People with drive and judgement
The team must have more than enthusiasm. Mechpart looks for founders who can learn, decide, adapt, and keep moving when the neat plan stops being neat.
Private investment mentoring
Commercial judgement for technical ventures.
Mechpart Pty Ltd works at the point where engineering, software, capital, and market reality meet. The interest is not novelty. It is whether a venture has the people, proof, and commercial path to become valuable.
01
Position
A quiet vehicle for practical venture judgement.
Mechpart is deliberately selective. It is not a public accelerator, a grant-writing shop, or a general consulting brand. It is a private pathway for ventures that need experienced commercialisation judgement before time, capital, or reputation is committed.
RickMcElhinney.com carries Rick's public profile, speaking work, and current clean-energy role. Mechpart has a narrower job: the private investment lens, the mentoring filter, and the record of technical ventures where practical judgement mattered.
Investment filter
Four questions before any serious conversation.
Technology or IP that customers value
There needs to be something real: a product, process, platform, technical advantage, or know-how that can survive contact with a paying market.
A credible path to value
Capital needs a way home. That may be an exit, strategic acquisition, licensing path, or a business model with the discipline to create durable enterprise value.
Potential beyond the local market
The best opportunities can travel. Export potential, scalable delivery, and globally relevant demand all matter.
02
Where Mechpart adds value
The work is usually before the pitch deck looks polished.
Commercialisation review
Clarify what is being sold, who needs it, why now, and what proof is still missing.
Capital readiness
Pressure-test the proposition before it is put in front of investors, partners, or strategic buyers.
Board and advisory judgement
Bring operator-level experience into decisions about growth, risk, sequencing, and accountability.
Useful introductions
Make selective connections where the venture is ready and the introduction has a reason to exist.
Public record
A practical history of turning technical insight into commercial value.
Ausenco, BHP and project grounding
Engineering and major-project environments shaped the practical judgement behind later venture, capital, and commercialisation decisions.
Autodesk, Corporate Software Solutions
Early shareholder and active-participant experience around Autodesk's engineering software ecosystem, followed by founding Corporate Software Solutions for specialist engineering and manufacturing software markets.
Founders Forum
Angel-investor and mentoring work focused on the practical mechanics of turning ventures into investable companies.
Eco-Kinetics, CarbonLink, Sunshine
Operating, advisory, and investment experience in ventures connected to renewable energy, carbon sequestration, and long-duration energy storage.
Manufacturing, software, games, materials
A broad venture record across tangible technology, specialist markets, and export-oriented opportunities.
03
Operating style
Plain questions. Early discipline. No theatre.
A technical venture can waste years confusing invention with a business. Mechpart's value is often in asking the uncomfortable questions early: what proof matters, what must be built next, what can wait, and who has to care enough to pay.
That style suits founders and partners who prefer direct assessment over cheerleading.
Contact
Relevant introductions only.
Mechpart works selectively and usually by introduction. Send a short note with the venture, the commercial question, and why the timing matters.
Email Mechpart
For Rick's public profile, speaking topics, and current clean-energy work, visit rickmcelhinney.com.