Episode Summary:
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…
Chapters:
00:00: Murray Hurps discusses Australia’s potential to capitalize on the global digital marketplace. He suggests that the country should focus more on digital services instead of traditional exports.
00:40: Adam Spencer introduces the podcast, focusing on the stories of Australian startups and organizations that support them.
00:59: Hurps introduces himself as the director of entrepreneurship for UTS and the co-founder of Startup Muster, an organization that aims to provide comprehensive data on the Australian startup ecosystem.
01:53: Hurps recalls his early experiences as a teenager starting a tech company, acknowledging the current opportunities in the startup sector that weren’t present during his time.
02:25: Spencer shares the history of Startup Muster, detailing how it began in 2015 and highlighting Hurps’s dedication to its cause in his spare time.
03:39: Hurps details the beginnings of Startup Muster, explaining his process of building the survey and consulting with different startup-supporting organizations to gather data.
04:14: Hurps recalls the early stages of the startup industry in Australia five years ago, emphasizing the lack of data availability at the time.
05:47: Maria MacNamara underlines the importance of measurement in progress, endorsing the work of Startup Muster in reporting on the health of the innovation entrepreneurship ecosystem in Australia.
06:52: Spencer discusses the early stages of Startup Muster, revealing how Hurps funded the organization himself in its first two years.
07:33: Hurps appreciates Monica Wulff for volunteering to validate the statistical approaches used by Startup Muster. Wulff would later become the CEO of Startup Muster.
08:39: Hurps shares how Startup Muster attracted Google and the Department of Industry Innovation and Science as major supporters after the first two self-funded years.
09:53: MacNamara shares the funding struggles of Startup Muster, noting its need for government support to maintain objectivity and independence.
10:53: Despite funding challenges, Hurps asserts the continuance of Startup Muster, emphasizing the importance of proper representation of Australian startups.
11:48: Hurps explains the value of Startup Muster in data collection from busy startup founders, highlighting its unique position of trust established over five years.
14:04: MacNamara praises the role of Startup Muster in supporting female founders, emphasizing its comprehensive data collection approach.
