First Cheque with Cheryl Mack & Maxine Minter
Open-sourcing conversations with experienced investors globally
First Cheque brings you the world of early-stage investing. Join us as we engage in insightful conversations with some top Investors worldwide. Uncover the inner workings of early-stage investing and gain practical knowledge from seasoned, successful investors. Learn about their perspectives, decision-making approaches, and the valuable lessons they've acquired throughout their journeys.
Whether you're a novice or an experienced investor, a founder or an operator, this show aims to inspire and equip you with the tools to become a proficient investor in early-stage businesses and understand how investors think. Hosted by Cheryl Mack & Maxine Minter.
First Cheque is a Day One show. Day One® is the podcast network dedicated to founders, investors, and operators. Tune in for an enriching experience as we uncover the secrets to becoming a skilled early-stage investor.
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First Cheque with Cheryl Mack & Maxine Minter
How to Build a Global Pre-Seed Fund from Scratch
Elizabeth Yin is the co-founder and General Partner of Hustle Fund, a pre-seed venture fund now on its fourth fund that backs companies globally. Before Hustle Fund, she was a partner at 500 Global, founded adtech company LaunchBit, and was an early employee at Google.
In this episode, Cheryl and Maxine unpack how Hustle Fund sources deals across continents, why Elizabeth avoids noisy competitive markets in favor of "small waves" that will swell over five years, and why valuation discipline matters more than founder pedigree when product-market fit risk is the same at every stage.
You'll also hear how Hustle Fund runs a 30-person team with only four on investments, why Fund 2 was the hardest fund to raise, how the AI wave is creating companies that hit $10M ARR and lose it overnight, and why international valuations still offer significant arbitrage. Elizabeth closes with her Big Cojones moment: being called a "meek Asian woman" by an angel investor while pitching LaunchBit, and how building a platform changed the power dynamic entirely.
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Play Episode
How to Build a Global Pre-Seed Fund from Scratch
How to Pick Your First Market for International Expansion
The Australian Venture Playbook for 2026
What are VC Fund Secondaries?
Why “Boring” Businesses Make the Best Startups (Replay Ep with Matthew Browne)
Inside Super Returns: How the Biggest Investors Pick Venture Funds
How Prosus Ventures Became an “Honorary Australian” Fund
Why Australia’s AI Opportunity Is Bigger Than We Think
Decode the VC Dictionary Before Your Next Raise
Scaling Solo: How Charles Hudson Built a High-Volume VC Model at Precursor Ventures
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