Interview: These are the top startups in Australia in 2023

1
00:00:03,870 –> 00:00:06,960
Jennifer Duke: Welcome to the Fear and Greed Business Interview. I’m Jennifer

2
00:00:06,960 –> 00:00:12,000
Jennifer Duke: Duke, every year professional networking platform LinkedIn assesses the startup

3
00:00:12,000 –> 00:00:16,018
Jennifer Duke: scene in Australia to produce its Top Startups list. It’s

4
00:00:16,020 –> 00:00:18,780
Jennifer Duke: a guide to which startups are attracting the most attention

5
00:00:18,989 –> 00:00:21,690
Jennifer Duke: and luring top talent to work with them. And this

6
00:00:21,690 –> 00:00:25,590
Jennifer Duke: year’s study contains some really interesting findings, suggesting that despite,

7
00:00:25,829 –> 00:00:28,679
Jennifer Duke: or perhaps even because of the economic downturn, there’s a

8
00:00:28,679 –> 00:00:32,848
Jennifer Duke: vibrant startup ecosystem in Australia. Cayla Dengate is LinkedIn Australia’s

9
00:00:32,848 –> 00:00:35,070
Jennifer Duke: career expert. Cayla, welcome to Fear and Greed.

10
00:00:35,639 –> 00:00:37,020
Cayla Dengate: It’s wonderful to be here.

11
00:00:37,710 –> 00:00:41,010
Jennifer Duke: So firstly, great list, great startups on it. How do

12
00:00:41,010 –> 00:00:42,780
Jennifer Duke: you go about putting a list like that together?

13
00:00:43,920 –> 00:00:47,159
Cayla Dengate: Luckily, it’s data-driven, which means that we’re not making any

14
00:00:47,159 –> 00:00:50,400
Cayla Dengate: judgment calls about these startups. So we get to use

15
00:00:50,400 –> 00:00:54,149
Cayla Dengate: all of LinkedIn’s data to see the startups that really

16
00:00:54,150 –> 00:00:57,570
Cayla Dengate: are attracting the top talent that people are interested in

17
00:00:57,570 –> 00:01:02,099
Cayla Dengate: working for, that are experiencing growth. And putting the list

18
00:01:02,099 –> 00:01:04,920
Cayla Dengate: together every year is always so exciting for us because

19
00:01:04,920 –> 00:01:07,139
Cayla Dengate: we don’t know who’s going to top the list until

20
00:01:07,139 –> 00:01:10,199
Cayla Dengate: we see the data. And looking at this year’s list,

21
00:01:10,650 –> 00:01:13,650
Cayla Dengate: it’s an especially exciting list because the majority of the

22
00:01:13,650 –> 00:01:17,459
Cayla Dengate: top startups featured this year are new entrants, which we

23
00:01:17,459 –> 00:01:18,509
Cayla Dengate: find really interesting.

24
00:01:18,959 –> 00:01:21,089
Jennifer Duke: I find that really interesting too. Why do you think

25
00:01:21,090 –> 00:01:22,739
Jennifer Duke: that is and what does that tell us about the

26
00:01:22,740 –> 00:01:24,420
Jennifer Duke: startup scene in Australia right now?

27
00:01:25,139 –> 00:01:28,830
Cayla Dengate: Well, we have this cutoff of what we consider a startup.

28
00:01:28,830 –> 00:01:31,650
Cayla Dengate: So if a company is over five years old, they

29
00:01:31,650 –> 00:01:34,140
Cayla Dengate: kind of graduate out of what we consider to be

30
00:01:34,140 –> 00:01:37,770
Cayla Dengate: a startup. And the wonderful thing about this year’s data

31
00:01:38,069 –> 00:01:40,440
Cayla Dengate: is we saw that a lot of our top startups

32
00:01:40,440 –> 00:01:44,640
Cayla Dengate: from previous years have actually graduated. They’ve either gotten too big,

33
00:01:44,700 –> 00:01:47,789
Cayla Dengate: in that they have more than 50 staff, or they

34
00:01:47,789 –> 00:01:50,280
Cayla Dengate: have existed for more than five years. So there’s this

35
00:01:50,280 –> 00:01:53,910
Cayla Dengate: really nice idea of graduation and that there’s new startups

36
00:01:53,910 –> 00:01:56,550
Cayla Dengate: coming to take the place, take that niche in the

37
00:01:56,550 –> 00:02:00,119
Cayla Dengate: ecosystem is really nice. I think from a broad scale,

38
00:02:00,360 –> 00:02:05,249
Cayla Dengate: we’re seeing that after COVID-19, and I guess that sense of

39
00:02:05,250 –> 00:02:08,970
Cayla Dengate: getting back to normal and businesses looking to grow and

40
00:02:08,970 –> 00:02:12,630
Cayla Dengate: thrive in this changing environment, these are the success stories.

