Posts Tagged ‘entrepreneurship’

Entrepreneurs unimpressed with government’s new funding plans

Monday, July 7th, 2014
Photo courtesy of Howard Lake on Flickr

Photo courtesy of Howard Lake on Flickr

Entrepreneurs have slammed the federal government’s new $484.2 million entrepreneurship program, which would offer less funding and introduce additional obstacles than the grant schemes it replaces.

A discussion paper released by the Department of Industry recently proposed that the government offer $250,000 grants to start-ups from this November to commercialise their idea over a two-year period.

Funding for the program would need to be matched dollar-for-dollar by the private sector, and the company applying for those grants would have to demonstrate a need for government funding as well as any “significant national benefits” from their product or idea.

Entrepreneurs would also be able to apply for $20,000 in funding, matched by the private sector, to hire advisors on their business, while research programs would be able to access $50,000 in matched funding to move research into a business for development.

But, the grants proposed by the government are significantly less than the up to $2 million in matched funding offered under its predecessor Commercialisation Australia, which was axed alongside other programs in the government’s latest budget.

Mick Liubinskas, who helps run Telstra’s start-up incubator Muru D, said the program did not appear to provide the support needed to boost the country’s technology sector.

“It’s just weak,” he said. “The main thing seems to be advisors for entrepreneurs, advisors for research and advisors for commercialising — it’s a great time to be an advisor but I don’t know if that’s going to be nearly enough to spark significant growth in the ecosystem. It seems like a big missed opportunity.”

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Australia ranks near top as best place for female entrepreneurs

Saturday, June 21st, 2014
Photo couresty of Steve Wilson on Flickr

Photo couresty of Steve Wilson on Flickr

Australia is the second best place in the world to be a female entrepreneur, according to the Gender-Global Entrepreneur and Development Index, which was released at the Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network conference in the US recently.

Australia placed just behind the US as countries which encourage and foster female entrepreneurship, ahead of Germany, France, Mexico and the UK.

The rankings are calculated based on three factors:

  • the entrepreneurial environment in a country;
  • the entrepreneurial ecosystem; and
  • entrepreneurial aspirations.

Emma Isaacs, chief executive of Business Chicks, said the rankings don’t surprise her at all.

“The corporate landscape in Australia is forcing women out in droves [and] this is creating a really strong community of women who are starting their own businesses, simply because they want to create work that works for their situation,” says Isaacs.

“There is a really exciting startup culture in Australia at the moment,” says Isaacs. “Women have access to great networks and great role models who have already paved the way, and the strong economy is of course also helpful — for any startup to be successful there needs to be strong financial support.”

To read more on this story, click here.

Australia ranks as one of the world’s most entrepreneurial countries according to new research

Friday, December 6th, 2013
Photo credit; Paul Joseph on Flickr

Photo credit; Paul Joseph on Flickr

The majority of Australians are interested in having a go at entrepreneurship, according to a new global report into attitudes towards self-employment and entrepreneurship.

The 2013 Amway Global Entrepreneurship Report surveyed over 26,000 people across 24 countries and Australia had the third highest rate of positive sentiment towards entrepreneurship with 84% of respondents. That was 3% behind world leaders Finland and Denmark and 14% above the international average.

The study found the leading reason for pursuing entrepreneurship was independence and the opportunity to be one’s own boss. In Australia, 62% of respondents listed those as key attractions.

Pro-entrepreneurial spirit was especially high among Generation Y respondents, with 83% saying they were keen to become their own bosses.

Fear of failure was cited by two thirds of the respondents globally as an obstacle to starting their own business with just over half of Australian respondents (53%) reporting it as an issue.

For Australians reporting a fear of failure as an obstacle to launching a business, the leading concerns were financial burdens up to bankruptcy (38%), threat of an economic crisis (20%), threat of unemployment (15%) and legal consequences such as lawsuits (12%).

Australia’s top entrepreneurs share the best piece of business advice they’ve ever received

Friday, November 1st, 2013
Photo credit; Laughlin Elkind on Flickr

Photo credit; Laughlin Elkind on Flickr

Australia’s greatest entrepreneurs recently shared the best piece of business advice they’ve ever received with StartUpSmart.com. Here is the rundown.

1. Michael Fox – co-founder of Shoes of PreyKeep focused on one core product

His favourite piece of advice came from investors Mike Cannon-Brookes, (of Atlassian), and David Cunningham: “Keep focused on the one core product; don’t try to do more until you’ve nailed that.”

