Rob is the CEO and founder of podcasting platform Whooshkaa. An accountant by background, Rob was formerly the CEO at Macquarie Radio Network before he left and threw himself into the startup world with Whooshkaa a couple of years ago. Whooshkaa as well as being the publishing platform for Open the…
Continue ReadingTerry Gold is the Managing Directors of Techstars in Adelaide. I don’t think he would mind being described as a “veteran” of this industry, having founded, run, sold, mentored many many companies over his “several” years in the sector. Terry was an awesome interview subject. Smart, caring, passionate. We discussed…
Continue ReadingOn Thursday 13 July 2017, Jobs NSW announced the creation of the “Sydney Startup Hub”, a new, 17,000 sq m space dedicated to housing, and nurturing, much of Sydney’s startup community. Anchor tenants of Fishburners, Tankstream, Stone & Chalk and The Studio. Scheduled to open later in 2017. David Thodey…
Continue ReadingJeremy Kwong-Law manages Grok Ventures, which is Mike Cannon-Brookes’s family office fund. Jeremy has a law degree from Sydney Uni, a stint at Macquarie bank as well as a foray into running his own startup a few years ago. This a fascinating story about how Jeremy got into venture, what…
Continue ReadingSlight change in format this week. Ian is off in Hawaii cycling up a volcano, so has handed the microphone over to his Innovation Bay co-founder Phaedon Stough. He caught up with Patrick Llewellyn, the CEO of Accel-backed Aussie startup success story 99Designs. 99Designs is one of the world’s largest graphic…
Continue ReadingKatherine is the founder and CEO of Brighte, a Sydney-based fintech startup. Its proposition is to lend to households looking to buy big-ticket items like solar panels, batteries, air conditioners, etc. A former Macquarie banker, she launched the business in late 2016. She has shown incredible traction and progress, having…
Continue ReadingAl is one of the new generation of Aussie VCs. Tempus Partners was formed after his successful exit from ShippingEasy. He’s now launched a $40m fund investing in the best early stage and Series A opportunities. It’s an awesome story and great to hear the insights from one of the…
Continue ReadingDan Cohen is an Australian serial entrepreneur. He successfully built and sold his first business Park Assist after a 10 year journey. In 2015 he co-founded Flare, a business redefining the employer-employee relationship. Has raised almost $10m locally, mostly from local VC Reinventure. I’ve known Dan for years now and…
Continue ReadingJason is a prinipal at Partners for Growth (PFG), a specialty lending company from Silicon Valley with an active presence in Australia. When it comes to financing high-growth companies, we tend to focus on equity deals – ie sell a percentage of your company shares to an investor. Debt is…
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