BSc, BCom
At St Margaret’s 2003-2007
Sydney based Taryn Pieterse is a partner at venture capital fund Rampersand working with the team across the whole business, including investing, strategy and managing the investment team.
She is passionate about increasing diversity in innovation and supporting women founders who currently receive only 3% of venture funding. In 2021, she organised The Giant Warm Intro event which facilitated 160 hours of mentoring for founders, a majority of which were from underrepresented groups.
More recently, she has led investments into several startups including: Hatch, a jobs marketplace for Gen Z's; and Cuttable, which is building a fully automated advertising agency. I continue to spend time looking for early stage technology businesses to invest in, largely focused on business-to-business software solutions and Artificial Intelligence.
After graduating from St Margaret’s, Taryn studied a dual degree of Bachelor of Science (majoring in mathematics) and a Bachelor of Commerce (majoring in finance) at The University of Queensland. Taryn graduated with High Distinction and was admitted to the Dean’s Honour Roll.
Following university, she worked at Goldman Sachs in the Investment Banking Division for four years in both Sydney and London. She then spent three years in Melbourne working for a small team investing in consumer, retail, health and wellness businesses. Her next career move was to her current role at Rampersand.
Of her St Margaret’s experience Taryn said: “I was grateful to have attended St Margaret’s and to have built an incredible group of lifelong friends who continue to support me today. It was at school that I was encouraged to pursue mathematics and science subjects, laying the foundation for my future studies and career pathway.
“Working with early-stage founders, being trustworthy and loyal are integral attributes. These are values that were instilled in me at school and the core value of integrity remains as important to me today as it did at school,” Taryn said.
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