2. Dean Taylor – owner of online wine selling site Cracka Wines – Always have a back-up plan

His favourite piece of advice is a crucial one for business owners, who always need to be prepared with a back-up plan.

Never walk into a room that you can’t walk out of,” he says.

“The person who said it to me was Brett Chenoweth, an old friend and the former CEO of APN. He swears by it,” Taylor says.

3. Mick Liubinskas — Pollenizer founder – Run the numbers

When Liubinskas enjoyed a short stint at IBM, he met a friend — Kurt Bilderback — who told him to “always run the numbers”.

“Mick, you’ve got to run the numbers. Always. Not to get answers, but to know what the questions should be.”

4. Gabby LeibovichThe difference between success and failure

Leibovich said his favourite piece of advice was actually something he received just a couple of weeks ago from retail entrepreneur Joe Segal:“The problem with people is not that they aim too high and fail, but that they aim too low and succeed.”

5. Gary Ng — manager of E-Web Marketing, a digital agency which has won several BRW “Best Place to Work” awards — Get rid of the rules

His favourite piece of advice was provided to him by his mentor, Anthony Robbins: “The more rules you have about how people have to be, how life has to be for you to be happy, the less happy you’re going to be.”

6. Bruce Billson — Australia’s Small Business Minister — Get to work

His favourite piece of advice actually comes from Jason Gehrke, franchising expert: “For every $1000 you plan to invest in your business spend an hour of due diligence, planning and working out how you can profitably engage your customers.”

 7. Dave Slutzkin — head of website marketplace Flippa –  Listen to your customers

His favourite is a mantra for good customer service — although he can’t quite remember who told him the proverb.

“Customers have your best ideas,” he says.

8. John Winning — head of Appliances Online — Control the supply chain

Winning’s favourite piece of business advice actually comes from his grandfather:

“You can’t control what you sell something for; all you can control is what you buy something for. The market controls the sell price, so the only thing you can control is the supplier relationship and this will help you remain competitive.”

9. Andre Eikmeier — Co-founder of Vinomofo — Be careful what you spend money on

His favourite piece of advice comes from his “biggest inspiration”, entrepreneur Seth Godin.

“Don’t spend your resources on ‘customer acquisition’,” he says.

10. Tristan White — Founder of aged healthcare business The Physio Co. — Don’t try to do too much at once

His best piece of advice comes from George Nadaff, the founder of the American fast food chain Boston Market: “You can’t sit on two toilets.”

11. Naomi Simson — Head of ‘experiences’ retailer RedBalloon — It’s in your control

This proverb comes from a colleague who attended a presentation.

“If it’s meant to be, it’s up to me,” she says.

12. Jacqueline Arias — Founder of Republica Coffee — Your products aren’t special

Her favourite piece of advice comes from Carolyn Cresswell, who founded Carman’s — one of Australia’s other food-based success stories.

“Stop believing that your products are special, and start playing the very best game you can play.”

13. Dean Ramler — Founder of online furniture business Milan Direct — Details matter

His best piece of advice comes from his grandfather, who also worked in the furniture trade.

There is no such thing as a detail too minor!”

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Australia boasts significant entrepreneurship

Monday, August 19th, 2013

Not only is entrepreneurship alive and well in Australia, it is, in fact, thriving, according to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, which ranks Australia second behind only the United States in the world amongst developed nations to those looking to start a new business in general and among women entrepreneurs, also.

Some notable Australian entrepreneurs include:

Nick D’Aloisio – Summly

Summly condenses news articles to make them easier to read on smaller tablets and smartphones.

D’Aloisio created the app at just 15 years of age. Yahoo! purchased it for $30 million.

Matt Barrie – Freelancer

Freelancer is a job board for people seeking freelance work.

Richard Chua – Talent100

Talent100 was created by then-high school student Richard Chua, now 27, to help high school students score well on tests and get into the college of their choice.

You tell the company what score you need to get to be accepted into your desired college, and Talent100 breaks this down into achievable goals. So far, the company has brought in more than 1.5 million dollars.

Amanda Lintott – Career Driven

Career Driven is a recruitment company specializing in the car and automotive sector, including sales. They are hoping to break into motor shows in the years ahead to continue growing their business.

Sarah and Emily Hamilton – Bellabox

Monthly subscriptions to beauty boxes are huge in the United States and are getting big in Australia, too.

Sarah and Emily Hamilton created Bellabox — similar to the U.S.’s Birchbox — back in 2011 and have seen incredible success thus far. They are hoping to turn the company into a worldwide business in the coming years.

To read more on this story, click here.