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Evan Thornley is a serial entrepreneur with decades of experience founding and leading tech startups, including Australia’s first to be listed on the NASDAQ and reach a more than $1 billion valuation. In 1995 Evan Thornley and his wife Tracey Ellery Founded LookSmart, which in 1999 had 500 employees and was the twelfth most visited website worldwide with 10 million users. Since leaving LookSmart Evan has had a diverse career, and is currently Executive Chair of LongView, a company aiming to transform the Australian property landscape. In his conversation with Adam, Evan discusses the highs and lows of his time with LookSmart, and the ways in which the Australian startup ecosystem has changed in the decades since the dot com boom and bust. See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/evan-thornley

Andrew Nunn is the co-founder, Chairman and Executive Director of JBS&G, one of Australia’s largest privately owned environmental consulting companies. Andrew also holds the position of Chief Entrepreneur of South Australia, a role in which he is tasked with providing advice to the South Australian Cabinet and the business community to enable entrepreneurialism across the state. In his conversation with guest host Alex Carpenter, Andrew discusses how his entrepreneurial journey started at the age of thirteen washing the exterior of homes before they went up for sale with his brother, as well as his view that states and territories, including South Australia, should focus on their strengths and work cooperatively as part of “team Australia” rather than focus on interstate competition. See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/andrew-nunn

Lana Weal is the founder of Market Mindfully, a marketing consultancy company that aims to support impact-driven startups in Australia and New Zealand to tell their stories, make more impact and connect with partners for mutual benefit. Lana first entered the startup world when she joined the accelerator BlueChilli as Marketing Manager in 2018, a role in which she learned a great deal about the Australian startup ecosystem. In 2021, Lana joined the Atto Accelerator to support the next generation of female founders. http://Atto.vc (Atto.vc) is a startup school that supports female founders to launch tech companies independently, scalable, and sustainably. In her conversation with Adam, Lana discusses the potential for burnout and mental health challenges working in the fast-paced startup world, as well as the importance of support networks when embarking on a founder's journey. See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/lana-weal (https://w2d1.com/lana-weal) This series is made possible thanks to our sponsors & partners. Major Sponsors: MYOB, Amazon Web Services Standard Sponsors: UTS Startups The Guild of Entrepreneurs Western Sydney University's LaunchPad Canberra Innovation Network Curtin University CSIRO University of South Australia LaunchVic The Office of the South Australian Chief Entrepreneur ANSTO Newcastle University's Integrated Innovation Network The University of Adelaide's ThincLab Flinders University's New Venture Institute UNSW Founders UQ Ventures James Cook University Partners: Startup Daily Fishburners Spark Festival Spacecubed Stone & Chalk River City Labs

Arthur Sinodinos is an Australian diplomat and former Liberal Party politician who has served as Ambassador to the United States since February 2020. He served as Chief of Staff to Prime Minister John Howard from 1997 to 2007, and was a Senator for New South Wales from 2011 to 2019, becoming a minister in the Abbott and Turnbull Governments. In his conversation with Adam, Arthur discusses what he sees as positive attributes of the US startup ecosystem which Australia could learn from, as well as his views on the role of government in the Australian startup ecosystem. See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/arthur-sinodinos

Petr Adámek is the CEO of the Canberra Innovation Network (CBRIN), a not for profit with the mission of empowering entrepreneurs to create positive change. Peter, originally from the Czech Republic, first entered the startup ecosystem in 2008, working as one of the co-founders of a consulting company in Prague, and has since spent time working in a variety of roles in the startup ecosystems of New Zealand and Australia. In his conversation with Adam, Petr discusses what the ACT’s startup ecosystem looked like when he first arrived in 2014, as well as his belief that while the diversity of startups within various geographies in Australia is a strength, as a nation we would benefit from a greater cohesion of the national startup ecosystem. See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/petr-adamek

Ashley Baxter is the founder of Monty Compost Co, a clean-tech startup building hardware and software technology for monitoring and managing organic waste recycling. With a passion for environmentalism at its core, Ashley had the idea for Monty Compost Co after learning that composting could be part of the solution for various environmental problems, and that there was little innovation happening in the space. In her conversation with Adam, Ashley discusses how UQ Ventures, a program run out of The University of Queensland, was “invaluable” in getting Monty Compost Co off the ground, as well as her opinion that some people within the startup community could afford to be more humble and less driven by ego. See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/ashley-baxter

Peter Devine is CEO of Uniseed, Australia’s longest running venture fund which works with researchers, businesses and industry to provide the best pathway to commercialise cutting-edge research. Peter has been with Uniseed since 2003, and additionally in his long career has served as Chair or Non-Executive Director for more than twenty organisations, including many technology and biotechnology startups. In his conversation with Adam, Peter discusses how he started his career as a researcher before moving into the business side of research commercialisation, as well as his belief that while there is a significant amount of funding for early stage software and B2B startups, for those reliant on cutting-edge research, what he refers to as “deep tech”, early stage funding is harder to come by. See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/peter-devine

Tim Fung is founder of Airtasker, a local services marketplace connecting people and businesses who need work done with people wanting to work. He is also co-founder and Director of Tank Stream Labs, a tech startup co-working space in Sydney. In his conversation with Adam, Tim discusses how people work from co-working spaces for a sense of community, not just desk space, as well as why he believes Australia is a great market to test startup ideas locally before going global. See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/tim-fung

Simon Thomsen is editor of Startup Daily and host of the Startup Daily show which airs on the business streaming service AusBiz.com.au. He is also an investor in early stage startups, and was previously Associate Editor of Business Insider Australia as well as a range of other roles in journalism and publishing. In his conversation with Adam, Simon discusses how during his time working on a journalist he saw technology alter the news and publishing landscape, as well as what he sees as a common trait among the many successful startup founders he has interviewed over the years. See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/simon-thomsen

