Melbourne opens new tech incubator • Hacker News Board

Re: Melbourne opens new tech incubator

#21

Post by jacques_chester » Tue, Oct 25, 2011, 2:41 PM UTC

rmc wrote: post #4

jacques_chester wrote: post #3

I've been to all of Australia's mainland capitals (sorry, Hobart). I've lived for long periods in Darwin, Sydney and Perth. I prefer Melbourne to Sydney based on the time I've spent in each. Melbourne seemed a bit more cosmopolitan, the people a bit less artificial. I'd rather live in Perth than either, but the startup scene here is quite anaemic. You can round up some geologists and raise tens of millions to do some…

Melbourne seemed a bit more cosmopolitan I was recently in Sydney and Melbourne, and you're probably about right. I don't know how to say it, but Sydney seems very, ahem white and very English.

It depends where in Sydney you are. According to the statistics Sydney is very diverse, though in practice people from different countries, or with different professions/politics, tend to wind up in different districts.

This map gives a humorous account of Sydney's layout: http://i.imgur.com/gOxZP.jpg

Re: Melbourne opens new tech incubator

#22

Post by mmahemoff » Tue, Oct 25, 2011, 3:16 PM UTC

narcissus wrote: post #7

mmahemoff wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Back in the '90s, there were a few reverse takeover attempts, where some Australian Mining companies - already on the stock exchange but with negligible value - looked to buy aspiring dotcoms. Risk profile kind of matched, and it was a hack to get listed on the stock exchange without going through the IPO process.

"where some Australian Mining companies - already on the stock exchange" ... "to get listed on the stock exchange"? I heard that it was the small dotcoms that were looking to get on the stock exchange would buy enough shares in the inexpensive mining companies and then as majority shareholders have the mining company buy out the dotcom (or at least merge with it)... or something like that. I'm guessing it's the same…

Actually I think you're right, I remembered "reverse takeover" and this makes mores sense for that term.

Re: Melbourne opens new tech incubator

#23

Post by boomzilla » Tue, Oct 25, 2011, 3:48 PM UTC

jacques_chester wrote: post #21

rmc wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Melbourne seemed a bit more cosmopolitan I was recently in Sydney and Melbourne, and you're probably about right. I don't know how to say it, but Sydney seems very, ahem white and very English.

It depends where in Sydney you are. According to the statistics Sydney is very diverse, though in practice people from different countries, or with different professions/politics, tend to wind up in different districts. This map gives a humorous account of Sydney's layout: http://i.imgur.com/gOxZP.jpg

oh, tharunka, the life saver in those boring lectures :)

I really miss Sydney (specifically UNSW and the eastern suburbs), but there is just no start up in Sydney. If you are a top CS grad from UNSW or USyd, there are only two options: Google or Macquarie bank (maybe three, but I heard that Canon research is not doing so well these days).

Re: Melbourne opens new tech incubator

#24

Post by Hitchhiker » Tue, Oct 25, 2011, 3:51 PM UTC

Great.. Melbourne's my home-town. Been away since May'11 due to biz. Wish this started before we made certain wild decisions .. heh.

Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi

Re: Melbourne opens new tech incubator

#25

Post by bh42222 » Tue, Oct 25, 2011, 4:23 PM UTC

fuzzylizard wrote: post #18

brc wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes but the weather. The weather . I would find it so hard to move there and stay there.

I have to agree, Melbourne is just too cold to live in year round. The idea sounds great and I hope it works.

I have to agree, Melbourne is just too cold to live in year round.

Huh? I thought... well let me go check Wikipedia:

Melbourne is colder than other mainland Australian state capital cities in the winter. The lowest temperature on record is −2.8 °C (27.0 °F), on 4 July 1901

−2.8 °C - Ahaha! Oh my sweet summer child, what do you know of cold? Today I learned the secret weakness of Australians - so called "cold" weather.

Re: Melbourne opens new tech incubator

#26

Post by hugh3 » Tue, Oct 25, 2011, 4:37 PM UTC

jacques_chester wrote: post #19

hugh3 wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a native Sydneysider, but I have to agree that Melbourne would be the place I'd go to start a startup. Apart from the costs (lower) and the general frictional costs of life (getting around takes less time) and the coffee (oh, the coffee!), Melbourne just has a much better atmosphere for creative work. Sydney seems to have mutated into a town where all the smart people are either in law or finance, and the highest…

It seemed to me, as an ignorant bumpkin who visited from Plant Normalperson, that social status in Sydney is based entirely on the square metres of the harbour you can see from your home.

