8 ms·

Australia gets its own Y Combinator-type fund

69 points by joshsharp 16y ago

iliketosleep 16y ago
"The biggest risk in a startup is not whether someone will steal your idea or if you can build a product but rather that no one will care" a lot of people will obsess over NDA's and the like, thinking that people will care SO much as to steal their idea. when in reality what's quoted above is so true, the greatest risk being that people won't actually care enough about the product.
- thedjpetersen 16y ago
  Derek Sivers writes a good essay on the value of ideas is the execution you put into them http://sivers.org/multiply http://sivers.org/multiply
nl 16y ago
This is great to see. There are some pretty good people involved with the program too, which gives me hope that companies going though this will actually get something useful from it.
hartror 16y ago
I went to a Startup Camp run by Bart Jellema a couple of years ago and was quite impressed by his skills especially on the networking/organisational side of things. This is promising as much of what makes ycombinator great is the exposure and contacts being involved creates. Looking forward to seeing the first batch come through!
dmharrison 16y ago
One thing that would be really good to see come out of this IMHO is a better profile for tech startups in Aus. The more open this can be around tech scene, gotchas and contacts focussed on Australia the better. Most information and discussion I've seen tends to be US based not surprisingly; This doesn't always translate well, particularly around company structure, equity, tax etc. You know, all the small stuff that can kill you. Looking forward to see what develops.
- nikiscevak 16y ago
  We fully intend to be very open about the way we do business and bring a local angle on the type of great stuff folks like venturehacks have done in the US. Also, for Aussie startups if there are issues around company formation and things like migrating an Australian company to a Delaware C-Corp etc we can share, we will.
  - dmharrison 16y ago
    That sounds great. As a tech founder that's the thing I'm working through. There's a few good sources but very little that says, for tech with std tech structures you probably want to do it this way.
- nedwin 16y ago
  I agree with the opening sentence. There really are some amazing tech companies doing great things in Australia that don't get enough recognition. In the last fortnight I've met a couple of these serial tech entrepreneurs including Julian Holman of OurDeal.com.au who have opened up my eyes to an industry I thought I was (mostly) across.
Smerity 16y ago
I'm incredibly excited about this as a uni student in Sydney. I'm hopeful that by the time I graduate that the concept of the Silicon Beach will take off. The University of Sydney have recently introduced a course focusing on Tech Venture Creation[1] and most of the people on that page are involved somehow (including Ryan from Omnisio, Bart from Tjoos and our lecturer Bill Bartee), so this isn't the only new action on the Sydney startup front. [1] - Tech Venture Creation course - http://techventurecreation.wordpress.com/ http://techventurecreation.wordpress.com/
- megablast 16y ago
  Why wait until you graduate? As a student you have loads of free time, and it will look great on your CV even if nothing comes of it.
  - Smerity 16y ago
    I meant that I hope by the time that I graduate that the general startup atmosphere around Sydney and/or Australia has improved. One of the most common sentiments from the founders I've had the chance to talk to was that they said Australia isn't (even close to) the optimal place for a startup but they decided to stay here anyway for family/lifestyle/... reasons.
- chrislloyd 16y ago
  Leave Uni Smerity! Self fund and live the dream!
  - bensand 16y ago
    yes, leave and live
  - mahmud 16y ago
    Why? So he can take the startup gamble without nothing to fall back on? Heck, without a degree not even investors will look at him, unless he makes something in the top 1 percentile.
- 16y ago
michaelneale 16y ago
There is also http://www.pollenizer.com/pollenizer-investing-in-web-startups/ http://www.pollenizer.com/pollenizer-investing-in-web-startu... (Sydney based, AFAIK) - they are nice folk too. Great to see !
- JacobAldridge 16y ago
  It looks like Mick Liubinskas (Co-Founder of Pollenizer) is one of the Startmate 'mentors', whatever contribution that means.
  - mickliubinskas 16y ago
    Thanks guys, yes, Pollenizer is one of the teams behind this. Looking forward to the first crop coming through.
    - mickliubinskas 16y ago
      Brief statement by Pollenizer on this; http://bit.ly/d2HeQB http://bit.ly/d2HeQB
      - Devilboy 16y ago
