south east queensland startup ecosystem report

STARTUP ECOSYSTEM REPORTSouth East Queensland 2014

1

Liquid State

Blue Sky

Silicon Lakes

iLab

Budding Entrepreneurs Grant

Transition Level Investments

Innovation Centre

UniQuest

CA

River City Labs

Guvera

AMMA

SwipeAds

QUT blueboxQUT Creative

Enterprise Australia

RightPedal

Nimble

Brisbane Angels

Tappr

Halfbrick

Euclideon

RedEye

RMSS

Retail Express

Ollo Mobile

ZOVA

Fitgenes

Griffith Enterprise

Techspace

ECOSYSTEMA simplified network map of the

CONTENTS

Dashboard 5

About 6

Context 7

Breeding Unicorns & Building Ecosystems 10

Formation 12

Organisations 14

Funding 16

Groups 20

Incubation 21

Key Nodes 22

Location 24

Regional Data 26

Markets 28

People 34

Community Ideas 38

References 40

3

DASHBOARDSummary statistics as at July 2014

.No. SUPPORTING COMPANIES

~550Estimated number of companies involved in the startup ecosystem.

No. MEETUP GROUPS

107Associated with startups, tech and entrepreneurship.

No. STARTUPS

226+ Estimated number of startups within SEQ.*

No. PEOPLE

~1,900 Estimated number of SEQ startup employees.

No. FOUNDERS

500+ Estimated number of startup founders within SEQ.

.No. ASSOCIATED PEOPLE

10,000+Based on the number of members of technology Meetup groups and employees of startups & supporting entities.

TOTAL FUNDING RAISED

$126MTotal funding raised from January 2009 to July 2014 by Queensland Startups and Established Digital Technology companies.

TOTAL FUNDING RAISED BY STARTUPS

$37MEstimated total amount of funding raised by Queensland Startups between January 2009 and July 2014.

Management ConsultingSocial MediaProject ManagementManagementEntrepreneurshipStart-upsBusiness DevelopmentLeadershipMarketingStrategy

PEOPLE: COMMON SKILLS

18%

13%

8%

7%

7%

7%

7%

6%

6%

6%51-20011-502-101

No. CO. TEAM SIZE

40%

1%

31%

2%

0.0

8.2

16.4

24.6

32.8

41.0

55+45-5435-4425-3418-24

PEOPLE: AGE %

9

4136

11

5

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

201420132012201120102009

No. STARTUPS & GROUPS BY YEAR FOUNDED

8 8 10

2328

25

13

2326

29

55Startups

Groups

****Number of Startup Companies founded by calendar year in the “No. Startups & Groups by Year Founded” graph does not equal the total “No. Startups” as the founding dates of some startups within SEQ were not identified.

19%

19%

15%

8%

5%

5%

5%

4%

3%

3%Education & TrainingAdministrative & Support ServicesAdvertising ServicesRetail TradeFinance & Insurance ServicesProfessional, Scientific & Technical ServicesHealth Care & Social AssistanceOther & Unknown ServicesInformation Media & TelecommunicationsArts & Recreation Services

#STARTUPS BY MARKET FOCUS (TOP 10 ONLY)* ****

**

***

*Note, while the report uses the Australia New Zealand Industrial Classification (ANZIC) to classify the “Market Focus” of companies, this does not represent their industry classification, but rather the target market of a startup company - the market they are addressing. **Arts & Recreation Services includes Digital Game studios and developers. Further detail on this classification can be found in the footnote on page 31.***Other & Unknown Services is predominately made up of unclassified companies.

5

ABOUT

PROJECT AIMS

This project aims to quantify the ecosystem around early-stage high growth digital technology companies (startups for short) from South East Queensland (SEQ) - identifying key people, organisations, events and innovation hubs within the community around which innovative activity is centralised. The report aims to measure its comparative strength, identify critical issues within the ecosystem, and identify potential areas for government intervention and collaboration.

SCOPE

In terms of scope, the report maps the primary people (founders, angels and other participants), organisations (startups, venture capital firms, co-working spaces, incubators and government agencies), groups (angel and community groups) and events (awards, conferences, programs) involved in or supporting early-stage technology startups within South East Queensland.

The report only includes those companies and people that have made a direct tangible contribution to the development of high growth startups – whether that be through mentoring, sponsorship, investment, grants or space, etc.

The report attempts to quantify in detail the fund flows to startups based in SEQ. However it does not quantify the amount of investment flowing out of the state into external startups.

A seperate report mapping the regional Queenslandstartup ecosystem will be available in November 2014.

METHODOLOGY

The report was compiled in partnership with several community organisations and government agencies. Information was gathered through workshops in Brisbane, on the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast, and from interviews with over 35 people within the community. Information on people, events and companies was also gathered using data from online platforms including Linkedin, AngelList, ASSOB, CrunchBase, Gust, Twitter, Eventbrite, Kickstarter, Pozible and Meetup, and complemented with internet research.

Combining several data sources gives a more comprehensive view than one in which information is taken from any one individual source. For example, looking at funding events during the previous 5 years Crunchbase gives only 20 or so events out of the 100+ events identified using additional sources.

However while all attempts have been made to be comprehensive, some critical people and organisations in this rapidly growing sector may have been missed.

Support EntitiesKey organisations that support the development of startups such as incubators, accelerators, meetup groups and venture capital firms were included.

Incubator: an organisation that offers mentoring, office space, and other resources to help startups grow. Whilst incubators assist startups in raising funding they do not provide investment in return for equity. Their programs are generally open, longer in duration and relatively unstructured.

Accelerator: accelerators or seed accelerators are similar to incubators, but differ in that they take an equity portion of their participating startups in return for investing seed capital - where incubators do not. Accelerators generally have a structured program that runs over a discrete period of time (often 3 to 6 months) after which the startup ‘graduates’.

Groups: community groups or meetup.com groups that meet together in fairly informal circumstances to discuss digital technology, startups or entrepreneurship. This data is almost entirely based on meetup.com groups which is a worldwide platform for organising community groups and widely adopted within startup communities worldwide.

Funding & InvestmentThe report captures information on the money raised by technology companies and startups to fund company and product development. Startups secure funding in multiple ways: private investment, government grants, crowdfunding, public investment, prizes and loans. The report excludes money flowing out of the state into startups from other states or countries.

When the report refers to Funding, Investment or Matched Funding it means:

Funding: the report means all types of funding including private investment, government grants, matched funding, crowdfunding, public investment, prizes and loans. While crowdfunding is technically a way for customers to pre-order a product or service the report includes it within the analysis of startup funding as it serves a similar role to other funding methods. This definition excludes the Tax office’s R&D Tax Incentive.

Investment: the report means private or public equity investment in a company in exchange for shares in the company, including convertible notes, options and other financial tools for purchasing shares.

Matched-Funding: a large portion of startup funding in Queensland came from the Australian Government’s Commercialisation Australia (CA) grant program, established in 2009. The grant offered to match private funding for successful applicant companies on a 80:20 to 50:50 basis - depending on the grant type. By matched funding the report refers to the portion provided by the applicant, and excluding the portion provided by the government - the government grant.

All currencies used within this report are in $AUD unless otherwise stated.

DEFINITIONS

StartupsThere are varied definitions of high growth early stage digital technology startups. Whilst any type of early-stage business can be called a startup, for the purposes of this project the definition used by StartupAus, Google Australia and PwC Australia was adopted: a ‘startup’ is a company primarily focused on developing innovative digital technology, with a high leverage on labour, an innovative scalable business model, capable of rapid growth, and under five and half years in age.

DigitalThe project focused on companies that create value primarily around digital technologies such as developing software products or services, scalable hardware based products and services such as drones, sensors, autonomous vehicle technology, Internet of Things (IoT) technology, and wearables.

ExclusionsDigital technologies are being deployed across all industries and permeate all aspects of our society. The borders between industries are being eroded making it increasingly difficult to say whether a new company like Uber is a transport company, software company, or a labour hire company. The reality is that an increasing (majority) proportion of Australian businesses have digital technology as a core component of their business.

Consulting: The project excluded non-scalable companies engaged with digital technology, such as those with a high reliance on manual labour such as digital design studios, digital marketing, software development houses and computer consulting companies. Technology support, networking, and computer repair businesses were also excluded. Similarly excluded were design and development companies providing IP development as a service purely for other firms such as advertising agencies that build mobile and web apps for clients or gaming studios that purely work for clients. However, many companies build potentially scalable digital products (e.g. iPhone apps) alongside their consulting services, in which case they have been included. Established Technology: the report excludes digital technology companies established prior to 2009 from the definition of a ‘startup’. However in some cases the report mentions companies, investment figures or entity numbers for more mature digital technology companies. In these cases the report refers to these as Established, Mature or Later stage digital technology companies, or Tech companies for short. Data that encapsulates both Startups and established Digital Technology companies is always referenced as such.

How and why.

6

CONTEXT

SOCIAL IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY

Information and communications technology is pervasive and soon to be ubiquitous. New technologies that evolved from the cumulative innovations of the past 80 years have dramatically changed the way people create, consume and communicate - transforming societies and economies at unprecedented rates.

While the process of innovation is never ending, the development of the first transistor, microprocessor and computer in the late 40s initiated a wave of computing innovation. It brought the first satellite in 1957, the linking of computers into large-scale networks in 1969, the first Japanese smartphones to achieve mass adoption in 1999, and the first touch screen in 2007.

Of the 7b+ people on the planet, 5.5b watch TV, 2.7b use the internet,1 1.8b use smartphones,2 and 1.7b use those smartphones at least monthly.3

In 1986 less than 1% of the world’s capacity to store information was digital. In 2002 humanity was able to store more information in digital than analog format – launching the “digital age”. And by 2007 over 94% of humanity’s knowledge was stored digitally.4

Networked digital technology is being rapidly adopted and will soon be ubiquitous. Somewhere during 2008 the number of connected electronic sensors on the planet exceeded the number of people; this will have grown to 26b+ devices by 2020.5

ECONOMIC IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY

These innovations have facilitated an enormous new capacity to create, capture, analyse, disseminate information and release a flood of startups, many of which are revolutionising production and distribution systems on a global scale.

Outsourcing white-collar tasks to more efficient or productive economies is now the norm, enabling developing economies to provide services to developed nations at scale and on demand.

When historians look back at the last 80 years they will conclude we are living through a pivotal period in humanity’s history. The question for Australia and Queensland is whether they want to be creators of technological innovation, or just simply consumers.

The largest companies of the last century were industrial corporations, born of the industrial revolution in the 1800s: mass-production companies such as Ford, Volkswagen, Toyota, GE, Bayer; and the suppliers of raw materials such as Exxon, Shell, BP and BHP.

But over the recent decades computer, software and now internet companies such as Apple, Google, IBM, Microsoft and Facebook have been vying with more traditional corporations to lead the pack. PwC’s 2014 report on the Global Top 100 Companies by Market Capitalisation showed that Technology and Financials are the leading sectors to have grown market cap in the Top 100 (+149% and +136% respectively) - driven by innovation and recovery from the financial crisis.6 Apple – the largest by market cap – having almost quadrupled in value during the past five years.

And this is just the beginning. In the coming decades virtually every industry can expect to face disruptions rivalling those of the industrial revolution. Some industries will face extinction; new sectors will be created; and others are being transformed beyond recognition.

In 2013, in reference to the long-term economic potential of technology, US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke stated:

“Some would say that we are still in the early days of the IT revolution... even as the basic technologies improve, the commercial applications of these technologies have arguably thus far only scratched the surface.”7

CREATIVE DESTRUCTION

During the early 20th century economist Joseph Schumpeter observed that the most significant advances in economies are often accompanied by a process of “creative destruction” which shifts profit pools, rearranges industry structures, and replaces incumbent businesses. This process is often driven by technological innovation at the hands of entrepreneurs.

According to IBIS World’s white-paper A Snapshot of Australia’s Digital Future to 2050, 15 different industry sub-sectors face extinction due to factors such as size, international competitiveness, the potential for displacement, and technology.

“Casualties may include: newspaper, magazine, book and directory publishing – substituted by their online versions; radio, free-to-air TV and cable TV broadcasting – absorbed into internet distribution; and video rental.”8

Entrepreneurs, policymakers and societies need to be at the forefront exploiting these new technologies to maintain national competitive advantage and global relevance.

Entrepreneurs need to understand how markets might be eroded or enhanced by emerging technologies a decade from now; how technologies might bring new customers or force them to fight for existing ones. Policymakers and regulators need to decide how to invest in new forms of education and infrastructure; protect the rights and privacy of citizens; and create an environment in which citizens can continue to prosper even as emerging technologies disrupt their lives.

McKinsey’s 2013 report Disruptive Technologies: Advances That Will Transform Life, Business, And The Global Economy identified the top 12 disruptive technologies that have the greatest potential for economic impact and disruption by 2025. They estimated the potential economic impact that each technology would have by 2025 and concluded that these 12 technologies alone had “the potential to drive direct economic impact in the order of $US 14 trillion to $US 33 trillion per year in 2025.”9

DIGITAL DISRUPTION IN AUSTRALIA

Seven of the twelve disruptive technologies fall within the purview of the digital startup companies outlined within this report: Mobile Internet, Automation of Knowledge Work, The Internet of Things, Cloud Technology, Advanced Robotics, Autonomous Vehicles and 3D Printing.

It should be noted that when McKinsey refers to economic disruption, this economic potential should not be equated with market sizes for these technologies; it could be captured as consumer surplus as well as in new revenue and GDP growth. McKinsey also mentions that in the case of Internet-based technologies, value has tended to shift to consumers; as much as two-thirds of the value created by new Internet offerings has been captured as consumer surplus. However, they conclude that:

“It is impossible to predict all the ways in which technologies will be applied; the value created in 2025 could be far larger than what we estimate here.”9

Assuming an Australian GDP growth is 3% and McKinsey’s estimates of the potential economic impact of these 7 digital technologies along with their distribution of the impact on Developed economies is applied, it results in an annual economic impact on the Australian economy in 2025 of $497b - from these 7 digital technologies alone.

To put that into perspective: 22% of Australia’s GDP in 2025 will be disrupted from the application of these 7 digital technologies alone.

Why is digital technology important?

Renewable energyAdvanced oil and gas exploration and recoveryAdvanced materials3D printingEnergy storageNext-generation genomicsAutonomous and near- autonomous vehiclesAdvanced roboticsCloud technologyThe Internet of ThingsAutomation of knowledge workMobile Internet

TOP 12 DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGIES GLOBAL ECONOMIC IMPACT IN 2025 ($T)

3.7-10.8

5.2-6.7

2.7-6.2

1.7-6.2

1.7-4.5

0.2-1.9

0.7-1.6

0.1-0.6

0.2-0.6

0.2-0.5

0.1-0.5

0.2-0.3

TOP 12 DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGIES GLOBAL ECONOMIC IMPACT IN 2025 ($US TRILLION)14

7

CONTEXTWhy is digital technology important?

DIGITAL DISRUPTION IN QUEENSLAND

What does this mean for Queensland’s economy in 2025? Boundlss’ analysis, using McKinsey’s data, suggests the impact of these 7 disruptive digital technologies on Queensland’s economy will be ~$96b per annum in 2025, or roughly 24% of the state’s projected $396b economy.

While these projections may seem high, they are less than those in Deloitte’s 2012 report Digital disruption Short fuse, big bang? which foresees 33% of the economy facing disruption from all digital technologies within the next five years.

“One-third of the Australian economy faces imminent and substantial disruption by digital technologies and business models – what we call a ‘short fuse, big bang’ scenario. This presents significant threats, as well as opportunities, for both business and government.”10

Applied to Queensland, 33% represents $132b of economic disruption from 2017 to 2025. That’s $46b higher than projections based on McKinsey’s report on the most disruptive digital technologies.

In summary, this report estimates the economic impact of digital technology on Queensland’s economy in 2025 will be in the order of $96b per year, and this impact will be created largely by Mobile Internet, the Automation of Knowledge work, The Internet of Things, Advanced Robotics, Cloud technology, Autonomous Vehicles technology, and 3D Printing.

While this economic disruption should not be equated with market sizes for these technologies (some will be captured as consumer surplus, and others as productivity growth), it does represent an enormous innovation goldrush.

Up to two-thirds of this value will be captured by consumer surplus, with the remainder coming from productivity gains and revenue streams from new technologies.

Given the challenges involved with adopting disruptive technologies it is often startup companies that are best suited to seize new market opportunities. Makers of horse-drawn carts didn’t catch on to the car, IBM couldn’t see the opportunity in personal computers, and the music industry has been pulled into digital streaming

music only reluctantly, worn down by years of music piracy.

Assuming one third of the $96b in economic value in 2025 is direct value created by these disruptive technologies (the other two thirds being retained as consumer savings as McKinsey has found is the norm with Internet-based technologies), this report estimates that in 2025 $32b annually will be addressed by either foreign or local digital technology companies.

Enrico Moretti, Professor of Economics at the University of California has found that technology companies have a five-fold impact on the economy. He states:

“Innovative industries bring good jobs and high salaries to communities where they cluster and their impact on the local economy is much deeper than their direct effect. Attracting a scientist or software engineer triggers a multiplier effect, increasing employment and salaries for those that provide local services. In essence, a high tech job is more than a job... research shows for each high tech job, five additional jobs are created outside the high tech sector.”11

Assuming this $32b represents this five-fold impact, this report estimates the direct contribution from digital technology employees on the Queensland economy to be over $6b in 2025.

If this value isn’t captured by local digital technology companies and startups it will certainly be extracted by companies from interstate and overseas.

HOW MANY STARTUPS

There is a real and substantive opportunity for the startup sector within Queensland to grow and play a much larger role in the local, national and international economy. It is also reasonable to conclude that the aims outlined by the Queensland Startup Summit held in 2013 are entirely achievable if the right infrastructure is put in place to develop the sector. The Summit’s “Big Hairy Audacious Goal” (BHAG) states:

‘By 2033, Queensland is recognised for its entrepreneurial culture, with the startup sector contributing four per cent to Gross State Product, injecting $20b and 100,000 new jobs into our economy, through the global impact of home grown startups.’ 12

These estimates also align with PwC’s 2013 report The Startup economy: How to Support Tech Startups and Accelerate Australian Innovation: “By accelerating growth the sector could contribute 4% of GDP by 2033 and directly employ 540,000 people.”13

The Summit’s BHAG equates to ~30,000 employees and a contribution to Queensland’s Gross State Product of roughly $5b in 2025.

Compared to the opportunity outlined by McKinsey & Deloitte there is certainly enough need within the market to achieve this BHAG given the right environment. Thus the question: How many technology companies and startups are needed for Queensland to meet this BHAG and retain some of the potential economic disruption within the state? What would Queensland’s startup ecosystem have to look like in 2025 for this to happen?One way to answer this is by modelling the distribution

of technology companies using the 80-20 Pareto distribution – 80% of the value created by 20% of companies and vice versa.a

Applying this methodology this report estimates there would need to be 3,000 to 4,000 technology companiesb within Queensland by 2025. The vast bulk of these would be pre-revenue seed stage startups, 300 to 500 with $1m-$10m in revenue, 50+ with $10m-$100m in revenue, 10+ companies with $100m-$1b in revenue, and a small number above $1b in revenue.

Assuming a linear increase in productivity for each increasing tier of company size, from $200k per employee to $500k per employee, gives an estimate for the number of employees required across the 5 bands. Resulting in a total number of 25,000 to 30,000 employees working directly within the technology sector and creating over $5b of value in 2025.

To achieve this target, participation in the sector would have to grow at approximately 40% each year, with new company / startup formation rates beginning at 10 to 20 new startups per year and reaching a rate of 1,000 per year by 2025 - a yearly startup formation rate of 170 per million people.c

While these sorts of formation rates may seem large, they are quite reasonable when you take into account two things. One, the current yearly startup formation rates per million people within the USA range from an average of 42 across the USA to between 147 to 387 in technology hubs such as San Francisco and Boulder. Two: the formation rates for technology companies will certainly increase over the next ten years - ever so slightly approaching the average private sector business formation rate of 1,342 per year per million - as technology becomes an increasing part of business.14

Given the network effects of digital technology, the rapid revenue growth, exponential user acquisition of successful startups and winner-takes-all structure of these markets, this report estimates that ~20% of these digital technology companies will create ~80% of the value.

And it is by no means certain that starting a new business will result in success: the high-risks necessitated by innovative technology and business models inevitably leads to a large proportion of startups failing each year (some estimate the global norm for startup failure rates to be as high as 90%).

