When the Victorian government announced plans to disband LaunchVic, and distribute some of its roles to other agencies, like Breakthrough Victoria, there’s a temptation to treat it as an administrative change: a reshuffle of functions, a rebadging of programs, a matter for insiders. That temptation is comforting – and profoundly wrong. I don’t want to… Read more »
Over the Summer break, Startup Daily is republishing key stories from 2025. This opinion piece from editor Simon Thomsen first appeared in February amid news that the NSW that the NSW government and UFC fan premier Chris Minns, paid $16 million to the US cage fighting company to stage 3 events in Sydney at a… Read more »
While Melbourne prepares for another glossy startup gala, let’s talk about what won’t be on the menu. Victoria’s startup agency has locked away $160m+ in public funding—yet no grassroots event support since 2019. VicGov spent $7 m+ on DIF (Digital Innovation Futures)—and it quietly shut down. Melbourne Convention Bureau backs only international events (e.g., C2, GEC)… Read more »
While Sydney as a tech ecosystem bemoans the looming ‘relocation’ of their Sydney Startup Hub, we here in Melbourne, even as a ‘4th Most Liveable City in the world’ aren’t even currently a good place to build a tech company, period. We don’t have a ‘home’ for startups. We don’t have a thriving scene. We… Read more »
A few tiny tweaks to the words you use can have huge impacts on your mindset and your results – here are four changes you can make today. Words are powerful. And small changes to the words we think and say can have huge impacts on our mindset. ‘Our greatest freedom is the freedom to… Read more »
“Empathy is for losers”, says the guy whose lack of empathy has lost him about 250 billion dollars in the last couple of weeks. Sorry, make that $260 billion… $270 billion… No, wait. $280 billion… Well, I could go on, just like the sell-off in Tesla shares. Elon Musk, the self-driving car crash in human… Read more »
In the blitzkreig of ‘initiatives’ where the new U.S administration, the engine of which has undoubtedly been tech billionaires such as Elon Musk and his brethren, has sought to erase any position, initiative or even accomplishment of any public servant considered to be the result of diversity, equity or inclusion (D.E.I), it has rightly not been the… Read more »
Australia is one of the most creative nations in the world with a research sector that produces innovative and imaginative solutions to difficult global challenges. We generate 3.4% of the world’s research with just 0.33% of its population. Tragically we have failed to capitalise on this wonderful achievement. We fail to convert this research into… Read more »
The federal budget is 26 million seagulls (us) arguing over a $630 million chip. And the treasurer, currently Jim Chalmers, has to play parent and decide who gets pocket money, while also knowing that when we shout “you’re not my real dad”, we can really mean it every three years. As the editor of Startup… Read more »
In an article published elsewhere last week, the country’s largest VCs were scornful of the local sector’s prospects in 2024. No one is arguing the landscape has become tougher; costs are higher, consumers have tightened their belts, market valuations are subdued. The sector is well aware we have much to prove and big hurdles to… Read more »
A convergence of tailwinds and current market conditions make this an unparalleled time for climate technology. Climate tailwinds are coming in the form of new government policy and public dollars to support climate solutions are being announced (and now deployed) at unprecedented levels. Also, corporations now see decarbonisation as an imperative and being a leader… Read more »
Twitter feels like I could wake up any morning now and find the whole site burned to ground, with Elon Mush standing in the smoking rubble, in a pair of yellowed Y-fronts, dribbling bathtub gin through broken teeth, laughing at me. — John Birmingham (@JohnBirmingham) October 31, 2022 It doesn’t seem that many people are… Read more »
If it isn’t broken don’t try and fix it: this is the most important but absent principle when it comes to Australian government innovation policy. With this principle in mind, it will be a tragedy for Australian startups if either the Accelerating Commercialisation (AC) or Business Research and Innovation Initiative (BRII) are damaged by the… Read more »
Earlier this week, Scott Morrison used his Press Club address to outline his plan for economic recovery from the COVID-19 period, in the coming months and years. At the forefront of this is reform of Australia’s Industrial Relations system. Industrial relations is a defining issue in politics and when it comes down to it, we’ve… Read more »
Airbnb, the undeniable poster child of the sharing economy, may be about to face one of its toughest PR battles yet.
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