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…

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See the Startup Muster show notes.

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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 

 - Preethi Mohan, Founder of Niceto 

 - Alan Jones, General Partner at M8 Ventures

 - Panel host: Simon Thomsen, editor of Startup Daily

The episode also includes a short panel with members of the Day One.FM team, Adam Spencer, Andy Jones and William Tjo, in which they discuss the creation of the documentary. 

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 community.

This series was made possible by our sponsors and partners.

Thanks to MYOB, AWS Startups, Investment NSW & CSIRO. 

We would like to acknowledge our earliest sponsors who decided to get involved with this story when it was just an idea on a piece of paper. 

Special thanks to UTS Startups & Murray Hurps for being our first sponsor, Western Sydney University’s LaunchPad and the Guild of Entrepreneurs.

ANSTO, Canberra Innovation Network, Curtin University, University of South Australia, LaunchVic, The South Australian Government's Department of Industry, Innovation & Science, The University of Adelaide’s ThincLab, The University of Newcastle’s Integrated Innovation Network, Flinders University’s New Venture Institute, UNSW Founders, UQ Ventures & James Cook University.

And to our promotional partners who have helped get this series in front of the startup community.

Startup Daily, Fishburners, Spark Festival, River City Labs, Stone & Chalk and Spacecubed.

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 look at the identity of our startup ecosystem and current, ongoing events.

This series was made possible by our sponsors and partners.

Thanks to MYOB, AWS Startups, Investment NSW & CSIRO. 

We would like to acknowledge our earliest sponsors who decided to get involved with this story when it was just an idea on a piece of paper. 

Special thanks to UTS Startups & Murray Hurps for being our first sponsor, Western Sydney University’s LaunchPad and the Guild of Entrepreneurs.

ANSTO, Canberra Innovation Network, Curtin University, University of South Australia, LaunchVic, The South Australian Government's Department of Industry, Innovation & Science, The University of Adelaide’s ThincLab, The University of Newcastle’s Integrated Innovation Network, Flinders University’s New Venture Institute, UNSW Founders, UQ Ventures & James Cook University.

And to our promotional partners who have helped get this series in front of the startup community.

Startup Daily, Fishburners, Spark Festival, River City Labs, Stone & Chalk and Spacecubed.

This episode kicks off in September 2015, when Malcolm Turnbull was elected as the 29th Prime Minister of Australia. Unveiling the National Innovation and Science Agenda as the cornerstone of his "Ideas Boom", we unpack the contents of this policy and explore the myriad of ways it impacted the startup ecosystem.

The Australian startup ecosystem continued to enjoy significant growth in the second half of the 2010’s. We look at the increasing visibility of startups during this time, the establishment of prominent diversity and impact-focused organisations, startup conferences and many more.

This series was made possible by our sponsors and partners.

Thanks to MYOB, AWS Startups, Investment NSW & CSIRO. 

We would like to acknowledge our earliest sponsors who decided to get involved with this story when it was just an idea on a piece of paper. 

Special thanks to UTS Startups & Murray Hurps for being our first sponsor, Western Sydney University’s LaunchPad and the Guild of Entrepreneurs.

ANSTO, Canberra Innovation Network, Curtin University, University of South Australia, LaunchVic, The South Australian Government's Department of Industry, Innovation & Science, The University of Adelaide’s ThincLab, The University of Newcastle’s Integrated Innovation Network, Flinders University’s New Venture Institute, UNSW Founders, UQ Ventures & James Cook University.

And to our promotional partners who have helped get this series in front of the startup community.

Startup Daily, Fishburners, Spark Festival, River City Labs, Stone & Chalk and Spacecubed.

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. 

We would like to acknowledge our earliest sponsors who decided to get involved with this story when it was just an idea on a piece of paper. 

Special thanks to UTS Startups & Murray Hurps for being our first sponsor, Western Sydney University’s LaunchPad and the Guild of Entrepreneurs.

ANSTO, Canberra Innovation Network, Curtin University, University of South Australia, LaunchVic, The South Australian Government's Department of Industry, Innovation & Science, The University of Adelaide’s ThincLab, The University of Newcastle’s Integrated Innovation Network, Flinders University’s New Venture Institute, UNSW Founders, UQ Ventures & James Cook University.

And to our promotional partners who have helped get this series in front of the startup community.

Startup Daily, Fishburners, Spark Festival, River City Labs, Stone & Chalk and Spacecubed.

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, Campaign Monitor in 2004, Red Bubble in 2006 and many more. Startup infrastructure followed shortly after and we saw the country's first incubators, accelerators and co-working spaces emerge. 

Just as things were finally looking up, another economic crisis had gripped the world once again. The Global Financial Crisis in 2008 undoubtedly caused a lot of grief, however, Australia was spared the worst of it. We highlight how the GFC held some unexpected benefits for Australian startups. As the end of the decade approached, new inventions like smartphones and social media and the mainstream adoption of Wi-Fi would come to touch every aspect of our lives, laying the foundation for a new wave of Australian startups - some of the most disruptive that Australia and the world would come to see.

This series was made possible by our sponsors and partners.

Thanks to MYOB, AWS Startups, Investment NSW & CSIRO. 

We would like to acknowledge our earliest sponsors who decided to get involved with this story when it was just an idea on a piece of paper. 

Special thanks to UTS Startups & Murray Hurps for being our first sponsor, Western Sydney University’s LaunchPad and the Guild of Entrepreneurs.

ANSTO, Canberra Innovation Network, Curtin University, University of South Australia, LaunchVic, The South Australian Government's Department of Industry, Innovation & Science, The University of Adelaide’s ThincLab, The University of Newcastle’s Integrated Innovation Network, Flinders University’s New Venture Institute, UNSW Founders, UQ Ventures & James Cook University.

And to our promotional partners who have helped get this series in front of the startup community.

Startup Daily, Fishburners, Spark Festival, River City Labs, Stone & Chalk and Spacecubed.

In this episode, we explore the seed phase of the Australian startup ecosystem, tracing its roots to some of the earliest catalysts to what we see today. Australian pioneers started innovating well before anything resembled an ecosystem and before the term "startup" was used. We tell the story of trailblazers like the Nucleus Group in 1964, Fairlight in 1975, Computershare in 1978 and much more. 

We look at how the macroeconomic conditions in the late 70s and early 80s encouraged the "first great wave" of Australian startups, only for global capital markets to collapse suddenly in 1987. As the new millennium approached, we highlight how the mainstream adoption of the internet gave rise to some of our most recognisable dot com juggernauts, the likes of Seek, REA and Carsales, leading up to the dot com boom.

This series was made possible by our sponsors and partners.

Thanks to MYOB, AWS Startups, Investment NSW & CSIRO. 

We would like to acknowledge our earliest sponsors who decided to get involved with this story when it was just an idea on a piece of paper.

Special thanks to UTS Startups & Murray Hurps for being our first sponsor, Western Sydney University’s LaunchPad and the Guild of Entrepreneurs.

ANSTO, Canberra Innovation Network, Curtin University, University of South Australia, LaunchVic, The South Australian Government's Department of Industry, Innovation & Science, The University of Adelaide’s ThincLab, The University of Newcastle’s Integrated Innovation Network, Flinders University’s New Venture Institute, UNSW Founders, UQ Ventures & James Cook University.

And to our promotional partners who have helped get this series in front of the startup community.

Startup Daily, Fishburners, Spark Festival, River City Labs, Stone & Chalk and Spacecubed.

