As the guardians of capital – the fuel that founders need to launch and scale-up their ventures – VCs are the adjudicator for startup success.

On World Mental Health day, it’s an apt time to acknowledge the highly challenging environment of startup building, and the personal impact on the founders trying to build the next generation of Australian businesses.

Venture Capital investment in Australian startups continues to trend upwards, but we need to go further, faster if we want to become a global leader.

While boards are more often associated with corporate governance, when to comes to transitioning from startup to scale-up they can be an important lever for growth.

I was in my early 30s when I experienced what can only be described as burnout. I hit a wall, both literally and figuratively, that wall was a hospital room in St Vincent’s.

There are few pursuits in which individual leadership plays as critical a role as building a high-growth venture. A founder’s vision, product development skills and ability to sell will literally…