Day One®

Michael Batko is the CEO of Startmate, an accelerator that has invested in 170+ startups across Australia and New Zealand with a collective portfolio value of two billion dollars. Originally from Austria, Michael had his first exposure to the startup world when he moved to Australia and became the first employee at Mad Paws, a marketplace for pet sitters. In his conversation with guest host Will Tjo, Michael discusses how working in a startup contrasts to a corporate environment, and what he sees as the four prevalent business models of accelerators and where Startmate fits in.

See show notes https://w2d1.com/michael-batko

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This episode is sponsored by NTP

This episode is sponsored by NTP

Julie Trell is an American woman who moved to Australia in 2017 to pursue two opportunities in the Australian startup ecosystem: working as head of the now defunct accelerator Muru-D, and to bring SheEO to Australia. SheEO is a global organisation founded by Vicki Saunders with a unique model: women and non-binary “Activators” contribute a monthly payment which is pooled together and given as a 0% interest loan to women-led “Ventures” selected by the Activators. As well as contributing capital, Activators also act as mentors, lending their expertise, Mentioned and networks to help the Ventures grow and succeed. In her conversation with Adam, Julie discusses the unique SheEO business model, as well as the importance of diversity within the Australian startup ecosystem.

See show notes https://w2d1.com/julie-trell

Mentioned in this episode:

This episode is sponsored by NTP

This episode is sponsored by NTP

With no experience but a lot of guts and vision, Peter Davison moved to Silicon Valley and started a Venture Capital firm with a friend in 1998. They had several early successes, most famously as early investors in PayPal, in which Peter was a key advisor to Peter Thiel on business and product strategy. Since returning to Australia Peter has founded, built and sold several internet businesses, and founded Fishburners, a not-for-profit co-working space and incubator which has played a key role in the growth and development of the Australian startup ecosystem. In his conversation with Adam, Peter tells the story of how he initially was motivated to found Fishburners because he “didn’t have any friends”, as well as sharing his perhaps controversial views that the now traditional VC backed startup trajectory may not be the best route for many founders.

See the full show notes https://w2d1.com/peter-davison

Mentioned in this episode:

This episode is sponsored by NTP

This episode is sponsored by NTP

Maxine Sherrin is the Program Director of Spark Festival, a not-for-profit festival that aims to grow entrepreneurship in Australia by bringing together people from all corners of the startup world: founders, investors, small/medium enterprises, big corporates and policy makers. Before taking her current role, Maxine co-founded Web Directions in 2004, Australia’s first event for web designers and developers. In her conversation with Adam, Maxine discusses the importance of building and growing a community that celebrates and supports Australian founders and innovators.

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This episode is sponsored by NTP

This episode is sponsored by NTP

Cameron Adams is a co-founder and Chief Product Officer at Canva, an online design platform with over 20 million users. After starting his own design agency and then working for Google, Cameron founded Fluent with two other Google alumni. While Fluent, which endeavoured to reimagine email, was ultimately unsuccessful, while working on the project he met his Canva co-founders and ultimately came on board as a founder. In his conversation with Adam, they discuss some of the turbulent early times of Fluent and Canva, and the importance of community and connection within the startup ecosystem.

See full show notes https://w2d1.com/cameron-adams

Mentioned in this episode:

This episode is sponsored by NTP

This episode is sponsored by NTP

Lauren Capelin is a community strategist and disruptive innovation specialist passionate about the development and application of new business models, corporate social innovation, impact investment and fostering entrepreneurial capacity, particularly in women. She is currently Principal at Startmate, an accelerator that aims to support tech startups in Australia and New Zealand. In her conversation with Adam, Lauren tells the story of how she came to be involved in Startmate, and shares her views on the importance of nurturing diversity in the Australian startup ecosystem.

See the full show notes https://w2d1.com/lauren-capelin

Mentioned in this episode:

This episode is sponsored by NTP

This episode is sponsored by NTP

Bruce Tulloch is the co-founder and managing director of BitScope Designs, which creates IOT (Internet of Things) and cloud computing tools for industrial and educational use. Bruce is also chair of The Studio Limited, Australia’s first media tech incubator based at the Sydney Startup Hub. And as if that wasn’t enough to keep him busy, Bruce is also Director of New Technologies at JetPack Aviation, which was the first company to develop a working jet pack which was flown around the Statue of Liberty in New York in 2015. In his conversation with Adam, Bruce discusses the origins of The Studio Limited, as well as what Bruce sees as some of the key challenges that the Australian startup ecosystem faces.

See the full show notes https://w2d1.com/bruce-tulloch

Mentioned in this episode:

This episode is sponsored by NTP

This episode is sponsored by NTP

Kate Cornick is the CEO of LaunchVic, the Victorian Government’s initiative to accelerate startups and create new jobs in Victoria. Before taking this position, Kate worked in a variety of roles in startup land, including leading the development of a human resources technology startup through a listing on the Australian Stock Exchange, as well as acting as General Manager at NBN Co. In her conversation with Alex Carpenter, Kate discusses Australia’s low number of startup founders per capita relative to other countries, and potential ways of supporting Australians to begin their startup journey.

See the full show notes https://w2d1.com/kate-cornick

Mentioned in this episode:

This episode is sponsored by NTP

This episode is sponsored by NTP

Niki Scevak has a long and diverse background in the Australian startup ecosystem. From his entrepreneurial beginnings co-founding two software companies, Niki would go on to co-found Blackbird, a venture capital firm which manages over a billion dollars, and found Startmate, an accelerator that has helped 170+ startups since its inception in 2011. In his conversation with Adam he discusses what he sees as gaps in the Australian startup ecosystem, as well as the reasons for feeling optimistic about the future.

See the full show notes https://w2d1.com/niki-scevak

Mentioned in this episode:

This episode is sponsored by NTP

This episode is sponsored by NTP

Andrea Gardiner is the founder of Jelix, an investment firm which focuses on early stage technology startups in Australia and New Zealand. In her conversation with Adam, she shares her conviction that disruptive, scalable technology startups are critical for the future economic prosperity of Australia, and highlights the supportive and collaborative of Australia’s startup ecosystem as a key advantage.

See the full show notes https://w2d1.com/andrea-gardiner

Mentioned in this episode:

This episode is sponsored by NTP

This episode is sponsored by NTP