Mission: help the world's most ambitious people find and work on the world's most pressing problems. Method: blend technology, capital, and community in innovative/unique ways. Constantly experiment and learn. Pay it forward. Earn trust & respect.I'm a Founder in Residence at Blackbird - that means a couple of days per week, I hang out with the team in Auckland, helping find - meeting with, and supporting ambitious Kiwis doing their life’s work, wherever in the world they may live today. My personal investment sweet-spot is pre-seed... like, "barely even started the company" early investing, but we're a multi-stage investor and can do anything from pre-seed to pre-IPO. I'm a community builder at heart, and get a kick out of making connections. For nearly 7 years I did this at extreme scale as CEO of On Deck — where we've helped 1000+ companies get started, find their first customers, hires, and investors, and raise over $2bn. I stepped back to Chairman in Jan '24 to make way for a new chapter - for me, and for the company.

Samantha Wong is a General Partner at Blackbird, a venture capital firm that supports ambitious founders in Australia and New Zealand. She leads Blackbird's New Zealand operations from their Auckland office and was instrumental in raising the firm's inaugural $59 million New Zealand Fund, followed by an $80 million New Zealand Fund II in 2022. Before joining Blackbird, Samantha's career encompassed roles as a corporate lawyer, product manager, and startup founder. She joined Blackbird in 2015 as Head of Operations and transitioned to investment roles in 2017. She is also known for her commitment to diversity in technology and venture capital, having led initiatives such as the Model Code of Conduct for the Startup Community and a venture capital internship program for women.

Niki Scevak is a prominent figure in the venture capital industry, serving as a Partner at Blackbird Ventures, a venture fund dedicated to empowering Australia's and New Zealand's most ambitious founders. Based in the Greater Sydney Area, Niki co-founded Blackbird in 2012, and has been instrumental in its growth and success. He is also a co-founder of Startmate, a founder community aimed at helping the next generation of entrepreneurs succeed.Before his ventures in the startup ecosystem, Niki founded Homethinking.com, a platform designed to assist homeowners in finding real estate agents based on past sales and customer reviews. His career began at Jupiter Research, where he worked as an Analyst, focusing on marketing and media, particularly in online advertising and paid search markets.Niki holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics, Commerce, and Computer Science from the University of New South Wales, where he graduated with distinction. His career is marked by a commitment to fostering innovation and supporting emerging entrepreneurs in the tech industry.