Rachael Neumann
Co-Founding Partner at Flying Fox Ventures
Rachael Neumann is a prominent figure in the startup ecosystem, currently serving as the Founding Partner at Flying Fox Ventures. With a rich background in technology and entrepreneurship, she has played a significant role in nurturing startups in Australia and New Zealand. Previously, Rachael was the Head of Startups for Amazon Web Services in the region, where she focused on expanding the market and enhancing the quality of startups. She is also a strategic advisor and investor, and a Partner in Startmate, Australia's leading accelerator.Rachael's career includes leadership roles such as Managing Director of Eventbrite Australia and Director of Customer Experience Strategy at Eventbrite. She has also been involved in policy advocacy as the former Chair of the Board for StartupAus and has held a federal ministerial appointment for distributing commercialization funding.Her educational background includes a BA from Stanford University and two Master's degrees from Columbia University. Rachael has been instrumental in shaping the startup landscape in Australia and is passionate about helping companies scale through innovative customer experiences and product development. She resides in Melbourne with her family.
In their own words
It's never been a better time to start a startup or invest in a startup in Australia, and every day gets to be more true.
When you're getting started, you're going to make all sorts of mistakes. It's much better to make mistakes when the check size is small.
Career
- Now Co-Founding Partner · Flying Fox Ventures
- Earlier Head of Startups · AWS (Amazon Web Services) ANZ
- Earlier · Scale-up Managing Director, ANZ · Eventbrite
- Earlier Partner · Startmate
- Earlier Founder · Working Theories Angels
Sources: balancethegrind.co, highgrowthventures.com.au
Key moments
Jump straight to the part of Rachael Neumann explores the effects of the pandemic on startups you want.
- 0:29 Meet Rachael Neumann
- 0:52 Rachael's Involvement in the Australian Startup Ecosystem
- 1:59 Transition from San Francisco to Australia
- 2:18 Early Days of the Australian Startup Scene
- 4:11 Growth of the Ecosystem Over the Years
- 5:06 The PayPal Mafia Analogy in Australia
- 6:24 LaunchVic and Its Origins
- 9:13 Transitioning to the Investing World
- 10:20 Rachael's First Investments in Australia
- 12:22 Investment Philosophy and Strategies
Heard on
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▶ Flying Fox Ventures on Day One
Flying Fox Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm based in Melbourne, Australia, dedicated to propelling startups from Australia and New Zealand onto the global… 2 people · 6 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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