We love stories. We are wired for stories. Over the generations, we learned from our elders as they used stories to widen our eyes and make us listen and remember. And so information was passed on through the ages. I get out to quite a few presentations these days, and in the past few weeks alone have...Read More
Last week’s federal budget axed the Commercialisation Australia (CA) program (and a few others), saving $847 million from the public purse. It is to be replaced with a new $484 million scheme, the Entrepreneur’s Infrastructure Program (EIP), of which there is scant detail. Hundreds of Aussie companies will be affected by the closure of Commercialisation Australia. (Over 500 have received funding...Read More
As you may know dear reader, I spend bit of time among the startup tech community here in Perth, WA. Like the startups themselves, the scene is a very small part of the economy, but has potential. Small businesses are the ones that create jobs. Often it’s the larger businesses that are cutting them. 80% of jobs created...Read More
I was genuinely flabbergasted. I’d never felt like that before or since, and now, 14 years later, it brings to mind all those fake awards night acceptance speeches where the humbled actors/actresses do their best to express surprise for their win. What do you mean surprise? You were in the final 5, and perhaps the...Read More
In an era of selfies, self publishing and self everything you’d bet there would be a service that rates your influence online by giving you a score out of 100. Klout’s frighteningly simple idea came to founder Joe Fernandez while he had his face wired shut (really) after an operation. While recuperating he could only communicate via Facebook...Read More
I enjoy mixing with startup people; and I’ve been catching up with quite a few recently, a meeting here, a cup of coffee there, a presentation somewhere else. So it got me to thinking about the top 10 tips I’d pass on to anyone contemplating a startup… 1. PROBLEM: Focus on the problem you are solving...Read More
I was recently interviewed by Business Because, a network for MBA graduates. You first studied in the UK – which country are you originally from? England; I lived there for 26 years before moving to Singapore (7 years) and then arrived in Perth in 1997 – 17 years ago. I was an Economics teacher by training...Read More
I am reading ‘Startup Nation‘, which tells the story of Israel’s tech startup community – 3,500 or more companies. An incredible number considering a population of 7 million. On this measure Perth should have about 1,000 or so. Maybe it does. A report published last September put it at 200, but this might only be...Read More
Yesterday I attended XMediaLab’s ‘Video + Social’ conference. There were 5 main speakers, with information ranging from what you can do with video, to how trad media is dying (if not already dead) to how mobile fuels the demand for video via social. And loads more besides. It’s all about great content, and the Milennials (born...Read More
A dearly departed former cricket coach of mine used to turn up to training, survey the scene and pronounce “C’mon boys, get organised, we’re not here for a haircut!” We would all groan and start our stretches. “Not here for a haircut” has become a favourite saying. I use it a lot. It’s quirky and...Read More
