Summary Cheryl Mack and Maxine Minter reflect on the year 2023 and discuss the challenges and trends in the startup ecosystem. They talk about the tough environment for founders and investors, with many companies struggling to raise funds and facing down rounds. However, they also highlight the resilience and determination of founders who were able to survive and even thrive in the face of adversity. The hosts discuss the increase in funding for female founders, although there is still a long way to go in achieving gender parity in the industry. They also touch on the growth of climate tech an ..read more

?️?️?️?️?️ episode. Yaniv and Chris are fired up about bad VC investors, and they can't hold it in any longer! Good Venture Capitalists help founders make the impossible, possible. They are the fuel that allows rocketships to defy gravity. But bad VC investors will take a founder's dream and grind it into dust. In this episode, Chris and Yaniv share the ways in which bad investors often undermine a founder's ability to pursue their vision. They then share tips how as a founder to look out for and defend against this type of "dumb money" investor, and how to show traction that is beyond just re ..read more

After beginning her career as a management consultant, Sheena Peeters has worked in a variety of roles within tech and cybersecurity, including founding her own startup, and executing digital strategies for companies like NAB and Australia Post in key management positions. Sheena chats with Cole Cornford about aligning cybersecurity strategy with business strategy, fostering a culture of shared responsibility, the challenges of measuring ROI in cybersecurity, and plenty more. Secured by Galah Cyber website 6:00 - Discussion on Sheena’s career background. 8:00 - Sheena discusses the start of he ..read more

Today you’ll hear the story of Startup Muster through its founder Murray Hurps. Startup Muster is a report that produces the most comprehensive data on the Australian startup ecosystem to measure and publish the progress, challenges, and opportunities within the startup ecosystem. Startup Muster is important because the startup world here in Australia is, in no sense of the word booming. But it could be, and Startup Muster aims to make the data available for us to course-correct our ship. All hands on deck, let’s go back to day one, where this story begins… Want to hear more inspiring startup ..read more

Alan Noble is the founder of AusOcean, a not-for-profit organisation with the mission of helping the world’s oceans through technology. Alan also worked for 11 years as the Engineering Director of Google Australia, during which time he oversaw the hiring of hundreds of engineers to Google Australia’s team and got to know many of the people working within Australia’s startup ecosystem. In his conversation with Adam, Alan discusses the contrast between Silicon Valley and Australia in the early 2000’s, and how the failure of Google’s service, Google Wave, played an important role in the growth of ..read more

This special bonus episode was recorded live at Fishburners as part of the Spark Festival in October 2022, to celebrate the launch of The History of the Australian Startup Ecosystem documentary. The event included a panel of eight guests, each representing a different corner of the startup ecosystem:  - Malcolm Turnbull, former Prime Minister  - Michelle Deaker, Founding Partner of OneVentures   - Larry Marshall, CEO of CSIRO   - Marina Wu, Co-founder of Earlywork   - Niki Scevak, Co-founder of Blackbird  - Cheryl Mack, CEO of Aussie Angels  &n ..read more

What does the future hold for the Australian startup ecosystem? After five episodes focused on the past, this episode will finally be tackling that question and look towards the future. What are our unique strengths and weaknesses as a country? What are the key challenges and opportunities we face? From investors, to academics, to government, to corporates and finally, to entrepreneurs - we highlight a variety of perspectives, looking at the individual roles each of us can play. Regardless of what seat we occupy on the bus, there is a place for people of all backgrounds in Australia’s startup ..read more

Episode 5 begins during the onset of the Coronavirus Pandemic which disrupted every facet of life as we knew it. As lockdowns and other measures were enacted throughout the country, different markets and industries were affected in different, and sometimes unexpected ways. We explore the good, the bad and the ugly, looking at the unprecedented ways in which the Australian startup ecosystem grapples with the global pandemic. From frozen immigration and talent, to remote working and digitisation, to impacts on diversity and much more, finally bringing our story to the present day. We briefly loo ..read more

In episode 3, we take a deep dive into the birth of the Australian startup ecosystem. Although everyone may have a different perspective on what caused this "cambrian explosion", we discuss 7 key catalysts in this episode. We shine a spotlight on the who, what, when, where and why of this critical event that formed much of what we see around us today. But underneath all this growth and excitement, we highlight that the ecosystem may perhaps still be far from perfect. This series was made possible by our sponsors and partners. Thanks to MYOB, AWS Startups, Investment NSW & CSIRO ..read more

Episode 2 begins in the aftermath of the dot com bust. We explore the story of LookSmart through the lens of its co-founder, Evan Thornley and the tough choices he had to make. Up until this point, founders largely worked in isolation, however, they began to meet up more frequently after the bust, often in pubs or cafes, thanks to community groups like Innovation Bay. Conferences such as TinSHED and Web Directions would shine a spotlight on the fledgling startup ecosystem. We tell the story of some of Australia's first high growth startups in the early 2000s. The likes of Atlassian in 2003, Ca ..read more