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by capnfabs 3846 days ago
Also an Australian, working in tech.

- There is a lot of good CS talent coming out of Australian universities. Lots goes to the Bay Area, some work at Google, Atlassian, Canva (in Sydney at least).

- As others have commented, it seems that there's less useless stuff with unrealistic projections that gets built in Australia. I'm not sure if it's because Australian culture has a strong dose of cynicism (which also probably contributes to some of the remarks in this blog) or because the landscape is indeed bad enough that only the really good startups can survive.

- There are some Australian policies that work pretty well in favour of getting individual startups off the ground. Policies that help startups get off the ground include study assistance (~AUD 200 week from government whilst studying, means tested), a similar unemployment support program, and subsidised universities. These only contribute to the success of individuals, however, they're not good for building an ecosystem.

- I've heard of a number of Australians travelling SE Asia and trying to get their v1 built from there. The internet is much better and your burn rate is much lower. Plus, the breadth of experience is probably good if you're trying to start something with international longevity.