That's a pretty accurate description of life in Sydney, yes.

Re: Melbourne opens new tech incubator

#27

Post by ark15 » Tue, Oct 25, 2011, 5:35 PM UTC

bartonfink wrote: post #16

Since the comments seem to be full of Australian nationals, I'm curious if anyone can help me out with something. Any advice on the best way for an American to get onboard with an Aussie startup? My family and I would like to emigrate to Australia in about 2015, and I'd prefer to get hooked up with a startup instead of trying to get on with a big multinational. Based on talks I've had while planning this, it sounds l…

I would say the best way to get to know Australian startups and (virtually) meet relevant people would be by participating in the Silicon Beach mailing lists (http://siliconbeachaustralia.org/ )

Regarding immigration visa, if you qualify for a point based point based independent visa (175 in your case) I would go for it any day over a sponsored visa.

Email me if you have any specific questions. (obtained 175 without an agent while being in the US)

Re: Melbourne opens new tech incubator

#28

Post by bartonfink » Tue, Oct 25, 2011, 7:44 PM UTC

ark15 wrote: post #27

bartonfink wrote: post #16

Since the comments seem to be full of Australian nationals, I'm curious if anyone can help me out with something. Any advice on the best way for an American to get onboard with an Aussie startup? My family and I would like to emigrate to Australia in about 2015, and I'd prefer to get hooked up with a startup instead of trying to get on with a big multinational. Based on talks I've had while planning this, it sounds l…

I would say the best way to get to know Australian startups and (virtually) meet relevant people would be by participating in the Silicon Beach mailing lists ( http://siliconbeachaustralia.org/ ) Regarding immigration visa, if you qualify for a point based point based independent visa (175 in your case) I would go for it any day over a sponsored visa. Email me if you have any specific questions. (obtained 175 without…

Thanks, ark. I've been lurking on their mailing lists for a while, but haven't posted because my target date is so far in the future.

I will almost certainly ping you this week. Where are you living now?

Re: Melbourne opens new tech incubator

#29

Post by fuzzylizard » Tue, Oct 25, 2011, 9:03 PM UTC

bh42222 wrote: post #25

fuzzylizard wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have to agree, Melbourne is just too cold to live in year round. The idea sounds great and I hope it works.

I have to agree, Melbourne is just too cold to live in year round. Huh? I thought... well let me go check Wikipedia: Melbourne is colder than other mainland Australian state capital cities in the winter. The lowest temperature on record is −2.8 °C (27.0 °F), on 4 July 1901 −2.8 °C - Ahaha! Oh my sweet summer child, what do you know of cold? Today I learned the secret weakness of Australians - so called "cold" weather…

I am actually Canadian complaining of how cold Melbourne was when I lived there. And I was there during the record breaking 47C day and the Victoria fires.

The problem with Melbourne is a combination of no humidity to retain the heat a wind chill from Antarctica. The combination of these means that 27C, on a sunny afternoon, requires a light jacket and the evenings/nights are never warm. I am used to 80-90% humidity and going out at 3am in shorts and a t-shirt in the summer. Melbourne rarely has this.

Granted, there are two months were the weather is very nice (january, february), but that is about it. Yes, it never gets to -40C, so cold is very relative here, but for a city that you would expect to be comparable to Sydney, Perth or Miami, it is cold.

Re: Melbourne opens new tech incubator

#30

Post by brc » Tue, Oct 25, 2011, 11:45 PM UTC

bh42222 wrote: post #25

fuzzylizard wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have to agree, Melbourne is just too cold to live in year round. The idea sounds great and I hope it works.

I have to agree, Melbourne is just too cold to live in year round. Huh? I thought... well let me go check Wikipedia: Melbourne is colder than other mainland Australian state capital cities in the winter. The lowest temperature on record is −2.8 °C (27.0 °F), on 4 July 1901 −2.8 °C - Ahaha! Oh my sweet summer child, what do you know of cold? Today I learned the secret weakness of Australians - so called "cold" weather…

I make no bones about being raised in a tropical climate and being unable to deal with cold effectively. In the same way that people who come from a cold climate can't deal with a bit of tropical summer heat.