Steve Grace is CEO and founder of The Nudge Group, which works with startups and scale-ups to support them through various stages of business growth. Based in Australia, The Nudge Group has expanded globally with offices in the UK and Singapore. Steve also hosts the Give It A Nudge podcast, and is director of YBF Ventures. In his conversation with host Will Tjo, Steve discusses his belief that Australian companies put too much focus into the US and UK markets and too little in neighbouring Asian markets, as well as some of the ways covid has altered the ways companies do business in Australia and globally.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/steve-grace

Peter Tippett is a serial entrepreneur with decades of experience working in startups both in Australia and around the world. He is currently working on three ventures, all of which he co-founded in the last few years: BodyMindLife, a platform for passionate community creators, educators, teachers and students, Vault3, which provides storage services on blockchain, and KULA, which utilises Web3 technologies to create online communities. In his conversation with host Will Tjo, Peter discusses his first hand experience seeing the internet evolve from Web 1.0 to today, as well as how he sees company ownership and management evolving in the future.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/peter-tippett

John Allsopp is an author, web developer and conference organiser who’s been working in Australia’s startup ecosystem for nearly three decades. In 2006 he co-founded Web Directions, a conference series for people creating tools for the internet, at a time when the field was still relatively new. In his conversation with Adam, he discusses the very first Web Directions conference, which he sees as being “like the Woodstock of the Australian web industry”, as well as his perspective that over the last few decades the Australian startup ecosystem has evolved from a small “community” into a fully established “industry”.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/john-allsopp

Lars Rasmussen is a Danish computer scientist and tech angel investor with a long history of working within the startup ecosystem both within Australia and internationally, including as co-founder of Google Maps, and as Director of Engineering for Facebook in London. In 2015, Rasmussen announced his departure from Facebook to co-found a music startup, Weav Musi, with his partner Elomida Visviki. In his conversation with guest host Will Tjo, Lars discusses his love of Sydney, what he sees as key ingredients for successful founders, as well as the difficult balancing act between self belief through adversity and knowing when to quit.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/lars-rasmussen

Brad Parsons is CEO and founder of Movus, a company that provides monitoring tools for industrial equipment with the mission of preserving the earth’s resources by improving the efficiency and life of industrial assets. At the time of recording Movius is active in 16 countries, and has ambitions for further growth. In his conversation with guest host Will Tjo, Brad discusses how he has seen an increased emphasis on funding for startups with a focus on environmental sustainability, as well as his belief that Australia’s startup ecosystem suffers from a greater degree of risk aversion than other nations.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/brad-parsons

Eloise Hall and Isobel Marshall are the founders of Taboo, a social enterprise that sell organic cotton pads and tampons, with all profits going towards eradicating period poverty. The Eloise and Isobel were first introduced to the social enterprise model of business in 2016 while students at high school, and began designing what would become Taboo during the summer holidays before commencing their final year of high school. In their conversation with guest host Will Tjo, Eloise and Isobell discuss how social enterprises fit within the broader startup community, as well as some of the considerations unique to social enterprises when considering various options for raising funds, such as crowdfunding campaigns or more traditional venture capital.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/eloise-and-isobel

What will the new economy look like? As startups become the new way of life, Australia must become more open and less restrictive to encourage innovation. Hear entrepreneurs' firsthand accounts of their journey and learn what that has meant to the startup world.

This podcast will give you a great insight into Australia’s innovation ecosystem by tracing its history and future. If you're curious as to how it all started, who were the innovators that helped transform it, and how this ecosystem interacts with others both domestically and around the world- this is a must-listen!

This 6-part audio documentary and its accompanying 150+ interviews is a deep dive into the startup scene, both past and present and takes an exciting look at the future of Australia’s technological and economic transformation.

Join us on this exciting journey, celebrating what has been accomplished and asking hard questions about where we’re heading and whether we’re on the right track.

Joshua Flannery is the Founder and CEO of Innovation Dojo, an organisation active in both Australia and Japan which was founded in 2016 to support startups and entrepreneurs. Josh (as he prefers to be called) has had a variety of roles in both Australia and Japan’s startup ecosystems. In his conversation with Adam, Josh discusses what he sees as some key differences between Australia and Japan’s startup ecosystems, as well as his time working as Director of the Sydney Startup Hub.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/joshua-flannery

Pauline Fetaui is General Manager at River City Labs, a startup community hub in Brisbane, as well as founder of CheeHoo, a personal assistant app designed to help busy people get things done. Originally from a corporate background, Pauline joined the startup ecosystem when she joined the River City Labs team in 2019. In her conversation with guest host Will Tjo, Pauline discusses what she sees as the difference between the corporate and startup worlds, as well as the differences between the startup communities in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/pauline-fetaui

Kim Heras is Partner at 25Fifteen, a “startup studio” which as Kim describes in the episode is a model of startup support similar but distinct from accelerators and incubators. Kim has contributed to the growth of startup communities in Australia through many roles, including as Director of Fishburners, as Co-Founder of Pushstart, and as Chairman & co-founder of TechSydney, all of which are organisations that have aimed to support and advocate for startup founders. In his conversation with Adam, Kim discusses the genesis of Fishburners and Startmate, as well as other major milestones he’s witnessed during the growth of the Australian startup ecosystem.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/kim-heras

Emily Casey is the founder and director of What The Health, a health media company and community that aims to fuel the next generation of health innovation in Australia. Emily initially pursued a more traditional career in medicine before entering the startup world. In addition to What The Health, Emily has worked as a Community Coordinator for Stone & Chalk, a startup hub in Sydney. In her conversation with guest host Will Tjo, Emily discusses the reasons why she left a more traditional career path in medicine to enter the startup world, as well as the importance of the startup ecosystem having visibility within other industries such as the health industry.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/emily-casey

Yolanda Redrup is a senior journalist with The Australian Financial Review, with a focus on technology and healthcare. Yolanda first began covering Australia’s startup ecosystem in 2013, and has covered the growth of the industry in the years since. In her conversation with Adam, Yolanda discusses what she sees as some of the catalysts for the huge growth that the Australian startup ecosystem has had in the past decade, as well as the importance of increasing diversity within the ecosystem. 

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/yolanda-redrup

Dr Megan Sebben is the Program Manager at CSIRO’s Kick-Start Program, an initiative designed to help innovative Australian startups and small businesses develop their business and grow by providing funding support and access to CSIRO’s research expertise and capabilities. Megan has extensive experience in environmental research and consulting in both the public and private sectors. 

This is a special episode featuring guest host Alan Jones, an investor and veteran of Australia’s startup ecosystem who has supported Australian startups independently and through BlueChilli, Blackbird Ventures, Pollenizer Ventures and Startmate. In their conversation, Megan and Alan discuss the the types of support the Kick-Start program provides to startups, as well as Megan’s perspective that while progress has been made within Australia’s startup ecosystem to improve access for underrepresented groups such as women and first nation’s peoples, there is still a lot of work to be done.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/megan-sebben

Alex Scandurra is the founding CEO of Stone & Chalk, a not-for-profit organisation which aims to support Australian startups, scaleups, corporations and governments at every stage of their innovation journey. Alex is also Co-Founder and Director of Spark Festival, a two week program of events covering all things startup, innovation and entrepreneurship. In his conversation with guest host Will Tjo, Alex discusses the aspects of Australia’s start ecosystem growth that have exceeded his expectations, as well as some of the areas he thinks we could be improving.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/alex-scandurra

Phil Ireland is Co-Founder and CEO of Hone Carbon, a mission-driven business with the objective of unlocking the potential for carbon storage in Australia’s agricultural environments. Prior to starting Hone Carbon in 2020, Phil’s work largely focused on climate change advocacy and policy. In his conversation with guest host Will Tjo, Phil discusses how he sees mission-driven companies as fitting into Australia’s startup ecosystem, as well as his belief that there are positive trends within Australia’s investment space towards investing in mission-driven companies.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/phil-ireland

Dr Dharmica Mistry is Director of Diagnostics and Industry Engagement at MTP Connect, a not-for-profit organisation focused on growing the MedTech, BioTech and pharmaceutical sectors. Prior to this she was the Co-Founder and Chief Scientist of BCAL Diagnostics, where the team’s research discovered a potential new way to screen for breast cancer, which BCAL Diagnostics is working on developing into a scalable technology. Dharmica has also worked as Head of MedTech and BioTech at Cicada Innovations, a Sydney-based incubator with a focus on deep tech startups. In her conversation with guest host Will Tjo, Dharmica discusses the ways in which deep tech startups are distinct from other startups, as well as the role she believes government should play within the startup ecosystem.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/dharmica-mistry

Wayne Gerard is co-founder of RedEye, a tech company which manages engineering information for large, complex asset owners such as councils, hospitals, power and water utilities and mining companies. Wayne is also Queensland’s Chief Entrepreneur, a role in which he advises the state government on its startup and innovation strategy. In his conversation with guest host Will Tjo, Wayne discusses what he sees as the government’s role in the startup ecosystem, as well as his belief that attracting talent into the startup ecosystem is “mission critical”.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/wayne-gerard