Rohit Bhargava runs the podcast The Startup Playbook Podcast, where each week he interviews successful entrepreneurs, investors and industry experts. Rohit first entered the startup ecosystem in 2013 when he founded StageLabel, a crowdfunding platform for the fashion industry. Since then he has also had the roles of Community and Events Manager at Startup Victoria, and Startup Business Development Manager at Amazon Web Services Australia & New Zealand. In his conversation with guest host Will Tjo, Rohit discusses how entering the Sydney Startup Weekend competition led to him founding his first company, as well as his belief that reshaping the wholesale investor requirements and tests in Australia would be beneficial to the startup ecosystem. See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/rohit-bhargava

Louise Nobes is the founder and CEO of KIK Innovation, an organisation that aims to end youth unemployment through enterprise. Louise is also the founder of 42 Adelaide, an Australian branch of the global educational organisation founded in France, which provides tuition free IT training that aims to be open to anyone regardless of background. In her conversation with Adam, Louise discusses how her previous career as a social worker helped shape her approach to entrepreneurship, and her belief that the Australian startup ecosystem needs to be brave enough to “think untraditionally”.  See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/louise-nobes

Darren Winterford is the founder and CEO of EdApp, a mobile focused LMS (learning management system) which allows its users to create learning experiences that can be accessed on mobile devices in bite sized chunks which EdApp calls “microlessons”. Prior to EdApp, Darren founded a digital agency that specialised in building mobile apps for large brands, and it was during his time running the agency that the idea for EdApp emerged. In his conversation with Adam, he discussed how first working to build software products for clients was the perfect learning ground for an aspiring founder, as well as his belief that Australian entrepreneurs would benefit from more networking and community building. See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/darren-winterford

Craig Swann is the Event Director for SouthStart, Australia’s first innovation impact festival which brings together entrepreneurs, technologists, creatives, and founders from around Australia. Craig has a long history in startups, including as co-founder of Sqribbles and Looplabs, and currently acting as Senior Advisor in Australia for the Global Entrepreneurship Network. In his conversation with Adam, Craig discusses how he first got involved with SouthStart, and his concern that a degree of complacency in Australia can result in a slower pace of innovation. See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/craig-swann

Serina Bird is the author of The Joyful Frugalista, a personal finance guide, and runs online courses on money and finance. She also founded The Joyful Business Club which aims to support women pursue their career goals through mentoring, networking and training, and is the author of The Joyful Startup Guide. In her conversation with Adam, Serina discusses being inspired by witnessing the innovative startup ecosystem in Taiwan, as well as her belief that Australia could massively benefit from an increase of women and non-binary led startups. See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/serina-bird

Moira Were has been involved in many endeavors in the Australian startup ecosystem throughout her long career, with a focus on projects striving for social good. Moira is the founder of the Hen House Co-Op, an initiative with the goal of closing the gender investment gap, and co founder of Collab4Good, a social enterprise working towards a just economy based on participation, equity, access and rights for all. In her conversation with guest host Will Tjo, Moira discusses her belief that all companies should be social enterprises, as well as various approaches and metrics companies can use in order to measure “good”. See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/moira-were

Tim Boyle is Director of Innovation & Commercialisation at ANSTO, Australia’s Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation. Tim is also the director and founder of Nandin Innovation Centre, ANSTO’s centre for commercialisation, design innovation and entrepreneurship, which oversees a growing ecosystem of more than 30 startups. In his conversation with Adam, Tim discusses his belief that there is a bias towards digital technologies and web/mobile platforms within Australia’s startup ecosystem, as well as what he sees as unique strengths of the Australian startup ecosystem. See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/tim-boyle

Bill Tai is a global venture capitalist who is based in Silicon Valley and spends part of the year in Perth. Bill has been funding startups as a Venture Capitalist since 1991, and has had 23 of his startups become listed companies. Bill is also an Adjunct Professor at Curtin University, where his focus is innovation and economic development. In his conversation with Adam, Bill discusses how he became one of the earliest investors in Canva after meeting one of its co-founders Melanie Perkins, as well as what he sees as key similarities and differences between Silicon Valley and Australia’s startup ecosystem. See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/bill-tai

Rohan McDougall is the director of commercialisation at Curtin University, where his team work to identify business opportunities for new products and services that arise research conducted at the university. Rohan has over a decade of experience working as company director or chairman of a variety of technology startups, including Renergi, a renewable energy technologies company, and Icetana, a company producing AI video analytics tools to assist in security surveillance. In his conversation with Adam, Rohan discusses how the dot com boom and bust affected Australia’s startup ecosystem, and why the Western Australian economy is at risk at having all its eggs in one basket with its heavy investment into the mining industry. See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/rohan-mcdougall

Kate Jones is the former Minister for Innovation in the Queensland government, and has spent the last 20 years of her life working in politics. Currently she is an executive director with the Tech Council of Australia, as well as working for the tech entrepreneur Bevan Slattery who has built a number of businesses that handle data and telecommunications. In her conversation with Adam, Kate discusses why the Tech Council of Australia was founded, as well as her views on what role government should play within the Australian startup ecosystem. See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/kate-jones

Kylie Frazer is co-founder and partner of Flying Fox Ventures, an Australian investment firm with a focus on early stage tech companies. Flying Fox is notable for being a rolling fund, a business model aims to optimise for flexibility with investors not locked into long term commitments. In her conversation with Adam, Kylie discusses her belief that in order for Australia to have more female founders we need more female investors, as well as some of the common causes she has witnessed first hand for co-founder break ups. See full show notes: https://w2d1.com/kylie-frazer