[seaneking]

Depends how you define success. Can't beat Silicon Valley for investment opportunity, but by the same token as others have said its not all about getting funded as fast and highly as possible. If you can reach your customers from where you are then you can grow from where you are. Take for eg: Aus/NZ (where I'm operating), certainly not renowned for VC activity, yet has it's share of very successful startups (Xero, Canva, Atlassian, etc.)

[PebblesHD]

On a personal level, how do you maintain your business here in Sydney given the costs associated. Compared to other places like London and San Francisco, Australia is expensive, the internet is slow, the government is not particularly technologically minded, i'm not really seeing any reason to stay?

[seaneking]

Well on a personal level, I really love living in Australia (in melbourne btw), so I stay. But to answer the other points - in a straight comparison to SF yes it's expensive, but wages are also good so it tends to even out. Internet speeds are a joke, but most commercial buildings and all co-working spaces have 100mb cable, so it's a non-issue for work. As for the government, well, "not particularly technologically minded" is about the kindest thing you could say about the current party, but it's not a factor in my day-to-day work, and not enough reason for me to pack up and leave the country.