Shared Learnings
2013, The Year of the Lean Enterprise?
It looks like I'm a few days late to proclaim 2013 the year for Southeast Asia startups. Props to my old colleague Michael Smith and Asia's best tech writer Jon Russell for nailing that, and yes of course I agree wholeheartedly. That's why we're here! But while we're...
read morePitch Clinic with Tyler Crowley
Pitching is the secret weapon of all great entrepreneurs. It’s something that must be sharpened and improved for a startup to win. And increasingly the bar gets higher. Pitching events train competing founders to deliver increasingly entertaining, compelling stories...
read morePollenizer’s ‘Pixar Pitch’
Daniel H. Pink has suggested some new patterns for pitching. I had a go at Pollenizer's Pixar Pitch. Once upon a time there was a tribe of people who lived in a place faraway called Australia. Every day they dreamed of starting a company of their own. To change the...
read moreCables are still geeky cool, for me
Yes, I'm a wifi guy, but I just moved home and have cabled up the house with CAT 6. (I asked for CAT 5 which shows how long it's been....) Cables are going from the router by my desk to; My wifes iMac Our main TV Wifi is great but there is still nothing as reliable...
read moreSydney’s Founder Institute program calls for startup applicants
The Sydney arm of the global Founder Institute startup accelerator and network is calling for applications for its upcoming program, which steps founders through the process of developing a startup; finding a market, testing a business model, and areas such as...
read moreStartups are cool. Sustainable businesses are cooler
Startups are exciting. The thrill of building something from nothing, people actually using something that you've created and (hopefully) paying you money for it! It can get slightly addictive. Startups are cool, no doubt! But, your main goal is always to progress...
read moreThe Pollenizer Model Evolves > Co-Founder Pods
In December, I shared some Long Thoughts for 2013 on what we learned last year at Pollenizer. One flearn was that agencies can’t build startups. Here’s some of what I said: Agencies can’t build startups – the need for a ‘burning platform’ We founded Pollenizer with...
read moreLeading Leaders
We are trying a new approach at Pollenizer, inspired by L.David Marquet in his book Turn This Ship Around. Instead of asking permission, say "I intend to..." Think about what should be done. Communicate that you are about to do it. Answer any qualifying questions....
read moreAustralian ESOPs don’t just have to be possible, they have to be simple
Pollenizer's Mick Liubinskas is agitating for change to the way the Australian Tax Office treats ESOPs (Employee Share Option Plans). Deloitte and Norton Rose are on the case, and it's one of the issues you've told us you'd like to see worked on by the next Federal...
read moreShare Options In Australia
There has been a bit of noise lately about share options in Australia and Niki and I have been chatting on Twitter about it. The summary of the problem is that if you've got a startup with some value and you offer options to an employee or advisor then they need to...
read moreWhy storytelling matters
In the early 20th century American writer Ernest Hemingway made a bet with a friend who told him he couldn't write a story in under ten words. It's impossible, they said. Not one to give in, Hemingway came back with this one-line tale: For sale: baby shoes, never worn...
read moreSilicon Valley founder on world startup tour, but does it actually help Australian startups?
Enter Sydney's Fishburners co-working space from peak-hour Harris Street any night of the week, and it seems there's another networking event or startup talk. Head to ATP, Pollenizer, BlueChilli, or a handful of Sydney's pubs and you'll find others too. As a founder,...
read more