Maxie Juang entered the Australian startup scene in 2016 as a marketing officer for an Agtech and Foodtech accelerator called SproutX, the first accelerator of its kind at the time. Today, Maxie is SproutX’s Program Director and, since participating in our VC Catalyst investor program in 2023, has embarked on an unexpected investment journey of her own.

When a friend mentioned VC Catalyst to Maxie, she initially thought it would be a great professional development opportunity. Motivated by a desire to understand how things work behind the curtain, “The original intention of undertaking VC Catalyst was to equip myself with the knowledge to better inform the founders I work with as they navigate an emerging tech sector like Agtech,” Maxie says, “but I ended up using the opportunity to review my own personal investment thesis.” The experience proved transformative for Maxie.

“It was a wonderful sandbox to explore where my intentions and its consequences meet and how to refine as I go,” she says.

The thesis she designed, ‘how to effectively do good’, guided her towards impact investment and inspired her to see this path as beyond just funds, but also how she contributes her time, resources and capacity.

Pursuing a personal career in investment may not have been on the cards, but Maxie has recognised that it can aid her work at SproutX while also being another way she can contribute to positive change. “It not only allows me to have a deeper understanding of ever-changing markets, and a multi-level perspective of socio-technical transitions and human growth, but it also gives me the ability to contribute to the change we hope to see as a collective.”

As for what’s next, Maxie says she’s been exploring making the shift from operator to investor, dipping her feet in the angel investing landscape, and pondering the big questions.

“How can we leverage the potential of private capital for social change? If private capital is deployed based on expectations of a numbers-based deadline, how does that link up to the speed of the generational relay race that is social change?”

Maxie is excited by investment opportunities emerging in sectors like Agtech, where high entry barriers are being challenged, and healthcare and information, where we are seeing innovation decentralise access to benefits for larger populations. Death tech is also interesting to Maxie, as “a space where innovation is crucial but the market may not be ready yet, requiring a systematic or great cultural shift,” she says. 

For those considering the VC Catalyst program, Maxie’s advice is to fully engage with the experience.

“Plunge yourself into the program. Self reflect on the new discoveries or outdated knowledge daily after every class to better integrate the learning back into your personal values, career and/or portfolio.”