{"id":45088,"date":"2023-10-20T15:41:02","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:41:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/more-than-just-a-co-working-space-how-fishburners-became-australias-biggest-startup-hub-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T15:41:02","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:41:02","slug":"more-than-just-a-co-working-space-how-fishburners-became-australias-biggest-startup-hub-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/more-than-just-a-co-working-space-how-fishburners-became-australias-biggest-startup-hub-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"“More than just a co-working space”: How Fishburners became Australia’s biggest startup hub – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/div>\n

Murray Hurps had been working with startups in Sydney for more than 16 years when he was called into a meeting that would change his life.<\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t seem like a moment of that magnitude at the time \u2013 the entrepreneur had been added to the board of a small local co-working space called Fishburners.<\/p>\n

But it was a move that would lead Hurps on a journey that would prove to be the most rewarding and impactful thing he has experienced to date.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat invitation was the best thing that\u2019s ever happened to me,\u201d Hurps tells StartupSmart<\/em>.<\/p>\n

He quickly got a taste of working in a dynamic and productive space, and of being surrounding by young, enthusiastic and promising entrepreneurs and companies.<\/p>\n

So when Hurps was offered the position of general manager at Fishburners in the interim while a permanent leader was found, it was a no-brainer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the time came and a new general manager was needed, I raised my hand and said I\u2019d be interim GM until we find a better one,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was the second best thing that ever happened to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

But it was always meant to be a temporary thing \u2013 he would step in to fill the void until a suitable candidate emerged, and then Hurps would return to running his own business.<\/p>\n

But it didn\u2019t work out that way. Two years later, Hurps is still the general manager of Fishburners.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really hard to commit to doing something this challenging for a long time,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut once you\u2019re in it you start to see the good things happening and you get very enthusiastic about seeing these things through and making sure they deliver. At that point you\u2019re kind of stuck.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m in for the long haul now.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The first fleet<\/h3>\n

Fishburners opened its doors for the first time on April 1, 2011, the brainchild of entrepreneurs Mike Casey and Peter Davison.<\/p>\n

Davison says he created the hub \u201cjust to make friends\u201d, a way to connect with his sometimes hard to find peers.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I don\u2019t believe him for a second,\u201d Hurps says.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s not willing to admit to being a forward thinker and to being ambitious.\u201d<\/p>\n

Named after the Fishburn, a supply ship that delivered goods to Australia in 1788, the space was opened at a time when there was virtually no entrepreneurial or startup community in Sydney, or Australia more widely.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was almost zero support for tech entrepreneurs who wanted to make a go of it in Australia when we started,\u201d lifetime Fishburners board advisor Peter Bradd says.<\/p>\n

But five years later, everything has changed \u2013 and Fishburners has played a vital role in this drastic transformation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was really unusual to find a partner to work with in the city back then,\u201d Hurps says.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow you can walk into a building with 300 members. That\u2019s potentially 300 people who are all trying to start startups and are bringing expertise and networks and a combined motivation to see something good happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fishburners has rapidly grown to become by far the biggest startup hub and co-working space in Australia.<\/p>\n

It has now been the launchpad for more than 600 startups and thousands of entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n

With 177 startups currently housed in the three-storey building, the space also holds nearly 500 community-minded events each year.<\/p>\n

Fishburners\u2019 core strategy is centred on three central pillars: inspiring new startups, attracting and validating startups and connecting startups with support.<\/p>\n

Hurps says the space operates on a \u201cportfolio theory\u201d, and welcomes all types of companies and people.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf enough people are aiming for the right targets, a couple will become the next Atlassian or Canva,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Just don\u2019t ask him to name a few favourites \u2013 that\u2019s like naming a favourite child.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery single company is amazing,\u201d Hurps says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been proven wrong consistently in trying to predict who\u2019s going to be successful. A lot of the less interesting and exciting companies are the ones that come back six months later with half a million monthly revenue.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe number of people I\u2019ve seen come and go and the impact I\u2019ve felt is incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

A united community<\/h3>\n

In its sixth year of existence, Fishburners will be operating a bit differently, with four spaces on its board now opened up to current community members.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe now have a diaspora of entrepreneurial board members,\u201d Hurps says.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the success of Fishburners is because of the people in Fishburners.\u201d<\/p>\n

