Martin Wells who was a cheer leader for Australia's community before Silicon Beach says his biggest regret was not moving 10 years earlier.
Steve Outrim who created Hot Dog Software which was one of the hottest Internet products in 1997 (after mosaic the browser and Eudora the mail client) also now lives in silicon valley. Gower Smith who has done six businesses with his latest Zoom Systems and heading towards a billion dollar valuation in coming years now lives in Silicon Valley. Ask every other Aussie that's done business in both countries (add Bardia Housman, Al Faulkner and Geoff McQueen to that list) and everyone agrees there is no comparison. (California alone is double the GDP of Australia to give you a sense of just how much bigger.) Atlassian will IPO for a billion as will Acconex one day and 99 designs could achieve the revenues to back that valuation in two years as well. Yet all these companies have strong ties to Australia but also Silicon Valley. They have to. And I could write thousands more words on why I believe Australia could lead the world (like the silicon beach lifeguard paper that I submitted to our government). However it has always been my belief that the only way we will progress Australia, is by accepting it will never surpass Silicon Valley (I mean Jesus we're still struggling to beat Singapore for finance as a regional centre). But what we should accept is that we can have a tight integration with Silicon Valley. And that's powerful in itself. The globalization of our world is opening up borders and labour mobility is one of the key trends for a competitive economy. Aussies have a unique advantage over any other nationality due to the E3 visa -- don't under estimate how powerful that advantage is. Let's accept that silicon beach will always be limited if we narrow the vision as simply a strong idependent industry. We can't as our population can't support a large mass market lie Europe and America. Silicon beach to achieve success needs to be international is its approach. But to answer the question, what we should be arguing is how can we better integrate the two geographical industries. Niki moving doesn't impact Australia negatively in any way but actually helps further that integration as she will connect two disparate networks. That's why it's a win for Australia: we now have a smart young woman that will be connected to the other side of the pond and that can help bridge Australia even further. Sent by my iPhone On Nov 21, 2011, at 10:57 PM, Andrew Roberts <andrew.robe...@ephox.com> wrote: Firstly, I totally agree that Australia is a big pond in some areas and this is awesome. Mining technology would be a good example. But other things can evolve better in Australia than elsewhere because we are a stable, rich and relatively homogeneous culture of just 24 million people that live in just a few major cities. BPay and GPS-guided cabs are two that come to mind. Hell - the US can't even adopt the metric system successfully because it is too big and heterogenous. These are innovations that we should foster and grow. But you would be mistaken to think of Silicon Valley as "American." It is extremely multicultural with the best and the brightest from around the world. Just this week I went to drinks for Portuguese entrepreneurs, talked to a group from Bath in the UK, went tailgating with Russians and met with a Lebanese entrepreneur. And the Americans here aren't even locals. I urge you to consider it as exceptional and unlikely to be replicable. So many countries are trying and with a whole lot more gusto - whether it be Skolkovo in Russia or Zhongguancun in China - and few will succeed the way they hope to. I challenge you to spend 89 days here (a visa waiver lasts 90 days) and not reach the same conclusion. Of course Silicon Valley has its flaws including a massive boom-bust cycle but sh*t gets done here for a reason. I would say the same about Hollywood. Creating successful films is an art form practiced at a much higher level than in Australia. I think few actors would argue that a few years schooled under a Tarantino, Scorsese or the Coen Brothers isn't going to make them into better actors. I'd like to think that there is such thing as a cross-cultural definition of "better." As Australians we bring some unique attributes but we would be arrogant to assume we are somehow better than the best in the world just because we're Aussies. Try that trick at an Olympics or World Cup and see what happens. I love the example of Atlassian - Aussie in nature/culture but unabashed world beaters at the same time. I hope that a vision for Silicon Beach emerges that is different than Silicon Fen, Silicon Frjord, Silicon Alley, Silicon Bog etc. IMHO, a quick, affordable and no-nonsense route into Silicon Valley is a good one. Treat the smaller ecosystem in Australia as a feeder into the much bigger ecosystem here. I agree it would be great to see some data about how much the benefits would flow back to Australia, but I'd also like to see some that illustrates that a Recreate the Valley as Fen/Frjord/Alley/Bog concept is any better. To Mick's point, I think Australian expats could do more and I think they would given the right opportunity. I personally get sick and tired of the fly-by-nighters who come here for two weeks expecting to raise capital and get meaningful introductions. It doesn't happen. I am happy to give advice, but it can be summarized as "get your butt here." Move here, at least temporarily, and with a good product/service you'll find Aussie expats are willing to help... more than you could imagine. On Monday, November 21, 2011 at 7:26 PM, simran wrote: I'm not against people being aspirational about different things... but i am surprised that we "look up" to the way things are done in the US... I think when you likened staying in Australia as being a big fish in a small pond... well, that to me says it all... i think i understand completely (although i'm sure you'll disagree :), that because you have made the move, you are very positively disposed about it... but Australia is not a small pond... it's a different pond... it's a centre of excellence for different things, in a different context... innovation that can come out from here, CANNOT come by going to the US... and although i wish Niki all the best... we have lost the opportunity of having her innovate her... she will no doubt do great, but what she would