Have you ever come across a Creative Director working at a Financial Services company? Neither did I until meeting Joel Connolly at Blackbird Ventures (Joel also heads up their philanthropic arm, Blackbird Foundation). We discuss the importance of creativity in solving ambitious problems.
According to the Australian Financial Review, Blackbird Ventures, have a total committed capital of $1.24 B (they invested in Canva, CultureAmp, etc). In this conversation, Joel and I skip over the money talk and dive right into the role that creativity plays in life, the workplace, and society. We also unpack the thinking behind Blackbird’s different approach to other investment firms and why life at Blackbird is pretty great.
In discussing the importance of creative thought in work, life, and play, we drew alignments from religion and art, and also discussed our own unconventional life journeys that have led us to the world of startups and innovation.
Enjoy! - Diletta Legowo
Things to click on:
Acknowledgements:
The sana-sini podcast is recorded in Naarm (in the languages of the Boon Wurrung and Woiwurrung (Wurundjeri) peoples of the Kulin Nation, Narrm is the name of the area we now called Melbourne). We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and culture. We also recognise the wisdom of our ancestors across the ocean, di Tanah Air, in Indonesia.
The music you hear in the beginning and end of our show is the song ‘Kalapa Garden’ from the album Bahasa by Young Marco. It features recordings of the Desa Babakan Gamelan Ensemble in Bali, Indonesia.