The Documentary: Part 2

The History of the Australian Startup Ecosystem: Documentary

Episode 2 begins in the aftermath of the dot com bust. We explore the story of LookSmart through the lens of its co-founder, Evan Thornley and the tough choices he had to make. Up until this point, founders largely worked in isolation, however, they began to meet up more frequently after the bust, often in pubs or cafes, thanks to community groups like Innovation Bay. Conferences such as TinSHED and Web Directions would shine a spotlight on the fledgling startup ecosystem. We tell the story of some of Australia's first high growth startups in the early 2000s. The likes of Atlassian in 2003, Campaign Monitor in 2004, Red Bubble in 2006 and many more. Startup infrastructure followed shortly after and we saw the country's first incubators, accelerators and co-working spaces emerge.

Just as things were finally looking up, another economic crisis had gripped the world once again. The Global Financial Crisis in 2008 undoubtedly caused a lot of grief, however, Australia was spared the worst of it. We highlight how the GFC held some unexpected benefits for Australian startups. As the end of the decade approached, new inventions like smartphones and social media and the mainstream adoption of Wi-Fi would come to touch every aspect of our lives, laying the foundation for a new wave of Australian startups - some of the most disruptive that Australia and the world would come to see.

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