Why Australia Builds More Unicorns per Dollar Than Anyone | with Ben Grabiner from Side Stage Ventures

Grab your copy of the Dealroom and SideStage Ventures report we talked about on the show with Cheryl Mack and Maxine Minter here - https://www.sidestage.vc/outliers-report-2025Episode SummaryBen Grabiner is the Co-founder and General Partner at Side Stage Ventures, and the author of a landmark new report in collaboration with Dealroom and AWS. In this episode, Cheryl and Maxine sit down with Ben to unpack the data behind Australia’s rapid rise as one of the most efficient and exciting venture ecosystems in the world.They explore how Australia produces more unicorns per dollar invested than any other country, what makes the ecosystem so resilient and capital-efficient, and why the next decade might belong to Aussie tech. From funding gaps to founder grit, from global capital flows to angel investor opportunities, this is essential listening for allocators, founders, and emerging fund managers alike.You’ll also hear Ben’s story, from buying Tottenham Hotspur shares as a teenager, to moving across the world mid-COVID, to becoming a key builder in Australia’s startup ecosystem.Time Stamps04:49 – Ben’s first investment: £250 in Tottenham Hotspur06:34 – What makes Australian unicorns so capital-efficient?09:14 – Unicorn efficiency vs gross unicorn creation: what matters more13:15 – How Australia quietly matches Israel and India on decacorn creation14:35 – Why foreign investors see the opportunity more clearly than locals18:41 – The power of local exits like Afterpay, and how they inspire allocation21:19 – Can Aussie startups scale globally from home? Or must they go abroad?23:40 – Why this next wave of operators will be our ecosystem’s secret weapon25:54 – What global LPs need to understand about Australian venture30:17 – Why pre-seed funds and angel investors matter more than everResources🙋🏻‍♂️ Ben’s LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bengrabiner/💳 Side Stage Ventures - https://www.sidestage.vc/🦘 Aussie Angels makes it easy for accredited investors to back early-stage startups alongside experienced syndicate leads. With no platform fees and minimum cheques from $2,500, you can build a diversified portfolio of high-growth companies with confidence.https://www.aussieangels.com/First Cheque is part of Day One.Day One helps founders and startup operators make better business decisions more often. To learn more, join our newsletter to be notified of new First Cheque episodes and upcoming shows. This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrpSpotify Ad Analytics - https://www.spotify.com/us/legal/ad-analytics-privacy-policy/

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