Australian Startup History Explorer
Search the people who built the ecosystem.
Search 115 approved interviews and documentary episodes. Results link to the exact passage. They show what each person said; they do not treat interview opinions as independently verified facts.
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Archive evidence
Evidence-led guides
Accelerators: what they contributed, and what they could not solve
Nine founders, operators and ecosystem builders trace what structured programs added — technical help, accountability, networks, capital and visibility — and where selection, geography and weak market demand still set limits.
Read the sourced guide →Access and inclusion: who could enter Australia's startup ecosystem?
Nine founders, investors and ecosystem builders describe how information, representation, networks, capital, targeted programs, place and childcare shaped who could find a way into Australia's startup ecosystem — without treating their interviews as a census of access or exclusion.
Read the sourced guide →Government, universities and infrastructure: the institutions around Australian startups
Nine policymakers, founders and ecosystem builders describe the programs, universities, research pathways, precincts, rules and regional networks that formed around Australian startups — and where fragmentation, churn and blurred roles limited them.
Read the sourced guide →Talent, distance and global ambition: building Australian startups from here
Eight founders, investors and ecosystem builders describe how geography shaped Australian startup building — from scepticism and talent to regional access, distributed teams and the pull of global markets.
Read the sourced guide →Capital and fundraising: how Australia's startup funding pathways changed
A sourced account of how founders and investors remember Australia's early-stage funding pathways changing — and the access gaps, incentives and disagreements that remained.
Read the sourced guide →From community to industry: how Australia's startup ecosystem took shape
A sourced account of the turning points remembered by people who helped build Australia's startup ecosystem — and the limits and disagreements their recollections reveal.
Read the sourced guide →The pilot corpus
Browse 108 episodes with Day One pages
The searchable release also includes 7 approved archive items without a Day One episode page.
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The History Of The Australian Startup Ecosystem - Part 1
19 Dec 2022
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The History Of The Australian Startup Ecosystem - Part 2
19 Dec 2022
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The History Of The Australian Startup Ecosystem - Part 3
19 Dec 2022
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The History Of The Australian Startup Ecosystem - Part 4
19 Dec 2022
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The History Of The Australian Startup Ecosystem - Part 5
19 Dec 2022
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The History Of The Australian Startup Ecosystem - Part 6
19 Dec 2022
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Phil Hayes-St Clair: “Take care of yourself”
1 May 2022
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Rachael Neumann explores the effects of the pandemic on startups
24 Apr 2022
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Pete Cooper discusses Universities’ role in the ecosystem
21 Apr 2022
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Anna Wright: why “fail fast” is the greatest advice
19 Apr 2022
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Chad Renando talks definitions of a strong ecosystem
17 Apr 2022
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Brendan Hill examines the war on talent in Australia
12 Apr 2022
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Lucinda Hartley discusses the barriers she overcame when starting out
10 Apr 2022
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Baden U’Ren on the importance of teaching our youth entrepreneurship
7 Apr 2022
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Daniel Flynn explains why leaders are learners
5 Apr 2022
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Aaron Birkby discusses the gaps in the Australian startup ecosystem
3 Apr 2022
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Malcolm Turnbull discusses innovation in the political sphere
29 Mar 2022
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Jodie Fox highlights the contrasts between the Australian and US Ecosystems
27 Mar 2022
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James Alexander shares his thoughts on Governments’ roles in startups
24 Mar 2022
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Susan Oliver discusses what investors look for in a founder
22 Mar 2022
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Phil Morle explains the struggles that incubators often face
20 Mar 2022
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Silvia Pfeiffer discusses her first startup and the lessons it taught her
17 Mar 2022
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Murray Hurps discusses the barriers to growth in the startup ecosystem
15 Mar 2022
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Rachel Yang explores diversity and social issues
13 Mar 2022
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Nicole O’Brien: The startup ecosystem is overwhelmingly positive
8 Mar 2022
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Dean McEvoy on egos and startups
6 Mar 2022
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Georgie Turner discusses the next steps for Australia’s ecosystem
3 Mar 2022
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Colin Kinner discusses the key missteps first time founders often make
1 Mar 2022
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Alan Jones: Can we talk about smartphones?
