6 ms·

Aussie Tech Gold Rush

62 points by nreece 15y ago

dmboyd 15y ago
Congrats to designcrowd on the funding, however it seems like a clone of 99designs. IMHO I'd think there's a market for a different take on crowd sourced design, especially seeing as though there's such a huge backlash from the anti-spec work front. Something like a sortfolio for general design work perhaps?
- teflonhook 15y ago
  They actually started just before 99 I believe.
  - teflonhook 15y ago
    But of course, haven't had the same growth.
    - ra 15y ago
      ... 99designs grew out of sitepoint; it was a huge springboard having designers and customers using the sitepoint forums as a marketplace. 99 designs done really well, but freelancer have also now started doing design competitions, and now these guys. It's an emerging segment, good luck to them!
    - brc 15y ago
      Ironically, 99designs is an Australian company.
rednaught 15y ago
This is innovation? "Also today, professional domain name trader Winged Media, based in Australia but now with an office in the US, announced a $3 million investment from the Carnegie Innovation Fund."
- nreece 15y ago
  The Carnegie Fund’s backing will allow them to develop and launch a new platform, called Protrada. The platform is an aggregator of major domain providers, allowing members to buy, build and sell domains themselves. Protrada already manages more than 150,000 domains. Ref: http://www.startupsmart.com.au/technology/domain-start-up-winged-media-gets-$3-million-carnegie-innovation-fund-backing/201111024417.html http://www.startupsmart.com.au/technology/domain-start-up-wi...
  - rednaught 15y ago
    Thank you for the link. I stick to my original question though and the reason is that I'm not in favor of domainers or "domaining as a business."
    - damncabbage 15y ago
      Makes you wonder what happens at Domainer meetups. "No, you can't sit there. That chair is mine... And all those other ones too. I'll lease one to you for $50/hour, though."
- damncabbage 15y ago
  Aye. I've done work for a startup (flipped, now owned by a larger company) that has a massive portfolio of domains. It leases out directory listings and sells domains. :( It seems a common problem that "safe bet" ripoff ideas get funding. Atlassian is the big local exception (along with some other small groups like http://crowdhired.com http://crowdhired.com, http://99dresses.com http://99dresses.com and http://orionvm.com.au http://orionvm.com.au). On the other hand you have DesignCrowd, and other funded copycat startups like http://spreets.com.au http://spreets.com.au, http://pygg.co http://pygg.co and http://wooboard.com http://wooboard.com.
  - nl 15y ago
    BigCommerce isn't a rip-off, and it's a really good platform (from what I've seen). OrionVM.... it's a good idea, but not exactly innovative. But then, "innovative" is worth nothing on its own.
Dramatize 15y ago
What's with the popped collars? The problem with the Australian tech industry is most of the big players are just copy cats.
- ryanackley 15y ago
  What's with the popped collars? I'm an American living in Australia and I snickered when I first saw Australians wearing their collars popped. I eventually found myself doing it outdoors in the summer because the sun is so freaking intense here.
  - damncabbage 15y ago
    I'm an Australian living in Australia and I snickered when I first saw anybody wearing their collars popped. I haven't stopped.
  - boyter 15y ago
    Having traveled around the world (Sydney based) I will admit the Australian sun does seem to be much hotter and intense then any other place I have been to. Its also one of the reasons tourists get such bad sunburns here as they hit the beach without any protection.
    - brc 15y ago
      It's actually the lack of air pollution that makes the difference. LA has a SPF 30 sitting above it for most of the year. For most of the time, Australia does not.
      - fungi 15y ago
        closer to ozone hole, more uv
        brc 15y ago
        ozone hole LOL that's an old one. Ozone relative thickness deficiency doesn't explain the head-cracking sunshine in Cairns, which is closer to the equator than the south pole.
Dramatize 15y ago
The whole article feels so sleazy.
- ra 15y ago
  The age is a tabloid newspaper (as are all newspapers in Australia - even the broadsheet format ones)
  - alastairpat 15y ago
    That's not strictly fair. The Age online is absolute crap, but The Age in print is marginally better. I do, however, think that the media in general in Australia is abhorrent when compared with other countries, though.