Don Wright is the Director of Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Western Sydney University, as well as co-founder of Western Sydney University Launch Pad, a business and innovation support program that provides facilities, assistance and resources for startups and high growth technology based businesses in Western Sydney. Don is also Senior Vice President of Western Sydney Business Connection, a resource hub for Western Sydney based businesses. In his conversation with guest host Will Tjo, Don discusses the growth of the startup ecosystem in Western Sydney over the last decade or so, as well as his belief that the various geographical startup ecosystems within Australia should work in cooperation, rather than competition, and focus on competing on a global stage.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/don-wright

Trevor Folsom is Co-Founder and Chairman at Investible, an early-stage investment group that aims to connect ground-breaking companies with the capital, expertise and networks they need to realise their potential on a global scale. Trevor is also Entrepreneur In Residence at UNSW, and formerly was Chairman of Car Next Door, an Australian peer-to-peer vehicle rental platform, which was sold to Uber in 2022. In his conversation with guest host Will Tjo, Trevor discusses the challenge Australian startups face in securing talented employees, as well as his perspective on how the Australian startup ecosystem has evolved over the last few decades.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/trevor-folsom

Allan O’Connor is Co-Executive Director for the Centre for Enterprise Dynamics in Global Economies at the University of South Australia, as well as a researcher and teacher for for the undergraduate Bachelor of Business (Innovation and Entrepreneurship) program. Prior to this role he was the Senior Lecturer at the Entrepreneurship, Commercialisation and Innovation Centre at the University of Adelaide. In his conversation with guest host Alex Carpenter, Allan discusses to what extent a career in startups is seen as a viable option by today’s university students, as well as what he sees as the role of universities in Australia’s startup ecosystem.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/allan-oconnor

Sam Jockel is the founder of ParentTV, which offers hundreds of on-demand videos and courses to support the parenting and care of children from birth to teens. Sam is also the Entrepreneur In Residence at The University of Queensland. Before entering the startup world, Sam was a serial entrepreneur, starting several businesses including Biddy Bags, a profit-for-purpose company producing handcrafted, ethical designer products.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/sam-jockel

Alex Carpenter is the founder (or as he puts it, the “Initial Nudger, Steward and Groundskeeper”) of The Guild of Entrepreneurs, an independent organisation that draws on Alex’s experience, as well as that of many mentors within Australia’s startup ecosystem, to support entrepreneurs. Before starting The Guild of Entrepreneurs, Alex founded half a dozen companies, including Citrus WA, a hospitality supplier, and Atlas Events, which organises community events to promotes affordable opportunities for people to lead a healthy and active lifestyle. In his conversation with Adam, Alex discusses how Australia’s startup ecosystem is radically more cooperative and collaborative than in corporate settings, as well as his belief that Australia needs to get better at providing entrepreneurial role models to kids in order to promote startups as a viable career opportunity.

See full show notes: http://w2d1.com/alex-carpenter

Dr James Fielding is the Founder and Managing Director of Audeara, a hearing health technology company that produces headphones designed to deliver sound suited to an individual’s hearing profile. While working as a junior doctor in a hospital shortly after finishing a medical degree, James turned his attention to startups, went through the iLabs Accelerator program and founded Audeara. In his conversation with Adam, James discusses the four other companies he was involved with founding that are in various stages of development, as well as his belief that the talent within the Australian startup ecosystem is world class.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/james-fielding

Hayden Williams is Senior Product Manager for Existing Customers at MYOB, a cloud-based business management platform fit for Enterprise, SME & startup businesses. In his conversation with Adam, Hayden discusses the evolution that MYOB are going through currently, in which they are working towards becoming a platform which small businesses and startups can use to manage their business in a more holistic way. Hayden also discusses the benefits of shorter, more frequent product updates for SAS companies, as well as his belief that both cryptocurrency and NFTs could play an important role in all kinds of industries in the future, though not in the way that they are currently.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/hayden-williams

Samantha Finnegan is the founder of Madebox, a company which provides customers with gift boxes of curated goods from small regional producers, in particular focusing on supporting regions affected by floods, droughts, bush fires and the pandemic. Samantha launched Madebox during covid lockdown, out of a need to support regional producers whose livelihoods relied heavily on the tourism industry. In her conversation with Adam, Samantha discusses how storytelling is a crucial element to the Madebox experience, as well as the various software tools and platforms that Madebox use to deliver their product.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/samantha-finnegan

Emma Fawcett is General Manager, SME at MYOB, a cloud-based business management platform fit for Enterprise, SME & startup businesses. Prior to working at MYOB, Emma has worked in a variety of roles in B2B and digital businesses, including Managing Director of Commercial Product and Platforms at News Corp Australia. In her conversation with Adam, Emma discusses the trap of “tech spaghetti” which some business owners fall into, where they are attempting to manage their business across multiple platforms that aren’t always integrated effectively, as well as her belief that excellent execution is at least as important as a great idea for startups.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/emma-fawcett

Vicki Engsall is the co-founder of The Jojoba Company, an Australian skincare company which produces a range of products which use jojoba oil, a liquid wax ester extracted from the seeds of the jojoba plant. Vicki’s father first started growing jojoba plants, which are native to the United States, after attending a farmers expo where the Department of Agriculture and the CSIRO encouraged Australian farmers to plant the drought resistant crop. In her conversation with guest host Will Tjo, Vicki discusses how she first agreed to go into business with her father to found the company, as well as how The Jojoba Company have benefited massively from growing their digital presence.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/vicki-engsall

Evan Thornley is a serial entrepreneur with decades of experience founding and leading tech startups, including Australia’s first to be listed on the NASDAQ and reach a more than $1 billion valuation. In 1995 Evan Thornley and his wife Tracey Ellery Founded LookSmart, which in 1999 had 500 employees and was the twelfth most visited website worldwide with 10 million users. Since leaving LookSmart Evan has had a diverse career, and is currently Executive Chair of LongView, a company aiming to transform the Australian property landscape. In his conversation with Adam, Evan discusses the highs and lows of his time with LookSmart, and the ways in which the Australian startup ecosystem has changed in the decades since the dot com boom and bust.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/evan-thornley

Andrew Nunn is the co-founder, Chairman and Executive Director of JBS&G, one of Australia’s largest privately owned environmental consulting companies. Andrew also holds the position of Chief Entrepreneur of South Australia, a role in which he is tasked with providing advice to the South Australian Cabinet and the business community to enable entrepreneurialism across the state. In his conversation with guest host Alex Carpenter, Andrew discusses how his entrepreneurial journey started at the age of thirteen washing the exterior of homes before they went up for sale with his brother, as well as his view that states and territories, including South Australia, should focus on their strengths and work cooperatively as part of “team Australia” rather than focus on interstate competition.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/andrew-nunn

Lana Weal is the founder of Market Mindfully, a marketing consultancy company that aims to support impact-driven startups in Australia and New Zealand to tell their stories, make more impact and connect with partners for mutual benefit. Lana first entered the startup world when she joined the accelerator BlueChilli as Marketing Manager in 2018, a role in which she learned a great deal about the Australian startup ecosystem.

In 2021, Lana joined the Atto Accelerator to support the next generation of female founders. Atto.vc is a startup school that supports female founders to launch tech companies independently, scalable, and sustainably.

In her conversation with Adam, Lana discusses the potential for burnout and mental health challenges working in the fast-paced startup world, as well as the importance of support networks when embarking on a founder's journey.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/lana-weal

This series is made possible thanks to our sponsors & partners.

