What UK companies can learn from the Australian startup scene

by Startacus Admin

The lowdown on what makes Australia such fertile ground for startups and the lessons we can take from this success

Over recent years, the startup community in Australia has been booming. It has become one of the most exciting places to set up a business and the potential for growth is impressively high. In this article, we're going to discuss what we can learn from Australian-based startups.

Australia's startup ecosystem is characterised by quirky tech companies, effective business models, and strong interest from investors. The ecosystem is comprised of everything from upstart comparison and martech services through to marketplaces and software for remote teams. Of course, this is helped by Australia having one of the strongest economies on the global stage. Read on to find out more about what makes Australia such fertile ground for startups and the lessons we can take from this success.

1. Offer incentives to investors

The biggest obstacle for any new company is funding. In Australia, investment in startups is very much encouraged by the government as well as the new businesses themselves. This allows many new businesses to raise the required funding and support to get up and running.

An investor will always want to know what they are getting for their money. Investing in a startup is always a risk, especially if the service the company is offering is brand new and never seen before. As a startup, it's a good idea to offer extra incentives to the investors to get them on board. These could be financial incentives or other things, but the aim is always to convince the investor that they are taking a worthwhile risk. 

2. Developing the 'scene'

If you don't have a space to build your brand awareness, attract investors, and meet other business owners, then running a startup is always going to be difficult. However, in Australia, startups have taken it upon themselves to develop their own scenes and put their growth into their own hands.

This has been particularly successful in Sydney. There, business owners began getting together and arranging meetups, activities, and networking events within their niches. This quickly attracted the attention of larger investors and ultimately resulted in the government committing $35 million into a brand new Sydney Startup Hub.

Investors always want to see potential, so teaming up with other business owners to showcase what your startups can offer is a really valuable technique. As has been shown in Sydney, taking some time to develop a scene can lead to some fantastic rewards later on down the line.

3. Timing is Everything

With a startup, timing is truly everything. An idea that takes off this year might be completely unsuccessful next year, and vice versa. The key is to be in tune with the market you are going into, and taking the opportunities when they present themselves.

Take the Australian company Canva. In 2007, the company's CEO Melanie Perkins was completely unknown in the business world. However, after some impeccably timed decisions, she managed to catapult herself to the top of the tech startup ladder with Canva currently valued at over $2 billion.

Canva is far from being the only example of an incredibly successful tech business in the country. Australian CEOs are known around the world for keeping their ears to the ground and securing investment at the most opportune moments.

 

 

 

 

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Published on: 21st December 2020