My parents immigrated in the early ‘90s, when Australia’s cultural fabric was far less diverse. Their qualifications from China weren’t recognised locally and with relatively poor English, it was hard for them to find relevant jobs. Eventually, my dad worked as a self-employed tradesman, while my mother ran the operations for the business. I was routinely taken along as a child to work-related activities like going to the bank, visiting lawyers, and chasing past-due invoices.

During my time at university, there was a heavy focus on corporate careers, which I had also accepted as my fate. Luckily, I stumbled across startups when I did an internship in San Francisco during university. My friends were placed at startups, coworking spaces or venture capital firms and would often report that they could bring their entire self to work while delivering high-impact outcomes.

My career started at Strategy& where I helped large corporations set themselves up for long-term success. This gave me exposure to a range of industries, problems, and the strategies adopted to solve them. It became evident that regardless of the issue we were addressing, technology was always central to the solution.

Venture capital appealed to me due to the impactful nature of the work. In larger organisations, it can be difficult to see the impact from your effort. In contrast, providing capital to startups is tangible. After the cash infusion, early-stage investors have the opportunity to influence key strategic decisions and contribute in a meaningful way to a company's ultimate success. I’m particularly drawn to a role where this level of impact is possible.

Shifting the balance of power amongst decision-makers in Australia’s venture capital industry will be pivotal in giving diverse founders access to resources for growth. We’ve seen a drastic improvement in the diversity of the industry at junior levels. As a nascent industry, the next few years should see a lot of these juniors come into their own. I’m hopeful that this will improve the availability of capital to founders from underrepresented communities who have historically not enjoyed equal access to funding.

I read that Ann Miura-Ko’s father instilled in her that everything she did, no matter how trivial, deserved “world-class” effort. This resonates deeply with me, and I aspire always to bring my very best to everything that I take on.

Outside of work, I occasionally dabble in baking, a science that requires precision and control. The smallest change can dramatically alter the outcome. While the baking process is satisfying, there is nothing quite as satisfying as relishing the fruits (or cookies) of your own labour.