Alt.Leather founder Tina Funder and chief scientific officer Dr Tuan Nguyen
Events

The new face of innovation is here – and Australia needs to catch up

- April 22, 2025 3 MIN READ

An advertising executive. An aerospace engineer. A doctor. Not a punchline – but the profile of Australia’s new generation of innovators. They’re not spinning out of Silicon Valley with SaaS platforms or apps. They’re solving real-world problems: clean flight, robotic surgery, sustainable materials. They’re building deep tech. And they’re doing it in labs, in surgeries,… Read more »

AI/Machine Learning

Job Matched, a recruitment startup bootstrapped by a first-time female founder, is using AI to get the cultural fit right in hiring

- April 16, 2025 2 MIN READ

A recruitment platform that combines the simplicity of dating app swiping with AI-powered soft skills matching was launched in Sydney by a first-time founder this week.  Job Matched is the brainchild of Australian-American Kayla Parry, who set out to make hiring faster, smarter and more human. Parry was on Startup 360 this week, where she… Read more »

Business

How ‘smart’ investors are killing your future – and theirs too

- April 15, 2025 19 MIN READ

As I sat at the second ever Systemic Investing Summit in London in March, among 180 hand-picked global wealth holders and controllers, philanthropists, academics and industry practitioners, one disturbing image kept coming to mind. While we discussed innovative financing models and systemic approaches to capital deployment that could save humanity from collapse, I couldn’t shake… Read more »

classic B&W
Business

‘Meritocracy’ began as satire, but now it’s taken seriously, we’ve lost sight of actual performance

- April 15, 2025 3 MIN READ

In the online discourse, there’s a debate raging that pits “MEI” (that is, merit, excellence, and intelligence) against “DEI” (diversity, equity, and inclusion). If you’re doom-scrolling, you may have gotten the impression that DEI prioritises providing benefits or special treatment to people who have not earned opportunities, rather than giving opportunities to the most deserving,… Read more »

Mardi Gras
Diversity

Why Queer-led startups and allyship matter now more than ever

- April 15, 2025 3 MIN READ

The startup world thrives on innovation – new ideas, fresh perspectives, and bold solutions to problems others overlook. Queer-led businesses have been driving that kind of innovation for decades, yet we remain one of the most underfunded, undervalued, and underestimated forces in the ecosystem. Right now, we’re experiencing a critical moment where the progress we’ve… Read more »

Marketing, snake oil, sales, PR, classic, pitch, spruik
Advice

A VC explains how to pitch a compelling story that makes them want to invest

- April 14, 2025 3 MIN READ

The following section is an excerpt from The Fundraising Blueprint by Abhishek Maran, focused on crafting your narrative and structuring your pitch deck.  ​​Fundraising is an emotional process, especially at the early stage. You need investors to feel a certain level of affinity towards you and your startup to stand a chance. Some people are natural… Read more »

Business

The annual S2S Summit is hosting a farewell party to the Sydney Startup Hub in August

- April 14, 2025 2 MIN READ

The annual Tank Stream Labs S2S Summit returns this year in August for a third time, sending the Sydney Startup Hub off with a bang. The two-day event, August 20-21, 2025, is designed to empower entrepreneurs, innovators, and industry leaders with keynote presentations, panel discussions, interactive workshops, and networking opportunities. Tank Stream Labs has been… Read more »

Advice

VC investing 101: After writing your first angel cheque, here’s what happens next

- April 11, 2025 3 MIN READ

So you’ve e-signed the docs, transferred the funds (nobody writes an actual cheque these days when they say “I’ve written a cheque”). You’ve joined the cap table. You’ve posted the obligatory celebratory LinkedIn update. Congratulations — you’re officially An Angel Investor™. But now what? If you’re a new angel investor, the post-investment phase can feel…… Read more »

Business

The tech sector wants the next federal government to think about how it can end Australia’s R&D ‘risk aversion’

- April 11, 2025 3 MIN READ

Australia needs to reduce its “risk aversion” in order to improve its lagging research and development (R&D) sector and fragmented innovation ecosystem, according to industry experts. The nation has struggled to capitalise on innovations developed by universities and startups, and has seen their intellectual property taken overseas in search of greater funding, a panel of… Read more »

Xero Rod Drury, Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, David Thodey
Fintech

Xero’s boss needs 60,000 subscribers like me just to cover the cost of her latest pay deal *wish I could put a mind blown emoji in this headline*

- April 10, 2025 3 MIN READ

Just before Christmas, as staff put on Hawaiian shirts and went to Christmas lunches HR hoped didn’t create more work for them, New Zealand ASX-listed accounting platform Xero (ASX: XRO) dropped details on a new pay plan for CEO Sukhinder Singh Cassidy. The December 18 release, titled “Xero CEO pay revised, aligns to performance and… Read more »

employee tied up for boss
Opinion

Why banning non-compete clauses is a great idea for around 3 million Australian workers

- April 9, 2025 3 MIN READ

The Labor government used this week’s budget to announce it plans to ban non-compete agreements for employees on less than A$175,000 per year, a move that will affect about 3 million Australian workers. Describing them as “unfair”, a media release by federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers said non‑compete clauses “are holding back Australian workers from switching… Read more »