    - brc 15y ago
      tabloid describes the format (as opposed to broadsheet). The term is associated with trashy newspapers, but actually refers to the print size. So describing The Age as a tabloid is factually true. If you want to drop your IQ a couple of points, swing past ninemsn.com sometime. EDIT: I just re-read the parent, and is using 'tabloid' in the trashy sense. I'll leave the comment as a general knowledge point.
      - alastairpat 15y ago
        The Age is definitely a broadsheet in terms of print size.
        brc 15y ago
        My mistake in that case.
wyclif 15y ago
Hmmm, a lot of negative comments so far. So in light of that, can anybody explain why the CW here is that so much of the Australian scene is a ripoff?
- zemaj 15y ago
  I think that the tech "gold rush" is still in it's early stages. It's still hard to convince investors in Aus that new ideas are worth betting on, so copy-cats with proven markets are currently leading the way. However, on the ground here I don't just see the big guys. There a plenty of smaller bootstrapped companies that are genuinely innovative. I went to a startup expo at one of the uni's here last month and was completely blown away by the innovation of many of the smaller companies. If I had the money there's plenty I would be betting on. "Just wait" is what I would say.
  - asharp 15y ago
    I'd give you that. Our VC market is very good for farms and for mines and for not much else. It's changing, but slowly. Going to SV makes this so much easier, but it means that you have to basically expand out of Aus, which is harder said then done. Here's to hoping things get better in the future :)
ra 15y ago
It's a sensationalist article from a mainstream newspaper.
brc 15y ago
I still think there's a very long way to go for Australians. If the US VCs decide to stop visiting, it's back to zero again. There's no reason why a home-grown community can't be grown, rather than a SV outreach program. There's enough cash in Australia, enough smart people, enough regions with nice weather. But the risk-taking and open-minded parts are going to take a while to develop. Hopefully over the next decade things will develop further. I think what's needed is one or two massive wins (ie billion dollar valuations or exits) then the money stays here and goes around again.
- asharp 15y ago
  We have a thriving VC community in Aus, with lots of awesome people and stupid amounts of money. It's for Mining/Agribusiness. Now trying to get a Tech VC community bootstrapped is going to be interesting, mainly because we seem to be stuck in a: Vcs are an oligopoly -> Nobody wants to go through them -> No new companies are formed -> No new VCs start here -> .... Cycle. The influx of a whole new environment to nurture startups recently seems interesting. Things like Fishburners, Silicon Beach, etc. Are doing good things incubating new startups adn getting them networked, but it stands to time if this recent upswing will get us out of the cycle.
  - brc 15y ago
    Ha don't we all wish to be able to raise capital and get ideas going as much as a geologist with a promising patch of dirt. Like I said - I think one big breakthrough startup would change everything. It would bring it to the attention of investors, employees, press, everyone.
    - asharp 15y ago
      I agree. It would be nice to see one or two more innovative startups around the place though.
robryan 15y ago
I think the problem here is more getting decent angel investments locally, a lot of the deals mentioned here are fairly big VC deals. Still seems that the ones getting these kind of deals the easiest are either moving to the valley or spending significant amounts of time there. Plenty of tech companies being started though so it will be interesting to see how many make it big.
- davidjohnstone 15y ago
  There is some stuff happening in the world of angel investments/startup incubators here. We've got nothing like what the US has, but Startmate (in Sydney) started last year, AngelCube (in Melbourne) started this year, and York Butter Factory (also in Melbourne) is about to/has just started. And I'm sure there's more than this.
abhishektwr 15y ago
Kaggle, another Aus startup, also got funding for big data analysis crowd sourcing platform (13Million) from Khosala Ventures and others.
- jacques_chester 15y ago
  I know their Chairman. Dr Gruen is a very smart guy.
  - jacques_chester 15y ago
    Aha, no I don't. Looks like Max Levchin is chairman these days.

