Chelsea Newell
General Partner
Chelsea Newell has 10 years’ experience in the financial services industry and joined Scale from private wealth management firm JBWere, where she worked as Business Manager, reporting directly to the general managers of Advice and Products, and Markets. Prior to JBWere, she spent six years at wealth management and brokerage businesses in London, including at boutique wealth advisory firm Lesmoir-Gordon Boyle, where she was instrumental in the operations and high-net-worth client strategy of a new wealth advisory arm within the business. During her time in London, she also worked for German firm MainFirst Group on the equity brokerage side as Head of Corporate Access where she led multi-country road shows for the European equity research coverage. Following this at Anoa Capital, she was responsible for creating and implementing onboarding processes for ultra-high-net-worth clients for the Global Markets division. .
She specialises in founder-investor relationships, deal origination and transactions. Since joining Scale, a primary focus of Chelsea’s has been formalising processes, from due diligence on investments, to new investor onboarding.
Chelsea's dedication to fostering the growth of the Australian early-stage ecosystem is evident through her active involvement in the community where she regularly presents on relevant topics, sharing her insights and expertise with her comprehensive understanding of managing founder and investor relationships and her passion for fostering innovation in the early-stage ecosystem.
Samar Mcheileh
Managing Partner
Samar Mcheileh has over 15 years’ experience in financial services, beginning her career at the National Australia Bank (NAB) and progressing to hold a range of executive roles at wealth management firm JBWere, including Chief of Staff, Head of Markets Desk, and Head of Operations. During her decade with the firm, she played a key role in a $150 million transformation required for the firm’s sale from Goldman Sachs to NAB.
JBWere provided experience making deals across all asset classes, but it was venture capital that increasingly drew Samar. This was partly down to the greater achievable returns, but also the emphasis upon the potential of businesses, and the capabilities of the individuals driving them. She joined Scale in early-2019 and became co-CEO in March 2021 with a vision to transform it from an angel investor network to a fully-matured fund catering to large investors and family offices.
Samar is an active participant in the Australian early-stage ecosystem, believing it to be an indispensable incubator of talent and investment opportunities, and she was part of the first100 women Startmate Fellowship in Spring 2020.
Until January 2021, Samar volunteered for five years at YWCA Australia as a member of the charity’s Finance committee, and currently volunteers as a finance committee member for inTouch, a multicultural centre against family violence.
Roo Harris
General Partner
Roo Harris found her path to investing on the road less travelled, leaving her legal career in Australia at Allens Arthur Robinson (now Allens Linklaters) to move to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and ultimately Qatar, where she advised some of the world’s biggest investors, including the family office of a member of the Qatari royal family. Specialising in domestic and cross-border commercial transactions, Roo helped broker deals in the hundreds of millions of dollars, while working for international law firm Patton Boggs (now Squire Patton Boggs). Transactions included luxury hotel deals in Paris, franchising and distribution for the likes of Bulgari, Gucci and Chanel, and the purchase of Spanish Premier League soccer teams. However, it was an investment that Roo stopped a client making – in American healthcare fraud Theranos – that she counts among her proudest moments.
Upon returning to Australia, Roo continued working with some of Qatar’s largest investors, but after a decade in the role, she became increasingly interested in venture capital, and how it could be used for good. A 27x return on her first start up investment sealed her interest as well as her conviction in conscious capital. Joining Scale in 2021, Roo proceeded to become the Chief Investment Officer in early 2023, a role she relishes for the ability to combine her legal eye for detail and risk, alongside her entrepreneurial capacity to connect and map disparate ideas so as to add deep founder value.
An active advocate for the neurodivergent and disability communities, Roo sat on the Board of not-for-profit Aspergers Victoria for nearly four years, and now sits on the advisory board for Autistic Pride Day. She also sits on the Board of a private investment company having $250m under management. Roo lives in Melbourne with her husband and two young children and holds a Master's Degree in Commercial Law. She is currently completing a second Master’s in Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
Solai Valliappan
General Partner
Solai Valliappan is the newest member to join the Scale partnership, joining in January 2024 as General Partner. Prior to her involvement in the investment space, Solai spent eight years in the Australian business of the global insurer Zurich, where she qualified as an Actuary and progressed to the position of Chief of Staff. In 2017, she joined Stilmark, a startup disrupting the telecommunication infrastructure sector. At Stilmark she wore many hats, but predominantly worked on the finance side of the business. It was during this time, whilst building systems and reporting for the startup’s investors and board members, that she became increasingly curious about venture capital investing.
Using money originally set aside for an MBA, Solai began angel investing, gradually building a portfolio of investments in the areas of climate and enterprise software. Her strength lies in applying a data-driven lens when conducting due-diligence and analysing risk and growth potential on early stage investment opportunities. She believes investment is as much about the people behind the companies, as much as the companies themselves.
Solai has been investing and advising in the Australian startup ecosystem for five years, which has included consulting for family offices, accelerators and startups. Solai is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and is an advisor for Forever Projects, a not-for-profit working with local partners to help create a self-sustaining future for Tanzanian women, she also sits on the finance sub-committee of Sydney Writers’ Festival.