41
00:02:12,660 –> 00:02:16,169
Cayla Dengate: These are the startups that really are growing and putting

42
00:02:16,169 –> 00:02:19,828
Cayla Dengate: on more staff and really finding success here in Australia.

43
00:02:20,639 –> 00:02:22,169
Jennifer Duke: And I want to talk a little bit about those

44
00:02:22,169 –> 00:02:26,070
Jennifer Duke: changes right now because obviously, the economy has been tricky

45
00:02:26,070 –> 00:02:29,280
Jennifer Duke: this year, we’ve had high inflation, higher interest rates. What

46
00:02:29,280 –> 00:02:31,740
Jennifer Duke: is it about these startups that’s enabled them to weather

47
00:02:31,740 –> 00:02:32,760
Jennifer Duke: through those changes?

48
00:02:33,750 –> 00:02:38,549
Cayla Dengate: Great question. So we’re definitely seeing some trends across Australia

49
00:02:38,549 –> 00:02:41,850
Cayla Dengate: in the startups that are really finding that VC funding

50
00:02:41,850 –> 00:02:47,010
Cayla Dengate: and finding their feet despite difficult circumstances. And we’re certainly

51
00:02:47,010 –> 00:02:53,340
Cayla Dengate: seeing that sustainability, AI, and healthcare are three industries that

52
00:02:53,340 –> 00:02:57,000
Cayla Dengate: really are bucking those trends and finding that VC funding

53
00:02:57,000 –> 00:02:59,429
Cayla Dengate: to grow early on in that startup phase.

54
00:02:59,969 –> 00:03:02,430
Jennifer Duke: Definitely. Let’s get into this list, because I was going

55
00:03:02,430 –> 00:03:03,720
Jennifer Duke: to leave it to a little bit later, but I

56
00:03:03,720 –> 00:03:05,520
Jennifer Duke: really want to get to some of the companies that

57
00:03:05,520 –> 00:03:08,760
Jennifer Duke: are on there. Any surprises that you were particularly excited about?

58
00:03:09,630 –> 00:03:12,690
Cayla Dengate: I really was interested in some of the healthcare startups.

59
00:03:12,690 –> 00:03:15,690
Cayla Dengate: That was an area that really interested me. So in

60
00:03:15,690 –> 00:03:19,679
Cayla Dengate: the number two spot, we’ve got Harrison.ai that uses AI

61
00:03:19,680 –> 00:03:24,930
Cayla Dengate: in diagnostics. Also, in the healthcare space we’ve got Montu,

62
00:03:24,960 –> 00:03:28,620
Cayla Dengate: which does cannabis prescription, and also a few other health-related

63
00:03:28,950 –> 00:03:33,480
Cayla Dengate: startups that work with the NDIS providers. And while we’re

64
00:03:33,480 –> 00:03:36,119
Cayla Dengate: talking about healthcare, here’s a quirky one, one of the

65
00:03:36,120 –> 00:03:39,150
Cayla Dengate: startups that made the list this year is Lyka, which

66
00:03:39,150 –> 00:03:44,520
Cayla Dengate: is prescription pet food, so healthcare, but for your loved pets, yeah.

67
00:03:44,790 –> 00:03:47,969
Jennifer Duke: I love it. That’s amazing. I did also like the

68
00:03:47,969 –> 00:03:49,799
Jennifer Duke: one, I think this one called Carma on there. Can

69
00:03:49,799 –> 00:03:51,269
Jennifer Duke: you tell us about that business a little bit?

