Startup Muster surveyed the Australian startup community to find out which MPs are doing the most to support the industry, and what startups really want from the government.
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A volunteer effort, Startup Muster is the largest survey of the startup community, helping raise visibility for the industry. The survey consisted of 60 questions and received 430 responses from Australian startup founders.
In answer to the question “can you name a politician that has been particularly supportive of the startup industry?”, Malcolm Turbull received the most votes at 9.9 per cent, versus just 2.9 per cent for Alex Greenwich in second place. Interestingly Barack Obama even made this list, with 0.6% of votes.
Before we get too outrages and/or pleased about the result, it’s worth noting that a massive 45 per cent of the survey participants answered “None” while another 27 per cent were unsure.
Malcolm Turnbull has had a lot to say about the Australian startup industry, including considering new laws to enable crowdfunding and help tech entrepreneurs turn great ideas into transformative products.
Let’s not forget about Alex Greenwich either. Murray Hurps, the Founder of Fishburners, a Sydney startup space, was impressed with Mr Greenwhich’s understanding of the issues facing startups — Alex actually visited Fishburners and invested time meeting the startup teams personally.
When asked “what is the most important thing the government can do to support the industry?”, Australian startups answered that they want funding and grants. Next most important for them is incentives to investors and founders to help balance the financial risk.
It’s certainly a tough slog for startups in Australia and the wider world, but for every failure, there is plenty of success. [Startup Muster]