Lunch led to Atlassian spending $577m on Trello and saw Michael Pryor join team

Paul SmithTechnology editor

Updated Jul 17, 2017 – 3.22pm, first published at 10.00am

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When well-respected US tech entrepreneur Michael Pryor received an email lunch invite out of the blue from Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes last November, he immediately sensed something big was in the offing.

Pryor had been a long-time rival of Australia's favourite tech export through Fog Creek Software, a firm he co-founded in 2000, and he was now leading a start-up success story in Trello, which Fog Creek had spun out in 2014. He knew and respected Cannon-Brookes but sensed his breezy email requesting a chat, really signalled the first steps of a buyout dance.

Paul Smith edits the technology coverage and has been a leading writer on the sector for 20 years. He covers big tech, business use of tech, the fast-growing Australian tech industry and start-ups, telecommunications and national innovation policy.