70
00:03:51,870 –> 00:03:54,360
Cayla Dengate: Yeah, Carma is a really interesting one for me because

71
00:03:54,360 –> 00:03:58,050
Cayla Dengate: it’s a digital used car dealership. So that might not

72
00:03:58,050 –> 00:04:00,090
Cayla Dengate: be what you think about when you think of startups,

73
00:04:00,180 –> 00:04:04,109
Cayla Dengate: but it is experiencing great growth. It’s putting on new

74
00:04:04,110 –> 00:04:07,349
Cayla Dengate: staff members. LinkedIn members have a lot of interest in

75
00:04:07,349 –> 00:04:11,219
Cayla Dengate: Carma, and what it does is you can buy pre-

76
00:04:11,219 –> 00:04:14,220
Cayla Dengate: owned vehicles at fixed prices. So that’s the difference, it’s

77
00:04:14,220 –> 00:04:16,800
Cayla Dengate: fixed prices. And the thing about it that I find

78
00:04:16,800 –> 00:04:20,460
Cayla Dengate: really interesting is the way Carma uses really interesting technology

79
00:04:20,730 –> 00:04:25,169
Cayla Dengate: so that buyers can inspect cars online, digitally, and also

80
00:04:25,170 –> 00:04:28,500
Cayla Dengate: get your finance sorted. So yeah, it’s something that we’re

81
00:04:28,500 –> 00:04:31,650
Cayla Dengate: all familiar with buying a secondhand car, but doing it

82
00:04:31,650 –> 00:04:32,609
Cayla Dengate: in a really different way.

83
00:04:33,000 –> 00:04:35,070
Jennifer Duke: I love that. If I could do everything online, then

84
00:04:35,070 –> 00:04:38,610
Jennifer Duke: I would. Look, a lot of the businesses on the

85
00:04:38,610 –> 00:04:41,879
Jennifer Duke: list are Sydney and Melbourne-based, there’s some Brisbane and there is one

86
00:04:41,880 –> 00:04:44,100
Jennifer Duke: in Darwin. Can you tell us a bit about Dabble?

87
00:04:44,730 –> 00:04:48,329
Cayla Dengate: Yeah. Dabble is an online sports and racing bookmaker. And

88
00:04:48,360 –> 00:04:52,229
Cayla Dengate: interestingly there’s two startups this year that kind of fit

89
00:04:52,230 –> 00:04:57,960
Cayla Dengate: in that online bookmaking field. So it certainly shows the

90
00:04:57,960 –> 00:05:00,960
Cayla Dengate: interest in online betting here in Australia with Dabble and

91
00:05:00,960 –> 00:05:04,769
Cayla Dengate: Amused Group making the list. As you say, Dabble is

92
00:05:04,770 –> 00:05:07,740
Cayla Dengate: based out of Darwin. And we love to see startups

93
00:05:07,800 –> 00:05:11,760
Cayla Dengate: that are based somewhere other than Sydney and Melbourne. And

94
00:05:12,089 –> 00:05:13,859
Cayla Dengate: I think that we’re going to see more of it.

95
00:05:14,099 –> 00:05:19,919
Cayla Dengate: Increasingly, startups are hiring with a remote first sense, and

96
00:05:19,920 –> 00:05:22,409
Cayla Dengate: there is that idea that good ideas bring up anywhere,

97
00:05:22,469 –> 00:05:25,049
Cayla Dengate: and you’ve got the skills you need to create an

98
00:05:25,050 –> 00:05:28,860
Cayla Dengate: amazing startup from anywhere in Australia. So I hope that

99
00:05:28,860 –> 00:05:31,770
Cayla Dengate: in the future we will see more startups coming from

100
00:05:31,770 –> 00:05:34,950
Cayla Dengate: cities like Darwin, maybe Perth, all over the place. That’d

101
00:05:34,950 –> 00:05:35,700
Cayla Dengate: be great to see.

102
00:05:36,089 –> 00:05:37,770
Jennifer Duke: Stay with me, Cayla. We’ll be back in a minute.

