- 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.
I'm wondering if it's got something to do with saturation on the demand side. I'm going to take a (roughly) economic angle...
When AdWords first launched, it wasn't (necessarily) a standard for online advertising, and especially for advertising generally. As more businesses consider it to be part of basic strategy, the cost of your bid goes up to remain profitable.
The previously obtained performance is the anomaly - it's a first-mover advantage on a new technology. You get more bang for your buck because you're making use of an asymmetry in the market-place.
The phenomenon that's occurring here is commoditisation - Adwords is well-known and well-used; it's a standard. The competitive advantage that comes from its use has finished.
That menu on the side of the screen seemed to disappear once I logged in, but it's coming back intermittently. I'd say it's a change coming for good, but it's still transitioning in.
- 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.