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Ask HN: Is there a Y Combinator equivalent in Australia?

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Re: Ask HN: Is there a Y Combinator equivalent in Australia?

#11
post #3

There's the government neis program. http://www.centrelink.gov.au/internet/internet.nsf/services/...

"... There's the government neis program ..." Aus Government anything (insert current gov inititive) is the "kiss of Startup death" .

I disagree. Me and friend started a moderately successful web publishing business years ago while on NEIS. Of course our plans did diverge significantly from the plan we submitted to them to get approved. Obviously you shouldn't expect a lot of useful advice them but 6-12 months to work on something is still quite good deal.

If you actually have any evidence of this "kiss of Startup death" you should post it.

Re: Ask HN: Is there a Y Combinator equivalent in Australia?

#12
As an Aussie, in the current YC batch, I have to say that the answer is unfortunately no. YC is just an unbelievable phenomenon, and I think it's unlikely to be successfully replicated anywhere.

To understand my answer, you really need to understand the value that YC gives you. The money is one thing, but it's really not that much -- I don't think you should be doing YC if the money is your primary objective. What has been amazing for me is the access to people who have, it is no understatement to say, changed the world. Getting office hours with PG is massively helpful -- it's saved us a bunch of time when we've been worried about something to just head into YC's offices and have a candid discussion about it with Paul, and he has a particular talent for focusing startups energy in the right direction (users and cheques!).

The big part of this that will be especially hard to replicate in Australia is the introductions to all these people -- fundamentally, those people live in Silicon Valley, and there's not much you can do to change that.

My last comment here is that I don't think Australia (well, Sydney in particular, that's where I'm from) has the same kind of acceptance of entrepreneurs that we have here in the Valley. It's pretty weird to go to a party and not run into someone else who is starting a company over here, but entirely the opposite is true in Sydney -- everyone who could start a company takes an ok job and enjoys the lifestyle. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that, but you don't get the same exposure to the startup lifestyle in Sydney, and it's a big mental barrier to get over.

I hope I'm wrong, and I'd love for it to change, because I do think there's some real talent in Australia that could be doing great things (and frankly I miss the beaches!). But making that happen is going to be a lot harder than just throwing some cash around.

Re: Ask HN: Is there a Y Combinator equivalent in Australia?

#13
I work with jamesg (who's already commented) as an Aussie in the current YC batch.

The short answer is there isn't really an equivalent, although I think I speak for many expat Aussies in saying we wish there were!

There are certainly many entrepreneurs in Sydney - check out some of the local meetups like http://www.meetup.com/open-coffee-sydney/ or contact people like Mick Liubinskas and Bart Jellema.

However as James said, the incredible wealth of talent, opportunity, and funding available in Silicon Valley has to be seen to be believed. Without such a context, I think it will be hard to develop such a seed funding model.

The debate about why Australians need to come to the Valley to start companies has been raging for decades - see commentary on Atlassian's most recent round of funding as a classic example.

I think it notable that YC's specific value proposition especially makes sense in a climate where later stages of funding are plentiful. I have no quantitative data to back this up, but it appears sensible to assume that the volume of deal flow (in $M terms) raised in Australia for tech startups would need to be massively higher before a seed investment funnel model would make sense.

Finally, go for it! If not now and you, then when and who? :-)

Re: Ask HN: Is there a Y Combinator equivalent in Australia?

#14
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"... There's the government neis program ..." Aus Government anything (insert current gov inititive) is the "kiss of Startup death" .

I disagree. Me and friend started a moderately successful web publishing business years ago while on NEIS. Of course our plans did diverge significantly from the plan we submitted to them to get approved. Obviously you shouldn't expect a lot of useful advice them but 6-12 months to work on something is still quite good deal. If you actually have any evidence of this "kiss of Startup death" you should post it.

"... If you actually have any evidence of this "kiss of Startup death" you should post it. ..."

start here ~ http://siliconbeachaustralia.org/lifeguard/

Re: Ask HN: Is there a Y Combinator equivalent in Australia?

#15
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree. Me and friend started a moderately successful web publishing business years ago while on NEIS. Of course our plans did diverge significantly from the plan we submitted to them to get approved. Obviously you shouldn't expect a lot of useful advice them but 6-12 months to work on something is still quite good deal. If you actually have any evidence of this "kiss of Startup death" you should post it.

"... If you actually have any evidence of this "kiss of Startup death" you should post it. ..." start here ~ http://siliconbeachaustralia.org/lifeguard/

You wouldn't care to point out any particular section. It is quite a long document and the language appears to be a bit vague and political in nature. Or is your point that this is kind of document is actually part of the problem.

Either way I think that the NEIS program is a bit smaller that what these guys are talking about. If you do a NEIS program you are just as likely to be applying alongside people who are wanting to sell homemade candles at markets. It is really an employment program rather than ITC.

Re: Ask HN: Is there a Y Combinator equivalent in Australia?

#16

Unrelated question: if we only consider tax laws, what's the best place in the world for startups to be? (The answer might be useful for startups that plan to bootstrap and don't mind hiring employees who telecommute.)

A yacht in international waters.

Re: Ask HN: Is there a Y Combinator equivalent in Australia?

#17
post #2

"... Is there anything like a Y Combinator equivalent in Australia? ..." The closest I can identify is at Mick Liubinskas at Pollinizer ~ http://www.pollenizer.com/pollenizer-investing-in-web-startu... & http://twitter.com/pollenizer

Hi guys, yep, there are two initiatives that we are working on that will address this market. One is Pollenizer co-founding startups (above link), and the second is more a straight YCombinator model which (to be announced in the next three months).

Our bootcamps are the starting point for us; http://www.pollenizer.com/services/bootcamp/

We are aiming to run bootcamps in Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth later in the year.

Email me at mick@pollenizer.com if you want to connect.

Re: Ask HN: Is there a Y Combinator equivalent in Australia?

#18

Unrelated question: if we only consider tax laws, what's the best place in the world for startups to be? (The answer might be useful for startups that plan to bootstrap and don't mind hiring employees who telecommute.)

Maybe incorporate offshore (Belize, Panama, Seychelles), and work from Costa Rica. Zero tax, and no sea-sickness issues. Might be a problem to get investment, or sell your startup though..

For bootstrapping, the main problem I found with taxation and incorporation is the bureaucratic overhead - it becomes the top idea in your mind for a time and distracts from building your product. So the trade off might be worth it.

Re: Ask HN: Is there a Y Combinator equivalent in Australia?

#20

Even if a YC-like firm starts up in Australia (and I know of a few people who think it's a good idea) it won't be of the calibre of YC, if the track record of emulators even in the US is anything to go by. Like Silicon Valley itself, the further ahead YC gets, the more it attracts the best startups and investors, and the further ahead it gets. The most determined Australian founders are leaving Australia to try and m…

Cheers Tom.

I agree on finding other people and hanging/hacking out as much as possible.

There is lots of activity in this area in Australia and expect a few bits of news soon.

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