Partner at AirTree Ventures (Web3)
Check size: Neither Airtree nor Kell publishes his personal check range or decision authority. The firm describes itself as seed-first and able to support companies over time; portfolio round sizes and prior-firm deals are not treated as evidence of his current range.
Kell applies a long-horizon Silicon Valley investing perspective to Airtree's Australia and New Zealand mandate. His concise screen asks what drives demand, what makes the company different, and whether he is excited to work with the team. He looks for founders who combine the passion to become the best, humility to keep learning, and the courage to remain stubbornly optimistic.
Organize the pitch around his three published questions: quantify what drives durable demand, demonstrate a meaningful and defensible difference, and make the founder-investor working relationship tangible. Show what the team has learned, where it changed its mind, why it remains optimistically committed, and how the company can become a global category leader from an Australia or New Zealand base.
Powerful demand drivers, clear differentiation, teams he wants to work with over a long period, founders passionate about becoming the best, intellectual humility, willingness to listen and learn, and stubborn optimism in the face of difficult company-building work.
No personal pass list is published. The inverse of his stated three-question screen suggests weaker fit where demand is unclear, differentiation is cosmetic, or the working relationship lacks energy and trust. His founder criteria also imply concern about complacency, unwillingness to learn, or conviction unsupported by thoughtful adaptation. These are inferred filters.
Answer three questions in order: what creates durable demand, what makes this company genuinely different, and whether the investor is excited to work closely with this team.
Look for the ambition to become the best, the humility to listen and keep learning, and the courage to stay constructively optimistic through uncertainty.
Evaluate whether founders can absorb new evidence, revise tactics, and compound knowledge while preserving the durable conviction behind the mission.