Getting to know the Folklore team – Meet Bec

Our team Q&As give you the inside scoop on the people behind Folklore. ‍

Folklore, as a team, are dedicated to finding, supporting and being on the journey with the world’s next generational startups. We are invested in this mission and are delighted to have welcomed Bec Wendland to the team to help us achieve it.

Bec has been a management consultant, investor, startup mentor and founder, bringing 10+ years of experience in both London and Australian markets. She joins from VC-backed startup Emmi where she operated as Chief Operating Officer taking the firm from concept to scale-up. As an investor, Bec will be engaging with the best and brightest in the ANZ ecosystem, ensuring we are making investments in game-changing companies and delivering strong outcomes for our investors and founders.

‍Why early stage investing and why now for you?‍

Early stage investment enables me to blend my three callings in life:

• Using capital to solve real world problems. Making sense of a highly complicated world, spotting patterns, seeing the opportunities and capitalising on them
• Understanding how businesses work and scale. Especially how technology transforms businesses and acts as an enabler to change the rules of the game 
• Being a multiplier not an individual contributor. Using the power of people to have a direct impact on the world. 

There aren’t many roles where I can bring my whole self, all of my experiences and my super ambitious goals to the table. But early stage investing is the perfect fit.  

Making the decision to leave the company I helped co-found was one of the hardest calls of my life. My founder journey was one of the most rewarding, and challenging, periods of my career. But I realised that ultimately the founder journey just wasn’t one that was able to give me everything I wanted out of a career; I found it the wrong type of hard. I didn’t want to be on one founder journey, my own, but rather I wanted to play a role in enabling others to fulfil their vision and potential. I missed getting deep on a spectrum of businesses and understanding emerging trends and sectors. And I really missed investing; nothing can give you the same high as finding a diamond in the rough, seeing something no one else saw, setting it free and letting it soar. ‍

What made you want to join Folklore?‍

I think it would be easier to ask what made me not want to join Folklore. But ultimately 3 key differentiators stood out to me:

• People and culture. Folklore has highly ambitious and talented people but they are an all star team not a team of star players. Their laser focused founder first mindset means they focus on the important stuff: making great investments, creating founder value and seeing the humans behind the company. 
• First cheque to forever. Folklore has a true long horizon mindset with a focus on supporting founders through their journey. They have a high conviction portfolio and aren’t afraid to roll up their sleeves and get stuck in to help create long term company value. 
• Robust and disciplined process. VC investing can feel a bit like throwing darts at a board in the dark. Folklore has a very structured process that drives high alignment to their mandate, expected investor outcome and ensures every investment is eyes open, and not fingers crossed. 

You have been a founder. What insight do you bring to the role of an investor that you hope elevates you in your role?‍

Founder empathy. I think it’s easy to forget that behind companies and at the route of their success, is their people. Especially in technology which is a largely IP (aka people) driven business. Being a founder can be incredibly tough and having a strong support system and trustworthy partners can make or break that journey. I like to think of myself as a pilot who has learnt to fly a plane as it was falling apart during a hurricane, rather than in a simulator. ‍

What does a great work day look like to you?‍

I’m the opposite of a creature of habit - so an inanimate object of change? A great day for me is getting across new concepts, meeting new people, learnings new things and really just pushing the realms of what I think I know and myself out of my comfort zone ‍

What are you most excited about for the next 6 months?‍

The opportunity to connect with the next generation of Australian and NZ founders. It’s so awe inspiring to be in their presence and to witness the birth of technology that is likely to change how we do business, or even all our lives in the future. ‍

What do you find to be unique, exciting and challenging about the ANZ startup ecosystem?‍

I’ve had some exposure to the UK and US ecosystem, and I think what sets ANZ apart is that it's driven by collaboration not competition. Between companies, between investors, between advisors. The community shares each other's successes and feels each other's losses. It’s amazing to be a part of something that is bigger than just yourself and your contribution.

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To connect with Bec, be sure to say hello via LinkedIn, or Campfire for those in our community.