Hence this report uses a power distribution to estimate the distribution of digital technology companies (both mature and startup) participating in the sector in 2025 with an increasingly large number of startups being created each year; of which only a select few will achieve the high year-on-year growth required to become the new Australian technology giants by 2025.

a. Startup ecosystems appear to follow this distribution.b. 4,000 companies employing more than one staff member. Up to 8,000 including sole-operators.c. Based on Australian Bureau of Statistics middle projection for Queensland population numbers in 2025 - 5.9 m.

DISRUPTIVE DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES ECONOMIC IMPACT ON QUEENSLAND ($B)

3D printing

Autonomous and near- autonomous vehicles

Cloud technology

Advanced robotics

The Internet of Things

Mobile Internet

Automation of knowledge work

DISRUPTIVE DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES - ECONOMIC IMPACT ON QUEENSLAND ($M)

34.9

25.9

22.2

17.7

8.4

5.9

1.7

8

THIS REPORT ESTIMATES THE POTENTIAL ECONOMIC IMPACT OF DISRUPTIVE DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES ON QUEENSLAND’S ECONOMY IN 2025 IS ~$96 BILLION PER ANNUM, WITH A DIRECT IMPACT FROM THE DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY SECTOR OF OVER $6 BILLION PER YEAR.

TO ENSURE THE MAJORITY OF THIS VALUE IS CREATED & RETAINED BY LOCAL COMPANIES, QUEENSLAND WILL NEED: 3,000+ STARTUPS, HUNDREDS OF ESTABLISHED TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES AND A UNICORN OR TWO.

WITHOUT THIS, ECONOMIC GROWTH WILL BE LOST TO INTERNATIONAL COMPETITORS.

9

BREEDING UNICORNS & ECOSYSTEMS

UNICORNS ARE REAL

The term “unicorn” has been adopted worldwide as a label for high growth technology companies that achieve significant scale ($US 100m revenue or $US 1b valuation/market cap). Startups that achieve this scale are rare but vital to the creation of a vibrant economy.

Unicorns have the ability to spawn hundreds of new entrepreneurs, many of whom go on to found or invest in startups. The IPOs of Google, Facebook and Twitter alone created almost 4,000 new millionaires. Similar examples can be seen in Sweden (Skype acquired by Microsoft for $US 8.5b; Spotify has a market cap of $US 4b), the UK (Betfair IPOd at $US 2.4b and lastminute.com acquired by Sabre for $US 1.1b), and Israel (NDS acquired by Cisco for $US 5b).15

The network effects of the digital economy and ubiquity of technology mean that they exist in increasingly winners-take-all markets and grow with astonishing speed, creating large numbers of jobs both within the company and as part of the larger ecosystems that surround them.

According to the UK innovation agency NESTA, the 6 per cent of UK businesses with the highest growth rates generated half of the new jobs in the UK between 2002 and 2008.16

“A small number of high-growth businesses are responsible for the lion’s share of job creation and prosperity… This has significant implications for the direction of economic policy. It shows that enabling innovation is good for growth. Just as importantly, it shows that focusing attention on growing businesses and promoting excellence, far from being an elitist policy, gives rise to widespread job creation and prosperity.”Jonathan Kestenbaum, CEO NESTA16

BREEDING UNICORNS

For Queensland to grow a vibrant startup ecosystem it is essential to create an environment that is conducive to creating and retaining unicorns on local soil – and attracting foreign unicorns.

In a global, highly-connected economy, unicorns can grow in any geographical region and access global markets with ease. So far most unicorns have come from the USA, and it is likely that the upcoming digital disruption will be created by US firms unless Queensland and Australia invest in united and focussed efforts to develop some home-grown unicorns.

Governments are increasingly recognising the importance of entrepreneurship and high growth technology startups - implementing programs to create, attract and retain these unique value creators. Examples include the UK Government’s Future Fifty17 program; Startup America;18 the Singapore Government’s $14b commitment to the National Framework for Innovation and Enterprise; and Sweden’s national network of 43 startup incubators, 12 seed investment funds and 33 science parks that have been incubating over 950 high-growth technology companies per annum for the last 20 years.

These programs focus on the small number of companies with the highest growth potential rather than broad support for traditional new businesses and SMEs.

CREATING CLUSTERS Vibrant industry clusters and ecosystems are critical for increasing the productivity of companies, driving innovation, stimulating new business creation and breeding scalable high-growth companies.13

The factors that contribute to a flourishing technology ecosystem have been well defined by researchers, policy makers and entrepreneurs: An entrepreneurial culture with a large number of active participants; mentoring from experienced entrepreneurs; a supportive regulatory environment; a culture of collaboration and networking; visible successes and role models; risk tolerance; easy access to risk capital; government policy with a long-term focus; and access to good technical skills.

Many of these factors are cultural, rather than structural, and in many ways a strong culture comes prior to structural changes (e.g. greater access to capital or supportive regulation). According to PwC’s The Startup Economy:

“Culture is the key to accelerating the growth of a tech community. In the 1970s the tech communities of Silicon Valley and the area around MIT… were similar in size. But by the 1990s Silicon Valley was dominant. The accepted explanation for the difference in growth rates is the open and collaborative culture of the Valley. This same culture is what is driving growth in both Boulder Colorado and Israel.”13

Richard Florida’s work on the rise of the creative class also demonstrates how critical the culture and liveability of a city are for the attraction and creation of innovative startups:

“Despite all the predictions that technology—from the telephone and the automobile to the computer and the Internet—would lead to the death of cities, the creative economy is taking shape around them. Urban density, the clustering of people and firms, is a basic engine of economic life. Place is the factor that organically brings together the economic opportunity and talent, the jobs and the people required for creativity, innovation, and growth.”19

Richard Florida

Florida calls this place, but it’s about how a location can support and encourage social density, a critical mass of interactions and connections between people to create a cocktail of creativity, intelligence and courage. From the studios of Florence, to the coffee houses of Paris and the skunkworks at Google [x], vibrant environments in which people from varied backgrounds have spontaneous meetings and explore interesting problems have been the engines of economic growth, innovative ideas, and human wonder from the dawn of humanity.

Creating high growth startups.

FUNDING QUEENSLAND’S STARTUP ECOSYSTEM

So the elements required for a flourishing ecosystem are well known, but how much effort is required for Queensland to realise the next decade’s economic opportunity?

To answer this, this report estimated the growth from the current state of the ecosystem to one that meets the Queensland Startup Summit’s goal. The diagram opposite shows the various stages of company size, the number of each in the ecosystem both now and in 2025, and some current examples.

This model also takes into account startup failure rates and the proportion of technology companies that make it through each stage of growth - extrapolating from historic data where available.

The report’s assumptions are that startups require:• $50,000 funding to launch a business,• $250,000 funding to achieve $1m in revenue, • $2m to achieve $10m in revenue,• $20m to achieve $100m, and • $110m funding to achieve $1b.

Given these assumptions, this report estimates that over $2b to $5b in total funding needs to flow into the sector over the next ten years to support the ecosystem’s growth.With the rate of investment increasing from their current average of ~$23m per year to between $500m to $1b per year by 2025.

Approximately 20-30% of these funds would go to seed stage startup activity (generally pre-revenue), and the majority of these startups will fail, close, or be acquired. ~30% of funding would go to early stage startups in the $1m-$10m revenue band, ~20% to expansion/growth stage technology companies in the $10m-$100m revenue band, and the remaining ~10% to the handful of mature later stage companies with revenue at $100m+ - the unicorns of the pack.23

Despite the high risk and failure rates, those ~$2b+ in funds would have helped create a net positive economic impact of ~$32b - within 10 years.

In terms of government support for the sector this report recommends that the majority of support should be focussed on kick-starting the early, high-risk stage of company formation, given this is where the majority of risk lies and where Australia’s investment levels are lowest compared to global norms.

To meet this target, Queensland’s main challenges are:• Dramatically increasing the current very low levels

of investment in startups;• Growing Queensland’s fledgling startup sector -

particularly the early stage activity; and • Training the state’s workforce to create enough

highly-skilled workers to fill the jobs required.

AVG PRE-IPO INVESTMENT FOR US STARTUPS

$US110MAverage pre-IPO funding raised by US listed technology company has increased from $US 73m in 2007 to between $US 102m to $US 119m in 2013. The median pre-IPO funding was $US 52m in 2007 and currently stands at $US 78m, raised over a median of 4.5 rounds (excluding seed rounds <$US 1.5m). Average time to IPO is 7 years in the USA and 9 years in Australia for VC backed.20,21,22

TOTAL ECOSYSTEM FUNDING REQUIRED 2014-25

Seed Stage: <$1m revenue

Early Stage: $1-10m revenue

Expansion Stage: $10-100m revenue

Later Stage: $100m-$1b revenue

Later Stage: $1b+ revenue

$400m-$1b

$580m-$1.4b

$400m-$1b

$350m-$840m

$250m-$660m

10

3,000+220+

300+20-40

1+0

10+1

50+10-20

COMPANY STAGES1 in 1,000

Halfbrick$10m+ revenue Est. 2001

Wotif$700m mrkt cap$147m revenueEst. 2000

POTENTIAL FOUNDERS

20% Portion of people interested in entrepreneurship who start a company.

SEED STAGE STARTUP

<$1mRevenue

EARLY STAGE STARTUP

$1 to 10mRevenue

GROWTH STAGE TECH CO.

$10 to 100mRevenue

LATER STAGE TECH CO.

$100m to $1bRevenue

UNICORN TECH CO.

$1b+Revenue

This diagram separates the startup stages by revenue. From people ‘interested’ in entrepreneurship, to those that actually found a New Startup, and through to growing and mature technology companies.

Yellow information represents the current size and distribution of startups within the ecosystem, and black represents the size and distribution of the ecosystem in 2025.

Developing high growth technology startups is a high risk endeavour with a small proportion of companies achieving the growth required to move to the next stage. Approximately 90% of bootstrapped or angel-funded startups fail, and between 30% to 40% of venture backed startups fail. Even fewer digital technology companies grow beyond $1b in revenue, or reach a $1b valuation - less than 0.1% for either.24,25

Commission Factory$1m+ revenue Est. 2011

TapprPre-revenue Est. 2012

20,000+1,000

11

FORMATIONStartup formation rates

DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY STARTUPS

ENTIRE PRIVATE SECTOR COMPANY TYPE3

50 200100 150

YEARLY STARTUP FORMATION RATES PER MILLION OF POPULATION - TOP EIGHT US DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY HUBS VS QUEENSLAND

0 50 100 150 200 250 300

LOCATION YEAR ESTIMATED #STARTUPS FORMED PER YEAR

POPULATION RATE PER MILLION PEOPLE

USA 2010 415,000 309m 1342

Boulder 2010 25 98,815 256

Queensland 2025 1,000 5.9m 170

San Jose 2010 116 955,225 122

Seattle 2010 69 610,409 113

Fort Collins 2010 16 144,348 109

Washington 2010 66 604,453 109

Denver 2010 63 603,497 105

San Francisco 2010 85 805,607 105

Cambridge 2010 10 104,944 97

USA - the year of the dot-com boom

1999 21,000 279m 75

USA 2010 13,000 309m 42

Queensland 2013 55 4.7m 12

250 1,300Startup formation rates are based on the Kauffman Foundation’s 2013 report “Tech Starts: High-Technology Business Formation and Job Creation in the United States.” While the numbers are some of the best available, it is this reports opinion that startup formation rates are in fact higher in US technology hubs than shown above.

12

FORMATIONStartup formation rates

US TECHNOLOGY HUBS SUCH AS BOULDER AND SAN FRANCISCO HAVE YEARLY STARTUP FORMATION RATES PER MILLION PEOPLE RANGING BETWEEN 97 TO 256. QUEENSLAND’S CURRENT RATE IS 12.

FOR THE LOCAL STARTUP ECOSYSTEM TO REACH 4% OF GSP AND 30K JOBS, PARTICIPATION IN THE SECTOR WOULD HAVE TO GROW AT APPROXIMATELY 40% EACH YEAR, WITH YEARLY STARTUP FORMATION INCREASING FROM ~12 NEW STARTUPS PER YEAR TO ~1,000 BY 2025. A STARTUP FORMATION RATE PER MILLION PEOPLE OF 170.

13

ORGANISATIONSStartup

COMPANIES

Startup companies founded after 2009, along with key support organisations based in Queensland. (UA) indicates that the product type has not been identified.

STARTUPS

13 Text (mobile app)2 Dudez Studios (game)247 Systems (marketplace)2CRisk (other)3 Blokes Studios (game)6YS (other)7bithero (game)Aberrant Entertainment (game)Adepto (other)Aerapay (other)AgDNA (mobile app)Akro (analytics)Allotz.com (other)Always Interactive/Schoolzine (comms)Ample Entertainment (game)App-O-Matic (mobile app)Appenate (mobile app)AppFactory (mobile app)Appointuit (mobile health)Aquiba (electronics)Athletable (other)Attract Mode Games (game)Auditflow (desktop app)Auditor Training Online (education)Auran (game)Bane Games (game)Barefoot Entrepreneurs (financial)BDS.com.au (e-commerce)BidHere.com (e-commerce)Bill Hero (communication)Binary Mill, The (game)Birthday Gorilla (advertising)Bitcoin Brisbane (desktop app)Biz Forms (desktop app)BlackBird Solutions (desktop app)Bliip (communication)Blue Quoll Publishing (mobile app)Blue Tropical (mobile app)BonzaDat (desktop app)Booty.com.au (marketplace)Brandscope (customer relationship)Brisbane Art (Vegas Spray) (advertising)Brus Media (advertising)Business Ready Tool (communication)Cartesian Co (electronics)CartHopper (marketplace)CatchLog Trading (analytics)CB Aerospace (transportation)CBO Telecommunications (comms)Cerebro (mobile app)Churn.tv (media & news)Clinicea (other)Cloubum (other)Cloud DC (storage)Cloudsafe365 (other)Cloudswirl (UA)Code Heroes (game)Cohortpay (education)Commission Factory (advertising)Composeright Software (other)CoSituate (advertising)CouponIce (ecommerce)

Court Record Solutions Group (UA)Creative Hearts Group (transportation)Credosity (productivity)Cribhut.com (other)CrowdSource Hire (marketplace)CryptoPhoto (security)Cupid Media (other)Curvy Market (marketplace)Dark Ice Interactive (mobile app)Daycare Decisions (education)BDS.com.au (daily deals)Defiant Development (game)Dev-Audio (hardware + web)Devnet (hardware + web)Dextr (mobile app)Dialogix (other)Dimsdale & Kreozot United GamesDistractless (safety)DivingTheGoldCoast.com.au (other)Documaps.io (other)DoseMe (other)dp dialogue (other)Drone Hire (marketplace)Dugong Software (game)Eat More Pixels (game)Eclat (UA)eContent Management (UA)EcoWise LED (startup)Edgevertise (advertising)EFTlab (analytics)ekidnaworld (game)Elastice (ecommerce)Ellume (mobile health)EM Solutions (other)Ennova (other)Enthuse (sport)Euclideon (graphics)Expat Digital Media (media & news)Eyecon (game)Factorial Products (mobile app)Faraday Media (communication)Fastabook (advertising)FathomHQ (analytics)Fitgenes (education)Five Faces (communication)Fizzio Fit (mobile health)Floor Five (ecommerce)Food Matters (other)Footballr (game)Fortune Innovation Brisbane (app)Freewill (UA)Frelk Industries (electronics)FreshTone Games (mobile app)Fun Mob Games (game)Fuzzyeyes Studio (game)Geek Brain Games (game)Gen3 Media (advertising)Geoptima (other)Geospike (other)Ghostbox (game)Gideon Shalwick (video)Glanton (infrastructure)goACT (other)goCatch Taxi App (transportation)Gold Coast IT Forum (communication)goStandby (marketplace)Grapple (productivity)GrassAds (advertising)Grid Media (other)Guiix (mobile app)

Guvera (established music tech)HandleMyComplaint (other)Health Industy.com.au (other)Health Risk Management Systems (other) Hire Hive (other)Hitbox Team (game)HollaNote (mobile app)Hooked Up (education)Hotel App (UA)Human Interactive (advertising)Hydric Media (mobile app)Hypermancer (media & news)iEscape (transportation)ImagePro Studios (advertising)ImmersaView (hardware + web)Infinite Wardrobe (marketplace)inKind (UA)Inkive (photography)Intaserve Group (UA)Integrated Monitoring Systems (analytics)Intelligent Automation (electronics)iOnline (mobile app)iPledg (financial or payment)JADES Management Solutions (UA)JobFit Systems Intnl (marketplace)JoggaDogg (UA)JW Shannon Engineers (Argus Acoustic) (infrastructure)KaWoW! (game)KindyHub (mobile app)Kondoot (UA)Krome Studios (game)Krunk (UA)Language and Learning Steps (education)LEAPIN Digital Keys (mobile app)Lightmare Studios (game)Liquid State (mobile app)Little Dukkies Enterprises (UA)Live Nourish Play (UA)Living Room of Satoshi (UA)Locatrix Communications (location)Locatrix International (UA)Lost n Found (UA)M2Media (hardware + web)Machinam (education)Machine IQ (analytics)Machinery Safety Systems (hardware)Mammoth Media (hardware + web)mandraIT (communication)Mapely (UA)MassPay (UA)MechTech Creations (hardware + web)memeBig.com (communication)Mesaplexx (communication)MetaMunch (other)Metaset (mobile app)Miiingle Technologies (UA)Milaana (other)Mobile Communications (Qld) (other)Murry Lancashire (game)My Import Label (other)My Sunshine Coast (other)mypresences (other)Mystrata (other)N3V Games (game)Nano Silicon (Australia) (mobile app)NeCTAR (communication)New NRG (3D printing)Nimble (established fin-tech)NRG (other)

Oar Inspired (sport)Ollo Mobile (wearable)Open Gear (infrastructure)Opmantek (communication)Optii Solutions (productivity)OrderXYZ (marketplace)OtherLevels (UA)Outfound (to pay) (Software (offline))Oz Sonotek (financial or payment)PayRespect (UA)PeeP Digital (education)Pelofy (social)Pineapple Corp (UA)Pipe Games (game)PLF Agritech (UA)Presentation Sells (advertising)Preveu (mobile app)Prevue (other)Qrate.tv (UA)Quantum Property (UA)R Fifteen (UA)Rabotica BVBA (UA)Red Sprite Studios (game)RedEye Apps (productivity)RemarksPDF (mobile app)Retail Express (ecommerce)Riff Axelerator (video)Rinstrum (electronics)RMSS (electronics)Rockabilly Kitchen (UA)RocketBunny Games (game)RPS/Attract Mode Games (game)SafetyCulture (mobile app)Screwtape Studios (game)Sea Safe (mobile app)See Out (other)SellaWhere (UA)Senath (other)Sensaware (wearable)Shovsoft (game)Siltek (UA)simPROVAL (infrastructure)Smooth Operator (financial or payment)Social Development Company (comms)Softgineering (other)SoftPerfect (UA)Spare Metres (infrastructure)Splasheo (mobile app)Splitpack (hardware + web)Sports Performance Accelerator (game)Squirrelr (financial or payment)StartHere (customer relationship)Startups Australia (infrastructure)Stats App (UA)Studio Blimp (game)Stylegrab (other)Subarashi (other)Swipeads (advertising)T 2 Green (game)Tagly (communication)Tappr (financial or payment)TechHatch (other)The Allergy Menu (other)The Core (social)The Creative Assembly (UA)The Travel App (UA)TheyerGFX (3D printing)Tiger Temple (UA)Total Range Design (communication)Tracknology (analytics)

14

TrekTraka (advertising)Trinity Software Australia (sport)Tripcover (financial or payment)Txt4Coffee (financial or payment)Typefi (other)Ubegin (other)UniMap (UA)V2i (health)Veilability (marketplace)Vendle (mobile app)Victus Health (other)Volt4 (UA)Walk Thru Walls Studios (game)Well Placed Cactus (game)We Are Hunted (music)Where2Tonight (UA)WiFi Ads (UA)Wikifashion (media & news)Wildfire Studios (game)Wishing Well Web Hosting (UA)Witch Beam (game)WunderWalk (UA)XY Gaming (game)Y2 Investments (UA)Yackstar (UA)ZipID (other)Zippy.com.au (marketplace/deals)ZOVA (other)

INCUBATION

QUT Creative Enterprise Australia (seed accelerator / incubator)

iLab (seed accelerator)Innovation Centre Sunshine Coast (Inc) Right Pedal Studios (seed accelerator)Silicon Lakes (incubator)

