Nobody Knows Anything: Lessons from _SOUTHSTART 2023.

_SOUTHSTART 2023:

What happens when you bring 350+ founders and operators together in a room? You get ideation, problem-solving, and connections. But what if you add in the magic of paddocks, tents, wineries, and dimly-lit laneways, with good food and wine? The result is _SOUTHSTART.?

Last week, the Google Cloud for Startups Team flew from Sydney to Adelaide to attend the epic 48-hour _SOUTHSTART conference. While we met many new and familiar faces, there were some awesome founders and operators that couldn't make it. That's why I’m sharing some of our key takeaways from the sessions we attended!

Join us as we reflect on the inspiring ideas, valuable insights, and exciting connections we made at _SOUTHSTART.

Keynote: Marc Randolf, CoFounder of Netflix?

The _SOUTHSTART conference brought together an impressive lineup of speakers, including Netflix Co-Founder Marc Randolph, who shared his insights into entrepreneurship and innovation. "You need three things to start," Randolph said. "A tolerance for risk, an idea (not just one, but many), and confidence, because “when one test or idea doesn't work, keep trying because the next one will".?

Randolph highlighted some quotes from other notable speakers as well, like William Goldman, who famously said, "Nobody knows anything", and Nolan Bushnell, who noted that "everyone who's ever had a shower has had an idea."

From this, Randolph shared that founders need a system for testing bad ideas quickly, because no one really knows anything, so you don’t really know if an idea is going to work. To combat this, you need many ideas to try and a system that helps you validate them quickly.

Maybe his most important point was that he had no idea that the idea of Netflix was going to work, or the scale and power it would have in the world. In fact, he stated:

“Netflix and Chill! I have no idea where that came from!”

Randolph's words were a powerful reminder of the importance of testing ideas, killing them if they don’t work or proving them out if they do. He stated that money is an accelerant, not a start and founders who go to VCs for money, should already have well and truly proved something. Data can be collected so quickly and easily, and testing of ideas comes from validating an idea and then asking how it would work in practice. Sure, a few handfuls of customers may love a product, but is it desirable or scalable to the masses?, Is it a feasible solution in the market and is it truly profitable while still being affordable to your target audience?

Natalie Piucco, CTO Google Cloud & Advisory Board Captial G.

Another standout speaker was Natalie Piucco, Customer CTO at Google Cloud, yes, another Googler!?

Natalie emphasised the importance of versioning, visioning, and venturing within a company. Having three clear places where these efforts can be tackled to ensure they aren’t missed.??

She asked us to challenge “where does risk live? In our organisations? Are we focusing on wildly transformational ideas? Do we build ideas for the CEO or other stakeholders instead of the customer?”

To highlight this, Natalie compares this concept with giving the false illusion of progress. If we were asked to train a monkey to stand on one leg on a pedestal, what would we build first? Most would start by building the pedestal. When asked how they are progressing, they would say “great boss, we are building the pedestal”. In fact they have missed the point entirely, and training the monkey would be the most difficult part.

Some would also call this “eating the frog” or tackling the hardest problem at the start or your day, or first off on your list of idea validation.?

Natalie also highlighted some crucial points to the success or a company or startup:

• Have you provided a psychologically safe environment for ideas to flourish? If you don’t enable this in your teams, you will restrict the great talent you are surrounded by.?
• Are you hiring for an entrepreneurial mindset? She highlighted that Google employs people for their “Googliness” and values, alongside their capabilities to thrive in ambiguity or pivots.?
• She challenged us to ask “where is your test kitchen?”. Meaning where is your place that developers and employees can go to test their awesome ideas? Are you providing an environment for people to thrive?

Moving beyond the foundations of product. Focusing on the convergence of tech, people, and purpose while embracing Web3.?

A thought-provoking session at _SOUTHSTART focused on moving beyond the foundations of product development, and exploring the convergence of tech, people, and purpose in the era of Web3.?

During the session, Devin Mancuso from Galverse emphasized the importance of collaboration between humans and machines, stating that "it's not machines or humans, it's machines and humans." Mancuso's words highlighted the potential for technology to augment human capabilities and help us achieve more together than we could alone.

Shantell Williams from Tic:Toc also spoke about the importance of using the right technology for the right reasons and for the right customer. Williams emphasized the need for a customer-centric approach to product development, where the focus is on delivering value to the end user rather than simply adopting new technologies for the sake of it.?

Henry Cho, from Immutable, spoke about the essential roles needed to start and run a successful startup. According to Cho, you need a "hacker" to bring technical expertise, a "hustler" to drive business growth and sales, and a "hipster" to design and create a brand identity that resonates with your target audience.?

Overall, the session on moving beyond the foundations of product provided a fascinating glimpse into the future of technology and product development. By embracing collaboration between humans and machines and taking a customer-centric approach to technology, companies can build products that are both innovative and impactful.?

As we continue to navigate the rapidly-evolving tech landscape, these insights will be critical to our continued success.

The relationship between VC and Founders

One of the most critical factors for success in the startup world is the relationship between founders and their investors.?

At the SOUTHSTART conference, Jason Chuck from Hireup emphasised the importance of radical honesty between founders and VCs. This means being transparent about successes and failures, acknowledging mistakes, and working collaboratively to find solutions. By building a foundation of trust and openness, founders and VCs can work together to overcome challenges and achieve success. VCs don’t always have all of the answers either, but they can connect you to people who can help you solve the right problems or ask the right questions.?

Unfortunately, there is a tendency in some corners of the startup world to prioritise the appearance of success over actual success. Smoke and mirrors may look impressive, but they do not create sustainable companies or lasting relationships. Instead, founders should be willing to show vulnerability and seek out help when they need it. This kind of honesty and openness can be inspiring and create a culture of collaboration and growth that benefits everyone involved.

In summary, the relationship between founders and VCs is crucial to the success of any startup. By prioritising honesty, transparency, and continuous communication, founders can build a strong foundation for their companies and create lasting relationships with their investors.

The Ecosystem: Australia and New Zealand

I feel so grateful for the opportunity to work with founders, founding teams and operators everyday at Google. Events like these are a reminder of the 10x impact the Australian and New Zealand Startup Ecosystem is creating.?

Overall, my key takeaways are:

• Just start, try something new and make mistakes. Begin with ideas that bring you pain, because they likely cause others pain too.?
• We need systems in life. My colleague Esna Ong, recently pointed out to me that I am a structured person. So it just makes sense for me to have systems. Marc doubled down on this by reaffirming that we should even have systems to test bad ideas, quickly!
• Natalie focused on the importance of businesses having time for versioning, visioning, and venturing. In fact, I have personally found her comments motivating – versioning, visioning, and venturing can equally be applied to how we excel in our careers, ventures or even personal life?
• Find your hacker, hustler, and hipster in your business. Let people do what they do best!
• Lastly, be kind and support each other! Your words and impact on people can mean more than you intend them to. Take the time to nurture the ecosystem and the people in it because you will learn some amazing things… after all, none of us really know anything!?

See you next year, _SOUTHSTART!