A new report from Curtin University has found that while entrepreneurship in Australia is on the rise, most early-stage startups struggle for funding.
Reasons given include:
- poor product-market fit
- underdeveloped pitches
- lack of traction
- investors with little experience
The report does not blame startup founders or investors necessarily, but rather it’s something that tends to come with the territory.
Startups are hard.
However, more ‘evolved’ tech centres in other corners of the globe tend to have more and greater support structures that can be accessed by early-stage businesses.
Consequently, the report make five main general recommendations for the local startup scene:
- A roadmap of what the innovation journey would look like
- Support for effective decision-making at all stages
- Efficient access to resources as required
- A supportive peer group
- Access to funds when required
Governments and businesses can help in this regard, filling the gaps and encouraging the right environment where the market fails to deliver everything what is needed.
For example, in the case of procurement, a government marketplace for required solutions, services and products could attract ideas from local tech startups. The government gets answers to its problems, and the startups get their first customer.
Ministry of Data and various govhacks have already trialled this successfully.
Private businesses and corporates could do likewise. Perth-based Storekat won a London-based accelerator program that was backed by a 100-year old logistics firm Wincanton. The company invested in Storekat, and together they developed and then commercialised the OneVAST Warehouse system in the UK and Ireland.
Why not do this here?
As the report concludes:
“Australia has much to be proud of regarding entrepreneurship and innovation. Yet, there are clear gaps and opportunities that need to be filled and built on.” The report hopes “it has provided insight into the current state and has mapped out a pathway to the future.”
You can read the report on the Curtin website.
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Curtin is a sponsor of Startup News.
