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Yotam Rosenbaum

Yotam Rosenbaum

YC founder, investor and founding partner at First Peak Ventures

yotam
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Joined March 2024
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Summary

YC founder turned active early-stage investor. Yotam co‑founded Earbits (YC Winter 2011), led it through growth and eventual acquisition, and has since built a practice of investing in and mentoring YC companies — describing a strategy of indexing many YC companies rather than cherry-picking a few winners. ycombinator+2
Experienced operator who shifted from professional music to startups and VC. His background as a Berklee-trained composer and working musician (recorded album 'Balance') gave him domain knowledge about music marketing, which directly motivated the creation of Earbits. edu+1
Active mentor and ecosystem builder in Australia. Since relocating to Australia he has taken on Entrepreneur‑in‑Residence roles (UQ Ventures, QUT bluebox), worked operationally (Digital Surge) and partnered with regional VC firms (77 Partners, The Access Fund), helping founders prepare for YC and other accelerators. edu+2
Public-facing teacher/communicator on founder evaluation and early-stage investing. He appears frequently on podcasts/interviews to explain founder signals, YC dynamics, and his pragmatic approach to reviewing many early-stage companies quickly. youtube+1
Bridges creative and technical worlds: his career demonstrates an ability to combine creative practice (music composition and recording) with product, operations and investor roles — a pattern that shows strengths in cross-disciplinary problem solving and founder empathy. bandcamp+2

Work

Education

Projects

Hobbies

Music composition and performance (recorded album 'Balance', professional musician background). bandcamp+1

Mentoring and teaching founders (involvement with UQ ilab, QUT bluebox and other accelerator/mentoring programs). edu+1

Notes

JIJulius Ilgsaid
YRYotam Rosenbaum
is one of the most respected early-stage deep tech investors they know.

Mar 27, 2026

BBBhaskar Bhattsaid
YRYotam Rosenbaum
is one of the most effective venture capital partners they've worked with in terms of both investing and supporting portfolio companies.

Mar 8, 2026

ATAnna Taosaid they've seen
YRYotam Rosenbaum
go above and beyond for startup customers through their work.

Jan 30, 2026

EBEd Bigazzisaid that if they were introducing a new person to PEF,
YRYotam Rosenbaum
would be someone they'd especially want them to meet.

Dec 1, 2025

GTGarry Tansaid they've seen
YRYotam Rosenbaum
successfully build or help grow a company from scratch.

Oct 17, 2025

TRTaylor Robinsonsaid
YRYotam Rosenbaum
has impressed them with their leadership in fundraising and setting the strategic direction for their venture capital firm.

Jul 23, 2025

ARArlan Rakhmetzhanovsaid
YRYotam Rosenbaum
has shown strong leadership by founding or leading a successful musical band.

Jul 12, 2025