Startup & Entrepreneurship

Home Startup & Entrepreneurship Page 194
News, opinions and advice on starting and building companies.

Q&A: Nigel Poole

As the person responsible for commercialising all new technologies emanating from the Commonwealth Science and Industrial Research Organisation, Nigel Poole knows all about transforming ideas into companies. From where he sits, Australia's so-called "commercialisation gap" is receding, with seed investment culture and managerial experience the keys. He's a busy man with busy ideas and a penetrating vision for Australia's future as a knowledge nation.

Regional tech

For the most part, we Australians huddle in and around our eastern seaboard cities, with healthy respect for the harsh realities inland. But there's more to Australia's tech sector than MBA-educated entrepreneurs and wealthy investors in Sydney and Melbourne. As globalisation levels the international playing field, so the performance gap between urban elites and regional innovators narrows.

China: The Two Shanghais (part IV)

London, New York and . . . Shanghai. When global citizens call to mind the world's mega-cities in 2010, Shanghai's Government wants to rank in the very top echelon. Becoming an "international city" by 2010 might sound like a strange goal for a municipality, but foreign entrepreneurs need only look as far as the incentives Shanghai's government is offering to understand that this is an opportune moment to set up shop in this sprawling metropolis. In the final instalment of his four part series, returning Australian expat Paul Waide delves into the city that is commonly acknowledged as being a window on China's future.

Perfect pitch: Courtship

J P Morgan, the famous American Industrialist, said: "People do things for two reasons... the right reason and the real reason". Understanding the real reason can be the ultimate point of differentiation when pitching for business.

Handout mentality

I just don't get the handout mentality. A friend of mine is doing his Doctorate. His research institution and the university will own any IP generated, and he is immensely grateful for the modest stipend that he is surviving on throughout this process.

The big house

A prison sentence early in life can dash the hopes of a would-be entrepreneur. Or it can fuel them. In the youth unit at Port Phillip Prison, rock bottom gives way to the bottom line as teenaged inmates become CEOs. Jodie O'Keeffe clears security to find out what it takes to build a business behind bars.

Dot-com survivors downunder

Has it really been six years since the world's first wave of internet entrepreneurs fell through that plump cloud they'd conjured in the sky, taking with them the turgid hopes of our fledgling new economy? It's been six years peppered with hard luck stories, investor reluctance and, lately, cautious hope rekindled. Australian internet startups were in the thick of it back then. The survivors emerged with slightly bloodied noses and wisdom far beyond their years.

Intellectual property

We love stories of simple ideas making millions: think Post-it Notes, Frisbee and eBay. Ideas need nourishment and protection as they move from R&D...

Strategy: Securing your first customer

Achieving your first sale can literally make or break a start-up. Many investors will delay committing significant funds until you can identify a customer...

Inside the asylum

All successful niche-market entrepreneurs have one thing in common: an enthusiasm for their work that extends far beyond mere profit-lust. Tim Anderson and Paul...

‘The Buck Starts Here’ podcast

In the final days of September 2005, Anthill editor Paul Ryan caught up with five of Australia's leading early-stage venture capitalists. The meeting turned into a feature story. The feature story turned into a networking event, which we offered as a fly-on-the-wall audio CD. Now you can download/listen to it as a full podcast, which includes the previously unreleased Q&A session.

'The Buck Starts Here' podcast

In the final days of September 2005, Anthill editor Paul Ryan caught up with five of Australia's leading early-stage venture capitalists. The meeting turned into a feature story. The feature story turned into a networking event, which we offered as a fly-on-the-wall audio CD. Now you can download/listen to it as a full podcast, which includes the previously unreleased Q&A session.

Mervyn Jacobson: The alchemist

Mervyn Jacobson is the richest man in Eden. He is the Executive Chairman of Melbourne-based biotech company, Genetic Technologies (GTG), which controls patents on 95 percent of your DNA. Once considered ‘junk’, because it lacks genetic coding, this vast area of the genome is now known to contain markers indicating our susceptibility to some of life’s most devastating diseases. GTG is cashing in on everyone else’s myopia and many in the calculating world of science are fast discovering their moral outrage.

Strategy: How creative is your business?

Entrepreneurs and scientists use the concepts of ‘creativity’ and ‘innovation’ interchangeably. This is not surprising, as both play an integral role in the new...

Success to dream about: ResMed’s Peter Farrel:

Peter Farrell’s authoritative baritone is at odds with his mission in life: to put people to sleep. From the embers of an idea, this...

Success to dream about: ResMed's Peter Farrel:

Peter Farrell’s authoritative baritone is at odds with his mission in life: to put people to sleep. From the embers of an idea, this...

Cash killer

The man who brought us e-finance Belgians are famous for exporting delightful, frivolous products like beer and chocolate. However, leading Belgian entrepreneur Michel Akkermans is...

Strategy: Responding to stealthy market changes

It is a truism among seasoned entrepreneurs that the business you plan to launch is never the business you will be running in three...

Making a killing

Are you ready to rumble? These six young entrepreneurs have a net worth exceeding $100 million... and their average age is only 32! There is...

Going global: Exporting 101

Most Australian entrepreneurs claim to think big from the outset. But you need more than a good idea and a broad Aussie smile to conquer the world. Bi-lateral free trade agreements are tearing down barriers, but exporters must still negotiate the vestiges of international protectionism and the rollercoaster Aussie dollar.
Subscribe to the Newsletter Over 30K subscribers

FREE BUSINESS TOOLS

FREE BUSINESS TOOL

How to price your product or service in 8 steps with...

The world is littered with products that do little more than cover their cost, and underpaid service industry professionals. But there are some entrepreneurs who set their own prices and receive what they ask with apparent ease. Steve Major teaches you how to become one of these entrepreneurs in this 8-step infographic.

INFOGRAPHICS

New Zealand’s Xero eyes US IPO, further disruption as subscribers increase...

Xero recently held its annual meeting in Wellington, during which the company revealed some interesting details about its future. As has been widely suspected, the...

OPINIONS & ADVICE