More Australian founders turn to Startup Daily when they want to know what’s going on than any other news site in Australia.
The site, founded in 2012 and now in its sixth year under editor Simon Thomsen, has seen its readership grow steadily over the past three years to become number one in the annual Startup Muster survey, overtaking the AFR, which held the top spot since 2018.
More than a third of founders (35%) use Startup Daily to get their news and advice on what’s happening in startups and tech.
Nearly 1200 people in the startup sector across Australia responded to the 2025 edition of the nation’s largest startup survey.
Sister company, SmartCompany, was in third place on the survey at 23%.
Startup Daily’s weekly podcast, Startup 360, launched at the startup of 2025, was also among the top local podcasts founders listened to, alongside the excellent Transparent Venture Capital by Queensland VC Tribe Global, and First Cheque by Cheryl Mack and Maxine Minter.
Startup Muster founder Murray Hurps said he was pleased to see Startup Daily recognised.
“Seeing Startup Daily named as the most commonly read news source for Australia’s startup ecosystem restored my faith in the decision-making prowess of Australian entrepreneurs,” he said.
“In a world of AI slop, trustworthy sources will increasingly be critical to making good business decisions, and I look forward to more people appreciating this in the years to come.”
Editor Simon Thomsen said he was deeply honoured by the trust the sector placed in the publication.
“I’ve been privileged enough to be custodian of Startup Daily since 2019, and it’s been inspiring, especially through the Covid years, to see how founders execute on amazing ideas and the unexpected curve balls thrown at them,” he said.
“Startup Daily occupies a unique position in the ecosystem as both fierce advocate for the sector and critical eye. We’re also one of the few media publications left where early-stage founders can access information that helps them succeed for free – there is no paywall.
“As I said at the Best in Tech awards, which are free to enter, recently ‘Diversity, inclusion and equality are central to our DNA’. We live that every day on StartupDaily.net too.”
The Startup Muster 2025 report can be downloaded at startupmuster.com.
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