Episode Summary:
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.
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction to Day One Podcast
00:29 Meet Peter Davison
00:31 Peter's Background and Early Involvement in PayPal
01:14 Why Entrepreneurship and Investing?
02:55 Peter's Journey to Silicon Valley
04:06 Early Australian Startup Ecosystem
04:41 Starting Girdle Capital
05:19 Learning from Early Internet Ventures
06:38 Differences Between Silicon Valley and Australia
08:15 Return to Australia and Challenges Faced
09:30 Insights on the Australian Ecosystem
10:55 Importance of Local Talent Retention
12:15 Government's Role in the Startup Ecosystem
13:35 The Need for a Stronger Flywheel
15:12 Focus on Natural Resources and Innovation
16:45 The Role of Technology Adoption vs. Creation
20:29 Reflections on Fishburners
22:42 The Internet and Entrepreneurship
25:37 Defining Characteristics of Successful E-commerce Entrepreneurs
27:20 The Shift Away from Geography
28:50 The Reality of Building Businesses
30:14 Final Thoughts on the Future of Australian Startups
32:42 Advice for New Entrepreneurs
35:09 The Importance of Seeking Opportunities
36:45 Closing Remarks