FUNDING

Accelerate Ideas (Gov grant)AMMA Private Equity (private equity)Artesian Capital (vc)Australian Association of Angel Investors Australian Small Scale Offerings BoardBlue Sky Alternative Investments (vc)Brisbane Angels (angel group)Budding Entrpnrs Grant (Gov grant)Commercialisation Australia (Gov grant)Founders Forum (angel group)Gold Coast Angels (angel group)One Ventures (venture capital)Screen Australia (Gov grant)teQstart (Gov grant)Transition Level Investments (angel group)Uniseed (university fund)

CO-WORKING & HACKER SPACES

Co-Spaces (coworking - Gold Coast)Cojimbo Coworking (coworking - SC)Gold Coast Tech Space (coworking)Hackerspace Brisbane (hackerspace)Mowbraytown Co-Working Space (SC)Noosa Boardroom (coworking - SC)River City Labs (coworking - Brisbane)Thoughtfort (coworking - Brisbane)Salt House (coworking - Brisbane)Light Space (coworking - Brisbane)Rabbit Hole Ideation Cafe (coworking)Work Club (coworking - Gold Coast)

MEET GROUPS BY NO. MEMBERS*The Bris. Web Design Group (1661)Silicon Beach Bris. (1069)Agile Bris. (858)Bris. Web Tech (823)Bris. Internet Business Meetup (705)BrisJS - Bris. JavaScript (613)Bris. .Net User Group (587)Bris. Functional Programming (560)Barcamp Queensland (541)The Bris. Ruby and Rails (500)AWS - Bris. User Group (500)WordPress Bris. (496)Silicon Beach Gold Coast (467)Queensland JVM Group (446)Bris. SEO (425)UX Bris. (402)Gold Coast Techspace (349)Bris. Joomla Users Group (329)Bris. Content Strategy Group (298)Hackerspace Bris. (257)Bris. Unity Developers (251)CocoaHeads (244)Game Technology Bris. (243)Bris. Python User Group (241)Bris. Azure User Group (239)Devops Bris. (233)The Bris. NoSQL Group (198)Queensland Bloggers (197)IT Forum Gold Coast (171)Bitcoin Bris. (157)Bris. iOS and Android Group (133)Project & Program Managers (127)Gold Coast WordPress Network (126)Lean Business Strategies (126)Coding from Beach (125)Bris. Hacks for Humanity (123)Drupal Bris. (120)Young Bris. IT Social (119)Hack the Evening (116)Byron Web (53)Docker Bris., Australia (108)Queensland C# Mobile Developers (103)QLD ALM Users Group (95)Bris. Dynamics CRM User Group (94)StartUp Mastermind Groups (85)Bris. Software Testers Meetup (84)WordPress Gold Coast (82)Open Knowledge Bris. Group (81)SAGE Queensland (80)Bris. Inbound Marketing (78)Hacks/Hackers Bris. (72)Rhok Bris. (71)Web Accessblty & Inclusv Design (69)GDG - Bris. (69)Startup Grind Bris. (67)Cloud Solutions for Modrn Business (65)Humbug (64)Data Vault & DWH modeling Group (64)Bris. Online Marketing Workshops (62)Big Data Analytics Group Bris. (61)Queensland Legion of Tech (59)Bris. OpenShift Group (58)Bluemix-Developers-in-Bris. (58)DevExpress User Group Bris. (57)Sunshine Coast Digital Association (55)HackerNest Bris. Tech Socials (53)Bris. Data Scientists Group (51)Bris. Big Data Analytics (47)clj-bne (46)

Bris. 3D Printing Meetup (46)Gold Coast JavaScript Developers (41)Bris. Coder Club (39)Queensland SilverStripe Meetup (37)Drupal Gold Coast (37)The Data Warehousing Community (36)Software Architctr & Project Design (36)Sunshine Coast WordPress Meetup (35)Northern Rivers Bitcoin enthusiasts (5)Bris. Tableau User Group (33)Bitcoin and Beyond (Gold Coast) (33)Ruxmon Bris. (33)Bris. R User Group (BrisRUG) (32)Bris. Game Design & CG Artists (30)Bris. Adobe User Group (29)ShopTalk eCommerce Meetup - Bris. (29)Bris. Evernote Users Group (28)Sitecore Bris. User Group (28)dotMaleny (26)Bris. Spark Group (26)Queensland Puppet Meetup (26)Ruby on Rails Gold Coast (22)Dream. Design. Develop. Deliver. (21)Bris. ColdFusion (20)Digital Dialog (17)Gold Coast WordPress Designers & Developers (16)Work@Jelly Noosa (16)gsummitx - Gamification in Bris. (15)3D Printing Bris. (15)THATCamp Bris. (13)Bris. Business Catalyst User (Partners) Group Meetup (12)Bris. Salesforce Dev. Group (12)Creating an online presence for over 50s (10)Bris. Salesforce Group (9)Bris. AppDynamics with RP Data (9)Startup Mastermind - Gold Coast (8)Information Server User Group Bris. (3)Godl Coast Salesforce User Group (3)Search Factory Content Writers (1)Ubuntu Bris. Information Group (0)

EDUCATION, SUPPPORT & EVENTS*

Aust Centr for Entrprnrshp Resrch (edu)Binary Options (education and training)BizSpark Expressway (event)Boardroom Briefings - IC (event)Bond University (education)Brisbane Intnl Game Developers Assoc.Brisbane Startup Pitch Group (event)Brisbane Writers Festival (event)Build my Robot (event)Business Expo (event)Cleantech Expo (event)Coder Dojo (education program)Creative Conference (event)Culture Hack Gold Coast (hackathon)Enterprise Connect (events)Game On Program (event)Gemini Program (event)GO423 Symposium (event)Gov Hack (hackathon)Gov Open Data (hackathon)Griffith University (education)Griffith Enterprise (commercialisation arm)Insights (education and training)Institute for Future of the Book (edu)Investment Incentives (event)Kids Biz Conference (event)

Lean Launchpad (education)Lean Startup Machine (education)Literacy Planet (education program)Maroochydore Chamber of Commerce (education and training)Mentor Blaze (event)Mentoring 4 Growth (event)Mobile Mondays (event)MoboDev (advisor)NASA Space Apps Challenging (event)National Angels Conference (event)Qld Intractv Design Delegation (event)Queensland University of Technology (edu)Questions on Capital (event)QUT Bluebox (commercialisation arm)RiverPitch (event)South by Southwest Delegation (event)Startup Club Meeting (event)Startup QLD (community enablement)Startup Weekend - Brisbane (education)Startup Weekend - Gold Coast (edu)Startup Weekend - SC (edu)State Library QLD (community)Sunday Coder Club (event)Sunshine Coast Entrepreneurs (commu)Sunshine Coast TAFE (education)Sunshine Coast Technorati (community)Ted x Noosa (event)The Startup Club (community)Uniquest (commercialisation arm)University of Southern Queensland (edu)University of Sunshine Coast (edu)UQ - Ideas Network (community)Wavebreak (advisor)

*Note many of these groups and events are not directly focused on startups, but rather support activities around digital technology. They are included as an indication of the level of interest in digital technology, and are often feeders to people taking the leap into joining or launching their own startup.

15

FUNDING RAISEDInvestors and Investments

TOP 35 RAISES AMOUNT YEAR #RNDS REGION EST FUNDING SOURCE

Guvera $45,000,000 09, 10, 12 4 Gold Coast 2008 AMMA Private Equity

Nimble $18,300,000 12,13,14 ~3 Gold Coast 2005 Acorn, Monash Inv, Angels

Euclideon $3,969,304 2010 1 Brisbane 2010 CA, Unknown

SafetyCulture $3,600,000 2013 1 Regional 2004 CA, Blackbird, Angels

Halfbrick Studios $3,000,000 2011 1 Brisbane 2001 NSW Interactive Media Fund

Other Levels $2,528,853 2012 2 Brisbane 2012 Confidential

ImmersaView $2,449,805 2013 2 Brisbane 2006 DIISRTE, CA, Unknown

Tappr $2,420,000 2013 2 Brisbane 2012 Unknown

EM Solutions $2,397,984 1 Brisbane 1997 CA

Mesaplexx $1,849,804 2012 1 Brisbane 2007 CA, Unknown

Rinstrum $1,824,370 1 Brisbane 2005 CA, Unknown

V2i $1,716,126 2011 1 Gold Coast 2000 CA, Unknown

Cloud DC $1,600,000 13 & 14 2 Sunshine 2012 Angels, CA, Unknown

Out of Credit Solutions $1,500,000 2012 1 Brisbane 2012 AMMA

Opmantek $1,500,000 2013 1 Gold Coast 2010 ASSOB, Confidential

From Concept To Completion $1,004,800 1 Brisbane 2010 CA, Unknown

Right Pedal Studios (accelratr) $1,000,000 2012 1 Brisbane 2012 Steven Baxter

Fitgenes $934,888 2012 1 Brisbane 2007 CA, Unknown

Qs Semiconductor Australia $924,000 2009 1 Brisbane 2009 CA, Unknown

JobFit Systems Intnl $900,000 2012 1 Brisbane 2013 CA, Unknown

Court Record Solutions $839,280 2011 1 Brisbane 2010 CA, Unknown

5 Lives Studios $830,400 2013 1 Brisbane 2013 Kickstarter

mandraIT $830,080 2013 1 Sunshine 2012 CA, Unknown

Liquid State $805,000 2013 2 Brisbane 2011 Confidential, CA

Kondoot $800,000 2012 1 Brisbane 2010 ASSOB

Health Risk Management Sys. $767,402 1 Brisbane 2009 CA, Unknown

CatchLog Trading $745,198 2011 1 Regional 2005 CA, Unknown

Sea Safe $742,400 2013 2 Gold Coast 2004 CA, Unknown

Defiant Development $704,095 2013 x2 2 Brisbane 2010 Screen Australia, Kickstarter

Yackstar $667,836 1 Brisbane 2009 CA, Unknown

TrekTraka $650,000 12 & 13 2 Brisbane 2011 Confidential

Trinity Software Australia $601,600 1 Regional 2010 CA, Unknown

Txt4Coffee $600,000 11 & 12 2 Brisbane 2010 Confidential

goACT $600,000 1 Gold Coast 2010 CA, Unknown

Appointuit $503,911 12 & 13 2 Brisbane 2010 Brisbane Angels

TOTAL FUNDING RAISED - ALL TECH

$126MTotal venture capital, private equity, government grants, crowdfunding and angel funding raised by startups and established digital technology companies located in Queensland, from 2009 to July 2014. Based on data from Crunchbase, Angel List, research and interviews.

TOTAL FUNDING RAISED - STARTUPS

$37MTotal funding raised in Queensland from 2009 to July 2014 by Startups established after 2009.

No. STARTUPS THAT RAISED FUNDING

99/136 Number of Queensland startups (99) out of all digital technology companies (136) that raised funding.

No. ROUNDS

116/165 Number of funding rounds for startups (116) out of the total number for all digital technology companies (165).

MEDIAN FUNDING - STARTUPS

$100,000 Median amount of total funding raised in Queensland for startups. Median for all digital technology companies was $200,000.

AVERAGE FUNDING - STARTUPS

$371,000 Average amount of total funding raised in Queensland for startups. Average raised for all digital technology companies was $928,000.

Architecture

Publishing

Young Adult

Comics

Rock

People

Food

Webseries

Painting

Fiction

Live Games

Music

Illustration

Accessories

Pop

Design

Tabletop Games

Animation

Documentary

3D Printing

Technology

Product Design

Video Games

KICKSTARTER QLD

$1,076,266

$160,230

$137,829

$137,356

$61,825

$38,089

$37,859

$23,746

$20,660

$14,043

$10,246

$9,368

$7,528

$7,090

$6,225

$5,517

$5,325

$3,934

$3,115

$2,796

$2,506

$2,226

$2,040

Art and Recreational Services

Other Services

Accommodation and Food Services

Communication

Administrative Services

Rental and Real Estate Services

Electricity Gas, Water and Waste Services

Agriculture

Education and Training

Retail Trade

Wholesale Trade

Professional, Scientific and Technical Services

Finance and Insurance Services

Public Adminstration and Safety

Transport, Postal and Warehousing

Manufacturing

Health Care and Social Assistance

Ownership of Dwellings

Mining

Construction

01020304050607080 020406080100

Craft

Research

Technology

Journalism

Other

Food & Drink

Fashion

Video

Comics

Social Enterprise

Photography

Event

Art

Design

Writing

Community

Performance

Music

Film

POZIBLE

$316,574

$312,822

$180,488

$135,195

$107,652

$84,045

$71,791

$44,184

$40,532

$37,160

$30,360

$30,046

$24,849

$24,045

$12,226

$11,640

$5,737

$3,480

$160

2017201320122011

$1.5B $1.61B$2B

$3B

COMPUTER GAME SALES

Leadership

Talent & Skills

Infrastructure

Procurement

Collaboration & Networking

Government Policy

Funding

Culture

Education

Raise Awareness

TOP COMMUNITY ISSUES: RANKED BY WEIGHTED VOTES

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Advanced Robotics

3D Printing

Software (monil only)

Silicon Chips & Semiconductors

Software (offline)

Software and Hardware

Software (web and mobile)

FUNDING BY TECHNOLOGY

$108m

$14.2m

$1.5m

$1.0m

$1.0m

$0.1m

$0.1m

NBN Advocacy Group

Hub

Govt Incentive - Investment

Communication Hub

Attract Talent


Highlight Success Stories

Startup Apprentice

Form Leadership Group

Education Program

TOP COMMUNITY ACTIONS: RANKED BY WEIGHTED VOTES

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

TOTAL INVESTED BY INVESTOR TYPE

Corporate

Unknown

Accelerator

Crowdfunding

Government Grant

Angel Group

Individual Angel/s

Matched Funding (CA)

Government Grant - Matched (CA)

Venture Capital

Private Equity

TOTAL INVESTED BY INVESTOR TYPE ($M)

$46.9M

$20.2M

$19.6M

$15.6M

$10.9M

$5.1M

$4.3M

$1.4M

$0.9M

$0.8M

$0.2M

iLab

Screen Australia

Blackbird Ventures

Founders Forum

Kickstarter

ASSOB

Brisbane Angels Syndicate

NSW Government Interactive Media Fund


Acorn Capital

Commercialisation Australia

AMMA

TOP 12 STARTUP BACKERS ($M)

$46.5M

$19.6M

$16.8M

$3.5M

$3.0M

$2.8M

$2.3M

$1.3M

$1.2M

$1.2M

$0.7M

$0.6M

No. CO & GROUPS: FOUNDED

500000

1000000

1500000

2000000

2500000

3000000 Digital - Queensland

Digital - Australia

All Categories - Queensland

All Categories - Australia

FUNDING BY REGION

Region Unknown

Sunshine Coast

Gold Coast

Brisbane

No. GROUPS FOUDNED PER YEAR BY REGION

0

3

6

9

12

15

Q2Q1Q4Q3Q2Q1Q4Q3Q2Q1Q4Q3Q2Q4Q3Q2Q1Q4Q3Q2Q4Q3Q4Q3Q4

ALL PROJECT FUNDING ON KICKSTARTER BY YEAR AND REGION

0

300000

600000

900000

1200000

1500000 Brisbane

Northern Qld

Gold Coast

Sunshine Coast

Digital Queensland

Non-Digital Queensland

Digital Rest of Australia

Non-Digital Rest of Australia

30000000

35000000

201420132012201120102009

TOTAL RAISED BY YEAR - ALL DIGITAL CO. ($)

13M

27M

10M

34M

27M

15M

16

FUNDINGInvestors and Investments

CURRENT FUNDING LEVELS

The report’s funding data covers the January 2009 to July 2014 period and includes all digital technology companies in Queensland with publicly available information. It includes both investments and government grants (where no equity was exchanged).

This report identified 136 digital technology companies that ran 165 separate funding rounds, 99 of which are startups by this report’s definition. $126m was raised in total, which gives an average $23m per year, or $4.90 per capita per year invested in digital technology companies for Queensland. The median total funding raised for all digital technology companies was $200k, but the average total raised was much higher at $928k, and the average size of a funding round was $765k. The averages are high due to a small number of large raises, particularly one very large raise ($45m) for Guvera - a music streaming service.

Funding levels within Queensland are on par with norms across Australia for startup investment - between $4 to $6 per capita per year. However, local and national norms are well below global startup investment norms and best practice which ranges between $30 to over $3,000 per capita per year.

When examining the source of funding, private equity comes out as the leader $47m or 37% of all funding, driven primarily by AMMA’s $45m investment in Guvera. Government funding comes out as the second largest source of funding, both in total amount of funding ($24m or 19% of all funding by type) and total raised by lead investor ($41m or 32% of funding). Government funding is almost entirely made up of funding from the Commercialisation Australia program, ~$20m or 16% of total funding, which attracted matched funding of $18m (14% of all funding) from angels and VCs. It is noteworthy how effective CA was in attracting risk capital into the sector. The third largest funding source is individual angels - $18m or 14% of all funding.

In Brisbane the project identified 115 raises totalling $45m by 101 companies across the five and half year period. An average of ~$8m per year, and $4.03 per capita. For startups only, the report identified 79 startups that raised, with a median startup raise of $100,000 and an average round size of $317,000.

On the Gold Coast 21 raises totalling $69m by 14 digital technology companies were identified. An average fund pool of $13m per year, and $24.60 per capita. The report identified 5 startups with a median startup raise of $62,500 and an average round size of $453,000. Total digital numbers on the Gold Coast are higher due to AMMA’s investment in Guvera (a music service) and Acorn Capital’s $10m investment in Nimble (a financial service). Excluding these two outliers brings the total investment to $5.7m, ~$1m invested per year, and $2.03 per capita across all tech.

On the Sunshine Coast 18 raises totalling $5m+ by 13 technology companies were identified. An average fund pool of ~$1m per year and $2.91 per capita. 9 startups with a median startup raise of $200,000 and an average round size of $294,000 were identified.

FUNDING PER CAPITA - ALL TECH

$4.90Average fund pool per year divided by Queensland population. Startup per capita funding was $1.43.

AVG FUND POOL PER YEAR - ALL TECH

$22.9MBased on total funding raised over five and a half years. Average total fund pool for startups was $6.7m.

VENTURE CAPITAL PER CAPITA

0 50 100 150 200

Perth (excl govt)

Queensland (excl govt)

Australia

Queensland

Perth (incl govt)

Austria

New Zealand

Belgium

Netherlands

Ireland

2012 Aus Olympic Team

Britain

France

Denmark

Finland

Sweden

Australian Bio-tech

Melbourne Cup Bets

Norway

Switzerland

USA

Israel

Silicon Valley

26, 27, 28

$4241

$183

$81

$74

$54

$52

$44

$40

$28

$16

$15

$15

$14

$14

$14

$12

$11

$8

$5.66

$4.90

$4.09

$4.02

$2.96

0 10000000 20000000 30000000 40000000 50000000

Friends & Family

Corporate

Other

Accelerator

Crowdfunding

Government Fund (other)

Angel Group

Venture Capital

Individual Angel/s

Government Fund (CA)*

Private Equity

TOTAL RAISED BY LEAD FUND TYPE

$46.5m

$36.5m

$18.4m

$12.0m

$5.5m

$4.1m

$1.4m

$1.0m

$0.4m

$0.2m

$0.2m

Corporate

Unknown

Accelerator

Crowdfunding

Government Fund (other)

Angel Group

Venture Capital

Unknown (Matched Funding)

Individual Angel/s

Government Fund (CA)

Private Equity

TOTAL FUNDING BY INVESTOR TYPE TOTAL FUNDING BY FUND TYPE

$46.9m

$19.6m

$18.0m

$15.6m

$13.4m

$5.1m

$4.3m

$1.4m

$0.9m

$0.8m

$0.2m

TOTAL FUNDING BY TECHNOLOGY TYPE

Architecture

Publishing

Young Adult

Comics

Rock

People

Food

Webseries

Painting

Fiction

Live Games

Music

Illustration

Accessories

Pop

Design

Tabletop Games

Animation

Documentary

3D Printing

Technology

Product Design

Video Games

KICKSTARTER QLD

$1,076,266

$160,230

$137,829

$137,356

$61,825

$38,089

$37,859

$23,746

$20,660

$14,043

$10,246

$9,368

$7,528

$7,090

$6,225

$5,517

$5,325

$3,934

$3,115

$2,796

$2,506

$2,226

$2,040


Other Services


Communication




Agriculture


Retail Trade

Wholesale Trade





Manufacturing



Mining

Construction

01020304050607080 020406080100

Craft

Research

Technology

Journalism

Other

Food & Drink

Fashion

Video

Comics

Social Enterprise

Photography

Event

Art

Design

Writing

Community

Performance

Music

Film

POZIBLE

$316,574

$312,822

$180,488

$135,195

$107,652

$84,045

$71,791

$44,184

$40,532

$37,160

$30,360

$30,046

$24,849

$24,045

$12,226

$11,640

$5,737

$3,480

$160

2017201320122011

$1.5B $1.61B$2B

$3B

COMPUTER GAME SALES

Leadership

Talent & Skills

Infrastructure

Procurement


Government Policy

Funding

Culture

Education

Raise Awareness


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Advanced Robotics

3D Printing



Software (offline)




$108m

$14.2m

$1.5m

$1.0m

$1.0m

$0.1m

$0.1m

NBN Advocacy Group

Hub


Communication Hub

Attract Talent



Startup Apprentice


Education Program


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10


Corporate

Unknown

Accelerator

Crowdfunding

Government Grant

Angel Group

Individual Angel/s



Venture Capital

Private Equity


$46.9M

$20.2M

$19.6M

$15.6M

$10.9M

$5.1M

$4.3M

$1.4M

$0.9M

$0.8M

$0.2M

iLab

Screen Australia

Blackbird Ventures

Founders Forum

Kickstarter

ASSOB




Acorn Capital


AMMA


$46.5M

$19.6M

$16.8M

$3.5M

$3.0M

$2.8M

$2.3M

$1.3M

$1.2M

$1.2M

$0.7M

$0.6M


500000

1000000

1500000

2000000

2500000


Digital - Australia



FUNDING BY REGION

Region Unknown

Sunshine Coast

Gold Coast

Brisbane


0

3

6

9

12

15



0

300000

600000

900000

1200000

1500000 Brisbane

Northern Qld

Gold Coast

Sunshine Coast

Digital Queensland




30000000

35000000

201420132012201120102009

TOP TWELVE FUNDING SOURCES

iLabScreen Australia5 Lives Studios' Kickstarter BackersFounders ForumBlackbird VenturesASSOBBrisbane Angels SyndicateNSW Government Interactive Media FundTransition Level InvestmentsAcorn CapitalCommercialisation AustraliaAMMA $46.5m

$19.6m

$10.0m

$3.5m

$3.0m

$2.8m

$2.3m

$1.2m

$1.2m

$0.8m

$0.6m

$0.6m

*Note this number includes both the government grant and the Matched Funding provided by participants.

