
Maxine Minter
Founder & General Partner, Co Ventures at Co Ventures
Hosts First Cheque with Cheryl Mack & Maxine Minter
Connect on LinkedInIn their own words
From Your Warm Intro to First Cheque with Cheryl Mack & Maxine Minter · First ChequeThe difference between really high quality investing at a very early stage and betting is, are there risk factors that you can control versus not?
About
Maxine Minter is an Australian entrepreneur, investor, and executive coach with a diverse background in law, startups, and venture capital. She is the Founder and General Partner of Co Ventures, Australia's first dedicated pre-seed venture fund led by a solo female General Partner. Co Ventures focuses on investing in early-stage startups with at least one Australian founder aiming to scale globally, particularly in the U.S.
In August 2024, Co Ventures successfully closed its first fund, raising $5 million to support pre-seed tech startups.
Prior to founding Co Ventures, Maxine established Co Lab, a platform that connects founders and CEOs with executive coaches to enhance their leadership skills and company growth.
Maxine's professional journey includes experience as a lawyer, executive coach, founder, and investor. She has been an active angel investor in both the U.S. and Australia, co-founding and operating several startups, including FairShake, a consumer rights platform backed by First Round Capital and Box Group.
In addition to her investment activities, Maxine co-hosts the podcast "First Cheque," where she explores the journeys of early-stage founders and investors, providing insights into the startup ecosystem.
Maxine's multifaceted expertise and commitment to supporting early-stage startups have made her a prominent figure in the Australian venture capital landscape, particularly in empowering founders to achieve global success from the outset.
Career
- Now Founder & General Partner · Co Ventures
- Earlier · Startup Co-founder & early operator · Fairshake
Sources: startupplaybook.co
Key moments
Jump straight to the part of How VCs Really Assess AI Startups | Cheryl Mack, Maxine Minter and Georgie Healy you want.
- 2:15 Are Cheryl and Maxine AI skeptics or advocates?
- 6:00 What's actually fueling the AI hype?
- 10:45 Are we in a bubble—or just early in the cycle?
- 16:20 Valuations, FOMO, and how investors are pricing AI
- 21:00 What angel investors should look for in AI startups
- 27:30 AI’s biggest red flag: When it all just sounds like magic
- 31:00 Are agents real or is everyone faking it?
- 36:40 AI in venture workflows: What Maxine actually automates
- 41:30 The real power of personal brand in VC
- 44:50 How Cheryl preps for founder calls with Google NotebookLM
Also heard on
Co Ventures on Day One
Co Ventures is a pre-seed venture fund backing Australian software founders building for global scale from day one. 2 people · 22 episodes → Connections
Spot something wrong? Suggest a correction Updated 25 September 2026
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