103
00:05:44,100 –> 00:05:47,760
Jennifer Duke: I’m speaking to Cayla Dengate from LinkedIn Australia. One thing

104
00:05:47,760 –> 00:05:50,220
Jennifer Duke: that’s very interesting is that there is this element of,

105
00:05:50,580 –> 00:05:52,620
Jennifer Duke: I guess, risk for job seekers that are going to

106
00:05:52,620 –> 00:05:55,290
Jennifer Duke: startups, particularly when they clearly don’t have those runs on

107
00:05:55,290 –> 00:05:57,059
Jennifer Duke: the board. You don’t know how successful they’re going to

108
00:05:57,059 –> 00:05:59,940
Jennifer Duke: be, but clearly, people are still doing it, so what

109
00:05:59,940 –> 00:06:01,830
Jennifer Duke: are employees looking for from a startup?

110
00:06:02,730 –> 00:06:05,100
Cayla Dengate: So one of the things that we actually look at

111
00:06:05,160 –> 00:06:08,220
Cayla Dengate: in this Top Startups list is the data of how

112
00:06:08,220 –> 00:06:12,059
Cayla Dengate: much talent are these startups pulling from the best big

113
00:06:12,059 –> 00:06:15,269
Cayla Dengate: companies in Australia. So we look at our top companies list,

114
00:06:15,270 –> 00:06:17,580
Cayla Dengate: which is similar to this, but we are looking at

115
00:06:17,580 –> 00:06:20,820
Cayla Dengate: the big end of town. And all of these startups

116
00:06:21,029 –> 00:06:25,080
Cayla Dengate: are drawing talent from these big household names that we

117
00:06:25,080 –> 00:06:27,988
Cayla Dengate: know of. So they’re doing something right in terms of

118
00:06:27,990 –> 00:06:32,639
Cayla Dengate: attracting top talent. And we actually asked the startups that

119
00:06:32,639 –> 00:06:35,250
Cayla Dengate: are featured on this list, what are you doing to attract

120
00:06:35,250 –> 00:06:39,479
Cayla Dengate: talent and why are people coming here? And the responses

121
00:06:39,480 –> 00:06:41,609
Cayla Dengate: are really interesting, and if we just look at it

122
00:06:41,610 –> 00:06:44,639
Cayla Dengate: from a young person’s point of view, why would a

123
00:06:44,639 –> 00:06:48,120
Cayla Dengate: young person join a startup? What we found is that

124
00:06:48,120 –> 00:06:52,799
Cayla Dengate: a lot of these companies are really offering something that

125
00:06:52,799 –> 00:06:54,899
Cayla Dengate: you may not be able to get with a bigger company,

126
00:06:55,200 –> 00:06:59,339
Cayla Dengate: which is that sense of career development and a leader

127
00:06:59,520 –> 00:07:01,320
Cayla Dengate: who you walk past in the hallway in you can

128
00:07:01,320 –> 00:07:05,279
Cayla Dengate: talk to. So one of the startups, me&u holds what

129
00:07:05,279 –> 00:07:07,710
Cayla Dengate: it calls Lunch with a Leader, which gives employees the

130
00:07:07,710 –> 00:07:10,859
Cayla Dengate: opportunity to sit down with a respected business leader and

131
00:07:10,859 –> 00:07:13,980
Cayla Dengate: discuss work progression in their career. So there’s that real

132
00:07:13,980 –> 00:07:17,550
Cayla Dengate: sense of being able to talk about your career and

133
00:07:17,610 –> 00:07:21,570
Cayla Dengate: what you want in the future. What Ability, which is

134
00:07:21,570 –> 00:07:25,589
Cayla Dengate: an NDIS- related startup, it also does this as does

135
00:07:25,590 –> 00:07:29,490
Cayla Dengate: the freight startup Ofload. So a really common theme across

136
00:07:29,490 –> 00:07:32,610
Cayla Dengate: all of our startups is that providing learning opportunities and

137
00:07:32,610 –> 00:07:36,930
Cayla Dengate: pathways helps to keep young staff members interested and hooked.

138
00:07:36,930 –> 00:07:40,139
Cayla Dengate: So that could be mentorship, that could be tailored development

139
00:07:40,139 –> 00:07:43,679
Cayla Dengate: programs or frequent skills’ assessment. And you know what you

140
00:07:43,679 –> 00:07:46,320
Cayla Dengate: say about joining a startup can feel a little bit risky.

141
00:07:46,320 –> 00:07:50,700
Cayla Dengate: It can feel like you might be hedging your bets almost.

