Investment Associate | Aotearoa

‍About the role

‍Blackbird is hiring an investor to find and invest in Aotearoa’s most ambitious founders, right at the very beginning.We are looking for someone with a passion for uncovering the technologies and founders that will define our future. Someone with unbounded curiosity and a mindset of enlightened hospitality for the founders that they serve, who is excited to become a custodian of the Blackbird Mission, Values and Operating Principles. Your job will be to invest our current Core fund in pre-seed, seed and Series A rounds. In addition, you will be responsible for ensuring our Follow-on Fund gets exposure to all world-class Kiwi and Australian companies at growth stage. To do this, you’ll work closely with the rest of our 20-strong investment team based in Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland.

You’re someone who has profound empathy for the journey of a founder, a mindset of enlightened hospitality, and a hunger to uncover the next great Kiwi or Australian talent, wherever they are and whatever their background. You have a high ownership mentality, deep comfort with autonomy and ambiguity, confidence in your thought process and gut instincts, a willingness to adapt it to new information, a hunger for finding the truth, and a desire to help founders bring their better version of the future into the present.You’re passionate about growing, strengthening and diversifying ANZ’s tech ecosystem.

Some examples of the work you’ll do:

Making great investment decisions - You will be responsible for helping with new investments, including due diligence, running the process to get Investment Committee approval, negotiating the term-sheet and convincing founders to choose us as investors, getting agreement from all parties on the legal docs, and finally wiring the money.
Deal support and investment analysis - You will work closely with our Blackbird Partners and Principals to identify and analyse early stage investment opportunities, build models and identify key drivers of success for each investment. You will build a comprehensive understanding of the metrics and indicators that drive investment performance and an ability to communicate that concisely.
Build and shape dealflow - Actively build dealflow by embedding yourself in the New Zealand startup ecosystem; attending and contributing to founder events, accelerators, and community gatherings. You’ll develop authentic relationships with emerging founders and operators that attract exceptional talent and companies to Blackbird, leveraging our platforms such as Sunrise, Giants, Foundry, and Wild Hearts to expand our reach and visibility.
Earning the trust of founders - You will earn the trust of founders within our community through the diligence and empathy that you show toward them. You will become known as someone who treats founders with the highest level of integrity and care - a trusted partner that founders are comfortable to share their best and worst news with.
Wrestling with the unknown - You will embrace your curiosity and explore new areas of focus for investment at Blackbird, presenting your unique vision for the future. You will test the boundaries of our comfort and knowledge, leading the investment team toward new Rivers of Inquiry.

The skills we’re looking for:

We don’t require direct investing experience; however, a genuine passion for working with the founders of technology startups is essential, along with a deep commitment to cultivating the skills required to become a generational investor at Blackbird. We know that candidates, especially women and people from underrepresented backgrounds, often hesitate to apply unless they meet 100% of the qualifications. If this role excites you and you meet most of the requirements, we encourage you to apply. We value potential and are committed to supporting growth in this role.

Humility: Blackbird is a startup - no task is too small for us, and no ambition is too big. We all take out the garbage. You will be scrappy, move quickly and never hesitate to roll up your sleeves.
Expressed ambition: Nobody is too "new" or "junior" at Blackbird to live up to their ambition — we care about the quality and diversity of thought, not where it comes from and believe that we are stronger because we each think differently.
Founder empathy: You understand the founder journey, and may have experience being a founder or working closely with them in the past. This allows you to be a trusted and genuine partner.
Investment thinking: You can articulate what makes a company valuable. From the psychological traits that drive exceptional founders to the signals of true startup progress. You hold strong opinions, lightly held, on the businesses, technologies, and markets shaping the future. You read culture instinctively, understanding the environments that attract and inspire world-class talent. Above all, you communicate complex ideas with clarity and persuasion.
Relationships: You’re a natural network builder and excel at forging deep, trusting and durable relationships across the ecosystem. Through these relationships, you will become a go-to partner for founders seeking perspective and support and turn these connections into early access, sharp insight, and meaningful investment outcomes.
Hospitality mindset: We believe in the philosophy of "enlightened hospitality" and it lies at the heart of everything that we do at Blackbird. We serve our founders, not the other way around. We are about people, not companies. You will be generous with your time to create delightful experiences for founders, never losing sight of the people behind the numbers.

For more info, check out our blog on How to Be an Investor at Blackbird, and our Growth Framework, which we use to measure performance and make promotions. We’re looking for someone who is as passionate as us about building an iconic investment business. You must have a high ownership mentality and the ability to take responsibility for goals and outcomes.

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