FUNDING SOURCES

The top 12 funding sources, from AMMA to iLab provided 73% of all funding - approximately $92m dollars in total. It is interesting to note that these 12 only made up 16% of all the funding enties the report identified, ~70 in total. Within these top 12, the top 8 organisations provided 70% of all funding: AMMA, Commercialisation Australia, Acorn Capital, Transition Level Investments, NSW Government Interactive Media Fund, Brisbane Angels Syndicate, ASSOB, and Blackbird Ventures - just 12% of all funding entities identified.

17

CROWD FUNDINGKickstarter and Pozible

KICKSTARTER: AMOUNT RAISED TOP CATEGORIES 2009 - 2014

Architecture

Publishing

Young Adult

Comics

Rock

People

Food

Webseries

Painting

Fiction

Live Games

Music

Illustration

Accessories

Pop

Design

Tabletop Games

Animation

Documentary

3D Printing

Technology

Product Design

Video Games

KICKSTARTER QLD

$1,076,266

$160,230

$137,829

$137,356

$61,825

$38,089

$37,859

$23,746

$20,660

$14,043

$10,246

$9,368

$7,528

$7,090

$6,225

$5,517

$5,325

$3,934

$3,115

$2,796

$2,506

$2,226

$2,040


Other Services


Communication




Agriculture


Retail Trade

Wholesale Trade





Manufacturing



Mining

Construction

01020304050607080 020406080100

Craft

Research

Technology

Journalism

Other

Food & Drink

Fashion

Video

Comics

Social Enterprise

Photography

Event

Art

Design

Writing

Community

Performance

Music

Film

POZIBLE

$316,574

$312,822

$180,488

$135,195

$107,652

$84,045

$71,791

$44,184

$40,532

$37,160

$30,360

$30,046

$24,849

$24,045

$12,226

$11,640

$5,737

$3,480

$160

2017201320122011

$1.5B $1.61B$2B

$3B

COMPUTER GAME SALES

Leadership

Talent & Skills

Infrastructure

Procurement


Government Policy

Funding

Culture

Education

Raise Awareness


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Advanced Robotics

3D Printing



Software (offline)




$108m

$14.2m

$1.5m

$1.0m

$1.0m

$0.1m

$0.1m

NBN Advocacy Group

Hub


Communication Hub

Attract Talent



Startup Apprentice


Education Program


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10


Corporate

Unknown

Accelerator

Crowdfunding

Government Grant

Angel Group

Individual Angel/s



Venture Capital

Private Equity


$46.9M

$20.2M

$19.6M

$15.6M

$10.9M

$5.1M

$4.3M

$1.4M

$0.9M

$0.8M

$0.2M

iLab

Screen Australia

Blackbird Ventures

Founders Forum

Kickstarter

ASSOB




Acorn Capital


AMMA


$46.5M

$19.6M

$16.8M

$3.5M

$3.0M

$2.8M

$2.3M

$1.3M

$1.2M

$1.2M

$0.7M

$0.6M


500000

1000000

1500000

2000000

2500000


Digital - Australia



FUNDING BY REGION

Region Unknown

Sunshine Coast

Gold Coast

Brisbane


0

3

6

9

12

15



0

300000

600000

900000

1200000

1500000 Brisbane

Northern Qld

Gold Coast

Sunshine Coast

Digital Queensland




30000000

35000000

201420132012201120102009

POZIBLE: AMOUNT RAISED ALL CATEGORIES 2009 - 2014

Architecture

Publishing

Young Adult

Comics

Rock

People

Food

Webseries

Painting

Fiction

Live Games

Music

Illustration

Accessories

Pop

Design

Tabletop Games

Animation

Documentary

3D Printing

Technology

Product Design

Video Games

KICKSTARTER QLD

$1,076,266

$160,230

$137,829

$137,356

$61,825

$38,089

$37,859

$23,746

$20,660

$14,043

$10,246

$9,368

$7,528

$7,090

$6,225

$5,517

$5,325

$3,934

$3,115

$2,796

$2,506

$2,226

$2,040


Other Services


Communication




Agriculture


Retail Trade

Wholesale Trade





Manufacturing



Mining

Construction

01020304050607080 020406080100

Craft

Research

Technology

Journalism

Other

Food & Drink

Fashion

Video

Comics

Social Enterprise

Photography

Event

Art

Design

Writing

Community

Performance

Music

Film

POZIBLE

$316,574

$312,822

$180,488

$135,195

$107,652

$84,045

$71,791

$44,184

$40,532

$37,160

$30,360

$30,046

$24,849

$24,045

$12,226

$11,640

$5,737

$3,480

$160

2017201320122011

$1.5B $1.61B$2B

$3B

COMPUTER GAME SALES

Leadership

Talent & Skills

Infrastructure

Procurement


Government Policy

Funding

Culture

Education

Raise Awareness


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Advanced Robotics

3D Printing



Software (offline)




$108m

$14.2m

$1.5m

$1.0m

$1.0m

$0.1m

$0.1m

NBN Advocacy Group

Hub


Communication Hub

Attract Talent



Startup Apprentice


Education Program


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10


Corporate

Unknown

Accelerator

Crowdfunding

Government Grant

Angel Group

Individual Angel/s



Venture Capital

Private Equity


$46.9M

$20.2M

$19.6M

$15.6M

$10.9M

$5.1M

$4.3M

$1.4M

$0.9M

$0.8M

$0.2M

iLab

Screen Australia

Blackbird Ventures

Founders Forum

Kickstarter

ASSOB




Acorn Capital


AMMA


$46.5M

$19.6M

$16.8M

$3.5M

$3.0M

$2.8M

$2.3M

$1.3M

$1.2M

$1.2M

$0.7M

$0.6M


500000

1000000

1500000

2000000

2500000


Digital - Australia



FUNDING BY REGION

Region Unknown

Sunshine Coast

Gold Coast

Brisbane


0

3

6

9

12

15



0

300000

600000

900000

1200000

1500000 Brisbane

Northern Qld

Gold Coast

Sunshine Coast

Digital Queensland




30000000

35000000

201420132012201120102009

Blue bars indicate projects that involve digital technology.

AMOUNT RAISED BY YEAR ON KICKSTARTER All Categories - Australia All Categories - Queensland Digital - Australia Digital - Queensland

Architecture

Publishing

Young Adult

Comics

Rock

People

Food

Webseries

Painting

Fiction

Live Games

Music

Illustration

Accessories

Pop

Design

Tabletop Games

Animation

Documentary

3D Printing

Technology

Product Design

Video Games

KICKSTARTER QLD

$1,076,266

$160,230

$137,829

$137,356

$61,825

$38,089

$37,859

$23,746

$20,660

$14,043

$10,246

$9,368

$7,528

$7,090

$6,225

$5,517

$5,325

$3,934

$3,115

$2,796

$2,506

$2,226

$2,040


Other Services


Communication




Agriculture


Retail Trade

Wholesale Trade





Manufacturing



Mining

Construction

01020304050607080 020406080100

Craft

Research

Technology

Journalism

Other

Food & Drink

Fashion

Video

Comics

Social Enterprise

Photography

Event

Art

Design

Writing

Community

Performance

Music

Film

POZIBLE

$316,574

$312,822

$180,488

$135,195

$107,652

$84,045

$71,791

$44,184

$40,532

$37,160

$30,360

$30,046

$24,849

$24,045

$12,226

$11,640

$5,737

$3,480

$160

2017201320122011

$1.5B $1.61B$2B

$3B

COMPUTER GAME SALES

Leadership

Talent & Skills

Infrastructure

Procurement


Government Policy

Funding

Culture

Education

Raise Awareness


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Advanced Robotics

3D Printing



Software (offline)




$108m

$14.2m

$1.5m

$1.0m

$1.0m

$0.1m

$0.1m

NBN Advocacy Group

Hub


Communication Hub

Attract Talent



Startup Apprentice


Education Program


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10


Corporate

Unknown

Accelerator

Crowdfunding

Government Grant

Angel Group

Individual Angel/s



Venture Capital

Private Equity


$46.9M

$20.2M

$19.6M

$15.6M

$10.9M

$5.1M

$4.3M

$1.4M

$0.9M

$0.8M

$0.2M

iLab

Screen Australia

Blackbird Ventures

Founders Forum

Kickstarter

ASSOB




Acorn Capital


AMMA


$46.5M

$19.6M

$16.8M

$3.5M

$3.0M

$2.8M

$2.3M

$1.3M

$1.2M

$1.2M

$0.7M

$0.6M


500000

1000000

1500000

2000000

2500000


Digital - Australia



FUNDING BY REGION

Region Unknown

Sunshine Coast

Gold Coast

Brisbane


0

3

6

9

12

15



0

300000

600000

900000

1200000

1500000 Brisbane

Northern Qld

Gold Coast

Sunshine Coast

Digital Queensland




30000000

35000000

201420132012201120102009

Architecture

Publishing

Young Adult

Comics

Rock

People

Food

Webseries

Painting

Fiction

Live Games

Music

Illustration

Accessories

Pop

Design

Tabletop Games

Animation

Documentary

3D Printing

Technology

Product Design

Video Games

KICKSTARTER QLD

$1,076,266

$160,230

$137,829

$137,356

$61,825

$38,089

$37,859

$23,746

$20,660

$14,043

$10,246

$9,368

$7,528

$7,090

$6,225

$5,517

$5,325

$3,934

$3,115

$2,796

$2,506

$2,226

$2,040


Other Services


Communication




Agriculture


Retail Trade

Wholesale Trade





Manufacturing



Mining

Construction

01020304050607080 020406080100

Craft

Research

Technology

Journalism

Other

Food & Drink

Fashion

Video

Comics

Social Enterprise

Photography

Event

Art

Design

Writing

Community

Performance

Music

Film

POZIBLE

$316,574

$312,822

$180,488

$135,195

$107,652

$84,045

$71,791

$44,184

$40,532

$37,160

$30,360

$30,046

$24,849

$24,045

$12,226

$11,640

$5,737

$3,480

$160

2017201320122011

$1.5B $1.61B$2B

$3B

COMPUTER GAME SALES

Leadership

Talent & Skills

Infrastructure

Procurement


Government Policy

Funding

Culture

Education

Raise Awareness


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Advanced Robotics

3D Printing



Software (offline)




$108m

$14.2m

$1.5m

$1.0m

$1.0m

$0.1m

$0.1m

NBN Advocacy Group

Hub


Communication Hub

Attract Talent



Startup Apprentice


Education Program


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10


Corporate

Unknown

Accelerator

Crowdfunding

Government Grant

Angel Group

Individual Angel/s



Venture Capital

Private Equity


$46.9M

$20.2M

$19.6M

$15.6M

$10.9M

$5.1M

$4.3M

$1.4M

$0.9M

$0.8M

$0.2M

iLab

Screen Australia

Blackbird Ventures

Founders Forum

Kickstarter

ASSOB




Acorn Capital


AMMA


$46.5M

$19.6M

$16.8M

$3.5M

$3.0M

$2.8M

$2.3M

$1.3M

$1.2M

$1.2M

$0.7M

$0.6M


500000

1000000

1500000

2000000

2500000


Digital - Australia



FUNDING BY REGION

Region Unknown

Sunshine Coast

Gold Coast

Brisbane


0

3

6

9

12

15



0

300000

600000

900000

1200000

1500000 Brisbane

Northern Qld

Gold Coast

Sunshine Coast

Digital Queensland




30000000

35000000

201420132012201120102009

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

GAME PROJECTS QLD 2013

$1,022,1712013 was a big year for Queensland games on crowdfunding platforms with 31% ($1m) of all Crowdfunding in Queensland from 2009 to 2014 ($3.3m) raised by three local studios 5 Lives Studios, N3V Games and Defiant Development.

SATELLITE REIGN

$830,400Satelite Reign is a real-time, class-based strategy game, set in an open world cyberpunk city. Produced by 5 Lives Studios - the creator of Syndicate Wars - this project raised 25% of all Crowdfunding in Queensland over the last 5 years. 5 Lives was founded in 2013 by Dean Ferguson, Chris Conte, Mitch Clifford, Brent Waller and Mike Diskett.

TRAINZ SIMULATOR

$191,771 Already with a large following N3V Games (formerly Auran - founded in 1991) raised near $200k to fund the rebuild and relaunch one of the world’s favourite rail simulators.

$18,976,424Non-Digital Rest of Australia

$4,393,417Digital Rest of Australia

$1,900,915Non-Digital Queensland

$1,358,172Digital Queensland

Architecture

Publishing

Young Adult

Comics

Rock

People

Food

Webseries

Painting

Fiction

Live Games

Music

Illustration

Accessories

Pop

Design

Tabletop Games

Animation

Documentary

3D Printing

Technology

Product Design

Video Games

KICKSTARTER QLD

$1,076,266

$160,230

$137,829

$137,356

$61,825

$38,089

$37,859

$23,746

$20,660

$14,043

$10,246

$9,368

$7,528

$7,090

$6,225

$5,517

$5,325

$3,934

$3,115

$2,796

$2,506

$2,226

$2,040


Other Services


Communication




Agriculture


Retail Trade

Wholesale Trade





Manufacturing



Mining

Construction

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 800 20 40 60 80 100

Craft

Research

Technology

Journalism

Other

Food & Drink

Fashion

Video

Comics

Social Enterprise

Photography

Event

Art

Design

Writing

Community

Performance

Music

Film

POZIBLE

$316,574

$312,822

$180,488

$135,195

$107,652

$84,045

$71,791

$44,184

$40,532

$37,160

$30,360

$30,046

$24,849

$24,045

$12,226

$11,640

$5,737

$3,480

$160

2017 2013 2012 2011

$1.5B$1.61B$2B

$3B

COMPUTER GAME SALES

Leadership

Talent & Skills

Infrastructure

Procurement


Government Policy

Funding

Culture

Education

Raise Awareness


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Advanced Robotics

3D Printing



Software (offline)




$108m

$14.2m

$1.5m

$1.0m

$1.0m

$0.1m

$0.1m

NBN Advocacy Group

Hub


Communication Hub

Attract Talent



Startup Apprentice


Education Program


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10


Corporate

Unknown

Accelerator

Crowdfunding

Government Grant

Angel Group

Individual Angel/s



Venture Capital

Private Equity


$46.9M

$20.2M

$19.6M

$15.6M

$10.9M

$5.1M

$4.3M

$1.4M

$0.9M

$0.8M

$0.2M

iLab

Screen Australia

Blackbird Ventures

Founders Forum

Kickstarter

ASSOB




Acorn Capital


AMMA


$46.5M

$19.6M

$16.8M

$3.5M

$3.0M

$2.8M

$2.3M

$1.3M

$1.2M

$1.2M

$0.7M

$0.6M


500000

1000000

1500000

2000000

2500000

3000000Digital - Queensland

Digital - Australia



FUNDING BY REGION

Region Unknown

Sunshine Coast

Gold Coast

Brisbane


0

3

6

9

12

15

Q2 Q1 Q4 Q3 Q2 Q1 Q4 Q3 Q2 Q1 Q4 Q3 Q2 Q4 Q3 Q2 Q1 Q4 Q3 Q2 Q4 Q3 Q4 Q3 Q4


0

300000

600000

900000

1200000

1500000Brisbane

Northern Qld

Gold Coast

Sunshine Coast

Digital Queensland




30000000

35000000

2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009

CROWDFUNDING IN AUSTRALIA 2009 - 2014: QLD VS AUSTRALIA. DIGITAL VS OTHERCROWDFUNDING DIGITAL - QLD

$1,358,172Total Amount Raised for Digital Technology projects on both Kickstarter and Pozible by Queensland startups 2009 - 2014

18

FUND FLOWInvestors and Investments

Startup and Established Digital Technology Companies that received funding and the associated investors, directors and founders.

Appointuit

Brandscope

CloudMGR

Yackstar

Zippy

Bliip

Qualcomm

Guvera

Liquid State

Nimble

RemarksPDF

SafetyCulture

See Out

Euclideon

Halfbrick Studios

Out of CreditSolutions

Ollo Mobile

Right Pedal Studios

Steven Baxter

River City Labs

CoSituate

Hirehive

Grass Ads

StartUp BootCamp Berlin

OSHC Australia

iLab

Budding EntrepreneursGrant Program

Y Combinator

Gold Coast Angels

Creative Enterprise Australia

Brisbane Angels

Acorn Capital


AMMAASSOB


NSW Government Interactive Media

Fund

Blackbird Ventures

teQstart

19

The BrisbaneWeb DesignMeetup Group

Silicon Beach Brisbane

Agile Brisbane

Brisbane Web Tech

Brisbane InternetBusiness Meetup

BrisJS - Brisbane

JavaScript

Brisbane .Net User Group

Brisbane Functional Programming Group

Barcamp Queensland

State Library of Queensland - The Edge

Robina Community Centre - Room 2.1

Microsoft Innovation Centre

River CityLabs

Brisbane Square Library

UX Brisbane

Brisbane SEO

Amazon Web Services - Brisbane User Group

Brisbane Web Accessibility& Inclusive Design

Brisbane Hacks for Humanity

Rhok BrisbaneIn a Day Training

Data Vault and DWH modeling

interest group

GROUPSMeetup.com

Groups from meetup.com related to startups, technology and entrepreneurship, with their organisers and venues.

RIVER CITY LABS - BRISBANE

3,500+Number of attendees over two and half years.

Founded in 2012 by Steve Baxter, River City Labs is Brisbane’s main co-working space for startups, with over 100 members ranging from early to established startups. It has a network of 38+ mentors led by mentor-in-residence Peter Laurie, and has been instrumental in getting Startup Weekend, Rails Girls Weekend and Lean Startup Machine to Brisbane. Over the past 2.5 years it has run 150+ events, had 3,500+ pass through its doors, been the venue for over 13 meetup groups, run the quarterly RiverPitch event, and been the home to Right Pedal Studios.

MEETUP GROUP STATS

9313 Members

3150 Events

260 Venues

109Groups

RIGHT PEDAL STUDIOS – BRISBANE

THREENumber of Game Studios in the first program.

Founded in 2012 with $250,000 investment by Steve Baxter and managed by games veteran John Passfield, Right Pedal Studios is a seed accelerator for games studios based in River City Labs - Fortitude Valley, Brisbane. Its alumni include Ghostbox (founded in 2012 by Troy Duguid, Dominic Drysdale, Cameron Pyke and Chris Webb) , GeekBrain Games (founded in 2012 by Don Kirkland) and Screwtape Studios (founded in 2011 by Anthony Wood and Megan Summers).