142
00:07:51,150 –> 00:07:53,610
Cayla Dengate: I think that what this shows is that your time

143
00:07:53,610 –> 00:07:55,920
Cayla Dengate: at a startup is going to be a time of

144
00:07:55,920 –> 00:07:57,960
Cayla Dengate: immense growth. It’s going to be a time where you

145
00:07:57,960 –> 00:08:00,630
Cayla Dengate: learn new skills, where you jump into the deep end,

146
00:08:00,990 –> 00:08:03,599
Cayla Dengate: where you might find yourself developing skills that you didn’t

147
00:08:03,599 –> 00:08:06,599
Cayla Dengate: even know you had or you never would have uncovered

148
00:08:06,600 –> 00:08:09,750
Cayla Dengate: in a larger company. And that time you spend in a

149
00:08:09,750 –> 00:08:11,730
Cayla Dengate: startup will be valuable no matter what.

150
00:08:12,360 –> 00:08:14,610
Jennifer Duke: I think that’s really good for people to remember that

151
00:08:14,610 –> 00:08:16,890
Jennifer Duke: there’s so much they can learn from being with a startup.

152
00:08:17,219 –> 00:08:19,469
Jennifer Duke: I’m curious as well, because I know on the list

153
00:08:19,469 –> 00:08:22,139
Jennifer Duke: there’s job titles and things that those startups are actually

154
00:08:22,139 –> 00:08:24,509
Jennifer Duke: looking for. What are some of the trends around what

155
00:08:24,510 –> 00:08:26,520
Jennifer Duke: startups are keen to get from applicants?

156
00:08:27,180 –> 00:08:30,150
Cayla Dengate: Yeah, that’s a great question. One thing we do when

157
00:08:30,150 –> 00:08:32,730
Cayla Dengate: we put together top startups is we want to provide

158
00:08:32,730 –> 00:08:36,270
Cayla Dengate: the information that job seekers need so they can apply

159
00:08:36,270 –> 00:08:39,328
Cayla Dengate: for jobs at these companies or at least start their

160
00:08:39,330 –> 00:08:41,399
Cayla Dengate: journey in terms of what they want out of their

161
00:08:41,400 –> 00:08:43,890
Cayla Dengate: career and what they want in terms of how they

162
00:08:43,890 –> 00:08:46,350
Cayla Dengate: work with a startup. So if we look at the

163
00:08:46,350 –> 00:08:50,910
Cayla Dengate: number one company on the list, Immutable, which is software development,

164
00:08:51,420 –> 00:08:55,200
Cayla Dengate: in-game purchasing, it’s a really interesting company. The most common

165
00:08:55,200 –> 00:08:59,760
Cayla Dengate: skills among the people who already work there is development tools,

166
00:08:59,760 –> 00:09:05,069
Cayla Dengate: web development, and leadership. So if you want a job there, that’s a

167
00:09:05,070 –> 00:09:07,830
Cayla Dengate: really good idea of the type of skills you might

168
00:09:07,830 –> 00:09:10,439
Cayla Dengate: be looking for. And the most common job titles at

169
00:09:10,440 –> 00:09:16,348
Cayla Dengate: Immutable are software engineer, product manager, engineering manager. So you

170
00:09:16,350 –> 00:09:18,750
Cayla Dengate: can go through every single one of these startups lists

171
00:09:18,809 –> 00:09:21,840
Cayla Dengate: and get that information, which is really helpful when you’re

172
00:09:21,840 –> 00:09:24,330
Cayla Dengate: thinking about going for a job at one of these companies.

173
00:09:24,840 –> 00:09:27,570
Jennifer Duke: Definitely. And I’m really curious your thoughts on the halo

174
00:09:27,570 –> 00:09:29,670
Jennifer Duke: effect of lots of startups because often we find that

175
00:09:29,670 –> 00:09:31,770
Jennifer Duke: people who go and work at a startup end up

176
00:09:31,770 –> 00:09:34,199
Jennifer Duke: launching their own. Do you think that that’s being shown

177
00:09:34,199 –> 00:09:35,189
Jennifer Duke: through this list as well?

