Australia provides tax, research and development, and innovation incentives to attract individuals and businesses to operate in this country, but sometimes investors just aren’t interested in funding the local talent. Here Sam Ringwaldt, Conry Tech CEO talks to Forbes about why he and Ron Conry, Conry Tech CTO previously left Australia and why they are now back.
“We left Australia originally because getting the funding needed to take our revolutionary product to market was a major challenge in Australia. We had the team, the IP, and the strategy, but it was a government entity in Canada that recognised we had a business with global potential.
“We took the $26 million they gave us and turned that into billions for the North American economy, revolutionised a global industry, and created thousands of highly skilled industry jobs along the way. This success could and should have been achieved here, and this loss can still be felt today. Only a couple of the 24 families who left with us have returned. The others have built their lives contributing to another country’s economy 15,000 km away for the past 20 years.
“We decided to come back for patriotic reasons, not financial reasons. The easy funding is still in Asia and North America. However, we aim to build a successful business here and bring back manufacturing jobs to Australia. The backbone of Australian manufacturing has almost died, and there is very little here to sustain it.
“While funding remains a challenge 20 years later, coming back to Australia reminds us that this country has a remarkable natural aptitude for innovation. We are a nation of creative problem solvers and rule breakers. It’s ingrained in us to push back against authority and question assumptions, and we don’t listen to people who tell us something can’t be done, all very useful traits for any startup. Australia’s flat hierarchical business culture also ensures great ideas can come from anybody, not just from the top.
“Today, our mission is to reinvent aircon (AC) and eliminate another gigaton of CO2 emissions. This year alone, Australian AC units will use 15% of all energy generated in the country and cost households and businesses $12 billion. We believe we can cut these figures by 40% and export our tech to every corner of the planet, especially as AC use soars in countries like China, India and Brazil.
“We find ourselves once again seeking funds for a Series A raise to help us bring our new product to market. We desperately want to keep this in Australia this time, but we will walk away again if we have to, as our desire to address the pressing needs of climate change outweigh our possibly foolish patriotism.
Check out the full article here: Forbes