Jeremy's direct style shines through.  My favourite quotes:

What are some of the most common mistakes you see aussie start-ups making?

Not thinking big enough. Focusing on technology instead of customer problems. Not looking for a global perspective in employees, leadership and investors early enough.

What do you think is stopping Australia from becoming a leading global tech-hub?

Market Size. Aussie companies need to look to global markets, and that means relocating closer to customers, so there is a limited runway that a company can have while based in Australia.

What advice would give an Aussie startup considering making the move to the US now?

The time to move to the US (or anywhere that is close to your markets) is when you’re ready to talk to customers. No need to move before that. But you must do it once you’re talking to customers. Otherwise, it is just too hard to stay top of mind as a startup.

What is the one bit of advice you would give a startup founder?

You can change your team, you can change your technology, but you can’t change your market.

Bottom Line: It won't take you long to read, but you will learn a lot.

Bottom Line: In assessing a CPV technology you need to consider both the target applications and the completeness of their design concept for that application - does the team have the expertise to make it work? 

It will be interesting to find out which technology they will use. The article says they would use "technology employed in the United States over the past 20 years" and build the plants by 2020.  Strictly interpreted, that limits the candidates to existing power tower and trough technologies.  It would not include home-town boy Ausra, who announced seperate discussions with Australian governments.

Bottom Line: US based solar thermal companies will be looking overseas to avoid the desert land grab in the US.  Look for more innovative technologies from Australia and other Asia-Pacific countries coming to the US for capital.

• The Bay Area is the world's fourth-most-important center for global business - after New York, London and Tokyo - as measured by the number of and revenues of Forbes Global 1000 companies.
• At $400 billion, the region's economy - if it were a nation - would be the world's 18th largest.
• Economic productivity is $122,000 per worker, 26% higher than the national average.
• 42 percent of the Bay Area's residents have college degrees.
• The region attracts 35 percent of all venture capital invested in the US (approx $10 billion).
• Very high venture capiltal invested per capita at $1,370, ahead of Singapore ($180), Israel ($117), New York ($107), Sweden ($101) and UK ($35).
• Bay Area universities attract 6% of national academic research funding (approx $2.5 billion).
• Foreign investment in the region grew 67 percent from 2002 to 2006.

The report calls for action to address some of the downside: a high cost of doing business, expensive housing, congested traffic (they should try Sydney), and a stressed education system. The report provides a lot more detail in comparison to other major world regional centres.

Interestingly, the high cost of doing business seems related mainly to salary and "benefits", i.e. payroll tax, health insurance, pension, and miscellaneous employee incentives. So partly that high productivity is being shared around, but also health costs (the US is almost double that of other developed nations as a % of GDP) must play a part.

Bottom Line: A great snapshot of the Bay Area, but read the report rather than the press summaries to get the real details.

From outside the US, the sensationalist, and not so sensationalist, media reports have relentlessly painted a grim picture of the US economy.  While commentators have been calling a recession for a long time, official stats have not yet reported the requisite two quarters of contraction. Although the Fed Chairman did warn of a possible "R" today.

The optimists are saying that the the damage is contained to finance and real estate, while growth in the rest of the world will soften the blow. Pessimists say the flow through to consumer spending will drag down the whole economy.

What is the impact on early stage companies? My reading of the mood is that, unless you are looking for a IPO or trying to raise debt, then stay on course but be disciplined. VentureBeat has a post that pulls together a variety of sources here.

Bottom Line: Glass half-full? Glass half-empty?

I was in Australia at the same time for the Australasian Cleantech Forum, so I could not attend the ANZA event. Nonetheless, I can report that my two weeks in Australia confirmed the level of innovation and desire to take on global markets.

I hope to see plenty of Aussie and Kiwi entrepreneurs heading to Silicon Valley soon.

Before Australian start-ups start flocking to Boulder Colorado to make their fortunes . . . I should provide a little perspective.

The article devotes considerable space to a program in Colorado called TechStars as an example of US angel investment activity. TechStars looks like a great program, organized by entrepreneurs and VC firms in Colorado, which provides up to $15,000 in cash, 3 months on-site mentoring, and an opportunity to pitch to local VC (all this in return for 5% of the company).

However, TechStars is by no means representative of the Angel investor scene in the US. Rather it represents a relatively new approach which combines an incubator setting with a small amount of cash. Y Combinator is perhaps the best known example. They got started in 2005. Josh Catone lists nine similar "Seed Fund Incubators". They typically focus on web companies that require relatively little capital to get started.

Are they useful for overseas start-ups? First, bear in mind that these are designed for very early stage companies. Is this the right fit for your stage of development? Read a post on the YC experience by Matt Maroon.

Practicalities: Do you have a US corporation? Are you authorized to work in US? Can you relocate and support yourself for many months after the program ends?

My second thought is: Why would anyone move from Australia to Boulder Colorado because they want to access Angel or VC tech investment? No offence to Boulder, they have a thriving community, but it would be like moving to Melbourne because you want to meet movie producers. If you want the "Hollywood" of tech investing then come to Silicon Valley.

Third and final thought: Will US Angels invest in overseas companies?  Strictly speaking, the chances are slim. The good news is that you can become a US company.  There are people and organizations here that can help you, regardless of your stage of development. There are even investors interested in helping you make the jump.

And of course, as Michelle Deaker notes in the original article, the government can help you with a little cash . . .

Bottom Line: I will put more information in a future post.

Bottom Line: As they say on Wikipedia: "This article looks like a stub."  What was I thinking? Read the article and decide for yourself.

Bottom Line: You can read about it in blogs and RSS feeds, even visit in Second Life. But there is no substitute for being on the ground, visiting, networking, talking and soaking it in. Your business plan will be the better for it. See you soon.

However, Daniel Cohen of Gemini Israel Funds asks why, in spite of "great brand recognition, a growing investor base, and high quality entrepreneurs" there are "no examples of great Israeli break out companies." (See VentureBeat).

His answer is applicable not just to Israel.  My experience is similar with companies from Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Singapore and other tech markets.

• Entrepreneurs want to retire with $3-$4m. Which he attributes to previous low lifestyle expectations in Israel. From Australia we often see the life-style entrepreneur who is not keen on cutting back on surfing (waves not the web).
• Impatience of investors (i.e. happy to sell and sell early rather than taking further risk).
• "Think small" mentality (self-constraining ambitions with small targets, small investments, and a tendency to optimize a small pie).
• The lack of $1 billion experience (i.e. team experience).

My view is that all four points are about "thinking big".

Mr. Cohen is optimistic that Israel will produce a Google or Nokia in 5-10 years.  Israeli investors and entrepreneur have certainly had the opportunity to learn and be exposed to thinking big.  Other regions may have some catching up to do.

Bottom Line:  Think big and long. Build a team of founders, employees, advisors and investors that also think big and know what it takes.