Mason Yates
Mason’s dream is to uncover and support the next generation of daring Australian and Kiwi founders. One of Australia’s first junior hires in the venture capital industry, Mason joined Blackbird Ventures in 2018 as Portfolio Analyst. As the eighth hire at Blackbird, Mason has supported investment decisions for over $600M of invested capital, held board member positions and directly led five investments for the firm. Over his six years at Blackbird, Mason’s impact has been recognised with his promotion to Investment Associate in 2021 and more recently to Principal. In addition to his investing work, Mason has been a mentor and later Partner for Startmate’s Accelerator, and founded and hosts the Wild Hearts podcast, which now spans multiple series and thousands of regular listeners. Before Blackbird, Mason held data and product analytics roles for Australian startups StockSpot and Zip Co.
Sunrise Sessions
Linktree began as a side project and became a new category. With over 40 million users worldwide, it’s a rare Australian startup that has shaped internet culture—and Alex Zaccaria is the heart behind it. In this live recording of Wild Hearts, Blackbird’s podcast about founders making things that change the world, Alex joins host Mason Yates for an unfiltered conversation about creativity, resilience, and ambition. From playing in bands to building one of the most recognisable tools on the web, Alex’s journey is one of artistic instincts meeting entrepreneurial drive. Expect a story full of friction—the tension between identity and invention, self-doubt and success, art and tech. This is a session for the dreamers, the builders, and anyone curious about the spark that drives a wild heart.