Paul Bassat
Co-founder & Partner at Square Peg
Paul Bassat is a prominent entrepreneur and investor based in the Greater Melbourne Area, Australia. He is the Founder and Non-Executive Chairman of AMPLIFY, a role he has held since October 2023. Paul is also a Co-founder of Square Peg, a venture capital firm he helped establish in April 2012. His extensive experience includes serving as a Commissioner for the Australian Football League since February 2012 and holding board positions at various companies such as Airwallex, Rokt, Constantinople, Athena Home Loans, Deputy, retrain.ai, HealthMatch, UpGuard, and Zeller. Previously, he was a Non-Executive Director at Wesfarmers and a Co-founder and Joint CEO of SEEK. Paul holds a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) and a Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com.) from the University of Melbourne.
In their own words
From Paul Bassat examines the evolution of the ecosystem · The History of the Australian Startup Ecosystem - Interview SeriesA good but imperfect answer to the right question is so much more valuable than a perfect answer to the wrong question.
Career
- Now Co-founder & Partner · Square Peg
- 1997–2011 · Scale-up Co-founder; CEO, then Joint CEO · SEEK
- 2012–2018 Board Director · Wesfarmers
- Until 1997 Lawyer · Arnold Bloch Leibler
Sources: squarepeg.vc, forbes.com.au
Key moments
Jump straight to the part of Paul Bassat examines the evolution of the ecosystem you want.
- 0:29 Meet Paul Bassat
- 0:44 Paul’s First Exposure to the Internet
- 1:26 The Startup Ecosystem in the 90s
- 2:14 The Idea for SEEK
- 3:43 The Authenticity of Founding Stories
- 5:04 Reflections on the Journey to Entrepreneurship
- 6:01 Resources for Startups in the 90s
- 8:47 Advantages from Legal Experience
- 9:38 Roles and Responsibilities at SEEK
- 10:42 Transition to Square Peg
Heard on
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▶ Square Peg on Day One
Square Peg is a venture capital firm founded in Australia in 2012, dedicated to supporting visionary founders in Australia, New Zealand, Israel, and Southeast Asia. 2 people · 5 episodes → Connections
Adam SpencerHost, Documentary: The History Of The Australian Startup Ecosystem
Mark PesceFuturist & Host, The Next Billion Seconds, The Next Billion Seconds
Hayden WilliamsGroup Product Manager, MYOB
Evan ThornleyCo-Founder & CEO, LongView, Longview
Tim FungFounder & CEO, Airtasker, Airtasker
Trevor FolsomCo-Founder and Chairman, Investible
Peter DavisonFormer Co-Founder, Fishburners, Fishburners
Pete LeadCoach, Scalable Leaders, Scalable Leaders Spot something wrong? Suggest a correction Updated 25 September 2026
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