Major Sponsors:

MYOB, Amazon Web Services

Standard Sponsors:

UTS Startups

The Guild of Entrepreneurs

Western Sydney University's LaunchPad

Canberra Innovation Network

Curtin University

CSIRO

University of South Australia

LaunchVic

The Office of the South Australian Chief Entrepreneur

ANSTO

Newcastle University's Integrated Innovation Network

The University of Adelaide's ThincLab

Flinders University's New Venture Institute

UNSW Founders

UQ Ventures

James Cook University

Partners:

Startup Daily

Fishburners

Spark Festival

Spacecubed

Stone & Chalk

River City Labs

Arthur Sinodinos is an Australian diplomat and former Liberal Party politician who has served as Ambassador to the United States since February 2020. He served as Chief of Staff to Prime Minister John Howard from 1997 to 2007, and was a Senator for New South Wales from 2011 to 2019, becoming a minister in the Abbott and Turnbull Governments. In his conversation with Adam, Arthur discusses what he sees as positive attributes of the US startup ecosystem which Australia could learn from, as well as his views on the role of government in the Australian startup ecosystem.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/arthur-sinodinos

Petr Adámek is the CEO of the Canberra Innovation Network (CBRIN), a not for profit with the mission of empowering entrepreneurs to create positive change. Peter, originally from the Czech Republic, first entered the startup ecosystem in 2008, working as one of the co-founders of a consulting company in Prague, and has since spent time working in a variety of roles in the startup ecosystems of New Zealand and Australia. In his conversation with Adam, Petr discusses what the ACT’s startup ecosystem looked like when he first arrived in 2014, as well as his belief that while the diversity of startups within various geographies in Australia is a strength, as a nation we would benefit from a greater cohesion of the national startup ecosystem.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/petr-adamek

Ashley Baxter is the founder of Monty Compost Co, a clean-tech startup building hardware and software technology for monitoring and managing organic waste recycling. With a passion for environmentalism at its core, Ashley had the idea for Monty Compost Co after learning that composting could be part of the solution for various environmental problems, and that there was little innovation happening in the space. In her conversation with Adam, Ashley discusses how UQ Ventures, a program run out of The University of Queensland, was “invaluable” in getting Monty Compost Co off the ground, as well as her opinion that some people within the startup community could afford to be more humble and less driven by ego.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/ashley-baxter

Peter Devine is CEO of Uniseed, Australia’s longest running venture fund which works with researchers, businesses and industry to provide the best pathway to commercialise cutting-edge research. Peter has been with Uniseed since 2003, and additionally in his long career has served as Chair or Non-Executive Director for more than twenty organisations, including many technology and biotechnology startups. In his conversation with Adam, Peter discusses how he started his career as a researcher before moving into the business side of research commercialisation, as well as his belief that while there is a significant amount of funding for early stage software and B2B startups, for those reliant on cutting-edge research, what he refers to as “deep tech”, early stage funding is harder to come by.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/peter-devine

Tim Fung is founder of Airtasker, a local services marketplace connecting people and businesses who need work done with people wanting to work. He is also co-founder and Director of Tank Stream Labs, a tech startup co-working space in Sydney. In his conversation with Adam, Tim discusses how people work from co-working spaces for a sense of community, not just desk space, as well as why he believes Australia is a great market to test startup ideas locally before going global.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/tim-fung

Simon Thomsen is editor of Startup Daily and host of the Startup Daily show which airs on the business streaming service AusBiz.com.au. He is also an investor in early stage startups, and was previously Associate Editor of Business Insider Australia as well as a range of other roles in journalism and publishing. In his conversation with Adam, Simon discusses how during his time working on a journalist he saw technology alter the news and publishing landscape, as well as what he sees as a common trait among the many successful startup founders he has interviewed over the years.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/simon-thomsen

Rohit Bhargava runs the podcast The Startup Playbook Podcast, where each week he interviews successful entrepreneurs, investors and industry experts. Rohit first entered the startup ecosystem in 2013 when he founded StageLabel, a crowdfunding platform for the fashion industry. Since then he has also had the roles of Community and Events Manager at Startup Victoria, and Startup Business Development Manager at Amazon Web Services Australia & New Zealand. In his conversation with guest host Will Tjo, Rohit discusses how entering the Sydney Startup Weekend competition led to him founding his first company, as well as his belief that reshaping the wholesale investor requirements and tests in Australia would be beneficial to the startup ecosystem.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/rohit-bhargava

Louise Nobes is the founder and CEO of KIK Innovation, an organisation that aims to end youth unemployment through enterprise. Louise is also the founder of 42 Adelaide, an Australian branch of the global educational organisation founded in France, which provides tuition free IT training that aims to be open to anyone regardless of background. In her conversation with Adam, Louise discusses how her previous career as a social worker helped shape her approach to entrepreneurship, and her belief that the Australian startup ecosystem needs to be brave enough to “think untraditionally”. 

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/louise-nobes

Darren Winterford is the founder and CEO of EdApp, a mobile focused LMS (learning management system) which allows its users to create learning experiences that can be accessed on mobile devices in bite sized chunks which EdApp calls “microlessons”. Prior to EdApp, Darren founded a digital agency that specialised in building mobile apps for large brands, and it was during his time running the agency that the idea for EdApp emerged. In his conversation with Adam, he discussed how first working to build software products for clients was the perfect learning ground for an aspiring founder, as well as his belief that Australian entrepreneurs would benefit from more networking and community building.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/darren-winterford

Craig Swann is the Event Director for SouthStart, Australia’s first innovation impact festival which brings together entrepreneurs, technologists, creatives, and founders from around Australia. Craig has a long history in startups, including as co-founder of Sqribbles and Looplabs, and currently acting as Senior Advisor in Australia for the Global Entrepreneurship Network. In his conversation with Adam, Craig discusses how he first got involved with SouthStart, and his concern that a degree of complacency in Australia can result in a slower pace of innovation.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/craig-swann

Serina Bird is the author of The Joyful Frugalista, a personal finance guide, and runs online courses on money and finance. She also founded The Joyful Business Club which aims to support women pursue their career goals through mentoring, networking and training, and is the author of The Joyful Startup Guide. In her conversation with Adam, Serina discusses being inspired by witnessing the innovative startup ecosystem in Taiwan, as well as her belief that Australia could massively benefit from an increase of women and non-binary led startups.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/serina-bird

Moira Were has been involved in many endeavors in the Australian startup ecosystem throughout her long career, with a focus on projects striving for social good. Moira is the founder of the Hen House Co-Op, an initiative with the goal of closing the gender investment gap, and co founder of Collab4Good, a social enterprise working towards a just economy based on participation, equity, access and rights for all. In her conversation with guest host Will Tjo, Moira discusses her belief that all companies should be social enterprises, as well as various approaches and metrics companies can use in order to measure “good”.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/moira-were

Tim Boyle is Director of Innovation & Commercialisation at ANSTO, Australia’s Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation. Tim is also the director and founder of Nandin Innovation Centre, ANSTO’s centre for commercialisation, design innovation and entrepreneurship, which oversees a growing ecosystem of more than 30 startups. In his conversation with Adam, Tim discusses his belief that there is a bias towards digital technologies and web/mobile platforms within Australia’s startup ecosystem, as well as what he sees as unique strengths of the Australian startup ecosystem.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/tim-boyle

Bill Tai is a global venture capitalist who is based in Silicon Valley and spends part of the year in Perth. Bill has been funding startups as a Venture Capitalist since 1991, and has had 23 of his startups become listed companies. Bill is also an Adjunct Professor at Curtin University, where his focus is innovation and economic development. In his conversation with Adam, Bill discusses how he became one of the earliest investors in Canva after meeting one of its co-founders Melanie Perkins, as well as what he sees as key similarities and differences between Silicon Valley and Australia’s startup ecosystem.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/bill-tai

Rohan McDougall is the director of commercialisation at Curtin University, where his team work to identify business opportunities for new products and services that arise research conducted at the university. Rohan has over a decade of experience working as company director or chairman of a variety of technology startups, including Renergi, a renewable energy technologies company, and Icetana, a company producing AI video analytics tools to assist in security surveillance. In his conversation with Adam, Rohan discusses how the dot com boom and bust affected Australia’s startup ecosystem, and why the Western Australian economy is at risk at having all its eggs in one basket with its heavy investment into the mining industry.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/rohan-mcdougall

Kate Jones is the former Minister for Innovation in the Queensland government, and has spent the last 20 years of her life working in politics. Currently she is an executive director with the Tech Council of Australia, as well as working for the tech entrepreneur Bevan Slattery who has built a number of businesses that handle data and telecommunications. In her conversation with Adam, Kate discusses why the Tech Council of Australia was founded, as well as her views on what role government should play within the Australian startup ecosystem.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/kate-jones