20

INCUBATIONGrowth accelerators

SILICON LAKES – GOLD COAST

TWOTrade missions to Silicon Valley for startup founders.

Founded in 2012 by Aaron Birkby, Bill Bass and Greg Burnett, Silicon Lakes is a non-profit incubator and co-working space in Robina. It has 12 startups in the co-working space, has run over 20 events with 1,000+ attendees, held 3 Startup Weekends, one GovHack event, a NASA Space Apps Challenge event, organised 2 trade missions to Silicon Valley and helped launch 54 startups. It recently won a tender to establish an accelerator program for which they are also raising an investment fund. Moving to larger premises shortly!

INNOVATION CENTRE - SUNSHINE COAST

400+Total jobs created by startup alumni.

Sitting on the edge of the University of the Sunshine Coast campus, the Innovation Centre has provided incubator services to 100+ startups in tech, clean technology and health tech, since inception in 2002 by USC. It has a network of 19+ mentors led by the Board of Directors, CEO Mark Paddenburg and entrepreneur-in-residence Dean Alle. Over the past 12 years, with funding from the Queensland Government, it has run 148 events with 6,000+ attendees, helped member startups create 400+ jobs, and raise $26m+.

ILAB - BRISBANE

$70M+Total funding raised by startup alumni.

Established by the Queensland Government in 2000 as a startup incubator it was acquired in 2009 by UQ Holdings (later UniQuest), a subsidiary of The University of Queensland. It currently runs two seed-accelerator style programs alongside incubator services for established startups. Over the past 14 years, with funding from the Queensland Government, it has incubated 100+ startups companies and helped them raise $70m+ in grants and investment & directly generated nearly 400 technology jobs.

Geek Brain Games

Screwtape Studios

Typefi

Splasheo Future Oceans

Food Matters

Commision Factory

Cavitus Cloud DC

newNRG

Schoolzine

Victus Health

HollaNote

iEscape

Kindyhub

Krunk

Lost n Found

Miggy

PayRespect

Pokajot

Sensaware

Subarashi

WiFi AdsBliip

Cartesian Co

CB Aerospace

Credosity

Elastice

Footballr

Grapple

Hire Hive

Hypermancer

Spare Metres Tiger Temple

Veilability

Bane Games

Bitcoin Brisbane

Cloudsafe365

Code Heroes

Eat More Pixels

Factorial Products

Machine IQMiji

Mobodev

OrderXYZPerfect Day

Stylegrab

Swipeads

Tech Tidal

Y2 Investments

YOLO

ZipID

Ollo Mobile

Ghostbox

RIVER CITY LABS

ILABSILICON LAKES

INNOVATION CENTRE

RIGHT PEDAL STUDIOS

Organisations associated to the main incubators, accelerators and co-working spaces in SEQ.

21

KEY NODESStartup

Txt4Coffee

CoSituate

Stephen Baxter

Adepto

Amma

Appointuit

Auditflow

Cartesian Co

Cloud DC

cohortpay

Commission Factory

Distractless

Ellume

Euclideon

Five Faces

Food Matters

Ghostbox

Inkive

Mesaplexx

Milaana

RedEye Apps

SwipeAds

Tappr

TrekTraka

ZOVA

Halfbrick

Liquid State


Zippy

Brisbane Angels

Budding Entrepreneurs Grant


Innovation Centre

River City Labs

Silicon Lakes

Gold Coast Angels

iLab

Right Pedal Studios

Startups, their employees, and key community builders such as incubators and funds, along with their employees. Links are professional relationships via Linkedin.

22

CENTRALITYNetwork

Rank Votes Betweenness Votes Between

1 Colin Kinner Colin Kinner iLab Commercialisation Australia

2 Peter Laurie Paul Jones River City Labs iLab

3 John Mactaggart Stephen Baxter Brisbane Angels River City Labs

4 Anna Rooke John Scott Startup Weekend - Brisbane Appointuit

5 Ruth Drinkwater Chris Macaulay Association of Angel Investors Bliip

6 Peta Ellis Ian Dutka Centre for Entrepreneurship Research Budding Entrepreneurs Grant

7 Ian Connor Michelle Kazukaitis Arts Queensland CoSituate

8 Aaron Birkby Rick Anstey Queensland University of Technology Silicon Lakes

9 Richard Moore Tony Winters Silicon Beach - Brisbane Innovation Centre

10 Sue Swinburne Greg Searle Startup QLD Distractless

11 Christy Dena Andrey Shirben Founders Forum PeeP Digital

12 Greg Burnett Daniel Harman Gold Coast Angels Future Oceans

13 Jock Blair Danielle Bennett QUT Creative Enterprise Australia cohortpay

14 Dean Alle Alhusayn Hamidaddin Halfbrick Studios Credosity

15 Mark Paddenburg Drew Leishman River Pitch OtherLevels

16 Steve Dalton John Lambie Innovation Centre - SC Brisbane Angels

17 Clarence Tan Karen Bracher iPledge Transition Level Investments

18 Rick McElhinney Matthew Clarkson Startup Weekend - SC TrekTraka

19 Tanya Lipus Jackie Stapleton Silicon Lakes Euclideon

21 Bryan Vadas Kellie Rainbow Cartesian Co Liquid State

21 Bernie Woodcroft Marie Ewings Coder Dojo Right Pedal Studios

22 Cieron Cody Matthew Evans Creative Conference Sea Safe

23 Cole Wilkinson Nick Drewe Idea Network Cartesian Co

24 Elaine Stead Stephen Colbran Microsoft Innovation Centre Ample Entertainment

25 Guy Jones Stephen Walsh Ollo Mobile Five Faces

26 Hans Van Vilet Sean Edwards QUT Bluebox Milaana

27 Josh Tanner Tony Lee State Library of Queensland Swipeads

28 Kieran O’Hea Adam M ASSOB Cloud DC

29 Kristen Souvils Andy Tompkins City of Gold Coast Optii Solutions

30 Tim Kastelle Ashley Pearson-Adams Wavebreak Ghostbox

METHODOLOGY

“There’s a temptation in our networked age to think that ideas can be developed by email and iChat. That’s crazy. Creativity comes from spontaneous meetings, from random discussions. You run into someone, you ask what they’re doing, you say ‘wow,’ and soon you’re cooking up all sorts of ideas.” Steve Jobs

Network centrality is a measure of the density of a person or organisation’s interconnectedness with a network and density of relationships. It is a strong factor in entrepreneurial success, and is a great indicator of how likely you are to have spontaneous meetings and random discussions. Also if you want to be introduced to a particular person, someone more central in a network will be more likely to know them.

As part of the project three workshops, one in each region, with 66 key members of the ecosystem were held. Participants were asked to map the community and vote on the key people, organisations and events in the ecosystem. The two columns above, labelled Votes, display the community votes weighted proportionately to the relative sizes of each region’s population and ranked accordingly.

In addition the relationships between people within the startup ecosystem on Linkedin, Angel List, Crunchbase and Meetup, were aggregated and analysed using an algorithm to calculate a network centrality score for all the nodes in the network. There are several measures of centrality. This report uses a common measure of network centrality - Betweenness - to identify the top 30 people and organisations.

PEOPLE

30 Most Central People Ranked by >

ORGANISATIONS & EVENTS

30 Most Central Organisations & Events Ranked by >

23

LOCATION South East Queensland

24

“PLACE IS SUPPLANTING THE INDUSTRIAL CORPORATION AS THE KEY ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL ORGANIZING UNIT OF CAPITALISM. DENSITY, THE CLUSTERING OF CREATIVE PEOPLE – IN CITIES, REGIONS, AND NEIGHBOURHOODS - PROVIDES A KEY SPUR TO INNOVATION AND COMPETITIVENESS.” RICHARD FLORIDA19

ENTREPRENEURIAL DENSITYLocation, Place and

While formal office locations are useful indicators of where creative people are based, they spend an increasing amount of the time outside their registered office addresses (assuming they have one at all) in what Richard Florida calls the “4th space”: central, easily accessible places where people can network in a leisurely but intensively productive manner. Co-working spaces, incubators and web cafés are examples of this trend.

To identify these alternate spaces and map entrepreneurial density across SEQ all the public geo-tagged posts in SEQ from Meetup, Twitter, Instagram and Linkedin were collected and filtered by people within the ecosystem, to identify specific locations beyond the office that participants in this ecosystem frequent.

Brisbane Central Business District, Brisbane’s Southbank, Robina, Fortitude Valley and Toowong come out with the most entrepreneurial density.

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35Toowong Library, Suncorp & Bond Uni (#each)

Griffith University

Red Hat Brisbane, Innovation Centre - SC

QUT

Grand Central Hotel

Brisbane Square Library

River City Labs

Microsoft Innovation Center

Silicon Lakes / Robina Comnty Cntr / Tech Space

State Library of Queensland / The Edge

No. GROUPS: VENUE

31

23

15

13

12

11

10

8

7

6

0 10 20 30 40 50 60Helensvale, Maleny, Spring Hill, (#each)Bundall, East Brisbane, (#each)SouthportParklands DriveToowongFortitude ValleyRobinaSouth BankBrisbane CBDBrisbane

No. GROUPS BY SUBURB

55

35

22

20

12

8

6

5

4

3

25

2002 2006 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Architecture

Publishing

Young Adult

Comics

Rock

People

Food

Webseries

Painting

Fiction

Live Games

Music

Illustration

Accessories

Pop

Design

Tabletop Games

Animation

Documentary

3D Printing

Technology

Product Design

Video Games

KICKSTARTER QLD

$1,076,266

$160,230

$137,829

$137,356

$61,825

$38,089

$37,859

$23,746

$20,660

$14,043

$10,246

$9,368

$7,528

$7,090

$6,225

$5,517

$5,325

$3,934

$3,115

$2,796

$2,506

$2,226

$2,040


Other Services


Communication




Agriculture


Retail Trade

Wholesale Trade





Manufacturing



Mining

Construction

01020304050607080 020406080100

Craft

Research

Technology

Journalism

Other

Food & Drink

Fashion

Video

Comics

Social Enterprise

Photography

Event

Art

Design

Writing

Community

Performance

Music

Film

POZIBLE

$316,574

$312,822

$180,488

$135,195

$107,652

$84,045

$71,791

$44,184

$40,532

$37,160

$30,360

$30,046

$24,849

$24,045

$12,226

$11,640

$5,737

$3,480

$160

2017201320122011

$1.5B $1.61B$2B

$3B

COMPUTER GAME SALES

Leadership

Talent & Skills

Infrastructure

Procurement


Government Policy

Funding

Culture

Education

Raise Awareness


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Advanced Robotics

3D Printing



Software (offline)




$108m

$14.2m

$1.5m

$1.0m

$1.0m

$0.1m

$0.1m

NBN Advocacy Group

Hub


Communication Hub

Attract Talent



Startup Apprentice


Education Program


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10


Corporate

Unknown

Accelerator

Crowdfunding

Government Grant

Angel Group

Individual Angel/s



Venture Capital

Private Equity


$46.9M

$20.2M

$19.6M

$15.6M

$10.9M

$5.1M

$4.3M

$1.4M

$0.9M

$0.8M

$0.2M

iLab

Screen Australia

Blackbird Ventures

Founders Forum

Kickstarter

ASSOB




Acorn Capital


AMMA


$46.5M

$19.6M

$16.8M

$3.5M

$3.0M

$2.8M

$2.3M

$1.3M

$1.2M

$1.2M

$0.7M

$0.6M


500000

1000000

1500000

2000000

2500000


Digital - Australia



FUNDING BY REGION

Region Unknown

Sunshine Coast

Gold Coast

Brisbane


0

3

6

9

12

15



0

300000

600000

900000

1200000

1500000 Brisbane

Northern Qld

Gold Coast

Sunshine Coast

Digital Queensland




30000000

35000000

201420132012201120102009

Architecture

Publishing

Young Adult

Comics

Rock

People

Food

Webseries

Painting

Fiction

Live Games

Music

Illustration

Accessories

Pop

Design

Tabletop Games

Animation

Documentary

3D Printing

Technology

Product Design

Video Games

KICKSTARTER QLD

$1,076,266

$160,230

$137,829

$137,356

$61,825

$38,089

$37,859

$23,746

$20,660

$14,043

$10,246

$9,368

$7,528

$7,090

$6,225

$5,517

$5,325

$3,934

$3,115

$2,796

$2,506

$2,226

$2,040


Other Services


Communication




Agriculture


Retail Trade

Wholesale Trade





Manufacturing



Mining

Construction

01020304050607080 020406080100

Craft

Research

Technology

Journalism

Other

Food & Drink

Fashion

Video

Comics

Social Enterprise

Photography

Event

Art

Design

Writing

Community

Performance

Music

Film

POZIBLE

$316,574

$312,822

$180,488

$135,195

$107,652

$84,045

$71,791

$44,184

$40,532

$37,160

$30,360

$30,046

$24,849

$24,045

$12,226

$11,640

$5,737

$3,480

$160

2017201320122011

$1.5B $1.61B$2B

$3B

COMPUTER GAME SALES

Leadership

Talent & Skills

Infrastructure

Procurement


Government Policy

Funding

Culture

Education

Raise Awareness


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Advanced Robotics

3D Printing



Software (offline)




$108m

$14.2m

$1.5m

$1.0m

$1.0m

$0.1m

$0.1m

NBN Advocacy Group

Hub


Communication Hub

Attract Talent



Startup Apprentice


Education Program


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10


Corporate

Unknown

Accelerator

Crowdfunding

Government Grant

Angel Group

Individual Angel/s



Venture Capital

Private Equity


$46.9M

$20.2M

$19.6M

$15.6M

$10.9M

$5.1M

$4.3M

$1.4M

$0.9M

$0.8M

$0.2M

iLab

Screen Australia

Blackbird Ventures

Founders Forum

Kickstarter

ASSOB




Acorn Capital


AMMA


$46.5M

$19.6M

$16.8M

$3.5M

$3.0M

$2.8M

$2.3M

$1.3M

$1.2M

$1.2M

$0.7M

$0.6M


500000

1000000

1500000

2000000

2500000


Digital - Australia



FUNDING BY REGION

Region Unknown

Sunshine Coast

Gold Coast

Brisbane


0

3

6

9

12

15



0

300000

600000

900000

1200000

1500000 Brisbane

Northern Qld

Gold Coast

Sunshine Coast

Digital Queensland




30000000

35000000

201420132012201120102009

15

12

9

6

3

NO. GROUPS FOUNDED PER YEAR BY REGION Brisbane Gold Coast Sunshine Coast

REGIONAL DATALocation

TOTAL FUNDING RAISED BY YEAR BY REGION ($M) Unknown Region Brisbane Gold Coast Sunshine Coast

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Architecture

Publishing

Young Adult

Comics

Rock

People

Food

Webseries

Painting

Fiction

Live Games

Music

Illustration

Accessories

Pop

Design

Tabletop Games

Animation

Documentary

3D Printing

Technology

Product Design

Video Games

KICKSTARTER QLD

$1,076,266

$160,230

$137,829

$137,356

$61,825

$38,089

$37,859

$23,746

$20,660

$14,043

$10,246

$9,368

$7,528

$7,090

$6,225

$5,517

$5,325

$3,934

$3,115

$2,796

$2,506

$2,226

$2,040


Other Services


Communication




Agriculture


Retail Trade

Wholesale Trade





Manufacturing



Mining

Construction

01020304050607080 020406080100

Craft

Research

Technology

Journalism

Other

Food & Drink

Fashion

Video

Comics

Social Enterprise

Photography

Event

Art

Design

Writing

Community

Performance

Music

Film

POZIBLE

$316,574

$312,822

$180,488

$135,195

$107,652

$84,045

$71,791

$44,184

$40,532

$37,160

$30,360

$30,046

$24,849

$24,045

$12,226

$11,640

$5,737

$3,480

$160

2017201320122011

$1.5B $1.61B$2B

$3B

COMPUTER GAME SALES

Leadership

Talent & Skills

Infrastructure

Procurement


Government Policy

Funding

Culture

Education

Raise Awareness


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Advanced Robotics

3D Printing



Software (offline)




$108m

$14.2m

$1.5m

$1.0m

$1.0m

$0.1m

$0.1m

NBN Advocacy Group

Hub


Communication Hub

Attract Talent



Startup Apprentice


Education Program


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10


Corporate

Unknown

Accelerator

Crowdfunding

Government Grant

Angel Group

Individual Angel/s



Venture Capital

Private Equity


$46.9M

$20.2M

$19.6M

$15.6M

$10.9M

$5.1M

$4.3M

$1.4M

$0.9M

$0.8M

$0.2M

iLab

Screen Australia

Blackbird Ventures

Founders Forum

Kickstarter

ASSOB




Acorn Capital


AMMA


$46.5M

$19.6M

$16.8M

$3.5M

$3.0M

$2.8M

$2.3M

$1.3M

$1.2M

$1.2M

$0.7M

$0.6M


500000

1000000

1500000

2000000

2500000


Digital - Australia



FUNDING BY REGION

Region Unknown

Sunshine Coast

Gold Coast

Brisbane


0

3

6

9

12

15



0

300000

600000

900000

1200000

1500000 Brisbane

Northern Qld

Gold Coast

Sunshine Coast

Digital Queensland




30000000

35000000

201420132012201120102009

Architecture

Publishing

Young Adult

Comics

Rock

People

Food

Webseries

Painting

Fiction

Live Games

Music

Illustration

Accessories

Pop

Design

Tabletop Games

Animation

Documentary

3D Printing

Technology

Product Design

Video Games

KICKSTARTER QLD

$1,076,266

$160,230

$137,829

$137,356

$61,825

$38,089

$37,859

$23,746

$20,660

$14,043

$10,246

$9,368

$7,528

$7,090

$6,225

$5,517

$5,325

$3,934

$3,115

$2,796

$2,506

$2,226

$2,040


Other Services


Communication




Agriculture


Retail Trade

Wholesale Trade





Manufacturing



Mining

Construction

01020304050607080 020406080100

Craft

Research

Technology

Journalism

Other

Food & Drink

Fashion

Video

Comics

Social Enterprise

Photography

Event

Art

Design

Writing

Community

Performance

Music

Film

POZIBLE

$316,574

$312,822

$180,488

$135,195

$107,652

$84,045

$71,791

$44,184

$40,532

$37,160

$30,360

$30,046

$24,849

$24,045

$12,226

$11,640

$5,737

$3,480

$160

2017201320122011

$1.5B $1.61B$2B

$3B

COMPUTER GAME SALES

Leadership

Talent & Skills

Infrastructure

Procurement


Government Policy

Funding

Culture

Education

Raise Awareness


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Advanced Robotics

3D Printing



Software (offline)




$108m

$14.2m

$1.5m

$1.0m

$1.0m

$0.1m

$0.1m

NBN Advocacy Group

Hub


Communication Hub

Attract Talent



Startup Apprentice


Education Program


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10


Corporate

Unknown

Accelerator

Crowdfunding

Government Grant

Angel Group

Individual Angel/s



Venture Capital

Private Equity


$46.9M

$20.2M

$19.6M

$15.6M

$10.9M

$5.1M

$4.3M

$1.4M

$0.9M

$0.8M

$0.2M

iLab

Screen Australia

Blackbird Ventures

Founders Forum

Kickstarter

ASSOB




Acorn Capital


AMMA


$46.5M

$19.6M

$16.8M

$3.5M

$3.0M

$2.8M

$2.3M

$1.3M

$1.2M

$1.2M

$0.7M

$0.6M


500000

1000000

1500000

2000000

2500000


Digital - Australia



FUNDING BY REGION

Region Unknown

Sunshine Coast

Gold Coast

Brisbane


0

3

6

9

12

15



0

300000

600000

900000

1200000

1500000 Brisbane

Northern Qld

Gold Coast

Sunshine Coast

Digital Queensland




30000000

35000000

201420132012201120102009

Architecture

Publishing

Young Adult

Comics

Rock

People

Food

Webseries

Painting

Fiction

Live Games

Music

Illustration

Accessories

Pop

Design

Tabletop Games

Animation

Documentary

3D Printing

Technology

Product Design

Video Games

KICKSTARTER QLD

$1,076,266

$160,230

$137,829

$137,356

$61,825

$38,089

$37,859

$23,746

$20,660

$14,043

$10,246

$9,368

$7,528

$7,090

$6,225

$5,517

$5,325

$3,934

$3,115

$2,796

$2,506

$2,226

$2,040


Other Services


Communication




Agriculture


Retail Trade

Wholesale Trade





Manufacturing



Mining

Construction

01020304050607080 020406080100

Craft

Research

Technology

Journalism

Other

Food & Drink

Fashion

Video

Comics

Social Enterprise

Photography

Event

Art

Design

Writing

Community

Performance

Music

Film

POZIBLE

$316,574

$312,822

$180,488

$135,195

$107,652

$84,045

$71,791

$44,184

$40,532

$37,160

$30,360

$30,046

$24,849

$24,045

$12,226

$11,640

$5,737

$3,480

$160

2017201320122011

$1.5B $1.61B$2B

$3B

COMPUTER GAME SALES

Leadership

Talent & Skills

Infrastructure

Procurement


Government Policy

Funding

Culture

Education

Raise Awareness


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Advanced Robotics

3D Printing



Software (offline)