have done here would have been different... and this social hysteria towards "going to the big smoke" as they say, is a fascade and actually loses us real talent for superficial perceived (but unreal) gain... The australian actor arguments holds even more true than ever... you implied that going there makes them better... i say, it does not do any such things... it makes them more "american"... and if that is synonymous with better for you (as it seems to be, and perhaps the same is true for a lot of people) then... in that case, those few see them as better actors... to me, they lose their originality, their actual talent and become part of a different mash! I have seen too many "Indians" going to India recently after 35-40 years overseas to try to "fix" india... they take all their [mostly englis] retail culture and stuff it down india's throat [albeit with some mods], and then wonder why the local community does not understand they are doing them a huge favour and buy all their products!!! I suspect, people who go to the US will do the same if they do come back... there will be exceptions... and i believe i know two of those at least, but as a generalisation, the masses will bring americanism here... they will write code that accepts lines like: #ifdef COLOR not #ifdef COLOUR and they will mash the cultures... not a bad thing... just a thing! i am grateful though that many are choosing not to leave - i myself left, and after having come back, have realised just how beautiful things are here... and i don't want to preserve them, but i want to help progress them... progress them towards a better australia, not a better state of america! Niki did indicate that she would be an aussie with a US visa... i wonder if time will prove that she will be a US gal with an aussie visa... for all our sakes, i hope she is right :) On Tue, Nov 22, 2011 at 6:02 AM, Andrew Roberts <andrew.robe...@ephox.com>wrote: As an Aussie who moved to the US I would say that the more encouragement and support we can give for Australian entrepreneurs to move here the better. I appreciate the patriotism to keep the best and brightest at home, but I think it is misguided. The San Francisco Bay Area is different. You can stay in Australia and be a big fish in a small pond or come here and be a small fish in a big pond. The more entrepreneurs we can get learning to thrive in the primordial swamp of Silicon Valley, the better Australia will be. Right now we have less than 100 influential Australians in the tech community of the Bay Area. That is pathetic and I would love to see that double within the next 2-3 years. One of the biggest barriers to success that Australians have is that we are too cautious in making the jump here. We need to suck it up, come to the big smoke and prove we can make it. Australia only loses a relative few tax dollars by another 100 people residing, often temporarily, overseas. The net benefits to Australia of having more influential tech entrepreneurs expats has to exceed any lost tax dollars. As an example, my company (that I founded in Brisbane but now have the HQ in Palo Alto) employs more than 20 highly paying jobs back "home". Their collective taxes far exceed in one year the amount of tax I have paid in my lifetime. A lot of Aussies based here are also angel investing back in Australia creating yet more jobs. Your argument regarding acting is also flawed. Actors are not born with all of their skills - they need to develop them. Australian actors coming to Hollywood makes them better actors because they get exposed to the world's best directors, producers, script writers - even makeup artists. They have to work harder at their trade to rise above the competition. And the network matters... the people there help them get to where they want to go - the agents, the PR people, the older generations of actors who can mentor them, etc. etc. Working in Hollywood takes them from being merely good to being great. I commend Nikki on everything she is doing but her story is a dime a dozen over here. There are almost 100 YCombinator startups this 'intake'. And from previous years' graduates, only a small percent make it. She should be here for at least the next ten years learning, growing and proving what she is made of with her current startup, and new ones. Can you imagine her skills when she returns back to Oz? Or if she stays here, the help she can provide to the next generation of Aussies trying to make it? IMHO, as a community we should be encouraging more Aussies to make the jump. Australians win almost 5% of the medals at the Olympics ... We should be aiming to be at least 5% of all funding rounds, YCombinator intake, 500Startups, etc. On Sun, Nov 20, 2011 at 8:17 PM, Jonathan Clarke <clarke.jonat...@gmail.com>wrote: There seems to be a trend happening in Australian startups. Get into an Australian incubator, move to an American incubator, get investment from the US, move to the US. What gives? Australia is losing tax dollars as a result, it also is losing the future mentors for the next generation. On Mon, Nov 21, 2011 at 3:13 PM, simran <sim...@dn.gs> wrote: > Congrats to Niki... :) > and me thinks the first smh comment is a troll... > I do absolutely love the fact that people are finding success (hopefully in > the shape and form they are looking for it in), but why our obsession with > the US? > It's almost like an "australian actor is no good till they have made it in > hollywood"? Perhaps they will have a chance to do bigger and better things > as the facilities and context is bigger there, but they lose a lot along the > way... in the same way as nicole kidman is hardly an "australian actor", > people that go there will become "american successes", they will take a > tinge of australian in them, but they will become every bit the american! > i think it's great that people do find that path, but i believe more in > those that stick it out here, and really are "australian successes", not > "will be considered australian successes iff they succeed in the US in their > context, in their environment, with their money". > signed, > (surprised by our obsession with the US!!!) > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Silicon Beach Australia mailing list. Vist http://siliconbeachaustralia.org for more Forum rules 1) No lurkers! It is expected that you introduce yourself. 2) No jobs postings. 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