Kylie Frazer is co-founder and partner of Flying Fox Ventures, an Australian investment firm with a focus on early stage tech companies. Flying Fox is notable for being a rolling fund, a business model aims to optimise for flexibility with investors not locked into long term commitments. In her conversation with Adam, Kylie discusses her belief that in order for Australia to have more female founders we need more female investors, as well as some of the common causes she has witnessed first hand for co-founder break ups.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/kylie-frazer

James Tynan is Principal at Square Peg, which is currently Australia’s largest independent Venture Capital firm with $1.6 billion under management and offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Singapore and Tel Aviv. Prior to taking this role, James was CEO at Startmate, an organisation of investors and mentors that runs two accelerator cohorts a year. In his conversation with Adam, James discusses his experiences being exposed to the startup ecosystem in Silicon Valley, and shares his opinion that, with some notable exceptions, startup accelerators are generally terrible business ventures.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/james-tynan

Pete Horsley is the founder of Remarkable, a tech accelerator for early stage startups in the disability tech space. Starting his career as a landscape architect, Pete now has more than 10 years’ experience working in the not-for-profit sector. In his conversation with Adam, Pete discusses how an idea for a solar powered wheelchair led to the founding of Remarkable, and why diversity within Australia’s startup ecosystem is so important.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/pete-horsley

Mick Liubinskas is the founder of Climate Salad, an organisation that aims to boost climate tech companies in Australia and New Zealand by providing tools, programs and community support. Mick has a long history working within the startup ecosystem both in Australia and overseas, and notably was co-founder of Pollenizer, one of Australia’s first startup incubators. This is a special episode featuring guest host Alan Jones, an investor and veteran of Australia’s startup ecosystem who has supported Australian startups independently and through BlueChilli, Blackbird Ventures, Pollenizer Ventures and Startmate. In the conversation, Mick and Alan compare notes on the early days of Australia’s startup ecosystem, and discuss Mick’s belief that Australia’s startup ecosystem would be stronger with a single city leading as the central hub for startups within the country.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/mick-liubinskas

Pete Lead is former Head of Programs at tech startup accelerator BlueChilli, the author of the The Startup Guide, a toolkit designed for startup founders, and GM of Learning and Growth at social enterprise Young Change Agents. With a background in improv comedy, Pete joined BlueChilli in 2018 as a relative outsider to the startups. In his conversation with Adam, Pete discusses his motto, “You have permission to be awesome and complete freedom to fail”, as well as his belief that the skills a person can learn working in a startup are applicable in many professional contexts outside of a startup.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/pete-lead

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 Australia’s startup ecosystem.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/alan-noble

Terry Hilsberg is a co-owner and partner in Fork Ventures, an investment firm that primarily focuses its investments in crypto projects. Terry is also a Venture Partner in InnoHub Capital, a global innovation acceleration services organisation based in China. Terry has decades of experience working within the startup ecosystem both in Australia and globally, and in his conversation with Adam discusses his involvement in the earliest days of Australia’s startup ecosystem in the late 70’s and 80’s, as well as his belief that Australia must work to not lose the progress we’ve made in our startup ecosystem when (not if) the next big financial crash comes.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/terry-hilsberg

Matt Bullock is the CEO and founder of Spinify, a gamification platform that aims to help motivate staff of an organisation through visibility of data. The idea for Spinify had its roots in the experiences Matt founding eWAY, an online payments platform which he managed for 18 years before exiting in 2016. In his conversation with Adam, Matt discusses some of the challenges of founding a tech startup in Australia in 1998, and shares his perspective on how the Australian startup ecosystem has evolved in the decades since.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/matt-bullock

Emily Rich is a co-founder and partner at M8 Ventures, a venture fund that focuses on investing in tech startups during their “pre-seed” stage. Emily is also Director of Startups for APAC, where she has been tasked with helping to drive startup growth in the Asia-Pacific region. This is a special episode featuring guest host Alan Jones, an investor and veteran of Australia’s startup ecosystem who has supported Australian startups independently and through BlueChilli, Blackbird Ventures, Pollenizer Ventures and Startmate. In the conversation, Emily discusses how she got her start co-founding a machine learning startup, and her belief that while bootstrapping a business may be an appealing prospect for early founders, that seeking investment early and taking what she calls “smart money” is often a better path for fast and sustainable growth.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/emily-rich

Peter Bradd was the founding director and initial CEO of Fishburners, one of Australia’s first coworking spaces which has been home to a community of startups since its founding in 2011. Peter has also served as Board Member and Chair of StartupAUS, a not for profit organisation with the mission of transforming Australia through technology entrepreneurship. In his conversation with guest host Will Tjo, Peter discusses co-founding his first company, ScribblePics, as well as the expectation-shattering progress that the Australian startup ecosystem has made in just a few short decades.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/peter-bradd

Leslie is the Indigenous Entrepreneurship Director at Minderoo Foundation, an Australian not-for-profit organisation seeking effective, scalable solutions to persistent problems. Leslie’s role at Minderoo is part of their Generation One initiative, with the goal of creating employment parity with and for Indigenous Australians. Leslie also founded DreamSpark, a tech, investment and Web 3.0 enterprise, and co-founded Covocate, a HR Tech platform that helps companies identify their best job candidates. In his conversation with Adam, Leslie discusses some of the unique challenges facing Indigenous founders, as well as what he sees as the role of government in the startup ecosystem.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/leslie-delaforce

Anthony Ferrier is an innovation and commercialisation specialist, primarily working within the intersection between startups and corporations. Anthony is the head of Innovation and Commercialisation at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, as well as working independently as an advisor and consultant. Before returning to Australia several years ago, Anthony spent two decades working in the US and Europe, primarily based in New York City. In his conversation with Adam, Anthony discusses how the attitudes of legacy corporations faced with disruption by startups has changed over the last few decades, as well as his advice to startup founders aiming to build a working relationship with a corporate entity.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/anthony-ferrier

Colette Grgic is Head of Startup Ecosystem in Australia and New Zealand at AWS (Amazon Web Service), a role which sees her leading a team that works to enable founders to start and successfully scale startups in Australia and New Zealand. Before joining AWS, Colette was Chief Innovation Officer at BlueChilli, Australia’s largest startup accelerator. In her conversation with Adam she discusses her experience of creating a startup before she even knew the term “startup”, and why she believes diversity is crucial in Australia’s startup ecosystem. 

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/colette-grgic

Zoe Piper has been working at the intersection of industry, research and government for two decades, with a diverse and lengthy résumé. She is the founder of Ethitrade, Delmata and Allaran, cofounder of Ecolour, and Chair or board member of multiple organisations including Young Change Agents and Canberra Business School Advisory Board. In her conversation with Adam, Zoe discusses that despite getting feedback from some in the startup community that she should “just focus on one thing” that her diverse and many-faceted worklife is a positive in many ways, as well as advocating for “non-traditional” career trajectories. 

See full show notes: http://w2d1.com/zoe-piper

Phil Hayes-St Clair is co-founder and CEO of Drop Bio, a digital health company with a mission of accelerating the world’s transition to personalised health by increasing consumers and clinicians’ access to data. Phil is also Adjunct Associate Professor at UNSW, and has worked with many startups over the years in roles including co-founder and board member. In his discussion with Adam, Phil discusses how his very first introduction to the entrepreneurial world was with a business he helped start at 7 years old, as well as his advice to founders that they should “look after themselves”.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/phil-hayes-st-clair

Zrinka Tokic is the director of ThincLab, the University of Adelaide’s business incubator that has its headquarters in Adelaide but also has locations in Singapore and New Zealand. Zrinka is also director of the Australian eChallenge, a pre-accelerator program which aims to take a startup from initial idea to market ready or incubator ready. In her conversation with Adam, Zrinka discusses how her previous experience working as an interior designer helped give her an appreciation for design thinking, and how important the emergence of modern cloud tools have been for enabling startups to grow quickly.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/zrinka-tokic

David Burt is the Director of Entrepreneurship at UNSW, where his team helps students, academics, staff and alumni turn their ideas into a startup. He also serves as Non-Executive Director for RapidAIM, an agriculture start up, Planet Ark, a not-for-profit environmental behaviour change organisation, and Cicada Innovations, an incubator for Australian science and engineering startups. In his conversation with guest host Will Tjo, David discusses how he got started in the startup world, his work with UNSW, and why nurturing the startup ecosystem is essential if the average Australian is to continue to enjoy a high standard of living into the future

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/david-burt

Rachael Neumann is one of the founding partners of Flying Fox Ventures, an early stage venture capital firm backing startups in Australia and New Zealand. Prior to this Rachael has played many roles in the Australian startup ecosystem, including as Partner at Startmate, Head of Startups Australia & New Zealand at Amazon Web Services, board member at LaunchVic and Managing Director of Eventbrite Australia. In her conversation with Adam, Rachael discusses her time in the US startup ecosystem and how it differs from Australia’s, and some effects that the pandemic has had on Australian startups.