$108m

$14.2m

$1.5m

$1.0m

$1.0m

$0.1m

$0.1m

NBN Advocacy Group

Hub


Communication Hub

Attract Talent



Startup Apprentice


Education Program


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10


Corporate

Unknown

Accelerator

Crowdfunding

Government Grant

Angel Group

Individual Angel/s



Venture Capital

Private Equity


$46.9M

$20.2M

$19.6M

$15.6M

$10.9M

$5.1M

$4.3M

$1.4M

$0.9M

$0.8M

$0.2M

iLab

Screen Australia

Blackbird Ventures

Founders Forum

Kickstarter

ASSOB




Acorn Capital


AMMA


$46.5M

$19.6M

$16.8M

$3.5M

$3.0M

$2.8M

$2.3M

$1.3M

$1.2M

$1.2M

$0.7M

$0.6M


500000

1000000

1500000

2000000

2500000


Digital - Australia



FUNDING BY REGION

Region Unknown

Sunshine Coast

Gold Coast

Brisbane


0

3

6

9

12

15



0

300000

600000

900000

1200000

1500000 Brisbane

Northern Qld

Gold Coast

Sunshine Coast

Digital Queensland




30000000

35000000

201420132012201120102009

$25M

$20M

$15M

$10M

$5M

REGIONAL COMPARISONS

TYPE > ALL TECH STARTUPS AVG YEARLY STARTUP FORMATION RATE PER MILLION

REGION POPULATION TOTAL FUNDING

AVG FUNDING PER YEAR

PER CAPITA FUNDING

#CO FUNDED

TOTAL FUNDING

AVG FUNDING PER YEAR

PER CAPITA FUNDING

#CO #CO FUNDED

Queensland 4,680,000 $126,207,129 $22,946,751 $4.90 136 $36,706,240 $6,673,862 $1.43 245+ 99 10

South East Queensland 2,880,000 $120,701,737 $21,945,770 $7.62 129+ $35,546,046 $6,462,918 $2.24 238+ 94+ 15

Brisbane 2,040,000 $45,226,995 $8223,090 $4.03 101 $28,546,252 $5,190,228 $2.54 150+ 79 13

Gold Coast 510,000 $68,990,338 $12,543,698 $24.60 14 $2,265,214 $411,857 $0.81 60+ 5 21

Sunshine Coast 330,000 $5,284,404 $5,284,404 $2.91 13 $3,534,580 $642,651 $1.95 20+ 9 11

Other Regions 1,800,000 $5,505,392 $5,505,392 $0.56 7 $1,160,194 $210,944 $0.12 7+ 5 1

26

NO. STARTUPS

60+Number currently based on the Gold Coast.

TOTAL DIGITAL FUNDING

$69MTotal funding for digital technology since 2009.

NO. GROUPS

12Total number of Groups on the Gold Coast.

ESTABLISHED STARTUP: NIMBLE

$20MEstimated Revenue. Founded by Greg Ellis (38) and Sean Teahan (39) in 2005, Nimble is an online micro loans service providing over 550,000 small, fast loans of between $100 and $1200 to clients using advanced credit risk assessment technology. With access to more than 4,500 data points Nimble’s risk assessment engine responds to loan applications within hours. Previously called Cash Doctors, Nimble is growing at nearly 50%, and recently raised $10m in Series A funding from Acorn Capital and Monash Investors. In 2012 they raised their first external investment for $1.5m from super angels, and prior to this latest round of VC funding raised ~$9 million from angels including iSelect founder Damien Waller, iSelect director Les Webb and Wotif executive Sam Friend. Nimble is located in Southport on the Gold Coast and has 84 employees.

NO. STARTUPS

150+Number currently based in Brisbane.


$45M+Total funding for digital technology since 2009.

NO. GROUPS

89Total number of Groups in Brisbane.

NOTABLE STARTUP: CARTESIAN CO

$130K+Raised on Kickstarter.Founded in 2009 by Ariel Briner, John Scott, Isabella Stephens and Nick, Cartesian Co. is developing a 3D printer for circuit boards. The team participated in iLab’s accelerator program Germinate in 2013 and recently successfully raised $137,356 from over 300 backers on Kickstarter for the production of their first printer – the Argentum.

NO. STARTUPS

20+Number currently based on the Sunshine Coast.


$5.3MTotal funding for digital technology since 2009.

NO. GROUPS

6Total number of Groups on the Sunshine Coast.

NOTABLE STARTUP: THE COMMISSION FACTORY

55%Market Share in Southern Hemisphere.Founded in 2011 by Zane McIntyre, Mario Johnston and David Hayman the Commission Factory is one of the largest Affiliate marketing platforms in the southern hemisphere. The Commission Factory helps attract customers to over 300 small to large sized online retailers from across the world including David Jones, SurfStitch, The Iconic and HSBC. The Commission Factory experienced rapid growth shortly after launching in mid 2011 and was profitable within one year. The Commission Factory has around 10 staff and was located in the Sunshine Coast Innovation Centre before relocating to their current office in Maroochydore in 2013 to allow for further expansion. They are currently seeking their first external investment and raising funds both in Australia and the US.

BRISBANE GOLD COAST SUNSHINE COAST

PEOPLE ORGANISATIONS

Centrality rank by community votes >

Dean Alle Innovation Centre - SC

Mark Paddenburg Startup Weekend - SC

Russel Mason Ted x Noosa

Ben Duncan MRDA SC

Michael Whereat SC Local Council

Matt Forman Chamber of Comrce - SC

Nigel Hall Noosa Boardroom

Anne Lawrence Cloud Biz

Craig Josic Uni of Sunshine Coast

David Novakovic TechConnect



Aaron Birkby Founders Forum

Steve Dalton Gold Coast Angels

Clarence Tan Silicon Lakes

Rick McElhinney ASSOB

Tanya Lipus City of Gold Coast

Bryan Vadas Wavebreak

Rick Anstey Chamber of Comrce - GC

Sharon Hunneybell Silicon Beach - GC

Ruth Drinkwater Startup Weekend - GC

David Novakovic TechConnect



Colin Kinner iLab

Peter Laurie River City Labs

John Mactaggart Brisbane Angels

Anna Rooke Startup Weekend - Bris

Ruth Drinkwater Assoc. Angel Investors

Peta Ellis Aust Centre Entreprnrshp

Ian Connor Arts QLD

Richard Moore QUT

Sue Swinburne Silicon Beach - Brisbane

Christy Dena Startup QLD

27

MARKETSTarget market of startups

TARGET MARKET OF STARTUPS COMPARED TO TOP 20 QUEENSLAND INDUSTRIES

PERCENTAGE OF STARTUPS TARGETING INDUSTRY

APPROX. PERCENTAGE OF QLD GSP FROM INDUSTRY 2012-201329

20% 5%05% 10%10%

Construction

Mining, Energy & Resources


Health Care & Social Assistance

Manufacturing

Transport, Postal & Warehousing

Public Admin, Defence & Safety

Finance & Insurance Services

Professional, Scientific & Technical Services

Wholesale Trade

Retail Trade

Education & Training

Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing

Electricity Gas, Water & Waste Services

Rental, Hiring & Real Estate Services

Accommodation & Food Services

Administrative & Support Services

Information Media & Telecommunications

Other & Unknown Services

Arts & Recreation Services

28

PRODUCTTarget market and product type of startups

NUMBER OF STARTUPS BY TARGET MARKET & PRODUCT TYPE A

RTS

& R

ECR

EATI

ON

SER

VICE

S

INFO

MED

IA &

TEL

ECO

MM

UN

ICA

TIO

NS

HEA

LTH

CA

RE

& S

OCI

AL

ASS

ISTA

NCE

PR

OFE

SSIO

NA

L &

TEC

HN

ICA

L SE

RVI

CES

FIN

AN

CE &

INSU

RA

NCE

SER

VICE

S

RET

AIL

TR

AD

E

AD

VER

TISI

NG

SER

VICE

S*

AD

MIN

ISTR

ATI

VE &

SU

PP

OR

T SE

RVI

CES

EDU

CATI

ON

& T

RA

ININ

G

ELEC

TRIC

ITY

GA

S &

WA

TER

SER

VICE

S

CLO

THIN

G &

FO

OTW

AR

E R

ETA

ILIN

G*

TRA

NSP

OR

T, P

OST

AL

& W

AR

EHO

USI

NG

CON

STR

UCT

ION

FOO

D &

BEV

ERA

GE

SER

VICE

S*

PU

BLI

C A

DM

IN, D

EFEN

CE &

SA

FETY

REN

TAL

& R

EAL

ESTA

TE S

ERVI

CES

TRA

VEL

& T

OU

RIS

M S

ERVI

CES*

ACC

OM

MO

DA

TIO

N &

FO

OD

SER

VICE

S

AG

RIC

ULT

UR

E, F

OR

ESTR

Y &

FIS

HIN

G

MA

NU

FACT

UR

ING

MIN

ING

, EN

ERG

Y &

RES

OU

RCE

S

OTH

ER &

UN

KN

OW

N S

ERVI

CES

TOTA

L (C

OU

NT)

TOTA

L (%

)

Game 26 26 12

Marketplace 2 2 1 2 1 4 3 2 2 1 1 1 22 10

Communication 9 1 1 2 2 15 7

Health 14 14 6

Productivity 1 6 2 1 1 1 12 5

Financial or payment 8 1 1 1 11 5

Advertising 1 2 1 5 1 10 4

Analytics 2 3 3 1 1 10 4

Education 1 1 1 5 8 4

Sport 7 7 3

Developer tool 3 1 1 5 2

Ecommerce 1 4 5 2

Electronics 3 1 1 5 2

Media & news 4 1 5 2

Social 4 1 5 2

Photo, video & audio 3 1 4 2

Transportation 3 1 4 2

Daily deals 2 1 3 1

Publishing 3 3 1

Tourism 1 2 3 1

3D printing 1 1 2 1

Infrastructure 1 1 2 1

Music 2 2 1

Safety 1 1 2 1

Security 2 2 1

Storage 2 2 1

Wearable 1 1 2 1

Graphics Engine 1 1 0

Other or Unknown 1 33 34 15%

TOTAL (COUNT) 43 42 17 12 11 11 8 7 6 5 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 1 34 226 100

Total (%) 19 19 8 5 5 5 4 3 3 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 15 100

*Sub-sector of “Professional & Technical Services.” **Sub-sector of “Retail Trade.” ***Sub-sector of “Arts & Recreation Services.” 29

TECHNOLOGYDisruptive technologies vs #startups

DISRUPTIVE DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES - POTENTIAL ECONOMIC IMPACT WITHIN QUEENSLAND VS No. STARTUPS

Automation of Knowledge Work

Mobile Internet

The Internet of Things

Advanced Robotics

Cloud Technology

Autonomous and Near-Autonomous Vehicles

3D Printing

0

Architecture

Publishing

Young Adult

Comics

Rock

People

Food

Webseries

Painting

Fiction

Live Games

Music

Illustration

Accessories

Pop

Design

Tabletop Games

Animation

Documentary

3D Printing

Technology

Product Design

Video Games

KICKSTARTER QLD

$1,076,266

$160,230

$137,829

$137,356

$61,825

$38,089

$37,859

$23,746

$20,660

$14,043

$10,246

$9,368

$7,528

$7,090

$6,225

$5,517

$5,325

$3,934

$3,115

$2,796

$2,506

$2,226

$2,040


Other Services


Communication




Agriculture


Retail Trade

Wholesale Trade





Manufacturing



Mining

Construction

01020304050607080 020406080100

Craft

Research

Technology

Journalism

Other

Food & Drink

Fashion

Video

Comics

Social Enterprise

Photography

Event

Art

Design

Writing

Community

Performance

Music

Film

POZIBLE

$316,574

$312,822

$180,488

$135,195

$107,652

$84,045

$71,791

$44,184

$40,532

$37,160

$30,360

$30,046

$24,849

$24,045

$12,226

$11,640

$5,737

$3,480

$160

2017201320122011

$1.5B $1.61B$2B

$3B

COMPUTER GAME SALES

Leadership

Talent & Skills

Infrastructure

Procurement


Government Policy

Funding

Culture

Education

Raise Awareness


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Advanced Robotics

3D Printing



Software (offline)




$108m

$14.2m

$1.5m

$1.0m

$1.0m

$0.1m

$0.1m

NBN Advocacy Group

Hub


Communication Hub

Attract Talent



Startup Apprentice


Education Program


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10


Corporate

Unknown

Accelerator

Crowdfunding

Government Grant

Angel Group

Individual Angel/s



Venture Capital

Private Equity


$46.9M

$20.2M

$19.6M

$15.6M

$10.9M

$5.1M

$4.3M

$1.4M

$0.9M

$0.8M

$0.2M

iLab

Screen Australia

Blackbird Ventures

Founders Forum

Kickstarter

ASSOB




Acorn Capital


AMMA


$46.5M

$19.6M

$16.8M

$3.5M

$3.0M

$2.8M

$2.3M

$1.3M

$1.2M

$1.2M

$0.7M

$0.6M


500000

1000000

1500000

2000000

2500000


Digital - Australia



FUNDING BY REGION

Region Unknown

Sunshine Coast

Gold Coast

Brisbane


0

3

6

9

12

15



0

300000

600000

900000

1200000

1500000 Brisbane

Northern Qld

Gold Coast

Sunshine Coast

Digital Queensland




30000000

35000000

201420132012201120102009

*Estimated potential economic impact of technologies within Queensland in 2025 based on the McKinsey Institute’s 2013 report Disruptive Technologies: Advances That Will Transform Life, Business, And The Global Economy. Note these estimates do not represent GDP or market size (revenue), but rather economic potential, including consumer surplus. They are not directly additive due to partially overlapping applications and/or value drivers across technologies.9

50% 40% $1030% $2020% $3010% $40 $50

PERCENTAGE OF STARTUPS DEVELOPING

DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGY

ESTIMATED POTENTIAL ECONOMIC IMPACT IN MILLIONS*

30

THE ARTSThe role of the arts in Queensland startups

Queensland has a high proportion of startups focussed on serving the Arts & Recreation Services market - 43 startups out of the total 226 startups identified within Queensland, or 19% of all startups.

The vast majority of these are Digital Game studiosa developing their own content. Twenty six games studios in total or 12% of all startups, and over half of arts focussed startups. As it’s the largest product category the report goes into games studios in greater detail on the following pages.

If Digital Games are excluded from the Arts, the number of arts related startups falls to 17 or 8% of all startups. Under the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC), Sports (7 startups or 3% of all startups) are included within the Arts & Recreation Services industry, if these are then excluded from the arts just 10 startups remain that target the creative arts - 4% of all startups.

Within these 10 startups the most notable is We Are Hunted, a music discovery and recommendation platform that was acquired by Twitter in late 2012 for an undisclosed sum. The We Are Hunted team then led the development of Twitter’s #Music service, before it was closed down in early 2014.

a. “Digital Games” studios or developers do not have a seperate classification within the ANZSIC industry classification. The ABS states “there is no specific ANZSIC class for digital game development... [they] have been found to be predominantly coded to ANZSIC class 7000 (Computer system design and related services).” - a subset of “Professional, Scientific and Technical Services.” However the ABS analyses them alongside Film & television broadcasters in their recent publication “Film, Television and Digital Games, Australia, 2011-12”,30 a subset of “Information Media & Telecommunications.” Within this report the market focus of Digital Games Studios are categorised as “Arts & Recreation Services”.

While not a startup, the music service Guvera is also a notable digital technology company within the arts sector, given its $45m in funding over the past 5 years. The company has stated it recently secured a deal with Lenovo to be pre-installed in all Lenovo smartphones.

Liquid State is also notable having secured a place in Berlin accelerator, Startup Bootcamp, and raised ~$800K from CA, Angel and the accelerator.

Another startup of interest is Hirehive, a peer to peer marketplace for filmmakers to share equipment - this is perhaps one of the few startups focussed solely on directly serving creatives within the Arts & Recreation Services industry.

FundingIn terms of funding the Arts & Recreation Services market attracted the greatest funding across all digital technology companies and startups, with 41% of all funding - primarily driven by Guvera’s funding. Exclude this and it falls to fifth or sixth on the ranking for all digital technology companies. Funding for arts startups was $3.8m - a little over 10% of all startup funding.

In terms of funding sources, three Arts organisations; the NSW Government Interactive Media Fund, Screen Australia, and Creative Enterprise Australia; provided 3% of all digital technology funding, or $3.7m in total. This funding was primarily made up of a $3m grant from the NSW Government Interactive Media Fund to Defiant Development - a game studio.

SupportIn terms of arts organisations that support the startup sector the key organisation identified was the State Library of Queensland and specifically the Edge, a creative / hacker type space within the library. Thirty one out of 109 digital technology related groups happen within the library - 28% of all meetup groups identified within the state.

ProductivityAdvertisingGraphicsMarketplaceMusicPublishingSportDigital Games

#STARTUPS IN THE ARTS BY PRODUCT TYPE

26

7

3

2

2

1

1

1

#ARTS STARTUPS

43 Number of startups focussed on the Arts & Recreation Services market or developing tools that fall under the creative arts, including music, photography, video, publishing, tourism and computer games.

FUNDING BY TARGET MARKET - ALL TECH ($M)

Arts & Recreation Services $51.8

Finance & Insurance Services $22.3

Information Media & Telecommunications $21.9

Public Admin, Defence & Safety $5.6

Advertising Services $4.6

Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing $4.4

Health Care & Social Assistance $3.2

Education & Training $2.9

Professional, Scientific & Technical Services $2.8

Construction $2.0

Unknown $1.7

Retail Trade $1.2

Mining, Energy & Resources $0.4

Clothing & Footware Retailing $0.4

Administrative & Support Services $0.4

Entertainment, Tourism & Sport $0.3

Manufacturing $0.1

Rental, Hiring & Real Estate Services $0.02

Transport, Postal & Warehousing $0.01

Information Media & Telecommunications $12.2

Finance & Insurance Services $4.0

Advertising Services $4.0

Arts & Recreation Services $3.8

Health Care & Social Assistance $2.3

Construction $1.8

Professional, Scientific & Technical Services $1.7

Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing $1.4

Unknown $1.3

Public Admin, Defence & Safety $1.2

Retail Trade $1.1

Education & Training $0.9

Mining, Energy & Resources $0.4

Clothing & Footware Retailing $0.4

Administrative & Support Services $0.4

Rental, Hiring & Real Estate Services $0.02

Transport, Postal & Warehousing $0.01

FUNDING BY TARGET MARKET - STARTUPS ($M)

31

MORE GAMESGames, Games, and

Below is a summarised network map of the most central people and organisations within Queensland’s Games sector. It includes active, closed and acquired Game Studios. Both those developing their own IP (Startups) and those making games for clients. Connecting lines represent professional relationships (past and present) such as employee, founder or director. The whole network can be seen in the top right of the following page.

The summarised graph shows the interconnection between core game studios in the middle dominated by Krome, Pandemic and Arun, and the relationship of these studios with movie-related studios on the far left, 3D animation studios second from left and to the right the commercialisation of gaming technology within services such as advertising and gambling platforms that employ gaming approaches.

In analysing the full network of people employed by gaming companies Krome Studios comes out most central, with 50% of the entire network connected to Krome by 3 steps: 1st step is to an employee of Krome, 2nd step to ‘other’ companies the same employee has worked for and a 3rd to the employees of the ‘other’ companies. In this way half of the entire sector is connected to Krome. The graph gives a small taste of the long-term impact of a large pioneer on an ecosystem.

