Introducing Nicholas Ooi, Investible's newest Analyst

It's a part of what drives us to back the most visionary founders, and it's also something we search for in our crewmates as we embark on this global investment journey.

Our newest investment analyst, Nicholas Ooi, captures this adventurous spirit - both in his day-to-day life and in his outlook on the early-stage venture capital industry. With a background working in management consulting and corporate VC, Nicholas has joined our ship to take the next step in his career as a key member of our investment team.

Alongside our deeply experienced investment team, Nicholas will be sourcing, screening, and securing deals across the entire Asia-Pacific region. His prior connection with ASX100 companies and early-stage startups provides him a strong foundation on which he can support our portfolio and spot great investment opportunities.

Read on for a short profile about Nicholas.

Firstly, tell us about your journey to date

While studying a combined Law and Commerce degree at university, I fell in love with startups and technology, building and scaling a few student-run social enterprise tech startups with friends through an organisation called Enactus. I was immediately hooked and knew I wanted to be involved in the startup ecosystem in the long-term.

When I left uni in 2017, graduate jobs at startups or venture capital funds were nearly impossible to find, so I started my career in management consulting, working for ~4 years at Strategy& and Accenture. There, I focused on corporate strategy for ASX100 companies across numerous industries and commercial due diligence on growth-stage software startups for global private equity funds. It was an amazing learning experience where I met lots of smart and ambitious people.

After thinking long and hard about my next steps, I decided that venture capital could be a great fit, combining my analytical background with my passion for startups and technology. I was fortunate to get my start in venture at Superseed Ventures, Reece Group’s corporate venture capital fund, where I helped the team invest in Seed to Series B tech startups across ANZ and North America, with a focus on construction tech, proptech and supply chain tech. After a rewarding year and a half, I was seeking a new challenge. I was introduced to Investible through a friend, and here I am!

What excites you about joining Investible?

Investible is currently in its growth stage; expanding our presence globally, executing on our climate tech strategy and growing our funds under management. I’m extremely excited to join the team during a time of tremendous change and growth.

What do you love most about the startup ecosystem?

I love how the startup ecosystem is so open, friendly and collaborative. Everyone from founders, operators and investors are willing to share learnings and insights with each other to benefit the whole community; it’s ultimately a positive-sum game. I’m also excited by the various programs and communities that have been created over the last few years to nurture newcomers into the ANZ startup ecosystem. There’s no better time to be building a startup given the level of talent that is coming into the ecosystem!

What's your personal philosophy?

Surround yourself with people who inspire you and give you energy; this applies to both life and work.

As the saying goes, you are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with. I genuinely believe in this mantra, as life is too short to waste your energy on those who bring you down or are unwilling to be genuine, support you or help you grow as a person.

Abiding by this philosophy, I love meeting new people and learning from those who are much smarter, more experienced and talented than I am. It’s one of the reasons why I am always so inspired by the founders I get to meet every day, it is truly a privilege that I don’t take for granted.

What's something new you've learned recently?

I recently stumbled across numerous AI-generated meme videos (after somehow falling through the YouTube rabbit hole). These videos were astonishing and incredibly funny, as the visuals and voiceovers mimicked real life actors. After a bit of digging and experimentation, I realised that the creators stringed together outputs from a series of AI prompts (e.g. ChatGPT, Midjourney, Elevenlabs and D-ID) to generate the content.

This made me genuinely question the future of media and content creation, as generative AI could one day become so self-intuitive that it democratises the ability for an everyday person to create their own short film. Will actors be no longer required for shoots? How will advertising and media companies use AI to augment their creative processes? It will only be a matter of time.

Something about you that might surprise people?

I am a fanatic of the outdoors. I love to hike and go camping with friends when I get the chance. For example, I was part of the Australian Army Cadets during high school and climbed Mount Kinabalu, a mountain in Borneo 4km above sea level, when I was a kid. I’m planning to climb Everest Base Camp with my family at the end of the year (wish us luck!)

You can connect with Nicholas on LinkedIn here.