Peter Davison is an investor and co-founder of Fishburners, the not-for-profit startup coworking community he established in Sydney with Mike Casey in 2011, acting as its financial backer.
A first-class honours science graduate of the University of Queensland, he moved to Silicon Valley in 1998 and started a venture capital firm with former classmate Graeme Linnett. They were early investors in Confinity, the company that became PayPal, taking part in its seed and second funding rounds. Linnett still leads the firm, Gödel Capital.
On Day One's History of the Australian Startup Ecosystem interview series, he explained why all it takes is guts and a vision, and he also features in the companion documentary.
3 episodes
Start herePeter Davison: All it takes is guts and a visionHis own interview, on moving to Silicon Valley in 1998 and starting a VC firm with no experience.
Documentary: The History Of The Australian Startup Ecosystem With Mark Pesce, Hayden Williams, Evan Thornley, Tim Fung, Trevor Folsom, Pete Lead, Terry Hilsberg, Matt Bullock, Allan O'Connor, Rachael Neumann, Maxine Sherrin, Malcolm Turnbull, James Alexander, Alan Jones, Paul Bassat, Hamish Hawthorn, Alfred Lo, Phil Hayes-St Clair, Cameron Adams, Bruce Tulloch, Matt Barrie, Kate Cornick
Documentary: The History Of The Australian Startup Ecosystem With Leslie Delaforce, Darryl Lyons, Megan Sebben, Wayne Gerard, Nicole O'Brien, Alex Carpenter, Evan Thornley, Baden U'Ren, Tim Fung, Trevor Folsom, Craig Swann, Moira Were, Colette Grgic, Allan O'Connor, Rachael Neumann, Chad Renando, Annie Parker, Brendan Hill, Aaron Birkby, Malcolm Turnbull, Jodie Fox, Susan Oliver, Silvia Pfeiffer, Yolanda Redrup, Andrew Nunn, Melissa Widner, Alfred Lo, Sarah Pearson, Phil Hayes-St Clair, Colin Kinner, Lauren Capelin, Matt Barrie, Kate Cornick, Cheryl Mack, Andrea Gardiner, Niki Scevak
The History of the Australian Startup Ecosystem - Interview Series Key moments from Peter Davison: All it takes is guts and a vision.
“Government never creates ecosystems. Government jumps on the back of the flywheel as it starts to really turn.”
Co-founder · Fishburners
Mentor · Chinaccelerator
Founder · Ideogue Ventures
Sources: crunchbase.com
Fishburners is a Sydney startup community founded in 2011 by Mike Casey and Peter Davison as a not-for-profit coworking space.
2 people · 4 episodes
Adam SpencerHost, Documentary: The History Of The Australian Startup Ecosystem 
Mark PesceFuturist & Host, The Next Billion Seconds 
Hayden WilliamsGroup Product Manager, MYOB 
Evan ThornleyCo-Founder & CEO, LongView 
Tim FungFounder & CEO, Airtasker 
Trevor FolsomCo-Founder and Chairman, Investible 
Pete LeadCoach, Scalable Leaders 
Terry HilsbergPartner, Fork Ventures Spot something wrong? Suggest a correctionUpdated 29 October 2026
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