62 points by nreece 15y ago

Congrats to designcrowd on the funding, however it seems like a clone of 99designs. IMHO I'd think there's a market for a different take on crowd sourced design, especially seeing as though there's such a huge backlash from the anti-spec work front. Something like a sortfolio for general design work perhaps?

teflonhook 15y ago
They actually started just before 99 I believe.
- teflonhook 15y ago
  But of course, haven't had the same growth.
  - ra 15y ago
    ... 99designs grew out of sitepoint; it was a huge springboard having designers and customers using the sitepoint forums as a marketplace. 99 designs done really well, but freelancer have also now started doing design competitions, and now these guys. It's an emerging segment, good luck to them!
  - brc 15y ago
    Ironically, 99designs is an Australian company.

rednaught 15y ago

This is innovation? "Also today, professional domain name trader Winged Media, based in Australia but now with an office in the US, announced a $3 million investment from the Carnegie Innovation Fund."

nreece 15y ago
The Carnegie Fund’s backing will allow them to develop and launch a new platform, called Protrada. The platform is an aggregator of major domain providers, allowing members to buy, build and sell domains themselves. Protrada already manages more than 150,000 domains. Ref: http://www.startupsmart.com.au/technology/domain-start-up-winged-media-gets-$3-million-carnegie-innovation-fund-backing/201111024417.html http://www.startupsmart.com.au/technology/domain-start-up-wi...
- rednaught 15y ago
  Thank you for the link. I stick to my original question though and the reason is that I'm not in favor of domainers or "domaining as a business."
  - damncabbage 15y ago
    Makes you wonder what happens at Domainer meetups. "No, you can't sit there. That chair is mine... And all those other ones too. I'll lease one to you for $50/hour, though."
damncabbage 15y ago
Aye. I've done work for a startup (flipped, now owned by a larger company) that has a massive portfolio of domains. It leases out directory listings and sells domains. :( It seems a common problem that "safe bet" ripoff ideas get funding. Atlassian is the big local exception (along with some other small groups like http://crowdhired.com http://crowdhired.com, http://99dresses.com http://99dresses.com and http://orionvm.com.au http://orionvm.com.au). On the other hand you have DesignCrowd, and other funded copycat startups like http://spreets.com.au http://spreets.com.au, http://pygg.co http://pygg.co and http://wooboard.com http://wooboard.com.
- nl 15y ago
  BigCommerce isn't a rip-off, and it's a really good platform (from what I've seen). OrionVM.... it's a good idea, but not exactly innovative. But then, "innovative" is worth nothing on its own.

Dramatize 15y ago

What's with the popped collars? The problem with the Australian tech industry is most of the big players are just copy cats.

ryanackley 15y ago
What's with the popped collars? I'm an American living in Australia and I snickered when I first saw Australians wearing their collars popped. I eventually found myself doing it outdoors in the summer because the sun is so freaking intense here.
- damncabbage 15y ago
  I'm an Australian living in Australia and I snickered when I first saw anybody wearing their collars popped. I haven't stopped.
- boyter 15y ago
  Having traveled around the world (Sydney based) I will admit the Australian sun does seem to be much hotter and intense then any other place I have been to. Its also one of the reasons tourists get such bad sunburns here as they hit the beach without any protection.
  - brc 15y ago
    It's actually the lack of air pollution that makes the difference. LA has a SPF 30 sitting above it for most of the year. For most of the time, Australia does not.
    - fungi 15y ago
      closer to ozone hole, more uv
      - brc 15y ago
        ozone hole LOL that's an old one. Ozone relative thickness deficiency doesn't explain the head-cracking sunshine in Cairns, which is closer to the equator than the south pole.