KROME STUDIOS - ESTABLISHED

Founded in 1999 by Robert Walsh, Steve Stamatiadis and John Passfield, Krome has created over 19 titles - both their own IP and for clients. They are best known for Ty the Tasmanian Tiger and in 2010 ranked 52 in the Develop 100 list, placing them alongside studios such as LucasArts, Blizzard and EA. From 2010 to 2012 they experienced difficulties - closing their Adelaide studio and cutting staff in Melbourne and Brisbane. In 2012 they reopened after being dormant since 2010.

PANDEMIC STUDIOS - CLOSED

Founded in 1998 with an equity investment by Activision this US-Australian game studio had offices in Los Angeles, California and Brisbane. In 2000 Andrew Payne and Adam Iarossi left the LA studio to start the satellite studio in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane. In 2007 Electronic Arts acquired Pandemic’s parent company VG Holdings for $860m USD, and shortly afterwards closed Pandemic in 2009.

HALFBRICK STUDIOS - ESTABLISHED

Founded in 2001 by Shainiel Deo, Halfbrick is one of the most recognised independent studios worldwide with games such as Fruit Ninja, Jetpack Joyride, Monster Dash and Age of Zombies. Since being released in 2010, their blockbuster title Fruit Ninja, has been downloaded by over 500 million users, was number two on the list of the top all-time paid iPhone apps, and grosses more than $1m a month.

MOVIE INDUSTRY 3D ANIMATION GAMES

Photon VFX

Animal Logic

Randy Vellacott

Cutting Edge

Rising Sun Pictures

Simon Dye

Griffith University

QLD Universityof Technology

Krome Studios

Auran GamesHalfbrick Studios

THQ

Alex Drummond

Sega

Pandemic Studios

Ratbag Games

Guy Blomberg

Eyecon

32

GAMES CGI SERVICES GAMBLING

DEFIANT DEVELOPMENT - STARTUP

Defiant is a Brisbane-based game development studio founded in 2010 by Dan Treble and Morgan Jaffit. Defiant has released a number of best selling games for iOS and Android including Ski Safari, Heroes Call and Rocket Bunnies. Their games have secured Apple’s lucrative Game of the Week spot, and Ski Safari has been the Number 1 Game in over 65 countries.

COMPUTER GAME SALES AUSTRALIA

Architecture

Publishing

Young Adult

Comics

Rock

People

Food

Webseries

Painting

Fiction

Live Games

Music

Illustration

Accessories

Pop

Design

Tabletop Games

Animation

Documentary

3D Printing

Technology

Product Design

Video Games

KICKSTARTER QLD

$1,076,266

$160,230

$137,829

$137,356

$61,825

$38,089

$37,859

$23,746

$20,660

$14,043

$10,246

$9,368

$7,528

$7,090

$6,225

$5,517

$5,325

$3,934

$3,115

$2,796

$2,506

$2,226

$2,040


Other Services


Communication




Agriculture


Retail Trade

Wholesale Trade





Manufacturing



Mining

Construction

01020304050607080 020406080100

Craft

Research

Technology

Journalism

Other

Food & Drink

Fashion

Video

Comics

Social Enterprise

Photography

Event

Art

Design

Writing

Community

Performance

Music

Film

POZIBLE

$316,574

$312,822

$180,488

$135,195

$107,652

$84,045

$71,791

$44,184

$40,532

$37,160

$30,360

$30,046

$24,849

$24,045

$12,226

$11,640

$5,737

$3,480

$160

2017201320122011

$1.5B $1.61B$2B

$3B

COMPUTER GAME SALES

Leadership

Talent & Skills

Infrastructure

Procurement


Government Policy

Funding

Culture

Education

Raise Awareness


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Advanced Robotics

3D Printing



Software (offline)




$108m

$14.2m

$1.5m

$1.0m

$1.0m

$0.1m

$0.1m

NBN Advocacy Group

Hub


Communication Hub

Attract Talent



Startup Apprentice


Education Program


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10


Corporate

Unknown

Accelerator

Crowdfunding

Government Grant

Angel Group

Individual Angel/s



Venture Capital

Private Equity


$46.9M

$20.2M

$19.6M

$15.6M

$10.9M

$5.1M

$4.3M

$1.4M

$0.9M

$0.8M

$0.2M

iLab

Screen Australia

Blackbird Ventures

Founders Forum

Kickstarter

ASSOB




Acorn Capital


AMMA


$46.5M

$19.6M

$16.8M

$3.5M

$3.0M

$2.8M

$2.3M

$1.3M

$1.2M

$1.2M

$0.7M

$0.6M


500000

1000000

1500000

2000000

2500000


Digital - Australia



FUNDING BY REGION

Region Unknown

Sunshine Coast

Gold Coast

Brisbane


0

3

6

9

12

15



0

300000

600000

900000

1200000

1500000 Brisbane

Northern Qld

Gold Coast

Sunshine Coast

Digital Queensland




30000000

35000000

201420132012201120102009

GAMING STARTUPS

26+Queensland has a vibrant community of indie game studios and developers, with a games studio seed accelerator and over 38 studios building their own games for distribution on mobile and web platforms, 26 of which this report classified as “startups”.

Photon VFX

Animal Logic

Randy Vellacott

Cutting Edge

Rising Sun Pictures

Simon Dye

Griffith University

QLD Universityof Technology

Krome Studios

Auran GamesHalfbrick Studios

THQ

Alex Drummond

Sega

Pandemic Studios

Ratbag Games

Guy Blomberg

Eyecon

31,32,33

33

Founders of Startup companies, people within key support organisations and others that have made a tangible contribution to the ecosystem.*

Aaron BirkbyAaron GilletAbdul AlabriAdam McGillAdam GallagherAdam HumphreyAdam SamuelAdam WilliamsAdrian Di MarcoAdrian SeetoAdrian SteinAdrian TurnerAdum BlunnAisha BradshawAlan JohnsonAlan NobleAlex AdsettAlex NaghaviAlex NortonAlex SharpAlex StreitAlexander LotersztainAlexandra HigginsAllan MurnaneAmanda ShadforthAmandeep KangAndrea MartinsAndrew BrownAndrew DuvalAndrew LangAndrew BoudAndrew BrettAndrew BuckleAndrew DuvalAndrew FernAndrew GibbAndrew HowarthAndrew LaneAndrew LeaskAndrew LiverisAndrew LochAndrew LonghornAndrew RyanAndy GarmanAndy HarveyAndy JaneAndy NematallaAngela LisleAngie DunbavanAnna RookeAnnabel CandyAnne LawrenceAnne Maree CotterellAnne-Marie BirkillAnoushka SchollayAnt MckennaAnthony McCleanAnthony O’DempseyAnthony WoodAntti SarelaApril ForbsAriel BrinerArtem KulakovAvril Jean

Baden UrenBarry EagerBelinda NoakesBen DuncanBen AmosBen ChongBen CooperBen DuncanBen GrubbBen HamleyBen HarrisonBen HauserBen HoweBen JohnstonBen MaggacisBen Manderville-ClarkeBen ValeBenjamin FordayBenjamin HarropBernie WoodcroftBili PotterBill BarteeBill BassBill McKeagueBilly BowyerBirgit LohmannBjorn RustBob DunneBob ChristiansenBob ChristiensBob EatherBob WaldieBrent WattsBrett AdamsBrett BucklandBrett CairdBrett HalesBrett McCallumBrian FinnBrian KeayanBrian KeayesBrian RuddleBrock AspalndBrock HamiltonBrook KitsonBrooke MarshBruce GreenBryan VadasBuzz UsborneCameron CrossCameron OwenCarl JacksonCarolyn BullenCasey LightbodyCassandra HeadCat MatsonCatherine MacAdamCatherine KitneyChannon GoodwinCharles HodgsonChi-Han HsuChris NaveChris RichardsChris CameronChris DrakeChris DurrerChris EldridgeChris GuthrieChris MacaulayChris McKenzie

Christian JonesChristian KingChristy DenaCieron CodyClaes LobergClaire RowlandClarence TanClint ThomsonCohen HydeCole WilkinsonColin KinnerColin GrahamCollin GuinnessCr Glenn TozerCraig AspinallCraig DevesonCraig JosicCraig MasonCraig MorrisonCynthia MacneeDale TrickettDaley PearsonDamien KingDan MckinnonDan NorrisDan TrebleDan VogtDaniel DeeneyDaniel FilmerDanielle BennettDanielle DuellDanielle NealeDanni ZuvelaDanny HoodDanny MaherDarcy NauntonDarren HerftDarryl ReddingDave MetcalfDavid CottonDavid BartlettDavid BycroftDavid FosterDavid IvesDavid NovakovicDavid RyanDavid ShawDavid ZwierzchaczewskiDean AlleDean ShannonDeiter BohmDerek StephensDes JaobsonDion KleinDonna MoritzDr John KapelerisDr Michael BlumsteinDr. Rowan GilmoreDrew WackleyDuncan CurtisDuncan SchultzDuncan ThompsonDylan StreetElaine SteadElliot SmithEmily CravenEmma MilikinsFerdinand KreozotFran LemanFraser O’Keefe

Gareth GowerGary ChristianGary MaysGavin TomlinsGavin KeeleyGavin KremorGeoff MollerGeoff SchraderGeorge FidlerGidean ShalwickGlen BunneyGlen ConventonGlenn CorbetGlenn WilkinsonGordon CooperGordon MoyesGraham BermanGraham EdelstenGraham RodgersGraham WoodGrant FerryGrant MasonGreg BarnetGreg BeaverGreg BurnettGreg EllisGreg HallamGreg LavertyGreg SearleGreg TuckwellGuilio RoveraGuy JonesHans Van ViletHany PhamHollie GordonHugh GeigerIan NoyIan WrightIan ConnorIan CrawleyIan MayfieldIan SampsonIngamur LakIqbal SinghIvan Kenny-SumigaJack GillespieJai MitchellJames BanksJames ColquhornJames DavidsonJames KlobasaJames PaulsonJames PodestaJames TurnerJanette WrightJarrad LaursenJason BirdJason CookJason SeedJason SeetoJason SpencerJavin WoodJaz ChoiJed CareyJeff McDermitJeff RogersJeff Van DyckJeremy CollessJeremy HerbertJessica Ainscough

Jessica HuddartJillian KennyJim KalokekinosJimmi BradburyJo ProcterJo RosierJo UcukaloJock BlairJodi CleghornJoe BrummJoe HayesJohn BartlettJohn DobsonJohn GolebyJohn HughesJohn HummelstadJohn JessopJohn MactaggartJohn MilesJohn NichollsJohn PassfieldJohn PuttickJohn RivettJohn Swete KellyJon FerraraJordan GreenJörg StrobelJose Maria RavaloJoseph GlanvilleJosh SmithJosh TannerJosh WilliamsJoshua TanchelJuhani von HellensJulian PriceJulien CahnJustin BrownJustin MorrisseyKane BradshawKaren BracherKaren GawenKat McArthurKate TuxfordKate EdwardsKate PrydeKath MasseyKaylene LangfordKeith ArmstrongKeith DuncanKeith GrismanKerry EssonKerry FinchKevin GosschalkKevin GroveKevin WrightKieran LordKieran O’HeaKieran O’tterKim CastelKirsten BaulchKobus HauptKris TrottKrishna EversonKristen SouvilsKyle BurchKyle McGintyLara MurrayLaughlin RigbyLauren ClemettLaurie Hammond

PEOPLEStartup

34

Lawrence EnglishLee WatersLeigh AngusLexie DostalLiam CaseyLiam O’SullivanLibby SanderLindsay ParmenterLisa HarrisonLiz GaskinLiz O’RourkeLouis OswaldLouise O’DonnellLubi ThomasLuke AnearLuke BrannellyLuke HumbleLuke MacDonaldLuke MuscatLuke SwetmanLynne BanfordMacushla MontellMadeleine KingMadeline VeenstraMalcolm McBratneyMalcolm ThompsonMalcom BroughManual PapasMarcus FieldingMarcus FordMarcus FothMarcus HollandMargerietha ScheepersMario JohnstonMario PennisiMarion HorsingtonMark HarrisonMark BathieMark BattenMark CassidyMark CoatesMark CracknellMark David RyanMark DowlingMark FerrisMark FurlerMark GillMark HarveyMark LeckenbyMark McCalliogMark PaddenburgMark PhillipsMark RainbirdMark RichardsonMark SowersbyMark WarnickMark WhiteMarko GrgicMartin BradyMartin MankowskiMatt BushMatt FormanMatt HallMatthew BeaumontMatthew FordMatthew SeetoMatthew SnowdenMax GrantMeg SummersMelanie Summer

Melissa ReidMelody RodgersMentor Panel (IC)Meyrick AdamsMichael ShadforthMichael WhereatMichael AngusMichael BloomsteinMichael FinneyMichael FrizellMichael GriffinMichael MolloyMichael MorrisMichael MurtaghMichael OtwayMichael PulsMichael StevensMichael WhereatMichelle KazukaitisMik DobeleMike AveyMike ClementsMike CunninghamMike HefferanMike HulbertMin Collie HolmesMorgan JaffMorgan JaffitNadene TownsendNadine BatesNathan ChallenNathan HoadNathan MayfieldNeil McNultyNeil RaineyNic GomezNicholas MathiouNicholas WoodNicole MillardNigel HallNikki ParkinsonNiranjan BidargaddiNkosana MaficoNora KinnunenOwen WarhurstPamela WardnerPaul BarrsPaul BeaverPaul CooperPaul Gillett (Flux)Paul GrahamPaul HamiltonPaul JanszPaul L’EstrangePaul LangePaul MartinsPaul McNabPaul NeidererPaul StapelBergPaul SteerPaul TurnerPauline O’SullivanPer DavidssonPersis AndersonPeta EllisPeter BallPeter DevinePeter RiddlesPeter BraddPeter Davison

Peter GrantPeter KablePeter LauriePeter LavcioPeter LionsPeter LorrePeter StackPeter WakimPeter WoodwardPetrina BuckleyPhil JohnsonPhil LarsenPhil ReardonPhillip AndrewsPiero DamettoPrasant MoorthyProf. Andrew Brown GriffithProf. Bhesh BhandariRainine DarabihaRalph RogersRamine DarabihaRandal MakinRay TurnerRebecca McIntoshRebecca WilsonReg WilliamsReinard Van Der LeijRetha ScheepersRichard MooreRichard NealRichard RobinsonRick AnsteyRick HoyRick McElhinneyRicky RobinsonRob HindsRob LittlerRobert BlackmanRobert CollinsRobert WalshRobert WriedtRobin NixonRobin OrmerodRobyn LittlejohnRod BloomRod RichardsRonnie McKenzieRoss BalbuzienteRoss CockburnRoss HepworthRoss PataneRowan SchindlerRowena RyanRussel MasonRussell BullenRussell MasonRuth DrinkwaterSacha (Alex) VoevodinSally ErnstSam BevisSam FriendSam WinterSami MaliaSamuel CartwrightSamuel CliftonSanatana MishraSandra MauSandy ZubrinichSarina QuinlanSarina Quintan Fetch

Scott BreustScott DuffieldScott HamiltonScott MaidmentScott McTaggartScott StandenSean BannisterSean BuchananSean PringleSean BannisterSean EdwardsSean ParsonsShainiel DeoShane DavisShane MorganSharon HunneybellSharon SchoenbornSheng YeoSimon BuddenSimon AmbroseSimon GrothSimon JupeSimon LydiardSimon NewsteadSoenke WeissSonja CeriSonya HendersonStephen GoodallStephen BeirneStephen ColbranStephen NeateStephen O’brienStephen PhillipsStephen RobinsonStephen TaitStephen WilsonSteve BaxterSteve DaltonSteve DunnSteve HuffSteve StamatiadisSteve WalshSteve WestonSteve WilliamsStewart GowSue SwinburneSurya GrafSusan OliverSusanne BransgroveTahnee LambrechtsenTanya LipusTarun BastiampillaiTerence LeeThe Core TeamThe Edge SLQThe Mentor GroupThom SaundersTim EldridgeTim DawsonTim HeasleyTim KastelleTim MarchingtonTim MelvichTim WarwickTimothy MarksTina SouvlisTjitze MeterToby GiffordTom MurphyTom Adams

Tom McArthurTom WhiteTony ChadwickTony WheelerTony WintersTracey RobertsonTraci CastleTravis DewanTrent LundTrent SampsonTroy BatesTroy HainesTsu Shan ChambersTyler CrowleyVera DeanVeronika BilkovaVicki JohnsonVictor VicarioVincenzo PignatelliVivienne AnthonWarren BuffetWarrick BidwellWayne GerardWayne McFetridgeWill WilsonWinston HallWoodley NyeYolanda VegaYvette AdamsZach JohnsonZane McIntyreZoe Wyatt

* Queensland Government employees have been excluded from the list.

35

SERIAL ENTREPRENEURSFrequent Founders and

People or groups of people within the ecosystem that have founded multiple companies. This does not necessarily represent financial value created.

AARON BIRKBY

Aaron is one of the founders at Silicon Lakes (incubator), founder at App Start Studios (app development company), and founder of Coded Intelligence (a remote telemetry monitor system for amusement rides and vending machines). Aaron was also a founding Director for 8 years at Arinda Internet, a business that specialises in internet kiosks, wireless hotspots and digital wireless advertising systems, prior to selling it in late 2012. He has been involved in setting up numerous other IT start-ups, including Web Site Writers, Softcom Consulting, The Chat Room, and Perfect World.

Before moving to the Gold Coast in 2004, he was the A/g Manager of Intelligence Systems for Customs in Canberra, had various intelligence roles in the National Crime Authority, NSW Crime Commission, and was a Consultant at PwC in Sydney. He has a Bachelor of Science (Physics and Mathematics) from the UNSW, and a Bachelor of Law from the University of New England.

STEVE BAXTER

Stephen is one of Queensland most active investors through his seed fund Transition Level Investments, and also one of the most active founders, having founded both River City Labs (technology co-working space) and Right Pedal Studios (seed accelerator for game studios). He is currently a board member and advisor to several companies including ASX listed Vocus Communications, and investor in many startups including txt4coffee, TrekTraka, goCatch, OrionVM and Atomo Diagnostics.

At age 15 (1986) Steve joined the army serving for nine years (1995) working on electronics, & whilst still in the army at age 23 (1994) he convinced his fiancée to invest their $11,000 savings (which was to be a deposit on their first home) into building an ISP in their rented house using six telephone lines and grew it to the 7th largest ISP in Australia at the time. His company was acquired by Ozemail just before the dot com bust of the early 2000s. After taking a year off to fish he co-founded PIPE Networks in 2001 with Bevan Slattery, which floated with a $14m market cap. PIPE was later acquired by TPG Telecom for $373m.

STEVE DALTON

Steve founded Secluded.io a sensor platform for remote areas in 2014. Prior to this he co-founded Sensaware (formerly Rehydrate), a wearable device that assists rural fire-fighters to stay hydrated, and one of the winners at the first Gold Coast Startup Weekend in 2013. Steve founded Gold Coast Tech shop in 2012 a marketplace for Open Source & hackable hardware such as Arduino, Electronics kits & Raspberry PIs. Since 2006 he has been an organiser for Barcamp Queensland (a meetup group), is a Silicon Lakes Ambassador, and recently started the very popular Lego workshops for kids, held in the School holidays. He originally studied at the University of Birmingham from 1992-96.

