It makes sense that Australia deals with Asia; four of our country’s top five trade partners are in Asia, where iron ore, coal and gold dominate. Most Asian countries are still developing and are building infrastructure. Australia provides the raw materials to quench their demand. Proximity doesn’t hurt either, even in today’s world in which inefficiencies in people, product and information exchange are rapidly diminishing. What doesn’t make sense is the our country’s lack of exploration into new frontiers.
A very prominent Australian executive affiliated with one of the country’s top universities recently said to me that “Australia is and will always be a country that digs stuff out of the ground.” To that, I say bullshit. This same university I would estimate to have the majority of its enrollees from Asia, including students from China, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and India. What a platform! What a chance at a 2-way highway! Sure, there are some initiatives underway, but this should be a top priority. I’m not saying that Australia doesn’t punch above its weight. It does. But it will always need to. This is the standard, the average. The truly innovative countries just don’t say, “We’re happy with being better than what people expect.” They say, “We’re going to lead the world into a new era”. Think about Australia’s talent pool and capital pool (Australia’s superannuation system can be measured as the 4th largest asset pool in the world) that can be used as a slingshot to a massive market right on its doorstep.
Im also not saying that Australia isn’t innovative. We are constantly ranked highly in global innovative ‘lists’ for whatever that is worth. There has been some great examples of companies that have taken on the world- BHP, Cochlear, Macquarie Bank immediately come to mind. And new companies such as Atlassian, BigCommerce, 99Designs, Freelancer and others are an emerging group that should be applauded. I’m all in favor for Aussie entrepreneurs making the migration to Silicon Valley and NYC. I don’t believe in the concept of “brain drain.” I believe in promoting these overseas success stories that end up looping back to Australia and reinforcing the entrepreneurial community and spirit that shout out, “Follow me.” The more Australians we have dominating overseas, the better.
What I’m saying is that Australia with its commodity safety net should push and push to be a leader, not a follower. Our resources should be used as a springboard. Not resting on our laurels. Here are some thoughts on how:
1) Government needs to play the long game. Investing now for the future. We need a government that leads for legacy rather than term re-election. Ten years ago there was a minimal venture and entrepreneurship presence in NYC. Mayor Bloomberg’s term established a platform primarily focused on convening great minds and talents. “Build it and they will come” was the mindset. It was not just capital, but real estate, spaces, summits and conferences, university and colleges. The city will reap the massive benefits through next decade. Bloomberg is not in office anymore, but his legacy remains.
2) We as a collective need to understand this is a long game. As a community we need to know that immediate returns won’t be visible, often there won’t be hard metrics, and dividends will take time. It’s the premiership 20 years down the road that we’re playing for and once we’ve won, the idea is to not let go. Our children will thank us.
3) We need to think big. In the U.S., entire industries from manufacturing to commerce to healthcare to communications are being disrupted and hacked. Boundaries are being pushed in robotics, unmanned systems, drones, space and satellites, machine learning, microbiome, synthetic biology, 3D printing, wearable technologies, and more. We have strong industries in life sciences and engineering, but these have been our staple and we are short in the technology economy of the future. What are we doing in these new frontiers? Are we really turning the world upside down?
4) We need to take more risk. We need to demonstrate a higher risk tolerance. Things will fail; that’s how we learn. There needs to be incentivization for individuals and funds to invest in the future. We need to get away from playing it safe.
Other countries are charging into the unknown with nothing more than the question,“What if…?” Societies are moving- things are changing, and changing quickly. My wish is for Australia not to be left behind. The excuse of being too far away is not valid any more. So c’mon mates, it’s time to get moving!
Email me when Lux Capital publishes or recommends stories