The future of Australia depends on our ability to nurture and create the next generation of entrepreneurs, says start-up expert and author Adrian Turner.
In Brisbane as part of Digital Brisbane’s Visiting Entrepreneurs Program, Mr Turner, one of Silicon Valley’s most respected experts on mobile, internet security and entrepreneurship, will meet with local entrepreneurs, business leaders and university students on his six-day trip starting on Wednesday.
Adrian Turner is the author of Blue Sky Mining named, of course, after the Midnight Oil Song. Blue Sky Mining is a “confronting and compelling” book that demystifies the underlying structures and principles that make Silicon Valley so successful in repeatedly spawning new billion dollar industries. Written from the perspective of an Australian entrepreneur who has spent the last 12 years there, the book explains why innovation has been and will always be the most important unit of economic growth. With this baseline, Blue Sky Mining contrasts Silicon Valley with Australia’s commercialisation ecosystem, concluding that Australia’s is on the brink of collapse with devastating consequences.
“By offering the Visiting Entrepreneurs Program, Brisbane is demonstrating it is serious about being Australia’s leading digital city with a global outlook, fuelled by entrepreneurs,” he said.
“From my own experiences, I cannot overstate the importance of being able to interact with entrepreneurs and leaders who have lived it from the trenches.
“Starting any business is hard – in Silicon Valley there is a robust support network for the entrepreneur made up of entrepreneur practitioners. The Visiting Entrepreneurs Program is an important step in establishing that support network in Brisbane.”
Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said the program was just one in a series of initiatives within Brisbane Marketing’s Digital Brisbane strategy to encourage and foster high-growth start-up companies.
“These companies are the ones that have the potential to reach global markets and bring billions of dollars into the Brisbane economy,” Cr Quirk said.
“As a city, we need to support this sector and put Brisbane on the front foot to make the most of the opportunities start-ups present.
“Adrian Turner is a great advocate of the entrepreneurial culture we’re building in Brisbane and I hope the members of Brisbane’s start-up sector, the business leaders and the students that meet with him are inspired by his visit.”
Mr Turner, author of the book BlueSky Mining, which looks at reasons behind Silicon Valley’s success in spawning new billion-dollar industries, is founder of mobile and smart device security company Mocana.