from Goldman Sachs' investment banking division — where she worked alongside the Campaign Monitor founders through their US$250M raise in 2014 — to a consumer-focused family office, and finally to Rampersand in 2020. She covers cheque sizes and leading rounds, what "good" looks like stage by stage, solo founders vs co-founding teams, why Rampersand is sector-agnostic (but won't touch FDA-gated medtech), and how she stays sharp via a 35-plus company portfolio and venture partners. She closes on whether she'd have backed Uber pre-seed, and why she'd have given WeWork's founder money a second time. Links: - Rampersand — https://rampersand.vc - Taryn Pieterse on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/tarynpieterse - Investment Thesis — https://dayone.fm/show/investment-thesis - Day One Network — https://dayone.fm About the host Kali Norman is the host of Investment Thesis, building her own investment thesis in public by sitting down with experienced angels and venture capitalists to unpack the frameworks, lived experiences and turning points behind how they invest. About Day One Network Investment Thesis is part of the Day One Network — a network of podcasts for founders, operators and investors building the next generation of companies. New episodes drop fortnightly. Subscribe wherever you listen. Learn more at https://dayone.fm

    Taryn Pieterse of Rampersand — How a VC backs early-stage founders

  6. May 28

    Dan Coughlan's Investment Thesis

    Podcast host Kali invites listeners to join her as she builds her own investment thesis from the ground up—learning directly from experienced investors who have already defined (and redefined) theirs. In this session, we sit down with investor Dan Coughlan. Dan Coughlan is a Principal at Airtree, one of Australia's leading venture capital firms. With a background in commerce, he began his career at Credit Suisse as an equity research analyst covering publicly listed software companies before transitioning into venture capital; he joined Airtree as an Investment Manager and has since risen to Principal. At Airtree, Dan invests across both the firm's early-stage fund—backing founders from pre-seed through Series A—and its $400+ million growth fund, which supports high-growth companies from Series B to pre-IPO. He has developed a particular depth in data infrastructure and AI tooling, and holds the view that the best investors don't predict the future—they see the present very clearly.

    Dan Coughlan's Investment Thesis

  7. Mar 26

    Maxine Minter's Investment Thesis

    Podcast host Kali invites listeners to join her as she builds her own investment thesis from the ground up - learning directly from experienced investors and founders who have already defined (and redefined) theirs. In this session, we sit down with investor and founder Maxine Minter. Maxine is the Founder and General Partner at Co Ventures, and started her investment journey as an angel investor, writing $2,500 pre-seed cheques. She ran angel syndicates in Australia and San Francisco while managing her high-growth coaching and advisory business Co Lab, before becoming the first solo female GP in Australia with the launch of her fund Co Ventures, leveraging her deep knowledge of Australian & US markets.

    Maxine Minter's Investment Thesis

  8. Feb 10

    Jodie Imam's Investment Thesis

    Podcast host Kali invites listeners to join her as she builds her own investment thesis from the ground up—learning directly from experienced investors and founders who have already defined (and redefined) theirs. In this session, we sit down with investor and founder Jodie Imam. Jodie Imam is the Co-Founder and CEO of Tractor Venture, providing flexible, revenue-based financing to help companies grow without diluting ownership, as well as an angel investor, advisor and board member. Prior to Tractor, she led Australia’s SBE Australia in accelerating innovative female leaders, and co-founded companies including Occasional Butler (acquired by Airtasker) and depo8 coworking. With experience spanning entrepreneurship, startup mentoring and strategic leadership, Jodie brings a founder’s mindset to investing; spotting potential, backing people, and building resilience.

    Jodie Imam's Investment Thesis

  9. 08/21/2025

    Elaine Stead's Investment Thesis

    Podcast host Kali invites listeners to join her as she builds her own investment thesis from the ground up—learning directly from experienced investors who have already defined (and redefined) theirs. In this session, we sit down with investor Elaine Stead. Elaine Stead is a Principal at Main Sequence, with a focus on the “Humanity Scale Healthcare” challenge. With a background spanning science, entrepreneurship, and venture capital, she holds a Ph.D. in Biochemistry (Stem Cell Biology) and a B.Sc.in Biochemistry and Microbiology, and has also been a founder of venture businesses, including Blue Sky VC, Human VC and Tribe Global Ventures. In all avenues, Elaine prioritises human-centricity, emphasising authentic connections, vulnerability, and compassion, advocating for values-driven innovation and a desire to make better that which can be.

    Elaine Stead's Investment Thesis

  10. 07/17/2025

    Matt Macfarlane's Investment Thesis

    Podcast host Kali invites listeners to join her as she builds her own investment thesis from the ground up—learning directly from experienced investors who have already defined (and redefined) theirs. In this session, we sit down with investor Matt Macfarlane. Matt is a non-executive director at AgriFutures, iCetana, Pet Rescue, and AEGIC. Prior to moving to non-executive roles Matt co-founded a $40m venture capital fund in Perth, co-founded a software startup in Perth; spent 11 years in Europe working in telecom mergers and acquisitions; and contributed to early stage startups as an angel investor and mentor.

    Matt Macfarlane's Investment Thesis

  11. Trailer

    Trailer: About Investment Thesis

    Podcast host Kali Norman invites listeners to join her as she builds her own investment thesis from the ground up—learning directly from experienced investors who have already defined (and redefined) theirs. Welcome to the show.

Trailer

About

Host Kali Norman invites listeners to join her on her journey as a startup investor, as she builds her own investment thesis from the ground up—learning directly from experienced investors who have already defined (and redefined) theirs. Through candid, structured conversations, Kali uncovers the thinking, frameworks, and experiences that shape the way money moves in early- and growth-stage investing. Investment Thesis with Kali Norman is a Day One® show. Day One is the podcast network dedicated to founders, investors, and operators.

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