178
00:09:35,820 –> 00:09:39,000
Cayla Dengate: Yeah, absolutely. So if you look at the founders of

179
00:09:39,000 –> 00:09:42,000
Cayla Dengate: a lot of these startups, they’re people who have previously

180
00:09:42,000 –> 00:09:44,520
Cayla Dengate: worked at startups and gone out on their own or

181
00:09:44,849 –> 00:09:48,630
Cayla Dengate: who have previously worked in really successful firms and made

182
00:09:48,630 –> 00:09:50,940
Cayla Dengate: that jump to open their own business. So one that

183
00:09:50,940 –> 00:09:52,949
Cayla Dengate: springs to mind is number 10 on the list, Howatson+

184
00:09:54,179 –> 00:10:00,420
Cayla Dengate: Company. We all know the story of Mr. Howatson who’s been someone who’s worked

185
00:10:00,420 –> 00:10:04,230
Cayla Dengate: in media and advertising for a long time, and this

186
00:10:04,230 –> 00:10:08,009
Cayla Dengate: is that standout company. It’s also a really nice example

187
00:10:08,009 –> 00:10:10,440
Cayla Dengate: that when you look at the common skills that these

188
00:10:10,440 –> 00:10:13,650
Cayla Dengate: startups are looking for, leadership comes up time and time

189
00:10:13,650 –> 00:10:16,679
Cayla Dengate: again. So it’s often people who have proven themselves as

190
00:10:16,679 –> 00:10:20,010
Cayla Dengate: leaders at other companies who find themselves coming to a startup.

191
00:10:20,550 –> 00:10:23,639
Jennifer Duke: Lastly, any tips for someone who’s going to apply for

192
00:10:23,639 –> 00:10:26,608
Jennifer Duke: a startup tomorrow? What would you tell them to do

193
00:10:26,610 –> 00:10:27,480
Jennifer Duke: and to put on their resume?

194
00:10:28,379 –> 00:10:31,380
Cayla Dengate: That is a great question. If you’re applying for a

195
00:10:31,380 –> 00:10:33,689
Cayla Dengate: job at a startup tomorrow, first of all, check out

196
00:10:33,690 –> 00:10:36,600
Cayla Dengate: this list on LinkedIn because there’s so much information for

197
00:10:36,600 –> 00:10:40,139
Cayla Dengate: you. And there’s also LinkedIn learning courses attached to these

198
00:10:40,139 –> 00:10:42,420
Cayla Dengate: common skills. So if you feel like you need to

199
00:10:42,420 –> 00:10:46,619
Cayla Dengate: brush up in digital literacy, in business management, in leadership,

200
00:10:46,619 –> 00:10:49,920
Cayla Dengate: you can just click straight through and start learning. I

201
00:10:49,920 –> 00:10:54,390
Cayla Dengate: would say what you want on your resume is evidence

202
00:10:54,390 –> 00:10:58,468
Cayla Dengate: that you’re someone who’s agile, who can jump into anything,

203
00:10:58,830 –> 00:11:02,700
Cayla Dengate: who’s interested in what the company does. I think you

204
00:11:02,700 –> 00:11:04,770
Cayla Dengate: want to show your passion and your ability to be

205
00:11:04,770 –> 00:11:08,010
Cayla Dengate: flexible. That’s probably the two most important things if you’re

206
00:11:08,010 –> 00:11:09,450
Cayla Dengate: applying for a job at a startup.

207
00:11:09,900 –> 00:11:12,450
Jennifer Duke: Very good tips. Cayla, thank you so much for talking

208
00:11:12,450 –> 00:11:13,108
Jennifer Duke: to Fear and Greed.

209
00:11:13,650 –> 00:11:15,090
Cayla Dengate: Oh, wonderful to be here. Thank you.

210
00:11:15,510 –> 00:11:18,270
Jennifer Duke: Now, it’s Cayla Dengate from LinkedIn Australia. This is the

211
00:11:18,270 –> 00:11:21,120
Jennifer Duke: Fear and Greed Business interview. Join us every morning for

212
00:11:21,120 –> 00:11:23,760
Jennifer Duke: the full episode of Fear and Greed, Australia’s best business

213
00:11:23,760 –> 00:11:27,600
Jennifer Duke: podcast. I’m Jennifer Duke, economics correspondent at Capital Brief and

214
00:11:27,600 –> 00:11:29,550
Jennifer Duke: filling in for Sean Aylmer. Have a great day.