Startup West

We talk with Jemma Iles, who has been working in, and promoting, innovation across various industries including local and state government for the past 20 years. Jemma is also one of the people bringing the new ‘Australian Innovation Management Institute’ (AIMI) to Australia. How can governments and corporates best innovate? What can they learn from startups? How can governments and corporates best assist startups and the local innovation ecosystem? “I’d love to see more public sector officers in the startup ecosystem. I think there’s lots to learn, and probably one of the biggest things I learnt in my roles in government was spending listening to the challenges that startups face, and being able to find a pathway to help them to access grants and funding, or just support, to bring their businesses to life.” ~ Jemma Iles For more: https://aiminstitute.org.au and https://thelightboxgroup.com.au ~ Co-hosts: Danelle Cross (Curtin University) and Chris Tan (Spacecubed). Startup West is recorded at Riff studios in beautiful downtown Perth, Western Australia; produced by Startup News, edited by Carmen Yee Kai Wen and brought to you thanks to support from Spacecubed, Curtin University, RSM, the City of Perth and Tekkon. Startup West acknowledges the Whadjuk Nyoongar people, traditional owners of the lands and waters of Perth, where this podcast was recorded, and pays respects to Elders past, present and emerging.

Australia’s number 1 startup podcast (1) talks with serial app entrepreneur, award-winning founder and all-round nice guy Stuart Kidd. When one startup is not enough, how about four or five? Originally from the UK, Stuart arrived in Australia aged 10, then went back to work there after school, developing his eye for design, tech and online businesses. Back in Perth, he set up Apps People, an app development business, and has launched multiple app businesses over the past few years. Last year, he was voted Startup News Most Admired Startup Founder, and in this episode he shares a lot from his journey and multiple startups. “… Sometimes you have to say to yourself 'Hey, this stuff I can do by myself, this stuff I can't do at all, I need people on board'. It's not just about collaborating, it's about understanding your business better, and understanding where your skills are, and where your skills can be better focussed.” ~ Stuart Kidd. For more: https://foodybag.com.au, https://www.blezz.co, https://www.familia.app, http://www.everythere.com.au ~ (1) Feedspot Ranking of Australian Startup podcasts: https://podcasts.feedspot.com/australian_startup_podcasts/ Startup West is recorded at Riff studios in beautiful downtown Perth, Western Australia; produced by Startup News, edited by Carmen Yee Kai Wen and brought to you thanks to support from Spacecubed, Curtin University, RSM, the City of Perth and Tekkon. Startup West acknowledges the Whadjuk Nyoongar people, traditional owners of the lands and waters of Perth, where this podcast was recorded, and pays respects to Elders past, present and emerging.

Australia’s number 1 startup podcast (1) talks with the CEO of tech recruiting firm Valrose and co-Chair of Women in Tech WA (WiTWA), Tina Ambrose. Growing up in west London, she took on various jobs, found herself homeless at one stage, then later made “the best decision in [her] life” to move to Perth, Western Australia. Working in recruitment, she devised and then set up her own company, and also champions women in technology through her work with WiTWA. “ If I knew then what I know now, would I have started?! There’s a lot of challenges you face. And the answer is yes, absolutely …” ~ Tina Ambrose. For more: https://valrose.com.au/ ~ Startup West is recorded at Riff studios in beautiful downtown Perth, Western Australia; produced by Startup News, edited by Carmen Yee Kai Wen and brought to you thanks to support from Spacecubed, Curtin University, RSM, the City of Perth and Tekkon. Startup West acknowledges the Whadjuk Nyoongar people, traditional owners of the lands and waters of Perth, where this podcast was recorded, and pays respects to Elders past, present and emerging. (1) Feedspot Ranking of Australian Startup podcasts: https://podcasts.feedspot.com/australian_startup_podcasts/

Australia’s number 1 startup podcast (1) talks with two of Veintech's co-founders, Nick Buckley and Nik Bappoo, who with a team of 10 are developing a handheld unit that visualises veins to make cannulation (drawing blood) easier. It’s a disturbing fact that the standard ‘miss rate’ for cannulations is around 40%, incredibly high. Once you miss twice, you have to call for help. Set up in 2020, the medtech company closed a seed round last year, won an Accelerating Commercialisation grant, and is moving towards clinical trials. “ No matter how far you get along this journey, it is that vision you define in the early days … often that’s something that’s skipped. It’s often seen as ‘fluffy’, … we were lucky as we got forced to do it through accelerators. ” ~ Nik Bappoo. For more: https://www.veintech.com.au ~ Startup West is recorded at Riff studios in beautiful downtown Perth, Western Australia; produced by Startup News, edited by Carmen Yee Kai Wen and brought to you thanks to support from Spacecubed, Curtin University, RSM, the City of Perth and Tekkon. Startup West acknowledges the Whadjuk Nyoongar people, traditional owners of the lands and waters of Perth, where this podcast was recorded, and pays respects to Elders past, present and emerging. (1) Feedspot Ranking of Australian Startup podcasts: https://podcasts.feedspot.com/australian_startup_podcasts/

