Aconex co-founder Robert Phillpot has spoken publicly for the first time since the $1.6 billion sale of his construction software business – urging founders to be careful about taking on debt funding and to enjoy the chaos of being a start-up.

Reflecting on what he would do differently if he had his time again building Aconex, which was bought by global tech giant Oracle this year, Mr Phillpot told LaunchVic's Yeah Nah start-up conference on Friday that his company had come close to collapse after taking on a loan.