Sarah Shelton
Portfolio Success
Born:
UK
Lives:
Gold Coast
Sarah brings a diverse and robust background in operations, marketing and administration to the firm. With a keen ability to adapt to shifting priorities and manage tight deadlines, she has consistently showcased her ability to streamline processes, research and implement technologies and collaborate across various teams in Virtca’s early portfolio.
Her previous role as an Operations and Marketing Officer at i4 Connect, executing on the Federal Government’s Accelerating Commercialisation contract, exemplifies her capabilities. She was instrumental in liaising with multiple stakeholders, managing platforms, project-managing marketing activities and being the primary liaison for 26 commercialisation advisors working on pre-revenue company portfolios. Her time at Enova Energy as an Operations Officer further demonstrates her aptitude for data analysis, problem-solving and cross-departmental collaboration.
What do you love about where you live?
Aside from living in absolute paradise (long stretches of beach, glorious weather, regular dolphin sightings) the Gold Coast interestingly has the highest number of business founders per capita in the country. It's a wonderful place where surfers and startups collide.
What are you currently pondering?
With AI predicted to automate 40% of household chores by 2033, I often wonder how technology will increasingly integrate into our lives, and how it will become an extension of ourselves. What aspects of our daily/weekly routine will soon become 'a thing of the past'?
What do you look for in a founding team?
The power of soft skills and emotional intelligence can never be underestimated. Hard skills can be learnt, whereas soft skills — not so much. Empathy, open-mindedness, adaptability, and resourcefulness go a very long way.
What does down-time look like?
Anything that involves being in or next to the ocean: paddleboarding, surfing (attempting albeit), scuba diving, beach days... Essentially, if it's not raining, I'll be at the beach.