These new board members include 99dresses founder Nikki Durkin and Car Next Door founder Will Davies.<\/p>\n

These two entrepreneurs typify the impact that a space like Fishburners can have on a young founder with an idea.<\/p>\n

\u201cFishburners is more than just a co-working space \u2013 it is all the tangible benefits that come from being constantly surrounded by like-minded innovators to share and learn from,\u201d Durkin says.<\/p>\n

\u201cFishburners has been absolutely instrumental in my development as an entrepreneur and I am humbled and proud to be serving on the board as we expand our reach.\u201d<\/p>\n

Davies agrees, saying the space played a pivot role in his startup\u2019s growth and development.<\/p>\n

\u201cI moved into Fishburners to start Car Next Door alone and got to build the team from one to 18 desks without ever having to go through the hell and distraction of moving offices,\u201d Davies says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe day you walk into Fishburners you have an instant network of people doing similar but non-competing things around you that you can learn from and also help.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is not a skill that can\u2019t be found within the community.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Inherent resilience<\/h3>\n

One of the most surprising and impressive aspect of Fishburners\u2019 growth is the near-complete absence of government assistance.<\/p>\n

Operating as a non-profit, the space relies on its corporate sponsors to survive, with the government contributing about $25,000 across the five years.<\/p>\n

The likes of Optus, News Corp, Google and NAB are picking up the slack though.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re incredibly lucky to have the support of corporates we had,\u201d Hurps says.<\/p>\n

\u201cOptus was supporting us for a long time, frankly before we deserved it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe exist because of all our supporters.\u201d<\/p>\n

While admitting that Fishburners could have reached its current size and prominence much quicker if it had government support, Hurps says its absence has helped the team foster an inherently entrepreneurial spirit of independence and strength.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe managed to find a large number of partners and we got some resilience there if we have a change in government or change in sponsors,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve never lost a sponsor but we would survive it. We\u2019re more resilient because of that of government support.\u201d<\/p>\n

This resilience proved to be helpful for Hurps when faced with a \u201cheartbreaking\u201d problem during most of his tenure.<\/p>\n

Nearly every day a burgeoning startup in Fishburners would ask for extra room, and every time they would be knocked back.<\/p>\n

Fishburners had outgrown its premises and was overflowing onto the Ultimo streets. Hurps himself had long ago given up his own desk, resorting to hot-desking and working from a downstairs caf\u00e9.<\/p>\n

Worrying about stunting these companies\u2019 growth used to keep Hurps up at the night, but now he can finally say \u201cyes\u201d again.<\/p>\n

Earlier this month Fishburners received the best possible birthday present when the board signed off on a new building in the heart of Sydney, one that is four times the size of its current space.<\/p>\n

The two-year, heartbreaking search had come to an end.<\/p>\n

\u201cI might end up with a desk now,\u201d Hurps says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve put in an application, but I\u2019d never choose a desk for myself over a desk for an exciting entrepreneur.\u201d<\/p>\n

The passionate entrepreneur will now finally be able to return to doing what he loves instead of dealing with real estate.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got a tech background \u2013 I started when I was seven years old coding to entertain myself,\u201d Hurps says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen I was running companies and now I\u2019m running Fishburners. The thing I\u2019m looking forward to the most is not dealing with real estate \u2013 that\u2019s not something that\u2019s enjoyable for any party involved.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be focusing 100% back on creating startups rather than solving real estate problems. We\u2019ll be dedicating all our team\u2019s knowledge and firepower to getting everyone excited and enabling te next big thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fishburners also recently announced its first major national expansion, with the group set to be an anchor tenant in a new $5 million innovation hub in the centre of Brisbane.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Just getting started<\/h3>\n

While reminiscing on the five years of Fishburners, Hurps is always eager to look forward instead.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a rapid and exhilarating rise, but it\u2019s all just beginning.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust imagined walking through the doors and seeing 600-plus desks filled with startups, filled with accelerators, filled with these companies driving what could be the next economic boom for Australia,\u201d Hurps says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be amazing \u2013 I can\u2019t wait to get started.\u201d<\/p>\n

Follow StartupSmart on<\/em> Facebook,<\/em> Twitter,<\/em>LinkedIn <\/em>and <\/em>SoundCloud.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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