Investment Thesis with Kali Norman 
About Maxine Minter
Maxine Minter is founder and general partner of Co Ventures, a pre-seed venture fund that backs tech startups with at least one Australian founder aiming to scale globally, particularly in the US. She began raising its first fund in 2022 and closed it at its A$5 million target in August 2024. She leads the firm with partner Alexey Mitko.
She started her career as a lawyer and has built several companies, including the venture-backed legal tech startup FairShake. She has invested as an angel in Australia and the US, ran angel syndicates in Australia and California, and founded Co Lab, which matches founders and senior executives with coaches.
Maxine co-hosts First Cheque on Day One with Cheryl Mack, a show about the craft of early-stage investing.
- Talks about
- Venture Capital, Fundraising, Startup Lessons, AI
Behind the microphone.
Also in conversation.
2 episodes
Start hereEpisode Four: Maxine Minter's Investment ThesisHer own guest interview: how she went from $2,500 angel cheques and syndicates to launching Co Ventures, and how she builds and tests an investment thesis.
Investment Thesis with Kali Norman 
In The Blink Of AI with Georgie Healy How VCs Really Assess AI Startups | Cheryl Mack, Maxine Minter and Georgie Healy
With Cheryl Mack, Georgie Healy
Go straight to the good bits.
Key moments from How VCs Really Assess AI Startups | Cheryl Mack, Maxine Minter and Georgie Healy.
- 2:15Are Cheryl and Maxine AI skeptics or advocates?
- 6:00What's actually fueling the AI hype?
- 10:45Are we in a bubble—or just early in the cycle?
- 16:20Valuations, FOMO, and how investors are pricing AI
- 21:00What angel investors should look for in AI startups
- 27:30AI’s biggest red flag: When it all just sounds like magic
- 31:00Are agents real or is everyone faking it?
- 36:40AI in venture workflows: What Maxine actually automates
- 41:30The real power of personal brand in VC
- 44:50How Cheryl preps for founder calls with Google NotebookLM
In their own words.
“For most early-stage investors, you fully expect 50% of the companies you invest in to go to zero.”
“Money is the ultimate commodity. They can get money from anywhere. Why should they take yours?”
“At the very earliest stage, there is no such thing as a good deal. There are just great companies.”
The path so far.
- Now
Founder & General Partner · Co Ventures
- Earlier · Startup
Co-founder & early operator · Fairshake
Sources: startupplaybook.co
Co Ventures on Day One
Co Ventures is an Australian venture capital firm that invests only at pre-seed, often at the idea stage.
2 people · 22 episodes
Across the network.
Spot something wrong? Suggest a correctionUpdated 29 October 2026
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