Episode Summary:
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.
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction to Day One Podcast
00:29 Meet Colette Grgic
01:23 Overview of AWS Startups Support
02:19 Importance of the Activate Program
03:27 Passion for the Startup Ecosystem
04:45 Colette's Journey into Startups
06:06 First Steps in the Startup World
07:20 Experiences with Startmate and Push Start
09:01 Importance of Co-Working Spaces
10:20 Transition to BlueChili
12:40 Bridging Startups and Corporates
14:35 Current Role and Ecosystem Insights
20:26 Challenges Facing the Australian Startup Ecosystem
22:44 The Need for Inclusivity and Climate Focus
29:02 Role of Policy in the Startup Ecosystem
32:36 Final Thoughts and Advice for Founders
