Home featured Chris Chang and Terry Gold, Techstars Adelaide Featured Startup Featured Why founders who claim their ideas are unique worry the showrunners of Techstars Adelaide James Harkness May 1, 2018 Geographical isolation sharpens Australia’s tech entrepreneurs, giving them an advantage over their counterparts in Silicon Valley, according to Terry Gold, Managing Director of Techstars Adelaide. He and fellow US-expat Chris Chang, Program Manager with Techstars Adelaide, spoke with Dynamic Business about the global entrepreneur network, why “unique ideas” raise a red flag for them and who might be the “next Atlassian”. Chang said that Techstars seeks to “support entrepreneurs from inspiration to IPO” by providing them with access to a suite of events (Startup Weekend, Startup Week, FounderCon), resources (Startup Digest) and 13-week tech accelerator programs. Plus, there are opportunities for entrepreneurs to draw on Techstars $265m VC fund and leverage the organisation’s global network of contacts to establish “useful 2nd or 3rd degree connections”. Of the 1300 startups that have been through one of Techstars’ 40 themed accelerators worldwide since the network was founded in Boulder, Colorado 12 years ago, Chang said 90% are either still in business or have been acquired. Reasons for this success rate, he explained, include a vigorous selection process (“we vet for great teams, not just talented founders) plus Techstars’ emphasis on connecting startups with great mentors. “We recruit industry-specific mentors for our vertical-based programs as well as mentors from across the entrepreneurial ecosystem,” he said. “This provides well-rounded access to knowledge through