Episode Summary:
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.
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction to Day One Podcast
00:29 Meet Phil Morle
00:51 Phil's Early Involvement in Technology
01:46 Transitioning to Sydney and Kazaa
03:12 The Rise of Kazaa and its Impact
05:37 Lessons Learned from Kazaa
06:26 The Birth of Polonizer
08:16 The Concept of Startup Science
10:57 The Importance of Storytelling in Startups
14:22 Transitioning from Polonizer to Main Sequence Ventures
20:07 Building the Australian Startup Ecosystem
27:50 Challenges in the Current Startup Ecosystem
31:24 Advice for New Founders
39:26 Closing Thoughts on the Future of the Ecosystem