Dramatize 15y ago

The whole article feels so sleazy.

ra 15y ago
The age is a tabloid newspaper (as are all newspapers in Australia - even the broadsheet format ones)
- alastairpat 15y ago
  That's not strictly fair. The Age online is absolute crap, but The Age in print is marginally better. I do, however, think that the media in general in Australia is abhorrent when compared with other countries, though.
  - brc 15y ago
    tabloid describes the format (as opposed to broadsheet). The term is associated with trashy newspapers, but actually refers to the print size. So describing The Age as a tabloid is factually true. If you want to drop your IQ a couple of points, swing past ninemsn.com sometime. EDIT: I just re-read the parent, and is using 'tabloid' in the trashy sense. I'll leave the comment as a general knowledge point.
    - alastairpat 15y ago
      The Age is definitely a broadsheet in terms of print size.
      - brc 15y ago
        My mistake in that case.

wyclif 15y ago

Hmmm, a lot of negative comments so far. So in light of that, can anybody explain why the CW here is that so much of the Australian scene is a ripoff?

zemaj 15y ago
I think that the tech "gold rush" is still in it's early stages. It's still hard to convince investors in Aus that new ideas are worth betting on, so copy-cats with proven markets are currently leading the way. However, on the ground here I don't just see the big guys. There a plenty of smaller bootstrapped companies that are genuinely innovative. I went to a startup expo at one of the uni's here last month and was completely blown away by the innovation of many of the smaller companies. If I had the money there's plenty I would be betting on. "Just wait" is what I would say.
- asharp 15y ago
  I'd give you that. Our VC market is very good for farms and for mines and for not much else. It's changing, but slowly. Going to SV makes this so much easier, but it means that you have to basically expand out of Aus, which is harder said then done. Here's to hoping things get better in the future :)

ra 15y ago

It's a sensationalist article from a mainstream newspaper.

brc 15y ago

I still think there's a very long way to go for Australians. If the US VCs decide to stop visiting, it's back to zero again. There's no reason why a home-grown community can't be grown, rather than a SV outreach program. There's enough cash in Australia, enough smart people, enough regions with nice weather. But the risk-taking and open-minded parts are going to take a while to develop. Hopefully over the next decade things will develop further. I think what's needed is one or two massive wins (ie billion dollar valuations or exits) then the money stays here and goes around again.

asharp 15y ago
We have a thriving VC community in Aus, with lots of awesome people and stupid amounts of money. It's for Mining/Agribusiness. Now trying to get a Tech VC community bootstrapped is going to be interesting, mainly because we seem to be stuck in a: Vcs are an oligopoly -> Nobody wants to go through them -> No new companies are formed -> No new VCs start here -> .... Cycle. The influx of a whole new environment to nurture startups recently seems interesting. Things like Fishburners, Silicon Beach, etc. Are doing good things incubating new startups adn getting them networked, but it stands to time if this recent upswing will get us out of the cycle.
- brc 15y ago
  Ha don't we all wish to be able to raise capital and get ideas going as much as a geologist with a promising patch of dirt. Like I said - I think one big breakthrough startup would change everything. It would bring it to the attention of investors, employees, press, everyone.
  - asharp 15y ago
    I agree. It would be nice to see one or two more innovative startups around the place though.

robryan 15y ago

I think the problem here is more getting decent angel investments locally, a lot of the deals mentioned here are fairly big VC deals. Still seems that the ones getting these kind of deals the easiest are either moving to the valley or spending significant amounts of time there. Plenty of tech companies being started though so it will be interesting to see how many make it big.

davidjohnstone 15y ago
There is some stuff happening in the world of angel investments/startup incubators here. We've got nothing like what the US has, but Startmate (in Sydney) started last year, AngelCube (in Melbourne) started this year, and York Butter Factory (also in Melbourne) is about to/has just started. And I'm sure there's more than this.

abhishektwr 15y ago

Kaggle, another Aus startup, also got funding for big data analysis crowd sourcing platform (13Million) from Khosala Ventures and others.

jacques_chester 15y ago
I know their Chairman. Dr Gruen is a very smart guy.
- jacques_chester 15y ago
  Aha, no I don't. Looks like Max Levchin is chairman these days.