For our 100th episode, a real treat: we speak with the inspirational Professor Fiona Wood AM, who with research partner Marie Stoner invented spray-on skin, ‘ReCell’, made famous after the Bali Bombings, for which she was made Australian of the Year in 2005. Growing up in the north of England, the daughter of a fifth-generation coalminer, the self-confessed “sporty nerd” moved to London to study medicine. Emigrating to Western Australia in the '80s, she became the state's first female plastic surgeon, and in the 1990s pioneered the ReCell technology that would greatly reduce permanent scarring in burns victims. She continues to work perfecting the technique, as director of the Royal Perth Hospital burns unit and the Western Australia Burns Service, and inspire the next generation of innovators. “ It’s hard. It’s a long road. So you have to have that passion and belief. So it’s really worth interrogating that idea, roughing it up a bit, moulding it, shaping it, so that when you go to the table, you know it inside out, and you believe in it…” ~ Fiona Wood. For more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiona_Wood ~ Startup West is recorded at Riff studios in beautiful downtown Perth, Western Australia; produced by Startup News, edited by Carmen Yee Kai Wen and brought to you thanks to support from Spacecubed, Curtin University, RSM, the City of Perth and Tekkon. Startup West acknowledges the Whadjuk Nyoongar people, traditional owners of the lands and waters of Perth, where this podcast was recorded, and pays respects to Elders past, present and emerging.

Australia's number 1 startup podcast talks with former Western Australian of the Year, Bourby Webster, founder of the Perth Symphony Orchestra, who recently stepped away from the CEO role, after 13 years. Growing up in the English countryside, she was exposed to orchestral music from a young age, played viola, and went to Oxford University, where she also got into rowing as a coxswain. Moving to Perth, she did an MBA, worked for an engineering firm, and wondered why there was only one symphony orchestra whereas in Manchester, England - with less than a third of Perth's population - there are four. Setting up an orchestra - with its insanely hard business model - was tough. She received no government funding for ten years, and had to sell out every concert just to survive. ‘The orchestra that breaks the rules’ plays everything from Nirvana to INXS to Mozart to Chopin, and is intent on ‘taking music to the people’. "My way of growing the orchestra was to go and speak to as many mayors and CEOs of local governments, and I identified a market of 139 shires in WA, all of whom could use music as a way to connect their community." ~ Bourby Webster For more: https://perthsymphony.com and https://www.bourbywebster.com ~ Startup West acknowledges the Whadjuk Nyoongar people, traditional owners of the lands and waters of Perth, where this podcast was recorded, and pays respects to Elders past, present and emerging. Startup West is recorded at Riff studios in beautiful downtown Perth, Western Australia; produced by Startup News, edited by Carmen Yee Kai Wen and brought to you thanks to support from Spacecubed, Curtin University, RSM, the City of Perth and Tekkon.

Chris and Steve talk with Dr Mehdi Ravanbakhsh, co-founder of two AI startups – the 7-year-old data analytics and AI company MapIzy and the brand-new cryptocurrency platform, CryptoCrispy. Originally from Iran, with a PhD from the Leibniz University of Hanover, Germany, and 20 years’ experience as an academic, Mehdi moved to Melbourne for his postdoc, then to Perth as an associate professor at the University of Western Australia. Fascinated by the power of AI, he quit his job to set up MapIzy in 2015, winning contracts with Airbus and Toyota. Once the company was “in a good shape”, he set up CryptoCrispy in 2022, where he aims to improve crypto trading with AI, empowering smarter and easier trading. “ If you’re interested in our innovation or solution, come and talk to us. We have an excellent track record, and we can empower people and organisations in many ways. ” ~ Mehdi Ravanbakhsh. For more: https://mapizy.com/ and https://cryptocrispy.com.au/ ~ * OFFER from sponsor Dinner Twist for Startup West listeners in Perth: so you can focus on creating the next unicorn, let Dinner Twist worry about dinner. Here is $30 off your first box. Enter SW30 at the checkout. Go to www.dinnertwist.com.au to enjoy * Startup West is recorded at Riff studios in beautiful downtown Perth, Western Australia; produced by Startup News, edited by Carmen Yee Kai Wen and brought to you thanks to support from Spacecubed, Curtin University, RSM, the City of Perth, Dinner Twist and Tekkon. Startup West acknowledges the Whadjuk Nyoongar people, traditional owners of the lands and waters of Perth, where this podcast was recorded, and pays respects to Elders past, present and emerging.

Danelle and Chris talk with Nic Terpkos, co-founder and CEO of seasonal jobs site, Waytree. Set up five years ago, the fledgling business had to weave around the COVID pandemic to provide a service to seasonal farmers where back packing part time workers were very thin on the ground. Starting out as an engineer, Nic worked part-time on the startup until he and his two friends and co-founders (James Dernie and Harry Lowther) could quit work and go full-time. Established in Western Australia, the site is growing most in Queensland and NSW, and also in WA. “ I recommend getting passionate co-founders. This a long journey, and you need to have people with you who share the same values, who you can lean on, (with) different skill sets.” ~ Nic Terpkos. For more: https://waytree.com/ ~ * OFFER from sponsor Dinner Twist for Startup West listeners in Perth: so you can focus on creating the next unicorn, let Dinner Twist worry about dinner. Here is $30 off your first box. Enter SW30 at the checkout. Go to www.dinnertwist.com.au to enjoy * Startup West is recorded at Riff studios in beautiful downtown Perth, Western Australia; produced by Startup News, edited by Carmen Yee Kai Wen and brought to you thanks to support from Spacecubed, Curtin University, RSM, the City of Perth, Dinner Twist and Tekkon. Startup West acknowledges the Whadjuk Nyoongar people, traditional owners of the lands and waters of Perth, where this podcast was recorded, and pays respects to Elders past, present and emerging.