Investment Thesis with Kali Norman 
Pitch Alan. Book your spot.
Bring your founder pitch to Pick My Brain. Alan will pull it apart — kindly — and help rebuild it into something investors can’t ignore.
About Alan Jones
Alan Jones is co-founder and managing partner of M8 Ventures, a venture firm that backs product-led pre-seed and seed startups in Australia and New Zealand, alongside an angel syndicate that lets members invest deal by deal. He has made more than 100 angel investments.
He was Yahoo!'s first product hire in Australia. Earlier he worked as a technology journalist, edited Australian Macworld and founded media and digital businesses. He has been interim CEO of the startup hub Fishburners and acting chair of Catalysr, mentored founders through Startmate and BlueChilli, and co-hosted The Advisory Board, a founder advice show on Disrupt Radio, with Megan Flamer.
On Day One he hosts Pick My Brain, where founders pitch their startups and get his feedback, and has appeared as a guest across the network since 2019.
- Talks about
- Startup Lessons, Fundraising, Product, Venture Capital
Behind the microphone.
Also in conversation.
6 episodes
Start hereAlan Jones of M8 Ventures - Distribution barriers and backing founders you want to be mates withThe most recent and complete account of his 20 years of angel investing and how M8's syndicate opens early-stage deals to smaller investors.
Investment Thesis with Kali Norman 
Documentary: The History Of The Australian Startup Ecosystem Launch Event Bonus Episode
With Malcolm Turnbull, Michelle Deaker, Larry Marshall, Marina Wu, Niki Scevak, Cheryl Mack, Preethi Mohan, Simon Thomsen
Documentary: The History Of The Australian Startup Ecosystem The History Of The Australian Startup Ecosystem - Part 1
With Mark Pesce, Hayden Williams, Evan Thornley, Tim Fung, Trevor Folsom, Peter Davison, Pete Lead, Terry Hilsberg, Matt Bullock, Allan O'Connor, Rachael Neumann, Maxine Sherrin, Malcolm Turnbull, James Alexander, Paul Bassat, Hamish Hawthorn, Alfred Lo, Phil Hayes-St Clair, Cameron Adams, Bruce Tulloch, Matt Barrie, Kate Cornick
Documentary: The History Of The Australian Startup Ecosystem The History Of The Australian Startup Ecosystem - Part 2
With Jodie Fox, Alfred Lo, Hamish Hawthorn, Cameron Adams, Evan Thornley, John Allsopp, Malcolm Turnbull, Ian Gardiner, Mick Liubinskas, Matt Barrie, Mark Pesce, Phil Hayes-St Clair, Simon Thomsen, Phil Morle, Silvia Pfeiffer, Dean McEvoy, Alan Noble, Niki Scevak
The History of the Australian Startup Ecosystem - Interview Series Alan Jones: Can we talk about smartphones?
Welcome to Day One with Adam Spencer Alan “The Nice One” Jones
Recorded as Startup entrepreneur, mentor and angel investor building a venture fund
Go straight to the good bits.
Key moments from Alan Jones of M8 Ventures - Distribution barriers and backing founders you want to be mates with.
- 0:00Cold open
- 0:14Alan’s path into tech: media journalism to Yahoo Asia Pacific
- 1:11Transitioning from corporate leader to a decade of startup founding
- 2:00Moving into angel investing to spread bets across a portfolio
- 4:19Sourcing via early accelerators and the first framework (Bug Herd)
- 7:23Cultivating "M8 Ventures" — backing founders you want to be mates with
- 8:27Thesis expansion into renewables, mental health therapeutics, and deep tech
- 10:30The structural freedom of an angel portfolio vs strict VC fund mandates
- 14:19Splitting minimum check sizes down to A$5K through an angel syndicate
- 16:41The 50/50 rule: product and team as non-negotiable checkboxes
In their own words.
“As the CEO and founder, not only are you very unlikely to succeed in each startup that you do, but you have maximum insecurity.”
“Differentiation is important in venture funds, just as important as it is in startups.”
The path so far.
- Now
Co-Founder & Managing Partner · M8 Ventures
- Earlier
Product Director, Asia Pacific/South Asia · Yahoo!
Sources: dayone.fm
M8 Ventures on Day One
M8 Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests at pre-seed and seed in product-led technology companies, mainly in Australia and New Zealand.
2 people · 9 episodes
Across the network.
In the room with
Kali NormanHost, Investment Thesis 
Adam SpencerHost, Documentary: The History Of The Australian Startup Ecosystem 
Malcolm TurnbullFormer Prime Minister of Australia Michelle DeakerFounding & Managing Partner, OneVentures Larry MarshallLead Independent Director, Fortescue Marina WuCo-founder, Earlywork 
Niki ScevakPartner, Blackbird Ventures 
Cheryl MackCo-Founder & CEO, Ventari Spot something wrong? Suggest a correctionUpdated 29 October 2026
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