# Maxine Minter

> Maxine Minter is Australia's first solo female General Partner at a venture capital fund, and the Founder & GP of Co Ventures - a $5M pre-seed fund dedicated to backing software-led companies with at least one Australian founder building for global scale. Based in San Francisco, she started her career as a tech lawyer, pivoted into startup founding and operating, and began angel investing with $2,500 cheques before raising her own fund. She co-hosts the 'First Cheque' podcast with Cheryl Mack, champions a 'belief capital' philosophy, and has built a portfolio with over 50% women founders.

- **Role:** General Partner at Co Ventures
- **Organizations:** Co Ventures, Co Lab, Fairshake, The Council, Aussie Angels
- **From:** Australia
- **Nationality:** Australian
- **Education:** Masters in Law, Science and Technology, Stanford Law School, Stanford Ignite in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Stanford Graduate School of Business, Bachelor of Laws in Commercial Law, Macquarie University, Bachelor's Degree in Law, Københavns Universitet (University of Copenhagen), French Language Study, Université de Strasbourg
- **Known for:** Australia's first solo female General Partner at a venture capital fund, Raised $5M AUD for Co Ventures Fund 1 (launched April 2023), Built a portfolio with over 50% women founders

## Career timeline

- **Early career** — Lawyer at one of Australia's top law firms, specialising in technology law and litigation
- **Early career** — Taught disruptive legal tech courses; built companies on the side
- **Pre-2021** — Angel investing in San Francisco, starting with $2,500 cheques into pre-seed startups
- **2021-01** — Founded Co Lab, a platform matching founders and CEOs with executive coaches; grew to $100K+ revenue
- **Pre-2022** — Joined Fairshake (backed by First Round and Box Group) as early operator
- **2022-09** — Began fundraising for Co Ventures Fund 1
- **2023-04** — Launched Co Ventures Fund 1 ($5M AUD), becoming Australia's first solo female GP
- **2023+** — Co-hosted First Cheque podcast with Cheryl Mack on Day One Network
- **2024+** — Deploying Co Ventures Fund 1 at ~A$150K per company, targeting 33 startups

## Achievements

- Australia's first solo female General Partner at a venture capital fund
- Raised $5M AUD for Co Ventures Fund 1 (launched April 2023)
- Built a portfolio with over 50% women founders
- Co-host of First Cheque podcast on Day One Network
- Speaker at Web Summit, SuperReturn Asia, and Sunrise Australia
- Founded Co Lab, growing it to $100K+ revenue
- Founding member of The Council investor community
- Ran angel syndicates in both Australia and California before launching fund

## Latest updates

- **2024-05** — Featured on Startup Playbook Ep185 discussing pre-seed, performance, and mental models
- **2024** — Continued deployment of Co Ventures Fund 1 across ~33 Australian software startups
- **2023** — Launched First Cheque podcast with Cheryl Mack exploring founder-VC funding dynamics
- **2023-04** — Closed and launched Co Ventures Fund 1 at $5M AUD

## Links

- Website: https://coventures.vc
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxine-minter-06011951/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/minmintymin
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/m_i_n_i_m/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maxine.minter.5/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/maxine-minter
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-18