See full show notes: http://w2d1.com/rachael-neumann

Pete Cooper is a serial founder and mentor who has worked in a wide variety of roles in the technology startup space. He is Director of Cooper & Co, an early stage investment firm, founder of The Start Society, a grassroots industry body for Australian tech startup entrepreneurs, and has served as a mentor for many startup organisations including Muru-D, Startmate, and Founder Institute. In his conversation with Adam, he discusses his very first experience learning about building a technology product by helping his father build a pharmacy system for his dad’s business, and what he sees as gaps in the Australian startup ecosystem.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/pete-cooper

Anna Wright is the CEO and co-founder of BindiMaps, a smartphone app that helps anybody find their way around complicated indoor spaces such as shopping centres and hospitals. Their mission is to make every indoor space 100% accessible, with the early focus of the company on accessibility for people with vision impairment. In her conversation with Adam, Anna discusses how her rare retina condition brought the importance of accessibility for the vision impaired to the forefront of her awareness, and her belief that “fail fast” is great advice for founders.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/anna-wright

Chad Renando is director of Startup Status, a not-for-profit which aims to help organisations that support entrepreneurs by mapping and measuring the innovation ecosystem across Australia. He is also Managing Director of Global Entrepreneur Network, and Research Fellow at University of Southern Queensland, where he’s working on a PhD on the topic of the role of innovation hubs in developing resilience in regional communities. In his conversation with Adam he discusses what he sees as the gaps in Australia’s startup ecosystem, and what he sees as defining a particularly strong ecosystem.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/chad-renando

Annie Parker is a startup investor and advisor with 20+ years experience in the digital startup, technology and consulting sectors. Currently, Annie is the Executive Director for Tech Central, a community for tech startups which is part of the Greater Sydney Commission, an organisation overseen by the NSW Government. Annie sees her role at Tech Central as helping to put Sydney on the global map as an innovation ecosystem. In her conversation with guest host Will Tjo, Annie discusses why she finds working with startup founders so inspiring, as well as her frustrations that the startup ecosystem in Australia and globally aren’t more inclusive of women and non binary people, of indigenous people, of people with disabilities and other marginalised individuals.

See full show notes: http://w2d1.com/annie-parker

Brendan Hill is an angel investor and startup mentor and advisor. He is Syndicate Lead at Logan and Wayne, a firm that invest in early stage tech startups. Before becoming an investor, Brendan founded and ran an online football marketplace, which was acquired in 2016. In his conversation with Adam, Brendan discusses how Australian technology startups often struggle to hire talented engineers due to them being relatively scarce in Australia, and his unpopular opinion that Australian startups should raise venture capital from the US as early as possible.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/brendan-hill

Lucinda Hartley is an urban strategist and serial entrepreneur. She is the co-founder of Neighbourlytics, a social analytics platform for neighbourhoods that aims to solve the human data gap for the property sector by providing access to information and insights about urban life. She also co-founded CoDesign Studio, a not-for-profit with the mission of improving social connection and resilience across Australian Communities. In her conversation with Adam, Lucinda discusses how Australia’s startup ecosystem has evolved over the past five years, and some of the barriers she faced when first becoming involved in the ecosystem.

See full show notes: http://w2d1.com/lucinda-hartley

Baden U’Ren is an entrepreneurship educator and innovation professional who has worked in a variety of roles within the Australian startup ecosystem. He is the co-founder of both The Unconventional Group and Script-Ed, and had a nearly 20 year career as an academic as the head of entrepreneurship at Bond University. In his conversation with Adam, he discusses the importance of the education sector for the growth of Australia’s startup ecosystem, and how the ecosystem has evolved over the past 20 years.

Daniel Flynn is co-founder of Thankyou, a social enterprise that was founded in 2008 and sells consumer products to help end extreme poverty. In 2015 Daniel’s book, Chapter One, became a bestseller and generated $1.4 million in sales in its first month using an unorthodox “pay-what-you-want” model. In his conversation with Adam, Daniel discusses his belief that “leaders are learners”, and how working with a psychologist to come to terms with some of his personal challenges helped him grow into the leader he is today.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/daniel-flynn

Aaron Birkby is the co-founder of The Unconventional Group, and has over two decades experience working as a founder, advisor, board member, investor and facilitator in the Australian startup ecosystem. He has worked in a variety of roles building and supporting technology startups to grow into global companies, including as CEO of Startup Catalyst, and Entrepreneur In Residence at Queensland University of Technology, James Cook University and Split Spaces. In his conversation with Adam, Aaron discusses how the Queensland startup ecosystem has evolved over the past couple of decades, and what he sees as gaps in the Australian startup ecosystem.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/aaron-birkby

Mark Pesce is the host of This Week In Startups Australia (TWISTA), a podcast which has charted the growth and maturity of Australia’s startup ecosystem since 2014. Born in the US, Mark first worked for a startup in 1982, and in the years since has worked in a variety of roles, including co-inventing VRML, which became a foundational format for displaying 3d graphics on the internet, founding Ono-Sendai, a first-generation virtual reality startup, and working for Apple as a consulting engineer. In 2003 Pesce relocated to Australia, and became a judge and panelist on the ABC TV program The New Inventors, as well as an Honorary Lecturer at the University of Sydney and a columnist for IEEE Spectrum. In his conversation with Adam, Mark discusses starting the TWISTA podcast, and some of the differences between the US and Australian startup ecosystems.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/mark-pesce

Malcolm Turnbull was the 29th Prime Minister of Australia between 2015 - 2018, in which time he launched the National Innovation and Science Agenda (NISA), which aimed to drive innovation and Australia’s startup ecosystem. Malcolm also has a long history of investing in and founding companies, having established an investment banking firm in 1987, as well as becoming a partner of Goldman Sachs in 1998. Since leaving parliament in 2018, Malcolm has returned to the world of business, and has joined the board of directors of Kasada, an Australian cybersecurity company. In his conversation with Adam, Malcolm discusses his belief that innovation has become a “no-no word” in Australian federal politics over the last several years, and what he would do to promote innovation were he to have a second shot as prime minister.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/malcolm-turnbull

Jodie Fox co-founded Shoes of Prey, an innovative shoe retail company which at its peak was a global business, with more than 200 staff, six million shoes designed and US $27 million in funding raised. After Shoes of Prey ceased trading in 2018, Jodie wrote a memoir, Reboot. In her conversation with Adam, Jodie discusses what the startup ecosystem looked like when she founded Shoes of Prey in 2009, and the challenges and opportunities that came from moving the headquarters of Shoes of Prey to the US.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/jodie-fox

James Alexander is the co-founder of Galileo Ventures, which focuses on investing in young, first time startup founders. Prior to this, James founded Incubate, an accelerator program run out of the University of Sydney. An experienced investor and advisor, James has supported over 200 founders launch tech startups across various industries in the previous decade. In his conversation with guest host Will Tjo, James discusses what he sees as government's role to play in the startup ecosystem, and why giving general advice to startup founders can be tricky as every startup is unique.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/james-alexander

