Meet Julia French: founder whisperer, Silicon Valley and unicorn veteran (WhatsApp, Dropbox, Atlassian), and our new Partner, Head of Platform ready to supercharge our founders journey.

Galileo’s portfolio, with over half being international, we knew we needed someone with international experience, someone that can be a truthslayer but also full of heart for what Australia is and can be on the global stage. 

Julia is also someone that holds our values; education as a cornerstone to early founder success, willingness to back emerging founders early and often, just loves working with pre-seed startups.

We sat down with Jules, our new Partner, Head of Platform and International, and chatted through why she enjoys backing emerging founders.

Why do you like backing early stage founders?

There is a purity to it that never really comes again, the sheer willpower, belief and the heart is 90% of what makes the start of it all come together. 

I personally think it’s easier to assess the success of an early stage founder, before the politics, before the market functions and product dramas, the user acquisition strategies etc. All the things that lie outside of a founder's innate control. That space in the beginning is unforgettable and there is nothing else like it, I can think of nothing I would rather do everyday. 

There’s a beloved American movie - The Natural based on the book by Bernard Malamud, it’s basically that if you have the gift, life always finds a way to meet you so you can bring it to the world. That’s what backing early stage founders is to me.

Tell us about your startup experience and a few tips or insights you want to share to future founders?

I have been in the startup world since I was 22, where I was running around University telling my business professor how one day because of 802b.11 we would be able to take our laptops outside and write our papers while sitting in the grass. 

The greatest privilege about startup life is the opportunity to maybe, just possibly help to change lives and impact how we live day to day. I have had the enormous privilege to work with some of those amazing humans that have gotten to build products that are a part of our day to day. 

It’s hard to find just a few things to share, but these would be my top ones:

• Find your Johnny Ives/Steve Jobs: Jobs would not have been as great as he was without Ives, and Ives would never have become what he became without Jobs. Find the people that make you greater than you ever thought you could be. The you that you become around these people is how greatness is built. 

• Don’t limit yourself, the world will do that for you; culture, relationships, society will all do that, no point in adding yourself to the team. 

• “It’s not how hard you get hit, it’s how fast you get up” Rocky This is really true, your ability to react and recover and move is key to moving a product to success. That reaction time is the make it or break it a lot of the time. 

• Don’t underestimate the power of small, simple ideas; at mass they win every time. 

• A product in order to have great growth must be inherently viral. 

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What excites you about Galileo? 

The results. While I would classify myself as having a fair bit of HippieDippie Namaste California in me, I also like to win. 

I like backing the winner and if we just look at the raw numbers of what Team Galileo – James and Hugh – have done in the past 4 years, they beat out every early stage fund in Australia in terms of follow-on funding from the US. They have an assessment structure that is so close to my own that it was like a total vibes moment, like the kid you have at a dance festival  – pure heart sync. 

They love their founders, they care deeply and they are unafraid of telling the truth, coming to support them, holding space for them and making sure their ‘touch grass’ moments are often. 

They respect the ‘hard mode’ of it all in a way that supports and enables founders to succeed. 

What our founders had to say:

“Working with Jules is a complete unlock. You get targeted strategic advice from GTM, Fundraising and Comms all backed up with lived experience from Silicon Valley. 100% would recommend” Will Ashford, Foudner of TrueState AI

‍Julia, has been an awesome partner to work with, bringing a wealth of experience and really encouraging us to zoom in on what actually matters! Jack Wakem, Founder of TempestAI