Did you now this about Atlassian Ventures?

Recently, I had a unique opportunity to sit down (well, Zoom) with Philip W. Braddock , Portfolio Management Lead at Atlassian Ventures and ask him some real questions about Atlassian’s corporate venture capital fund and life in general.

KGM: Just so we can get to know you a little bit, Phil, and know that you are in fact a human; what is your favorite 80’s band?

Phil: I am indeed a human, and my many, many flaws prove that every day. Well, as someone who was born in the mid-80s, I certainly can’t say I had a favorite 80s band in “real time”, so to speak. But, I will say that I love Hall & Oates, so let’s go with that.

KGM: Hall & Oates are so great; good choice! Phil, I´ve got a great idea for an app. Development is going super well. However, I need some money to fund my venture. Why should I team up with Atlassian Ventures?

Phil: Great question, Kristján! Let me start by sharing some general information: Atlassian Ventures is Atlassian’s corporate venture capital fund. Atlassian Ventures exists to fund more development in the Atlassian ecosystem. Simply put: the more apps we have in the Atlassian Marketplace, and the more tools that integrate with Atlassian products via APIs, the happier our customers will be. Thus, we invest in startups that have the potential to deliver great value to our mutual end-customers. So if you are building a product that extends the functionality of Atlassian core products, we would love to learn more about your startup!

KGM: What would you say is the most unique proposition Atlassian Ventures offers?

Phil: While this may sound a bit silly, what separates us from other corporate venture funds is that we focus 100% on all-the-things Atlassian. Put differently, it is our post-investment services that really differentiate us because someone like me can help founders / execs at our portfolio companies navigate Atlassian to get questions answered and/or blockers removed as quickly as possible. I also act as a “conduit” into and out of Atlassian so that there is bi-directional knowledge sharing at all times.

KGM: Phil, and be real with us now, is it hard or easy to work with Atlassian Ventures? Lots of red tape or…

Phil: This is an important question, and I appreciate you asking it. We make a concerted effort to minimize red-tape activities, be as transparent as possible and operate from a place of high-trust by default. Let me offer a concrete example: we have publicly published our Convertible Note and Side Letter, the investment vehicles we use for early- and growth-stage investments, respectively, on atlassian.com/ventures. We do this a) for transparency and b) to minimize, if not eliminate, friction during the diligence process; in other words, founders can see our investment terms before we’ve even had an initial call.  

KGM: If you, Phil, were at the opposite side of the table, what would you do?

Phil: Whoa! No one has ever asked me that before! If I were on the other side of the table, I would reflect on all of my hands-on experience working with Atlassian’s products and then take a step back to think about Atlassian Marketplace apps or SaaS products that extend the core functionality. That, as I see it, is where there continues to be massive opportunity to deliver value to mutual end-customers.

KGM: Finally, what kind of support do you offer beyond the financial investment?

Phil: We offer a variety of perks and services that are designed for companies at various stages of maturity.  At the core of all of our services is a focus on symbiotic value between our portfolio companies, Atlassian Ventures as a fund, Atlassian as a business and, most importantly, the mutual end-customer.  If that resonates with you, I invite you to check out atlassian.com/ventures to learn more.

I thanked Phil for his time and we parted (well, turned off Zoom). Dear reader, if you have an idea or are already in the beginning stages of a business, I encourage you to check out atlassian.com/ventures and see if there is a good fit there.