Transparent Venture Capital by Tribe Global Ventures

In this week's episode: 
 Matt Vitale sets down and leaves Birchal. 
Rise of the zombie VCs: Australian venture capital faces a year of reckoning. 
LinkedIn is in danger of being swamped by AI-generated slop.
Not all channels are equal
 
 Meta removes fact checkers & scraps diversity policies
Silicon Valley’s lurch to the right catches the eye of local VCs.
Strategy is to learn and change as quickly as possible.
Theme's of the week. 
Sharts: 

In this episode of Founder Focus, we are joined by Dr Vu Tran. 
Vu is a visionary entrepreneur and co-founder of Black Sky Industries, a leading Australian aerospace and defense company specializing in sovereign solid rocket propulsion systems and advanced manufacturing. Before co-founding Black Sky Industries, Vu Tran was a  co-founder of Go1, one of the world's leading online learning platforms. Go1, has raised approximately $400 million in total funding with the last valuation of approximately $3 Billion.
The key topics of the episode include: 
Transition from Go1 to Defense Tech: Vu explained his journey from co-founding Go1 to co-founding Black Sky Industries. He emphasized the importance of succession planning and his realization that he thrives in early-stage ventures, which led to his pivot toward defense technology.
Focus on Sovereignty in Defense: Vu highlighted the critical need for sovereign capabilities in Australia, explaining the risks of over-reliance on foreign defense systems and the importance of building local capacity, particularly in rocket propulsion and related technologies.
Insights for Founders: Vu shared his belief in the value of self-awareness and understanding one’s strengths and passions. He spoke about the importance of stepping back as a founder when necessary and fostering a strong organizational culture to sustain growth.
Cultural Leadership Approach: At Black Sky Industries, Vu introduced the concept of separating HR administrative tasks from people and culture development. This approach aims to ensure personal and professional growth for employees while aligning their roles with the company’s mission.
Defense as a Growing Market: Vu discussed the expanding total addressable market (TAM) for defense technology globally, emphasizing the high demand and low supply for solid rocket motors and other technologies. He pointed out that defense tech is an emerging space with significant investment opportunities.
Challenges and Misconceptions in Defense: Vu addressed public criticism and misconceptions about working in the defense sector. He emphasized the defensive—not offensive—nature of Black Sky’s mission, focusing on protecting sovereignty rather than aggression.
Bootstrapping Success: Black Sky Industries is entirely bootstrapped and profitable, with about 30 employees. Vu shared lessons from his Go1 experience about taking calculated risks and scaling sustainably.
Technology and Innovation: Vu mentioned the potential second-order effects of defense technology on civilian applications, such as using rocket motors for research and innovation in other industries.
Broader Perspectives on Venture and Growth: The discussion touched on the challenges of venture capital and the need for founders and investors to focus on areas with less competition and high-growth potential, such as defense.
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In this week's episode:
2025 predictions. 
Employment Hero uses mostly scrip to acquire company. 
Text to action AI will fundamentally change the world. 
The Great UI overall because of AI Agents.
AI and hardware working together to change the lives of people paralysed.
People with more resilience live longer. Here are six ways to build it.
Why first time founders can outperform multi founders.
Bench Accounting shuts down abruptly after raising $100million.
Product Market Fit broken down into 2 categories.
VC Firms Drop.
A reminder that capital comes easiest from networks that like and trust you. 
Sharts:
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In this weeks episode: 
Share price decline for accelerator Scalare Partners.
Open AI goes down for 4 hours
Satya Nadella on future of business apps in agentic era.
After 2 years of talking about how important AI is, the government is going to spend the next 12 months developing a capability plan.
Google announces quantum computing breakthrough.
Resourcefulness over resources.
Blackbird-backed HR start-up Tandem shuts down due to lack of demand. 
Birchal raises $2 million in 29 hours through crowdfunding. 
Ten13 turns 5.
Sharts: 
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In this weeks episode: 
Jerry Seinfeld's take on AI.
Jeff’ Bezos all in on AI.
AI tool ability to synthesis data: Andrew Tate
YC's request for startups. 
Picking the category winner: VC mental torture. 

Eyes on the price. Startmates $500 voucher.
Donald actually has something smart to say.
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In this week's episode:
 Med-Gemini
Instagram dubbing. 
Follow the ball?
 Australia’s fastest growing companies. 
Introducing the Salary Efficiency Ratio from Edward Keelan.
AI company growth rates. 
 From selling access to selling work.
Inside Swoop Aero's fall from $100 million buyout offer to liquidation. 
Hostplus’ $125m VC bet signals super’s resurgent interest in start-ups.
Scale takes aim at Australia's venture gender gap with $100m fund.
This VC for elite athletes is launching its first fund.
Micro-VCs: fund size as a strategy. 
Sharts:
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Ben Thompson is the CEO and co-founder of Employment Hero, a platform revolutionizing how small and medium-sized businesses manage their HR, payroll, and benefits. With a mission to make employment easier and more rewarding for everyone, Ben has been at the forefront of driving innovation in the workforce management space. Under his leadership, Employment Hero has grown to serve businesses globally, empowering teams with tools that foster productivity and engagement.
This episode discusses topics such as raising capital, go-to-market strategies, managing shareholders, his views of building a high performing culture, DEI, and handing criticism from people outside the business. 
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In this weeks episode: 
AI gets rich. 
Chegg: a cautionary tale the large AI companies eating the smaller ones.
Employment Hero abruptly changed course on strategy. Just don't call it a pivot. 
The tech industry must evolve beyond ‘problematic geniuses’.
 
Carta Data: 50% of employees depart within three years. 
Luke Anear to step down as SafetyCulture CEO, transition to executive chair role.
Canva poaches Zoom’s chief financial officer. 
Starting a company vs starting a fund.
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