Giles Russell
Sydney
Australia

Giles Russell

Founder Success
Lilypad Lead
Sydney
Australia

This Blackbird has flown the nest. You can get in touch with them below.

About Me

About Me

I was born and raised by the beach in Sydney, Australia - so you'll likely find me in or by the ocean whenever i get the opportunity. I'm a very proud father of three kids, who fill me with so much joy (and very occasionally stress). I love spending time with my family and friends, best case scenario over a delicious meal (though a great coffee works as well). Being active is a big part of my life, I surf, paddle board, swim, run and play soccer (or any sport) with me kids daily. I'm incredibly excited to join the Blackbird team and to be surrounded by so many kind and inspirational people.

Treat others how you'd like to be treated

What do you do at Blackbird?

I lead our talent network, Lilypad. My role is to build a community for the incredible people working in the startup space but also looking to move into that space. My aim is to connect these people with each other and our portfolio companies and provide them with valuable resources to learn more about the start up space. The final result being, that when there's an job opportunity at one of our portfolio companies that we have the perfect candidate within our network to take that opportunity.

What did you do before Blackbird?

From 2014 to 2020, I founded and grew an Australian restaurant group in the US called Two Hands together with my co-founder, Henry. We built 5 full-service Australian restaurants in that time (4 in NYC and 1 in Austin). Two Hands is still growing and has new locations in Nashville and Montauk with more on the way.

From 2021-2022, I co-founded and grew a software company with two incredible co-founders (Dan & An). Adash was a content creator software platform, built specifically for food content creators to build a community outside of social media, enabling them to own their audience and build a relationship with them in an authentic way with a path the meaningful income. We closed Adash at the end of 2022, with so many valuable learnings.

What are you most excited about?

I love seeing people following their passions and dreams. Helping people do that though through the Lilypad is incredibly exciting to me.

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Giles Russell