"Could Australia’s tech stock frenzy ignite the next Silicon Valley?" asks this piece in the AFR.
Australian start-ups face both considerable obstacles and opportunities. Consider this quote:
“I have seen businesses that give up equity and head over too early to the US, but then had difficulty managing their growth,” said Ms LoRusso. “There is a skills shortage and funding shortage holding back tech entrepreneurs in Australia, which forces them to accept the money more easily available in the US. You can have a great idea but the ability to nurture that through its growth stage is very limited, largely because of that funding gap of $1 million to $10 million and a skills shortage. So picking the time to expand is critical.”
For some growing start-ups, certain Asian countries might actually offer better scope for expansion than the US. My experience has been that many Australian entrepreneurs either don't realise this or don't know how to tackle the opportunity, because few role models are available to them and because Asia doesn't have as much mind share in Australia as one might expect.
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