        http://www.pollenizer.com/startmate-seed-tech-startup-investment-program/ http://www.pollenizer.com/startmate-seed-tech-startup-invest...
liedra 16y ago
Wow, Ryan Junee used to tutor me in first year computer science back at Sydney University... he's come quite a way since then it seems! :) I hope it works out well for them, Australia needs something like that -- I have more a few friends who have left Australia to pursue cutting edge jobs in tech.
- ryan 16y ago
  no it was all downhill after teaching first year cs really :)
  - mcannonbrookes2 16y ago
    you did a CS degree mate? who knew? :)
rogiealigit 16y ago
This is awesome, look forward to seeing the first batch.
JacobAldridge 16y ago
Direct link to the Startmate website - http://www.startmate.com.au/ http://www.startmate.com.au/ I love this (and have heard it before, around HN a lot actually): "The biggest risk in a startup is not whether someone will steal your idea or if you can build a product but rather that no one will care."
andrerobot 16y ago
Kudos to the aussies for having something similar to YC. The mentorship from TWENTY (woah!) successful founders, the $25.000 (aus?) sound amazing. What I find it really sad that even in this decade the best way for a web startup to get attention is to go to the Valley. If the web is global shouldn't the support networks be global too? In the case of my country (Chile) it is very difficult to make your own web startup. Seed investment is centralized in a goverment organization that only cares about patents and how many millions of dollars you are going to make in the first years. Another problem with seed investment around here is that you must spend the money in very specific things like getting incorporated (which is expensive) and build a business plan $$, not getting the work done. It you aren't sure how you are going to monetize your app in a way that is going to give you massive profits, don't bother trying to get an investor (unless you have rich relatives). Is Australia similar to my country in that innovating on the web is very difficult from a support ecosystem perspective?
- nikiscevak 16y ago
  To be clear, we wanted to setup the program with a complete handle on reality and to be supportive of many different options on financing - bootstrap or institutional - and where they are based - Sydney or the Valley or in the many cases currently a grey area of being in both. The two weeks in the Valley at the end of the program is to connect with the Aussie community that is just starting to establish itself, to introduce the startups we are working with to the most useful people we can and then to hold a demo day for early stage investors as well. Plus it's hard not to get drunk on the inspiration of meeting other great startups.
swombat 16y ago
The critical success factor for YCombinator is, without a doubt, Paul Graham. Do they have a Paul Graham?
- tomhoward 16y ago
  This has been the basis of my skepticism over such a concept. But I think they're going about it the right way. They know they can't build it around a single figurehead, so they've pulled together a diverse team of mentors, with some big names among them, particularly the Atlassians for current-era track record. The idea seems to be to build a pathway into Silicon Valley for young founders who don't know what steps to take to get there. I could certainly have used this a few years ago.
- jacquesm 16y ago
  Don't discount the fact that they're in the US, where venture capital flows with considerably more ease than in the rest of the world.
zelliot 16y ago
This is fantastic! I can't wait to apply with my Sydney-based startup.
- Trindaz 16y ago
  Me too! Very excited about this one! --Trindaz on Fedang
jkahn 16y ago
Wow, this is awesome. Anyone know any startup mentors based in Brisbane? I run (very) small consulting company and I'd like to move into software.
jambo 16y ago
Demo day in SF will be helpful, and as for experience, the Atlassian founders are involved. I've seen other attempts to do this, usually by cities/states, that capture only the superficial form of YC. I'm going to be in Sydney on 6 & 7 Sept.--any startup folks in Sydney available & willing to meet up and tell me about starting a company in Australia?
- mickliubinskas 16y ago
  You can work from our office. Email me mick pollenizer com
Fenn 16y ago
This is wonderful stuff, great work guys. Whether it works perfectly from the get-go is immaterial, StartMate, like their fundees, can launch and then iterate. Excited to see the first round come through.
DistortedRhymes 16y ago
Great initiative and a fantastic list of mentors. Well done for putting this together. Also like the idea of the Tech Venture Creation course at Syd Uni. I'd like to see every uni in Australia have something similar running, then we'd be sure to get some real hits emerging.

