Armina Rosenberg, Global Equities Portfolio Manager at Grok Ventures, shares her journey from a challenging childhood in Western Sydney to leading investments for Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes’ family office. She credits her mother’s resilience and early mentors for instilling the drive to excel academically, leading to roles at UBS, JP Morgan, and eventually Grok. At Grok, Armina focuses on areas where passion, unique insight, and strong returns intersect - most notably software and renewable energy.
She outlines her investment approach: deep due diligence, leveraging a network of tech insiders, and applying rigorous metrics like the “Rule of 40,” growth persistence, and net revenue retention. ESG factors, diversity in leadership, and strong founder vision are also key. Armina discusses standout investments like Zoom, Slack, and SendGrid, noting the importance of management quality and market positioning. She addresses tech valuations, explaining how she models growth assumptions to target a 20% IRR and evaluates SaaS unit economics through frameworks like the “SaaS x-ray.”
Beyond work, Armina values fitness, reading, and global connections, even though COVID has shifted much of her networking online. Inspired by trailblazing female fund managers, she advises young investors to be voracious learners, leverage free resources, and embrace continuous education in markets.
You can listen to the podcast by clicking the link below.