Fishburners has a new owner. And episode 60’s guest is Carolyn Breeze, CEO of the buyer, ASX-listed Scalare Partners.
Scalare bought Fishburners from the voluntary administrators this week and the startup community and its members will leave the Tech Central Innovation Hub to become part of Tank Stream Labs.
The move also brings change for cohost Majella Campbell, who’ll wrap up as Fishburners CEO and take a break after 15 torrid months working to right the ship.
Carolyn takes us through her plans for Fishies – pitch nights and a new investment fund to back those startups are afoot, and explains her vision for Scalare, which owns Tank Stream, the Australian Technology Comp, Tech Ready Women and several other brands.
She’s also recently taken a deep dive into how Australia’s startup ecosystem performs globally in key metrics such as investment, liquidity, experience and first customers and shares some sobering stats.
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Only 34% of startup investment is domestic, she explained, compared to 60-70%. Overseas investors love Aussie startups, but as Carolyn points out, especially in the context of the government’s capital gains tax changes, when there’s a liquidity moment, “the international money, and then the operators and the IP are staying over there”. That hurts Australian startups.
“Our tech workforce is contracting. In every other market it’s expanding,” she said.
The Scalare CEO also has some thoughts on the short-term thinking of politicians and the uncertainty created by constantly changing government priorities.
Startup 360 is a SmartCo. Media production, produced and edited by Matt Jackson, with Kieran Hart, and supported by Deel. Hire, manage and pay – anyone, anywhere. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube, and read StartupDaily.net for all the ANZ tech news for free!
