Innovation: young entrepreneurs hail ‘a game-changer’

Start-ups have finally got their moment in the sun, with young entrepreneurs welcoming new policy settings as a game-changer.

7/12/2015 - Bridget Loudon is the CEO of EXPERT360, a start-up that offers consulting talent on demand which she runs from a shared office space in Sydney's CBD. If you have a small business you can hire a consultant with a couple of clicks. The Turnbull government has today announced new tax incentives and additional funding to promote women in technology. Hollie Adams/ The Australian

Start-ups have finally got their moment in the sun, with young entrepreneurs welcoming the new policy settings as a game-changer.

The tax incentives on offer, particularly the 20 per cent non-­refundable tax offset on invest­ments, have won praise, although some entrepreneurs, such as Expert360 chief executive Bridget Loudon, said the government should consider backdating them.

“If we don’t, we not only risk but will see an instant drought of angel capital in Australia as investors wait for tax-deductible legislation and this would be an issue,” she said.

Ms Loudon also supported the $13 million extra funding for women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, adding she had one female developer out of a team of six, and that developer was from San Francisco.

“Scientists, logicians (and) engineers will be the future changemakers so it’s important to make sure we’re growing a gender-­balanced group of bright, ethical, Australian leaders in that space,” Ms Loudon told The Australian. Currently, fewer than one in 10 ­engineering graduates are women, according to the government.

Kris Howard, engineering co-ordinator at one of Australia’s fastest growing start-ups Canva, said building a pipeline of future innovators and entrepreneurs was critical. “We should be encouraging entrepreneurs and investors to go for it, but if we can’t inspire thousands more girls and boys to become developers, we’ll lack the engine to make innovative ideas take off and become world-leading companies,” she said.

With the government outlining plan to introduce a new visa system for entrepreneurs to stem existing skills shortages, Melbourne-based rostering software start-up Ento’s sales and marketing director Chris Power said the changes would provide much needed relief to the sector. “Hiring talented people is our No 1 problem,” he said.

“There aren’t many people in Australia who’ve got experience working in high-growth technology businesses — if we can capture some talent from overseas, they will help educate and nurture future Australian talent on global best practices.

“This will incentivise more Australian start-ups to stay here.”

Global technology firm SAP’s local managing director John Ruthven, who used to run a start-up in the Bay Area in California, said tax breaks are one of a raft of measures needed to make investing in start-ups an attractive proposition, and a focus on talent and information and communication technology skills was crucial to the success of the innovation agenda.

“There is a paradox within Australian society: while youth unemployment rises, so does demand for ICT skills. As technology’s influence across all walks of life continues to grow, it’s critical we work to address our ­nation’s ICT skills shortage,” he said.

Meanwhile, Annie Parker, the head of Telstra’s start-up accelerator, muru-D, said Malcolm Turnbull and Christopher Pyne had presented “an excellent overall ­vision for the country”.

“This is day one of Australia’s innovation future — but we need patience, it will take 10 years of sustained effort to see results,” she said. “We must do the work ­regardless of how the economy is performing.”

One key aspect of the policy, highlighted by Mr Turnbull at the launch, is to initiate a shift in how the broader market perceives the start-up sector. According to invoice2go’s founder and chief executive Chris Strode, ushering in this cultural change is perhaps the most ambitious piece of the entire policy.

“It’s refreshing to see the government addressing and trying to shake the fear of failure that’s always been inherent in our culture, it’s a long overdue shift in mentality,” Mr Strode said.

“We’re now saying to people, give it a try, and if it doesn’t work out, try again.”

He joined his peers in the community to praise the emphasis on encouraging digital literacy and STEM skills.

“Software is taking over the world, and if you teach everyone from year four how to write code, it will significantly change our future. Giving people a taste while they’re still young, before they’re afraid of the industry, means we’d have more people passionate about it and contributing to innovation.”