69 points by joshsharp 16y ago

"The biggest risk in a startup is not whether someone will steal your idea or if you can build a product but rather that no one will care" a lot of people will obsess over NDA's and the like, thinking that people will care SO much as to steal their idea. when in reality what's quoted above is so true, the greatest risk being that people won't actually care enough about the product.

thedjpetersen 16y ago
Derek Sivers writes a good essay on the value of ideas is the execution you put into them http://sivers.org/multiply http://sivers.org/multiply

nl 16y ago

This is great to see. There are some pretty good people involved with the program too, which gives me hope that companies going though this will actually get something useful from it.

hartror 16y ago

I went to a Startup Camp run by Bart Jellema a couple of years ago and was quite impressed by his skills especially on the networking/organisational side of things. This is promising as much of what makes ycombinator great is the exposure and contacts being involved creates. Looking forward to seeing the first batch come through!

dmharrison 16y ago

One thing that would be really good to see come out of this IMHO is a better profile for tech startups in Aus. The more open this can be around tech scene, gotchas and contacts focussed on Australia the better. Most information and discussion I've seen tends to be US based not surprisingly; This doesn't always translate well, particularly around company structure, equity, tax etc. You know, all the small stuff that can kill you. Looking forward to see what develops.

nikiscevak 16y ago
We fully intend to be very open about the way we do business and bring a local angle on the type of great stuff folks like venturehacks have done in the US. Also, for Aussie startups if there are issues around company formation and things like migrating an Australian company to a Delaware C-Corp etc we can share, we will.
- dmharrison 16y ago
  That sounds great. As a tech founder that's the thing I'm working through. There's a few good sources but very little that says, for tech with std tech structures you probably want to do it this way.
nedwin 16y ago
I agree with the opening sentence. There really are some amazing tech companies doing great things in Australia that don't get enough recognition. In the last fortnight I've met a couple of these serial tech entrepreneurs including Julian Holman of OurDeal.com.au who have opened up my eyes to an industry I thought I was (mostly) across.

Smerity 16y ago

I'm incredibly excited about this as a uni student in Sydney. I'm hopeful that by the time I graduate that the concept of the Silicon Beach will take off. The University of Sydney have recently introduced a course focusing on Tech Venture Creation[1] and most of the people on that page are involved somehow (including Ryan from Omnisio, Bart from Tjoos and our lecturer Bill Bartee), so this isn't the only new action on the Sydney startup front. [1] - Tech Venture Creation course - http://techventurecreation.wordpress.com/ http://techventurecreation.wordpress.com/

megablast 16y ago
Why wait until you graduate? As a student you have loads of free time, and it will look great on your CV even if nothing comes of it.
- Smerity 16y ago
  I meant that I hope by the time that I graduate that the general startup atmosphere around Sydney and/or Australia has improved. One of the most common sentiments from the founders I've had the chance to talk to was that they said Australia isn't (even close to) the optimal place for a startup but they decided to stay here anyway for family/lifestyle/... reasons.
chrislloyd 16y ago
Leave Uni Smerity! Self fund and live the dream!
- bensand 16y ago
  yes, leave and live
- mahmud 16y ago
  Why? So he can take the startup gamble without nothing to fall back on? Heck, without a degree not even investors will look at him, unless he makes something in the top 1 percentile.
16y ago

michaelneale 16y ago

There is also http://www.pollenizer.com/pollenizer-investing-in-web-startups/ http://www.pollenizer.com/pollenizer-investing-in-web-startu... (Sydney based, AFAIK) - they are nice folk too. Great to see !