An Angel Investor and co-founder of multiple startup ventures, Susan Oliver has also served as a board member on over a dozen organisations in her long and rich career, including The Wheeler Centre, Fishermans Bend, The Smith Family and Fusion Retail Brands. Susan is a co-founder and recently retired Chair of Scale Investors, Australia’s first network of Angel Investors committed to investing in and supporting exclusively female founders. In her conversation with Adam, she discusses what she looks for in a founder when investing, and her belief that Australia should invest more in the technology products of Australian startups, rather than relying so heavily on the technology products of other nations.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/susan-oliver

Phil Morle is a Partner at Main Sequence Ventures, a venture capital firm founded by the CSIRO which invests in early stage technology companies with science at their core. Prior to this role Phil co-founded and was CEO of Pollenizer, one of Australia’s earliest startup incubators. In his conversation with Adam, Phil discusses how the experiences in a previous career as a theatre director have helped him in the startup world, and why incubators like Pollenizer often struggle to find a sustainable business model.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/phil-morle

Dr Silvia Pfeiffer is CEO of Coviu, a video telehealth company which provides software to healthcare providers. Originally from Germany, Silvia moved to Australia and worked for CSIRO exploring video technology applications before developing the idea that would become Coviu, which became an organisation independent of CSIRO in 2018  and grew rapidly during the pandemic. In her conversation with Adam, Silvia discusses the founding of Coviu, as well as her first failed startup venture and what she learned from the experience.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/silvia-pfeiffer

Murray Hurps is the Director of Entrepeneurship at UTS, tasked with growing the number of student-founded startups coming out of the university. With a long list of credentials in the Australian startup ecosystem, including former CEO of Fishburners, Co-founder of Startup Muster, and founder of Ad Muncher, Murray strongly believes that Australia’s future relies on innovation and entrepreneurship. In his conversation with Adam, Murray discusses starting his first company at 16 years old, his work with Fishburners, and what he sees as barriers to growth in the Australian startup ecosystem

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/murray-hurps

With a background in management consulting and corporate finance, Rachel Yang is a partner at Giant Leap, Australia’s first venture capital fund which exclusively backs founders using business as a force for good in the areas of health and wellbeing, sustainable living and empowering people. Rachel is also the Co-Chair of Startup Victoria, a non-profit, grassroots organisation supporting startup founders. In her conversation with Adam, Rachel discusses how startup businesses don’t have to sacrifice growth to make a positive impact in the world, the importance of diversity within the startup ecosystem and potential strategies to encourage further diversity.

See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/rachel-yang

Ian Gardiner is an Investment Partner at Jelix Ventures, a firm which invests in early stage tech startups in Australia and New Zealand, and a co-founder of Innovation Bay, which works to create and nurture supportive communities for investors and founders. Originally from Scotland, Ian previously founded and acted as CEO in his own startup, Viocorp, for over a decade, before taking the role of Head of Startups for Amazon Web Service (AWS) Australia and New Zealand where he was responsible for establishing and managing AWS’s relationship with the startup communities in Australia and New Zealand. In his conversation with Adam, he discusses his time with AWS, and how he discovered his passion for growing and nurturing communities.

See full show notes https://w2d1.com/ian-gardiner

Nicole O’Brien is CEO of Fishburners, a not-for-profit co-working space and community hub for tech startup founders with a rich history of supporting Australian tech companies since its inception in 2011. For over a decade Nicole has also been the Director of Corporate Services for ACON, a community health organisation. In her conversation with Will Tjo, Nicole discusses why her outlook on the Australian startup ecosystem is overwhelmingly positive, and how technology has helped bridge the geographical divide between Australia and the world.

See full show notes here https://w2d1.com/nicole-obrien

Dean McEvoy is a seasoned startup founder and angel investor, having founded three startups including Spreets.com, Australia’s first group buying site, which launched in February 2010 and sold only 11 months later for around $40 million. A founding mentor and investor at Startmate, Dean has advised and invested in over 96 startups. In his conversation with Adam, Dean discusses the origin story of Spreets.com, co-founding Tech Sydney, and how important it is for founders to not get too much of their ego involved in their startup.

See full show notes here https://w2d1.com/dean-mcevoy

Georgie Turner is Principal at Tidal Ventures, a seed-stage focused venture capital investment firm which is based in Australia and has an office in the US. Tidal Ventures invest primarily in B2B software startups. Georgie also acts as Board Director or Advisor for multiple startups, including Operata, Socialsuite and Shippit. In her conversation with Adam, Georgie discusses what the Australian startup ecosystem looked like when she entered it around 2012, and what she sees as the important steps to take in order to take the ecosystem to the next level.

See full show notes https://w2d1.com/georgie-turner

Colin Kinner is founder and CEO of Startup Onramp, a training and mentoring program for first time startup founders. With a long history of entrepreneurship, Colin has supported countless startups in a variety of roles, including as Entrepeneur-In-Residence at both Slingshot and The Studio Au, and as an Advisory Board Member at Surepact, Hoops CRM and Explorate. In his conversation with Adam, Colin discusses some of the key missteps that first time founders often make, and the advice he would give to someone considering embarking on a startup. 

See full show notes https://w2d1.com/colin-kinner

With experience founding and co-founding tech startups since 1995, Alan Jones is a veteran of Australia’s startup ecosystem. An angel investor and advisor, Alan has supported Australian startups independently and through BlueChilli, Blackbird Ventures, Pollenizer Ventures and Startmate. In his conversation with Adam, Alan discusses how the internet’s disruption of media companies made possible Australia’s first tech startups, and how the advent of wifi and the smartphone dramatically impacted Australia’s startup ecosystem.

See full show notes https://w2d1.com/alan-jones

After practicing as a lawyer for six years, Paul Bassat co-founded Seek with his brother Andrew in 1997, which in 2005 was floated on the Australian Securities Exchange with a market cap of $587 million. Paul moved on from Seek in 2011, and in 2012 co-founded Square Peg, a global investment firm which today has over US $1 billion in assets and has offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Tel Aviv and Singapore. Paul is also a Commissioner of the Australian Football League, and a director of Wesfarmers LTD. In his conversation with Adam, Paul discusses what it was like founding an internet startup in the early days before Australia’s ecosystem had developed, as well as the remarkable rate of change in the ecosystem over the last several years.

See full show notes https://w2d1.com/paul-bassat

Melissa Widner is the CEO of Lighter Capital, an investment firm that is based in the US and launched in Australia in 2020. Their novel model involves lending to early stage startups and linking repayments to revenue, without requiring founders to relinquish equity. Melissa has a long history in the startup world, having been CEO or board member of many companies. In her conversation with Adam, she discusses Lighter Capital’s new model, and the ways in which she believes the Australian startup ecosystem has made huge progress in the last 5 or so years.

See full show notes https://w2d1.com/melissa-widner

Hamish Hawthorn has been deeply involved in the development of the Australian startup ecosystem. A qualified mechanical engineer with postgraduate training in business and technology, Hamish is particularly focused on supporting founders of technology startups. Currently the Chief Operating Officer of Curious Things AI, a voice-based conversational AI company, Hamish co-founded Sydney Angels, a Sydney-based investment group. Hamish also acted as Chief Operating Officer for UpGuard, a digital security company based in the US. In his conversation with Adam, Hamish discusses what the startup scene looked like in Sydney in 2005, and how much it has changed in the years since.

See full show notes https://w2d1.com/hamish-hawthorn

Peta Ellis is the founder of EverydayEntrepreneur365.com.au, and an entrepreneur who’d founded 4 companies before 30, and has gone on to spend much of her career in a community building and mentor role. She has supporting hundreds of startup founders and teams in a variety of roles, including as CEO of River City Labs, an Innovation Strategist at The Unconventional Group, Entrepreneur In Residence at Ipswich Girls’ and Junior Grammar School, and as co-founder of Tribe Global. In her conversation with Adam, Peta discusses her time with River City Labs and the importance of innovation.

See full show notes https://w2d1.com/peta-ellis

Alfred Lo is co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer at Harvest B, a tech startup developing a plant-based meat ingredient system. Previously Chief Investment Officer at Cicada Innovations, an incubator for Australian tech startups, Alfred has more than a decade experience acting as an advisor, mentor and board member for many early-stage technology businesses. In his conversation with Adam, Alfred discusses how Australia’s startup ecosystem compares to other nations, and why he believes “What role should government play in the startup ecosystem?” is a tricky question to answer.

