Episode Summary:
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.
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction to Day One Podcast
00:31 Meet Rohan McDougall
00:51 Rohan's Background in the Startup Ecosystem
02:02 Overview of Technology Commercialization
03:59 Changes in the Startup Ecosystem Over 20 Years
06:34 Variation and Interest in Commercialization
07:55 The Dot-com Era and Its Impact
09:38 The Emergence of the App Economy
10:28 Landscape of the Startup Community in Early 2000s
11:25 Rohan's Role at Curtin University
12:05 Expansion of Startup Thinking at Curtin
13:29 Access to University Resources for Startups
15:02 Curtin Innovation Awards Overview
17:09 Curtain Ignition Program
18:14 Accelerate Program for Sustainable Business Models
18:58 Kickstart Program for Early-Stage Investment
20:00 West Tech Fest and Global Connections
21:06 Challenges of the Perth Startup Ecosystem
23:32 Gaps in the Australian Startup Ecosystem
25:38 Advice for New Founders
27:27 Celebrating Wins in the Australian Startup Ecosystem