JacobAldridge 16y ago
It looks like Mick Liubinskas (Co-Founder of Pollenizer) is one of the Startmate 'mentors', whatever contribution that means.
- mickliubinskas 16y ago
  Thanks guys, yes, Pollenizer is one of the teams behind this. Looking forward to the first crop coming through.
  - mickliubinskas 16y ago
    Brief statement by Pollenizer on this; http://bit.ly/d2HeQB http://bit.ly/d2HeQB
    - Devilboy 16y ago
      http://www.pollenizer.com/startmate-seed-tech-startup-investment-program/ http://www.pollenizer.com/startmate-seed-tech-startup-invest...

liedra 16y ago

Wow, Ryan Junee used to tutor me in first year computer science back at Sydney University... he's come quite a way since then it seems! :) I hope it works out well for them, Australia needs something like that -- I have more a few friends who have left Australia to pursue cutting edge jobs in tech.

ryan 16y ago
no it was all downhill after teaching first year cs really :)
- mcannonbrookes2 16y ago
  you did a CS degree mate? who knew? :)

rogiealigit 16y ago

This is awesome, look forward to seeing the first batch.

JacobAldridge 16y ago

Direct link to the Startmate website - http://www.startmate.com.au/ http://www.startmate.com.au/ I love this (and have heard it before, around HN a lot actually): "The biggest risk in a startup is not whether someone will steal your idea or if you can build a product but rather that no one will care."

andrerobot 16y ago

Kudos to the aussies for having something similar to YC. The mentorship from TWENTY (woah!) successful founders, the $25.000 (aus?) sound amazing. What I find it really sad that even in this decade the best way for a web startup to get attention is to go to the Valley. If the web is global shouldn't the support networks be global too? In the case of my country (Chile) it is very difficult to make your own web startup. Seed investment is centralized in a goverment organization that only cares about patents and how many millions of dollars you are going to make in the first years. Another problem with seed investment around here is that you must spend the money in very specific things like getting incorporated (which is expensive) and build a business plan $$, not getting the work done. It you aren't sure how you are going to monetize your app in a way that is going to give you massive profits, don't bother trying to get an investor (unless you have rich relatives). Is Australia similar to my country in that innovating on the web is very difficult from a support ecosystem perspective?

nikiscevak 16y ago
To be clear, we wanted to setup the program with a complete handle on reality and to be supportive of many different options on financing - bootstrap or institutional - and where they are based - Sydney or the Valley or in the many cases currently a grey area of being in both. The two weeks in the Valley at the end of the program is to connect with the Aussie community that is just starting to establish itself, to introduce the startups we are working with to the most useful people we can and then to hold a demo day for early stage investors as well. Plus it's hard not to get drunk on the inspiration of meeting other great startups.

swombat 16y ago

The critical success factor for YCombinator is, without a doubt, Paul Graham. Do they have a Paul Graham?

tomhoward 16y ago
This has been the basis of my skepticism over such a concept. But I think they're going about it the right way. They know they can't build it around a single figurehead, so they've pulled together a diverse team of mentors, with some big names among them, particularly the Atlassians for current-era track record. The idea seems to be to build a pathway into Silicon Valley for young founders who don't know what steps to take to get there. I could certainly have used this a few years ago.
jacquesm 16y ago
Don't discount the fact that they're in the US, where venture capital flows with considerably more ease than in the rest of the world.

zelliot 16y ago

This is fantastic! I can't wait to apply with my Sydney-based startup.

Trindaz 16y ago
Me too! Very excited about this one! --Trindaz on Fedang

jkahn 16y ago

Wow, this is awesome. Anyone know any startup mentors based in Brisbane? I run (very) small consulting company and I'd like to move into software.

jambo 16y ago

Demo day in SF will be helpful, and as for experience, the Atlassian founders are involved. I've seen other attempts to do this, usually by cities/states, that capture only the superficial form of YC. I'm going to be in Sydney on 6 & 7 Sept.--any startup folks in Sydney available & willing to meet up and tell me about starting a company in Australia?

mickliubinskas 16y ago
You can work from our office. Email me mick pollenizer com

Fenn 16y ago

This is wonderful stuff, great work guys. Whether it works perfectly from the get-go is immaterial, StartMate, like their fundees, can launch and then iterate. Excited to see the first round come through.

DistortedRhymes 16y ago

Great initiative and a fantastic list of mentors. Well done for putting this together. Also like the idea of the Tech Venture Creation course at Syd Uni. I'd like to see every uni in Australia have something similar running, then we'd be sure to get some real hits emerging.