We tend to think of Australia as a country whose most valuable resources lie underground. I think that values what we have above ground too lightly. In The Monthly, out now, I make the case through one of Australia’s most compelling entrepreneurs. Shi Zhengrong is not a household name – but he should be. What he has produced is a template for a different kind of Australia – one that weaves its way in the global economy by the thread of its best minds and budding businessmen. Buy a copy or subscribe here to read my essay.
The Economist released a special issue on Australia last week which made a related point. I have written a piece in The Age today – click here – which begins to draw the connections. This is a question ripe for now . We are a country whose economy is booming and whose chief customer, China, is ascendant. It won’ always be, so what are we doing to invest the surplus wisely? Canberra is not giving a lot away in that respect but in my piece in The Age I begin to explore some ideas.
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Hi Eric,
Enjoyed reading your article in The Age, I think it’s spot on and touches on several important issues regarding innovation and startups in Australia. There’s a handful of exciting tech/web startups here in Melbourne such as rome2rio, adioso, trunk.ly, and travellerspoint (see http://blog.rome2rio.com/start-up-life-in-melbourne-0). These startups don’t get nearly as much attention in the media as they should, and the startup eco-system that exists in places such as San Francisco is almost non-existent here in Australia. Still, there’s a lot of exciting, world-class innovation going on here – it’s great to see and hopefully there will be more in the future. Recent successes such as 99designs and spreets are encouraging.
Cheers,
Michael
This is super interesting Michael. I’m guessing you’re at rome2rio? Is there a startup community down there where oyu all know each other? I’d be keen to know a bit more about it…
Yes I’m co-founder of rome2rio. There’s a small but thriving startup community here in Melbourne, happy to tell you more drop me a line at mcam at rome2rio.com