Veteran Investor Tim Heath on Entrepreneurship, Crypto and AI

USA Today

19-02-2025

Veteran Investor Tim Heath on Entrepreneurship, Crypto and AI
Tim Heath is no stranger to investing. For over a decade, he has brought to the table a unique approach to startup investing as founder of Yolo Group and now as GP and founder of its venture capital arm Yolo Investments which has over $500m assets under management and has made over 100 investments. He is one of Australia's most successful businessmen and focuses predominantly on the iGaming and crypto space.
2024 saw Heath take a step back from day-to-day operations at Yolo Group to provide high-level strategic business advisory and to focus his attention on Yolo Investments, which launched its second fund the previous year, attracting an impressive group of LP investors.
Yolo Group's second fund is focusing its efforts on proven businesses. These often look to leverage AI and blockchain technologies for applications such as fintech and e-commerce.
What Makes a Compelling Business?
Throughout his career, Heath has been flooded with investment opportunities from budding entrepreneurs. He has always maintained the same approach to each conversation he has, be it during a conference call or on the golf course.
'Ultimately it comes down to whether or not the product solves a real-world problem. Most investors are of course passionate about their work, but I need to see they have put their blood, sweat and tears into it before I even consider investing', Heath explained.
Yolo Investment's second fund, which launched in 2023, is focused on iGaming, fintech and blockchain. Its investments range from CoinMENA, a licensed digital assets marketplace based in Bahrain to Pave Bank, a Singapore-based bank leveraging blockchain technology to seamlessly transfer money across borders for customers.
'These recent Fund 2 investments demonstrate our intent to support global entrepreneurs as they look to make a real difference. New technologies bring about renewed opportunity to enhance customer experiences through new services and greater efficiency. Yolo Investments continues to actively support entrepreneurship in this exciting space', Heath asserted.
AI and Crypto
Heath is a long-term backer of cryptocurrency, with many of Yolo's investments focusing on the sector. He has spoken about regulation in the space and the need for governments to work with the technology, not against it, and has spent much of his recent time in the Middle East. This is a region where governments have parted with significant sums of cash to create the groundwork to enable the technology to thrive.
'Crypto is now an established technology. People get it and see its use cases; it is no longer on the fringes of society. I have met with senior leaders and experts in the Middle East in countries including Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. It is always refreshing to see their detailed approaches to the technology and underlying passion to become the next respective global hubs in the space', Heath explained.
With the election of Donald Trump and the role played by Elon Musk in the victory, AI and crypto markets jumped. Heath expects the election result to have major implications for technology as a whole and hopes it translates into greater entrepreneurship in the space.
'I'm not one for making predictions, and I stray away from all-things politics. Nonetheless, there is a clear overlap between policy and tech entrepreneurship. I think there are clear opportunities for the technology sector in the next few years especially for those willing to navigate the choppy waters associated with changing politics and regulation. This is especially the case when it comes to AI and crypto, areas which will see heightened areas of focus from all angles in the years to come', said Heath.
Advice for Entrepreneurs
Investors like Heath are inundated with investment proposals which all tend to say similar things. They promise major returns on investment and often claim nobody else in the industry has such a product. Knowing how to separate the top ideas from all this noise can be challenging but is something Heath and his close-knit team focus on every day.
'To be an entrepreneur, you must be a hustler to the very core of your being. Networking, selling yourself, confidence – These are all central components for a good hustler. Nothing in life will ever be served directly to you on a plate. Prove to me you know the business and industry inside out. Ask interesting questions, have a bit of a backbone and be ready to listen to constructive thoughts', Heath explains.
'Yolo is, and always will be, founder focused. I need to see deeply embedded passion that differentiates you from the crowd. Everyone wants to solve problems and be rewarded financially, but I'm after proven concepts and those who seek business connections and high-level advisory. This is where I see my main value and the area I am spending my time on', Heath concludes.
*Investing involves risk, and your investment may lose value. Past performance gives no indication of future results. These statements do not constitute and cannot replace investment advice.