App Start Studios

Aptek

Arinda Internet

Beyond The Black Stump Productions

Coded IntelligenceInternet HereSenseHubly

Silicon Lakes

The Chat Room

AVRIL JEAN

Creature CreativeNeo Media Networks

Smooth Operator

CHRIS HOOPER

Cirillo Hooper& Companythe startup club

CHRIS MACAULAY

Secure SkateboardsSwipeAds

Elastice

Summer Drift Group

uCrack iFixViscous Solutions

Cloud Manager

cloudsafe365

DevnetDVSGroup

Right Pedal Studios

Krome Studios

GEOFF KWITKO

EcoLivingScene.com.au

GERARD DOYLE

BDS.com.au DiscountVouchers.co.ukLead Galaxy Zippy.com.au

GINO DE PASQUALE

De Pasquale Advertising

Dojo Wellness Experience

dp dialogue

The Authentic Executive

3 Blokes Studios

KEVIN GOSSCHALK

KRISTY OUWERKERK

Toto Solutions

VeilabilityWedding Village

LUKE BRANNELLY

3Dme Creative Studio

AVARDIV2i Mining & Resources

V2i Pty Ltd

MARK WHITEGreencloud Labs

Locatrix CommunicationsMobile Monday Brisbane

MATTHEW FORD

NICHOLAS JENKINSAcademic TechnologiesPeeP Digital

NKOSANA HUMPHREY MAFICO

B2K Gardening

PAUL JONESCredosityLast Thursday ClubMagneto Communications

PAUL KNITTELDocumaps.io

FlowProPixler Webdesign

STEVE BAXTERRight Pedal Studios

PIPE Networks

River City LabsTransition Level Investments

SENet (ISP)

PETRINA BUCKLEYSTEPHEN NEATE

Brolga Real EstateMy Sunshine CoastSubtle Difference

Dalton TechnologyGC Tech Shop

Gold Coast TechSpaceRefactorsecluded.io

Sensaware

Share Your Love

TRISTAN MATTHIAS

Red Sprite Studios

AARON BIRKBY

CHRIS DRAKE

CRAIG DEVESON

JOHN PASSFIELD

STEVE DALTON

36

App Start Studios

Aptek

Arinda Internet

Beyond The Black Stump Productions

Coded IntelligenceInternet HereSenseHubly

Silicon Lakes

The Chat Room

AVRIL JEAN

Creature CreativeNeo Media Networks

Smooth Operator

CHRIS HOOPER

Cirillo Hooper& Companythe startup club

CHRIS MACAULAY

Secure SkateboardsSwipeAds

Elastice

Summer Drift Group

uCrack iFixViscous Solutions

Cloud Manager

cloudsafe365

DevnetDVSGroup

Right Pedal Studios

Krome Studios

GEOFF KWITKO

EcoLivingScene.com.au

GERARD DOYLE

BDS.com.au DiscountVouchers.co.ukLead Galaxy Zippy.com.au

GINO DE PASQUALE

De Pasquale Advertising

Dojo Wellness Experience

dp dialogue

The Authentic Executive

3 Blokes Studios

KEVIN GOSSCHALK

KRISTY OUWERKERK

Toto Solutions

VeilabilityWedding Village

LUKE BRANNELLY

3Dme Creative Studio

AVARDIV2i Mining & Resources

V2i Pty Ltd

MARK WHITEGreencloud Labs

Locatrix CommunicationsMobile Monday Brisbane

MATTHEW FORD

NICHOLAS JENKINSAcademic TechnologiesPeeP Digital

NKOSANA HUMPHREY MAFICO

B2K Gardening

PAUL JONESCredosityLast Thursday ClubMagneto Communications

PAUL KNITTELDocumaps.io

FlowProPixler Webdesign

STEVE BAXTERRight Pedal Studios

PIPE Networks

River City LabsTransition Level Investments

SENet (ISP)

PETRINA BUCKLEYSTEPHEN NEATE

Brolga Real EstateMy Sunshine CoastSubtle Difference

Dalton TechnologyGC Tech Shop

Gold Coast TechSpaceRefactorsecluded.io

Sensaware

Share Your Love

TRISTAN MATTHIAS

Red Sprite Studios

AARON BIRKBY

CHRIS DRAKE

CRAIG DEVESON

JOHN PASSFIELD

STEVE DALTON

JOHN PASSFIELD

John is currently the program manager for Right Pedal Studios and has founded a number of games companies including Krome Studios, 3 Blokes Studios and Red Sprite Studios. He was the creative director of Pandemic Studios, VP of Rockyou, and has led the creative direction on a number of Facebook titles including Brainiversity, Hospital Town, Virtual Villagers, Galactic Trader, Galactic Allies, and Save Our Village.

CHRIS DRAKE

Chris founded Elastice, a service to democratise the pricing and discount process for e-commerce stores, Viscous Solutions (an e-commerce consulting firm), uCrack iFix (a smartphone repair business that has expanded to include several online stores that drop-ship products internationally). He is a member of River City Labs, participated in iLab’s Germinate program, was a speaker at TEDxUQ, and is an organiser of a student entrepreneurship conference to be held in July 2014 (Global Innovative Youth Conference).

GERARD DOYLE

In late 2013 Gerard founded BDS.com.au - a mobile marketing and daily-deals service after his original company Zippy (founded in 2009) merged with Qwibble. In 2011 Gerard worked in the UK as CEO for DiscountVouchers.co.uk (currently 100m+ revenue). Discount Vouchers was founded by Doug Scott, one of the UK’s leading angel investors and a serial entrepreneur himself, who provided funding for BDS through his seed fund Potential. Prior to working at Discount Vouchers, Gerard had a range of executive roles at UK daily deals and affiliate marketing companies. In 2005 he founded Lead Galaxy, a marketplace for UK property investors.

37

COMMUNITY IDEASIssues & Actions

As part of the project, workshops and interviews were held with key members of the SEQ ecosystem. Participants were asked to discuss, identify and vote on “which issues were critical to the growth of Queensland’s startup ecosystem”, and the actions which would address these challenges. Votes are weighted proportionately by the relative sizes of each region’s population. The top ten issues in order of total weighted votes from all regions were:

3. CULTURE

Participants from all regions said a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation needs to be developed within Australia if we are to create globally-relevant technology companies. Specific cultural themes that inhibited innovative entrepreneurship included: Australia’s natural modesty; the tall poppy syndrome; lack of forgiveness of business failure; aversion to risk taking; male dominance of the technology sector; little understanding of the impacts of technology on economies and culture; little understanding of the global role of technology innovation; default to ‘employeeship’ job rather than entrepreneurship; entrepreneurs thinking beyond local markets; and entrepreneurs having a boldness of ambition. While developing the culture of entrepreneurship and innovation within Australia comes in third on the ranking, in many ways it underpins the challenges faced within all the other issues discussed.

4. FUNDING INNOVATION

Across all regions access to early-stage funding ranked as a critical challenge for startups, the shortage of funding being particularly pronounced at the angel, seed and Series A stages - growth funding being more accessible due to the proven nature of the startups at this stage. Securing globally-comparable valuations for startups within SEQ at any stage is difficult and forces many startups to look for funding in the US or Europe.

5. GOVERNMENT POLICY

Startup entrepreneurs in both Brisbane and on the Gold Coast expressed concern at government policy that failed to facilitate innovation and entrepreneurship. While the Sunshine Coast was specifically focused on the government bringing basic broadband infrastructure to the region, Brisbane and the Gold Coast criticised policy at odds with global best practice, specifically employee share schemes; matched funding for innovation; and investment and R&D tax incentives. The lack of a clear, consistent and long term government agenda was seen as a serious impediment to increasing foreign VC investment in Australian startups, and a contributing factor in the flight of talent, companies and funds to foreign soil.

6. COLLABORATIVE NETWORKS

While many people see the startup sector as being extremely collaborative, participants within the sector understand the benefits of strong network ties and still see a great deal of work to be done to achieve a similar level of collaboration to global hubs such as Tel Aviv, Boulder and the San Francisco bay area. Increasing the breadth and depth of collaboration, along with financial support from government for key nodes was seen as critical to the continued growth of the ecosystem. Collaboration with international ecosystems, international markets, local universities, and big business was also called out as a key issue. Establishing both physical and digital centralised hubs was seen as critical in most regions.

River City Labs, Silicon Lakes, Sunshine Coast Innovation Centre and Startup Weekend events are superb examples of hubs that bring the community together.

1. RAISE AWARENESS

For the sector to grow and play a substantive role in the Australian economy there needs to be greater awareness of the startup ecosystem, the economic impact of high growth startups, and the impact of technology on the nation. Raising awareness is also a critical factor in most of the following issues - especially attracting investment, facilitating regulatory change, attracting greater participation in entrepreneurship, developing a national culture of high-growth entrepreneurship, and drawing more students to study the core STEM courses required for technology innovation. Participants identified celebrating the success of startups as a key issue for the growth of both the startup ecosystem and national economy.

2. EDUCATION FOR ALL

Across all regions education, in its varied forms (accelerator, mentoring, courses, etc.), is seen as critical to creating a vibrant ecosystem. On both sides of the table, participants in the ecosystem highlight both the dearth of suitably educated and experienced entrepreneurs, and on the other side, investors with very little understanding of the business models, global valuation norms and technology challenges associated with startups.

Workshop participants across all regions lamented the low number of Computer Science graduates and identified this as a critical long-term challenge.Entrepreneurs also spoke about the challenge in getting access to mentors with experience building global technology companies.

7. PROCURING LOCAL STARTUP TECHNOLOGY

Participants spoke about the challenges involved in securing contracts from both corporate buyers and government. To manage risk most government agencies and large corporates require substantial track record from their IT suppliers, making it difficult for new startups to displace incumbent technology providers.

8. ACCELERATE NBN ROLL-OUT

For participants within the Sunshine Coast ecosystem, access to fast broadband via the National Broadband Network (NBN) was seen as the most critical issue for the growth of the local startup community. Fast, easy access to digital infrastructure is critical to the growth of startups, and the poor quality of the local network leads to substantially reduced productivity.

9. TALENT & SKILLS

Building, attracting, and retaining talent was seen as a critical factor in growing the ecosystem. While the voting methodology only picked this up within the Brisbane and Sunshine coast regions, the state and country’s ‘brain drain’ came up within most interviews and workshops. The Gold Coast in particular suffers from a lack of talented designers, developers and technology entrepreneurs. Retaining a critical mass of developers, designers, data scientists, electronic engineers, angel investors, venture capitalists, and other technologists is critical to the sustained growth of any startup ecosystem. Participants also spoke about the need for a cultural shift, so that we come to accept, encourage and support the movement of ‘talent’ to global innovation hotspots as a good ‘right of passage’ for entrepreneurs, who then bring their skills, experience and connections back to the state at a later date.

10. LEADERSHIP

Within the Gold Coast region leadership was seen as a critical factor in driving engagement and participation. While this wasn’t articulated so clearly within other regions, communication and physical hubs were discussed for similar reasons.


Architecture

Publishing

Young Adult

Comics

Rock

People

Food

Webseries

Painting

Fiction

Live Games

Music

Illustration

Accessories

Pop

Design

Tabletop Games

Animation

Documentary

3D Printing

Technology

Product Design

Video Games

KICKSTARTER QLD

$1,076,266

$160,230

$137,829

$137,356

$61,825

$38,089

$37,859

$23,746

$20,660

$14,043

$10,246

$9,368

$7,528

$7,090

$6,225

$5,517

$5,325

$3,934

$3,115

$2,796

$2,506

$2,226

$2,040


Other Services


Communication




Agriculture


Retail Trade

Wholesale Trade





Manufacturing



Mining

Construction

01020304050607080 020406080100

Craft

Research

Technology

Journalism

Other

Food & Drink

Fashion

Video

Comics

Social Enterprise

Photography

Event

Art

Design

Writing

Community

Performance

Music

Film

POZIBLE

$316,574

$312,822

$180,488

$135,195

$107,652

$84,045

$71,791

$44,184

$40,532

$37,160

$30,360

$30,046

$24,849

$24,045

$12,226

$11,640

$5,737

$3,480

$160

2017201320122011

$1.5B $1.61B$2B

$3B

COMPUTER GAME SALES

Leadership

Talent & Skills

Infrastructure

Procurement


Government Policy

Funding

Culture

Education

Raise Awareness


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Advanced Robotics

3D Printing



Software (offline)




$108m

$14.2m

$1.5m

$1.0m

$1.0m

$0.1m

$0.1m

NBN Advocacy Group

Hub


Communication Hub

Attract Talent



Startup Apprentice


Education Program


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10


Corporate

Unknown

Accelerator

Crowdfunding

Government Grant

Angel Group

Individual Angel/s



Venture Capital

Private Equity


$46.9M

$20.2M

$19.6M

$15.6M

$10.9M

$5.1M

$4.3M

$1.4M

$0.9M

$0.8M

$0.2M

iLab

Screen Australia

Blackbird Ventures

Founders Forum

Kickstarter

ASSOB




Acorn Capital


AMMA


$46.5M

$19.6M

$16.8M

$3.5M

$3.0M

$2.8M

$2.3M

$1.3M

$1.2M

$1.2M

$0.7M

$0.6M


500000

1000000

1500000

2000000

2500000


Digital - Australia



FUNDING BY REGION

Region Unknown

Sunshine Coast

Gold Coast

Brisbane


0

3

6

9

12

15



0

300000

600000

900000

1200000

1500000 Brisbane

Northern Qld

Gold Coast

Sunshine Coast

Digital Queensland




30000000

35000000

201420132012201120102009

38

Issues Ranking based on Weighted Wkshp Votes

Percentage of Total Votes from the Region (unweighted)

Brisbane Sunshine Coast Gold Coast Interviews

Raise Awareness 1 26% 0% 2% 7%

Education 2 16% 10% 16% 24%

Culture 3 18% 11% 0% 2%

Funding 4 11% 10% 19% 24%

Government Policy 5 12% 0% 10% 2%

Collaboration & Networking 6 9% 10% 16% 24%

Procurement 7 7% 0% 0% 0%

Infrastructure 8 0% 39% 0% 3%

Talent & Skills 9 2% 20% 0% 0%

Leadership 10 0% 0% 17% 6%

TOP TEN COMMUNITY ISSUES BY REGION

39

1. Meeker, M, 2014. Internet Trends 2014 - Code Conference. KPCB (www.kpcb.com/internet-trends), Menlo Park. 2. eMarketer, 2014. Smartphone Users Worldwide Will Total 1.75 Billion in 2014. eMarketer (www.emarketer.com/Article/

Smartphone-Users-Worldwide-Will-Total-175-Billion-2014/1010536#sthash.8v2V3zzE.dpf), 3. Ibid.4. www.sciencemag.org/content/332/6025/605. The Internet of Things: How the Next Evolution of the Internet Is Changing Everything, April 2011, CISCO authored by Dave Evans.6. Global Top 100 Companies by Market Capitalisation, 31 March 2014, PWC. 7. www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/speeches/2000/20000407.htm8. A Snapshot of Australia’s Digital Future to 2050, IBIS World & IBM, Phil Ruthven, 9. Disruptive Technologies: Advances That Will Transform Life, Business, And The Global Economy, May 2013, McKinsey Institute10. Building the Lucky Country: Business imperatives for a prosperous Australia - Digital disruption Short fuse, big bang? September 2012, Deloitte Australia. For additional

information on the impact of digital technology on the Australian economy see: Mobile Nation: The Economic and Social Impacts of Mobile Technology, 2013, Deloitte.11. Enrico Moretti, 2012, The New Geography of Jobs12. State of Queensland (Department of Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts), Queensland Startup Summit Report, May 201413. PWC, 2013, The Startup Economy: How to Support Tech Startups and Accelerate Australian Innovation. PWC Sydney.14. Based upon the authors calculations using data from: Konczal, J, 2013. The Most Entrepreneurial Metropolitan Area? Kauffman Foundation. (http://

www.kauffman.org/~/media/kauffman_org/research%20reports%20and%20covers/2013/11/the%20most%20entrepreneurial%20metropolitan%20area.pdf) Hathaway, I, 2013. Tech Starts: High-Technology Business Formation and Job Creation in the United States. Kauffman Foundation. (http://www.kauffman.org/~/media/kauffman_org/research%20reports%20and%20covers/2013/08/bdstechstartsreport.pdf)

15. Kinner, C, 2014, Crossroads: an action plan to develop a vibrant tech startup ecosystem in Australia. StartupAus, Sydney. 16. Bravo-Biosca, A and Westlake, S, 2009. The vital 6 per cent: How high-growth innovative businesses generate prosperity and jobs. NESTA, London. 17. Future Fifty. www.futurefifty.com, accessed 10 June 2014.18. The Whitehouse. Startup America Commitments. The Whitehouse, (www.whitehouse.gov/economy/business/startup-america/commitments), accessed 2nd June 2014.19. Florida, R, 2012. The Rise of the Creative Class: Revisited. Basic Books. 20. CB Insights, 2013. It Takes $78 Million in Prior Funding for a Tech Company to IPO, and It’s Getting Bigger Every Year. Capital Efficiency? CBInsights.21. Tunguz, T, 2014, The Financing Trends Of Billion Dollar SaaS Companies. (www.tomtunguz.com/fundraising-history-saas-publics)22. Tunguz, T, 2014, How Much Cash Does Your Startup Need To Go Public? (http://tomtunguz.com/burn-rates-before-ipos/)23. This report’s estimates of funding distribution by company stage is based on aggregated data from the National Venture Capital Association’s “2014 Yearbook”

(www.nvca.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=257&Itemid=103), the Centre for Venture Research’s report “The Angel Investor Market in 2013: A Return to Seed Investing” (https://paulcollege.unh.edu/sites/paulcollege.unh.edu/files/2013%20Analysis%20Report%20FINAL.pdf), and EY’s 2013 report “Global Venture Capital Insights and Trends 2014” (http://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/Global_venture_capital_insights_and_trends_2014/$FILE/EY_Global_VC_insights_and_trends_report_2014.pdf#page=15), Right Side Capital’s “Historical Size of the US Angel Market” (http://www.rightsidecapital.com/assets/documents/HistoricalAngelSize.pdf), and NESTA’s “Siding with the Angels” (http://www.nesta.org.uk/sites/default/files/siding_with_the_angels.pdf). Both the NVCA and EY do not include angel funding within their breakdown of funding by company stage. To establish an estimate the report uses NVCA’s breakdown of software investment in 2013 in the USA ($20b across Seed Stage - 3%, Early Stage - 34%, Expansion Stage - 33%, and Later Stage - 30%), and incorporated CVR’s data on US software sector angel investment in 2013 ($5.7b), to get a breakdown across stages in 2013 of: Seed Stage - 21%, Early Stage - 29%, Expansion Stage - 27%, and Later Stage - 24%. The writers of this report note that measuring seed stage funding is particularly difficult and that numbers for dollar share of technology company funding range between <1% to 50% depending on data source and ecosystem cycles. For comparison CVR states that $22.9b was invested by ~268,000 angels in 67,000+ US companies in 2012, and NESTA estimates that between 4,000 to 6,000 angles invested up to €1 billion in 2000.

24. Kutcher, E, Nottebohm, O, and Sprague, K, 2014. Grow fast or die slow. McKinsey & Company(http://www.mckinsey.com/Insights/High_Tech_Telecoms_Internet/Grow_fast_or_die_slow)

25. Lee, A, 2013. Welcome To The Unicorn Club: Learning From Billion-Dollar Startups. Techcrunch (http://techcrunch.com/2013/11/02/welcome-to-the-unicorn-club/). 26. The Economist, 2012. What next for the start-up nation? The Economist (http://www.economist.com/node/21543151), Tel Aviv.27. Startupticker, 2012. Switzerland with the highest Venture Capital spending per capita. Startupticker (www.startupticker.

ch/en/news/january-2012/switzerland-with-the-highest-venture-capital-spend#.U8y5m4CSxMZ).28. Vilpponen, A, 2011. VC Per Capita: Europe $7, US $72, Israel $142. Arctic Startup (http://www.arcticstartup.com/2011/06/15/vc-per-capita-europe-7-us-72-israel-142).29. Data for the “Percentage of Queensland Gross State Product From Industry 2011-13” was provided by the

Department of Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts. Brisbane, July 2014.30. http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/Latestproducts/8679.0Explanatory%20Notes12011-

12?opendocument&tabname=Notes&prodno=8679.0&issue=2011-12&num=&view=31. Bond University, 2014. Digital Australia 14. Interactive Games & Entertainment Association (www.igea.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Digital-Australia-2014-DA14.pdf).32. Bajric, N, 2014. Next-gen consoles, digital sales driving Australian video games industry. PC World (www.pcworld.idg.com.

au/article/538151/next-gen_consoles_digital_sales_driving_australian_video_games_industry), Australia.33. Games Industry, 2013. Australian game industry sees $1.16 billion in sales in 2012 (www.gamesindustry.biz/

articles/2013-02-13-australian-game-industry-sees-USD1-16-billion-in-sales-in-2012), Australia.34. http://www.acs.org.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/28570/Australian-ICT-Statistical-Compendium-2013.pdf

REFERENCESEndnotes

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Paul Niederer

Matthew Ford

Steve Dalton

Sean Bunton

Aaron Birkby

Colin Kinner

Paul Jones

Wayne GerardJohn Passfield

Damien WallerSam Friend

Steven Baxter

Mark Paddenburg

Greg Searle

Richard Moore

Martin Mankowski

Gabriel Buckley

Danny Maher

Darren Herft

Paul Jansz

Claes Loberg

Elaine Stead

Bernie Woodcroft

ECOSYSTEMPeople

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AUTHORS Mike Kruger and Jonah Cacioppe - founders at Boundlss. Produced for and in partnership with the Queensland Department of Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts; Brisbane Marketing; the Sunshine Coast Council and City of Gold Coast. For a copy of the report visit: DSITIA (www.qld.gov.au/dsitia/reports), www.startupqld.org or www.boundlss.com/seq

south east queensland startup ecosystem report

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