Founder of Asset.Guru<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Because venture capital funding is harder to come by in Sydney, Petersen says most of the city\u2019s startups bootstrap their way to success, causing corporations to pay attention to young companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe obvious example is Atlassian<\/a>, who recently IPO’ed after essentially bootstrapping to where they are and being cash flow positive from day one,\u201d Petersen says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Petersen says that\u2019s good news for Asset.Guru, a cloud-based system that identifies fixed assets to help businesses maximize deductions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe see big corporations now assessing Asset.Guru,\u201d Petersen says. \u201cAll this has resulted in dramatic change in Australia startups. With better information available, more people are willing to take the plunge to begin or simply work for a startup.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Co-founder of DesignCrowd<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Over the last eight years, Sydney’s startup ecosystem has exploded, says Lynch, co-founder of DesignCrowd, a creative marketplace connecting graphic designers and clients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSince first launching DesignCrowd, we have raised over $12 million and expanded internationally,\u201d Lynch says. \u201cWe have 25 staff in our headquarters in Sydney in a suburb called Surry Hills, nicknamed ‘Silicon Hills,\u2019 23 in our Philippines office, and two team members in WeWork San Francisco <\/a>where we’ve had a private office for over a year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Co-founder of LawPath<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n While there are a lot of young companies, a handful have matured, and the founders are now entering their second or third startup, says Andreasen, co-founder of LawPath, a cloud-based legal service provider. These entrepreneurs pass on their knowledge and share their personal experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe result is a \u2018work hard, play hard\u2019 mentality,\u201d Andreasen says. \u201cWe\u2019re lucky to have a supportive community that is happy to share ideas and resources and celebrate wins.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He says local startups like LawPath are disrupting more traditional industries like legal and accounting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOne of the advantages of the Sydney startup scene is that there is no one dominant industry, opposed to somewhere like the U.K. scene, that is heavily focused on the fintech space,\u201d he says. \u201cThe more players there are, the richer the ecosystem will become.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Co-founder of Shoes of Prey<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sydney’s startup scene is young, vibrant, and very supportive, says Jodie Fox, co-founder of Shoes of Prey, which customizes handmade women\u2019s shoes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt’s young with regard to the ecosystem, which is still in early development stages when compared to the U.S.,\u201d Fox says. \u201cThe opportunities in Sydney are vast compared to some of the more defined and institutionalized startup scenes. There’s also a really lovely openness to sharing knowledge and a humbleness that is inherent to the Australian culture.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Founder of OneShift<\/a>\u00a0and Skilld<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sydney is the perfect place to test a startup idea and scale globally, says George, founder of OneShift, an online platform that matches people with jobs in Australia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have some pretty amazing startups using Australia as a test case to scale their business globally, with everything from predictive data logistics businesses to big data being used to give more accurate readings on voting polls,\u201d George says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are currently 176 scalable startups in Fishburners, Sydney’s largest co-working space, says George. It\u2019s now up to founders to attract better talent, pump out cool ideas, and compete on a global scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Founder of Invoice2go<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sydney has its fair share of successful startups that have had an impact on the global economy, says Strode, founder of Invoice2go, an app that allows small businesses to create and send professional invoices. That energizes younger founders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSeeing Australian startups like Atlassian, Campaign Monitor<\/a>, 99designs, and Invoice2go compete on a global scale and raise capital from the U.S. has shown the industry here that it absolutely can be done,\u201d Strode says. \u201cIt\u2019s driven a lot of attention and interest among entrepreneurs and investors, which is invigorating for the industry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Founder of Drive Yello<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The startup scene in Sydney is very active, diverse, and exciting to be a part of, says Fanale, founder of Yello, a driver-booking platform. But he added that the scene is still maturing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMaybe we\u2019re at the tail end of the terrible teens,\u201d Fanale jokes. \u201cAccess to grants, tax incentives, and the legislation around options and employee salary packages are improving, but there is still a long way to go, and investor appetite for early stage startups is lower.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It can be tough to get funding if you\u2019re a young startup, Fanale says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis needs to change if we are going to get the next Uber, Facebook, or Google to come out of Australia,\u201d Fanale says. \u201cThe only way I see this changing in the short-term is if government support drastically increases or we get more international investors interested in Australian startups.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Co-founder of Simpla<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sydney\u2019s startup scene is burgeoning, says King, co-founder of Simpla, a drop-in content management system. In the last few years, Sydney\u2019s startups have not only ventured outside of the country, but also into outer space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019re in an accelerator called Muru-D, and just in our cohort of 10, there are teams sending satellites to space, building autonomous underwater drones and next-gen Internet of Things platforms,\u201d King says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Co-founder Pocketbook<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Startups in Sydney are the real deal, says Tan, co-founder of Pocketbook, a personal finance app. Tan says corporations are starting to channel support to startups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think what’s really exciting is that now today, the experienced professional working for a startup is more on the map than ever,\u201d Tan says. \u201cIt’s no longer seen as a career-break, but rather a career-builder.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Founder of Bugcrowd<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Ellis, founder of Bugcrowd, a crowdsourced securities platform, says he started his business in Sydney and then moved to San Francisco in order to grown more quickly. The Aussie in him gave him the itch to take his startup idea onto a global playing field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe phrase that jumps to mind is \u2018straining at the bit,\u2019\u201d Ellis says. \u201cYou think about a horse that you have tethered, and it wants to go for a run. Australians are born and raised as troubleshooters. It\u2019s very much part of our DNA.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n What\u2019s unique about Australia\u2019s startup culture\u2014besides the influx of government funding to fuel startups and venture capitalists like Blackbird Ventures<\/a> and Square Peg Capital<\/a>\u2014is the camaraderie of the entrepreneurial community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn Australian culture, we\u2019re in it to support each other and the whole concept of \u2018mateship,\u2019\u201d Ellis says. \u201cIf we see opportunity to help, and if we have the intelligence and tools to help, we\u2019ll jump in to help. That culture is critical in startups because you\u2019re doing things you\u2019ve never done before.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sydney is experiencing a cultural shift in the way venture capitalists view startups. The old mindset was that startups in Sydney needed a New York City or San Francisco office in order for investors to even want to throw capital at them. But that attitude is long gone. \u201cLarge VC firms are now looking at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":917,"featured_media":20717,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43903],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community-stories"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAlec Lynch<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Damien Andreasen<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Sydney](\"\/ideas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/04\/Sydney-Shoes-of-Prey-Jodie-Fox-800x571.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nJodie Fox<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Gen George<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"OLYMPUS](\"\/ideas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/04\/Sydney-Invoice2Go-Chris-Strode-1-800x571.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nChris Strode<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Steve Fanale<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Sean King<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Sydney](\"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/06\/Sydney-Pocketbook-Bosco-Tan.jpg?resize=2048%2C1366\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nBosco Tan<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Casey Ellis<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n