Startup ecosystems - what makes a great one, and how does Melbourne compare?

Hey there startup people,

WE ARE BACK FOR 2014! woot woot

Bigger and better than ever - with more events, more networking and more education than ever before. Time to get out of the house and make stuff happen yes?

As usual, we provide free beer, free pizza and the best startup networking opportunity in Melbourne.

Startup ecosystems - what makes a great one, and how does Melbourne compare?

For our first event for 2014, we have a superstar panel plus a number of lighting talks to keep you engaged and informed.

The interactive panel discussion on startup ecosystems around the world will include:

Susan Wu

Susan Wu is a hacker, entrepreneur and venture capitalist who splits her time between San Francisco and Australia. As an angel investor and advisor, she's been actively involved in the earliest stages of some of the world's leading consumer technology startups, such as Twitter, Square, Obvious (Medium, Lift and Branch) and Findery, amongst others. She was named by the San Jose Mercury News as one of the "10 Most Influential People in Silicon Valley.

Leni Mayo

Beginning his angel investing in 2000, Leni is a founding investor in 99Designs, Flippa, Learnable, Sitepoint and Tweaky. In 2013 he received the CSIRO Benson Entrepreneur Award (http://www.pearcey.org.au/Awards#Benson_Entrepreneur_Award), and is an advisory board member for the Melbourne Accelerator Program.

Brendan Lewis

Brendan has 25+ years experience working on growth and innovation, globally. His background includes:

• Establishing new businesses in Australia, Hong Kong, Romania, Vietnam & Indonesia as well as being a Director of a South Korean subsidiary.

• Founding 3 x technology businesses, a commercial lighting retailer, a trade & investment consulting business and a social venture focused on developing entrepreneurship skills amongst technologists.

Brendan is also the Melbourne representative for London Partners, the official promotional organisation for London.

LIGHTNING TALKS

We are aiming for two quick lightning talks on the night as well, including:

1. A noob's guide to the Melbourne ecosystem

2. How to get a job in a startup, and who is hiring right now

Hint: If you are hiring in Melbourne right now, send an email to scott@attendly.com with the details and we will include you on the night!

SPONSORS

Once again, this event would not be possible without our amazing sponsors.

BLUECHILLI

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Bluechilli are a fantastic company who have just started making investments in Melbourne. A combination of a VC, Digital Agency, Incubator and Accelerator, they are keen to partner with sales and marketing focused startup founders on their technology builds.

So if you have a great idea but no tech founder, hit em up! You can check them out online: Bluechilli (http://www.bluechilli.com/)

KUSSOWSKI BROTHERS

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Filming the event is Lucas from Kussowski Brothers – sharing your business with the world – see him at the end for a great deal – exclusive to Lean Startup Melbourne!

A standard promotional package with a single video, photos and social media setup – usually costs $1500 but for LSM members it’s only $500 plus a free coffee consultation. This isn’t madness, this is Startup! http://www.kussowskibrothers.com/lucas

INSPIRE9

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Thanks as always to Inspire9 (http://www.inspire9.com/) for providing the venue - a great Melbourne co-working space for startup founders and entrepreneurs!

Thanks, and see you all there!

Startup Victoria.