See full show notes https://w2d1.com/alfred-lo

Dr Sarah Pearson has a wealth of experience from a wide variety of roles within the science, technology and startup sector. Previously Global Head of Open Innovation at Cadbury, founding CEO of the Canberra Innovation Network, Chief Innovation Officer and Chief Scientist at the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Sarah is currently on the investment committee for Main Sequence Ventures, a Director of RACQ and a Paul Ramsay Foundation Fellow. Sarah was awarded a PhD in particle physics from the University of Oxford, and has published research in the areas of particle physics, medical physics, artificial intelligence, innovation, science communication and science policy, and is an author on eight patents covering cancer diagnosis and confectionary. In her conversation with guest host Will Tjo, she discusses the importance of both cooperation and competition within the startup world, and what she sees as potential changes to the way Australian government is structured that could help foster innovation.

See full show notes https://w2d1.com/sarah-pearson

Michael Batko is the CEO of Startmate, an accelerator that has invested in 170+ startups across Australia and New Zealand with a collective portfolio value of two billion dollars. Originally from Austria, Michael had his first exposure to the startup world when he moved to Australia and became the first employee at Mad Paws, a marketplace for pet sitters. In his conversation with guest host Will Tjo, Michael discusses how working in a startup contrasts to a corporate environment, and what he sees as the four prevalent business models of accelerators and where Startmate fits in.

See show notes https://w2d1.com/michael-batko

Julie Trell is an American woman who moved to Australia in 2017 to pursue two opportunities in the Australian startup ecosystem: working as head of the now defunct accelerator Muru-D, and to bring SheEO to Australia. SheEO is a global organisation founded by Vicki Saunders with a unique model: women and non-binary “Activators” contribute a monthly payment which is pooled together and given as a 0% interest loan to women-led “Ventures” selected by the Activators. As well as contributing capital, Activators also act as mentors, lending their expertise, Mentioned and networks to help the Ventures grow and succeed. In her conversation with Adam, Julie discusses the unique SheEO business model, as well as the importance of diversity within the Australian startup ecosystem.

See show notes https://w2d1.com/julie-trell

With no experience but a lot of guts and vision, Peter Davison moved to Silicon Valley and started a Venture Capital firm with a friend in 1998. They had several early successes, most famously as early investors in PayPal, in which Peter was a key advisor to Peter Thiel on business and product strategy. Since returning to Australia Peter has founded, built and sold several internet businesses, and founded Fishburners, a not-for-profit co-working space and incubator which has played a key role in the growth and development of the Australian startup ecosystem. In his conversation with Adam, Peter tells the story of how he initially was motivated to found Fishburners because he “didn’t have any friends”, as well as sharing his perhaps controversial views that the now traditional VC backed startup trajectory may not be the best route for many founders.

See the full show notes https://w2d1.com/peter-davison

Maxine Sherrin is the Program Director of Spark Festival, a not-for-profit festival that aims to grow entrepreneurship in Australia by bringing together people from all corners of the startup world: founders, investors, small/medium enterprises, big corporates and policy makers. Before taking her current role, Maxine co-founded Web Directions in 2004, Australia’s first event for web designers and developers. In her conversation with Adam, Maxine discusses the importance of building and growing a community that celebrates and supports Australian founders and innovators.

Cameron Adams is a co-founder and Chief Product Officer at Canva, an online design platform with over 20 million users. After starting his own design agency and then working for Google, Cameron founded Fluent with two other Google alumni. While Fluent, which endeavoured to reimagine email, was ultimately unsuccessful, while working on the project he met his Canva co-founders and ultimately came on board as a founder. In his conversation with Adam, they discuss some of the turbulent early times of Fluent and Canva, and the importance of community and connection within the startup ecosystem.

See full show notes https://w2d1.com/cameron-adams

Lauren Capelin is a community strategist and disruptive innovation specialist passionate about the development and application of new business models, corporate social innovation, impact investment and fostering entrepreneurial capacity, particularly in women. She is currently Principal at Startmate, an accelerator that aims to support tech startups in Australia and New Zealand. In her conversation with Adam, Lauren tells the story of how she came to be involved in Startmate, and shares her views on the importance of nurturing diversity in the Australian startup ecosystem.

See the full show notes https://w2d1.com/lauren-capelin

Bruce Tulloch is the co-founder and managing director of BitScope Designs, which creates IOT (Internet of Things) and cloud computing tools for industrial and educational use. Bruce is also chair of The Studio Limited, Australia’s first media tech incubator based at the Sydney Startup Hub. And as if that wasn’t enough to keep him busy, Bruce is also Director of New Technologies at JetPack Aviation, which was the first company to develop a working jet pack which was flown around the Statue of Liberty in New York in 2015. In his conversation with Adam, Bruce discusses the origins of The Studio Limited, as well as what Bruce sees as some of the key challenges that the Australian startup ecosystem faces.

See the full show notes https://w2d1.com/bruce-tulloch

In 1994, before the terms "startup" or "bootstrapping" were in common use, Steve Baxter started a successful internet service provider, SE Net, from the spare room of his Adelaide home. Since then, Steve's wide ranging career has led him to play many roles as part of the Australian Startup Ecosystem, including playing key roles in the founding of River City Labs, Right Pedal Studios and StartupAUS, as well as featuring on the TV show Shark Tank. In his conversation with Adam, Steve touches on many of these, as well as discussing his ideas on what the Australian Government could be doing to be encouraging growth in the Startup ecosystem.

Cheryl Mack is passionate about supporting founders and has done so in a variety of roles over the years: as a mentor for programs including Startmate and Founder Institute, as CEO of StartCon, as an angel investor with over 10 investments and counting, and most recently as the CEO and founder of Aussie Angels. In her conversation with Adam, she discusses the importance of building communities, and what she sees as the current gaps in the Australian startup ecosystem.

See the full show notes https://w2d1.com/cheryl-mack

Niki Scevak has a long and diverse background in the Australian startup ecosystem. From his entrepreneurial beginnings co-founding two software companies, Niki would go on to co-found Blackbird, a venture capital firm which manages over a billion dollars, and found Startmate, an accelerator that has helped 170+ startups since its inception in 2011. In his conversation with Adam he discusses what he sees as gaps in the Australian startup ecosystem, as well as the reasons for feeling optimistic about the future.

See the full show notes https://w2d1.com/niki-scevak

As CEO of Freelance Limited, Matt Barrie overseas the management of both freelancer.com, a service through which 54 million freelancers offer every type of service you can possibly imagine, as well as escrow.com, a global payment system that’s done 5 billion US dollars in payment volume. Freelancer Limited opened on the Australian Securities Exchanged at an incredible 1.03 billion US dollars market capitalisation, making it one of the biggest openings ever on the exchange. In this episode Matt tells the story of the growth of the Australian startup ecosystem as he has seen it from his unique vantage point, and why he believes aspiring startup founders would be best to first work for a company they admire for a year or two before starting their own venture.

See the full show notes https://w2d1.com/matt-barrie

Andrea Gardiner is the founder of Jelix, an investment firm which focuses on early stage technology startups in Australia and New Zealand. In her conversation with Adam, she shares her conviction that disruptive, scalable technology startups are critical for the future economic prosperity of Australia, and highlights the supportive and collaborative of Australia’s startup ecosystem as a key advantage.

See the full show notes https://w2d1.com/andrea-gardiner

3 interviews will be released each week starting in January. The audio documentary that will tell the story of the Australian startup ecosystem will be released in June 2022.

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This series is made possible thanks to our sponsors & partners.

Major Sponsors

• MYOB

Standard Sponsors

• UTS Startups
• The Guild of Entrepreneurs
• Western Sydney University's LaunchPad
• Canberra Innovation Network
• Curtin University
• CSIRO
• University of South Australia
• LaunchVic
• The Office of the South Australian Chief Entrepreneur
• ANSTO
• Newcastle University's Integrated Innovation Network
• The University of Adelaide's ThincLab
• Flinders University's New Venture Institute
• UNSW Founders
• UQ Ventures
• James Cook University

Partners

• Startup Daily
• Fishburners
• Spark Festival
• Spacecubed
• Stone & Chalk
• River City Labs