27 Feb 2022
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Paul Bassat examines the evolution of the ecosystem
24 Feb 2022
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Melissa Widner discusses the huge progress of startups
22 Feb 2022
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Hamish Hawthorn discusses the evolution of the ecosystem
20 Feb 2022
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Peta Ellis on the importance of innovation
17 Feb 2022
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Alfred Lo compares startup ecosystems in different nations
15 Feb 2022
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Sarah Pearson on the importance of cooperation and competition
13 Feb 2022
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Michael Batko discusses the four prevalent business models of accelerators
10 Feb 2022
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Julie Trell discusses the importance of diversity
8 Feb 2022
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Peter Davison: All it takes is guts and a vision
6 Feb 2022
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Maxine Sherrin discusses the importance of building a community of innovators
3 Feb 2022
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Cameron Adams on the importance of community and connection
1 Feb 2022
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Lauren Capelin and the importance of nurturing diversity
30 Jan 2022
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Bruce Tulloch on some of the key challenges the Australian startup ecosystem faces
27 Jan 2022
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Cheryl Mack on building communities and her passion for supporting founders
23 Jan 2022
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Kate Cornick on ways to support Australians to begin their startup journey
23 Jan 2022
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Niki Scevak is optimistic about Australia’s future
23 Jan 2022
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Alan Noble discusses the contrast between Silicon Valley and Australia in the 2000’s
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Alex Carpenter sees Australia’s startup ecosystem as radically more collaborative than corporate settings
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Alex Scandurra discusses the Australian startup ecosystem’s exceptional growth
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Allan O’Connor discusses the viability of startup careers
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Andrew Nunn believes Australian states and territories should work cooperatively rather than competitively
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Anthony Ferrier offers his advice to startup founders
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Arthur Sinodinos discusses the positive attributes Australia could learn from the US
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Ashley Baxter discusses how UQ Ventures was invaluable for her startup
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Bill Tai highlights the key similarities and differences between Silicon Valley and Australia
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Brad Parsons talks about the risk tolerances of different startup ecosystems
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Colette Grgic explains why diversity is crucial
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Craig Swann fears complacency may slow innovation
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Darren Winterford believes Australian Entrepreneurs would benefit from more networking
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Darryl Lyons believes Australia has an opportunity to lead the world in Agri-tech
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David Burt explains why startups are essential to our standard of living
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Dharmica Mistry discusses the distinction between deep tech startups and other startups
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Don Wright believes the various startup ecosystems within Australia should work cooperatively
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Eloise Hall and Isobel Marshall discuss how social enterprises fit within the startup community
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Emily Casey discusses the importance of visibility of the startup ecosystem
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Emily Rich explains why taking “smart money” is often a better path
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Emma Fawcett discusses the trap of “tech spaghetti”
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Evan Thornley discusses the evolution of the startup ecosystem
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Hayden Williams discusses the future of cryptocurrency across many industries
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James Fielding shares his belief that Australia’s talent pool is world class
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James Tynan shares his unpopular views on startup accelerators
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John Allsopp discusses the startup ecosystem’s evolution from a “community” to an “industry”
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Joshua Flannery discusses the key differences between Australia and Japan’s startup ecosystems
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Kate Jones explains why the Tech Council of Australia was founded
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Kim Heras relives the major milestones he witnessed during the growth of the ecosystem
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Kylie Frazer discusses some common causes co-founders separate
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Lana Weal highlights the mental health challenges faced by founders
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Lars Rasmussen discusses the key ingredients for successful founders
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Leslie Delaforce highlights the unique challenges facing Indigenous founders
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Louise Nobes: Australian startup ecosystem needs to be brave enough to “think untraditionally”
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Markus Kahlbetzer explores support opportunities for government and universities
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Megan Sebben believes there is still work to be done in improving access for underrepresented groups
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Mick Liubinskas: Australia’s startup ecosystem would be stronger with a single city leading it
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Moira Were discusses what metrics companies can use to measure “good”
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Pauline Fetaui discusses the difference between the corporate and startup worlds
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Pete Horsley explains why diversity is so important in the ecosystem
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Pete Lead: “You have permission to be awesome and complete freedom to fail”
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Peter Bradd discusses the expectation-shattering progress the ecosystem has made
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Peter Devine discusses his move to research commercialisation
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Peter Tippett discusses the future evolution of company ownership and management
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Petr Adámek sees the benefits of greater cohesion of the national startup ecosystem
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Phil Ireland discusses how he sees mission-driven companies as fitting into Australia’s startup ecosystem
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Ric Richardson discusses the contrasting skills required to invent and run a company
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Rohan McDougall highlights the current risks to Western Australia’s economy
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Rohit Bhargava discusses the benefits of reshaping wholesale investor requirements
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Sam Jockel shares her story and why it is so important to trust yourself
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Samantha Finnegan shares the various software tools and platforms she utilizes
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Serina Bird discusses her inspiration from Taiwan’s startup ecosystem
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Simon Thomsen saw technology alter the news and publishing landscape
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Steve Grace explores how covid has altered the ways companies do business
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Terry Hilsberg discusses the earliest days of the startup ecosystem
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Tim Boyle sees a bias towards digital technologies in the ecosystem
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Tim Fung explains why Australia is a great market to test startup ideas
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Trevor Folsom discusses the challenge of securing talent for Australian startups
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Vicki Engsall shares the benefits of growing your digital presence
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Wayne Gerard says attracting talent into the startup ecosystem is “mission critical”
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Yolanda Redrup discusses some of the catalysts for the huge growth the startup ecosystem has seen
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Zoe Piper wants to see more non-traditional career approaches
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Zrinka Tokic on the emergence of modern cloud tools
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