May 5Introducing the Venture Science ToolkitGet your team thinking ‘on rails’ towards building a big company from science — The very, very hard thing Making a company out of science is hard. Really hard. There’s just more to know and more to do than other kinds of company. Before we have even got started, we are probably staring at a near-and-present ‘Valley of Death’ that comes because it's taking too long to get to…Venture Capital2 min readVenture Capital2 min read
May 5Future Shock Canvas will help you imagine the futureThe first tool in our new Venture Science Toolkit — The purpose of the tool When we imagine the future, we tend to think in linear steps. The problem is the world doesn’t work this way. Change happens in a fractal pattern where billions of people and events react with each other to bounce the world into a new future. This is a future our…Venture Capital2 min readVenture Capital2 min read
Feb 16You might be the greatest VC that the world hasn’t seen yetMain Sequence is hiring again — are we looking for you? — You might be surprised about what makes a great VC. In Main Sequence we have engineers, product managers and doctors as well as experienced VCs who have helped build the Australian venture system from the earliest of times. Me, heck, I’m an ex-theatre director. None of us have got here…Venture Capital3 min readVenture Capital3 min read
Jan 26How do I get SaaS investors to look at deep tech?Deep tech (or frontier tech, as it is sometimes called) will be a mainstream venture category in the near future. There is still plenty of SaaS investing to be done, but I think we’ve passed the peak of digitising real-world workflow, media, and commerce. Alpha lies elsewhere. SaaS investors must look at deep tech The next waves…3 min read3 min read
Jan 24How ‘technical’ does one need to be to be a deep tech investor? What are the foundational elements of knowledge that one should have in possession?No two deep tech investors are the same. Some are very technical, trained in science and able to go deep into the foundations of an invention. Some are from entirely different backgrounds. It is helpful to understand the science, but it is not core because we are investors, not scientists…2 min read2 min read
Jan 17Art as a primary job inside a startupWhat does this image show? Does it make you feel anything? When a founder works closely with an artist, they can unlock understanding and opportunity. This picture is the result of a collaboration between Professor Michael Biercuk (Q-CTRL Founder) and his third employee, Damien Metcalf for Fire Opal. Look at…1 min read1 min read
Nov 16, 2022Simon Sinek’s guide to playing the infinite gameSimon Sinek’s The Infinite Game: How Great Businesses Achieve Long-lasting Success lays out what to do differently when playing the infinite game. Principles for the infinite game Here are Sinek’s principles and my response to them. #1 — Advance a Just Cause What am I trying to get done… that will always be bigger than I can complete? It needs to…2 min read2 min read
Nov 15, 2022What is the infinite game? Here’s your cheat sheetTweaking my decision-making with the infinite game mindset. I have found it to be a key to imagining (and building) a world of abundance and opportunity vs a world of scarcity and conflict. The idea was first articulated by James Carse in his book: Finite and Infinite Games. Here are…1 min read1 min read
Nov 14, 2022Playing the infinite game in venture capitalI have a little note at the top of my daily agenda. It is the first thing I read daily, reminding me how to conduct myself. It asks: Are you playing the infinite game? It completely changes my decisions, reduces my fear of failure and expands the possible impact. I am not playing to win. I am playing to keep playing. It helps me feel unstoppable. — 🖖🏻 I’m building out loud. Subscribe here — https://philmorle.medium.com/subscribe or follow me @philmorle1 min read1 min read
Nov 3, 2022Lean down the mountainWhen we learn to ski, we are taught to lean down the mountain when all you want to do is lean up. Quickly we learn that control comes from having the weight on our toes. When driving a Formula 1 car, the brakes don’t work well unless they are hot…1 min read1 min read
