E113 - Peter Dunne, Herbert Smith Freehills

Open the Pod Bay Doors

Peter Dunne is one of Australia’s leading venture capital and private equity lawyers, specialising in private capital raisings and M&A. Peter has advised on multibillion-dollar transactions, including acquisitions, buy-outs, disposals, joint ventures and recapitalisations, involving some of Australia’s largest public and private organisations; his clients include Atlassian, Canva, Deputy, Culture Amp, Linktree, BigCommerce, Campaign Monitor, Expert 360, SafteyCulture, Tyro, Zoox...the list goes on.

In this conversation with Ian, Peter talks about...

• Why he became a lawyer and how early experiences shaped his career
• Why he's more interested in people than the size of deals
• Key differences between private equity and venture capital
• How he got involved in Atlassian's first capital raise
• His approach to building a tech practice and choosing clients
• His advice for startup founders who are fundraising
• What "legal debt" is and how to avoid it

Quickfire recommendations

• Books: 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez & To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
• Podcast: This American Life
• News source: The Economist or The Guardian
• Tech founder: Luke Anear of SafetyCulture
• Productivity tool: Atomic Habits
• TV show: Dr. Who
• Ted Talk topic: How we can inspire and help each other

____________________

If you are a prospective angel investor based in Adelaide interested in joining Horizon Six Degrees, Innovation Bay's new community for angels, email [e-mail] to discuss your potential candidacy as a founding member. More info here.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.