Startup Muster needs your views by September 9 – and 10 things you should now about it

The annual Startup Muster survey has extended its response deadline until this Monday, September 9.

Already more than 150,000 questions have been answered in the free, independent report, which shines a light on the progress of Australian startups, as well as the challenges and opportunities they face.

UTS Startups director of entrepreneurship Murray Hurps, the driving force behind the annual pulse check of Australian tech said that it’s not just for those working in startups, but also those who support them.

“Organisations in NSW currently represent 57% of responses – if you’re outside NSW and have a chance to help promote, we’d very much appreciate it,” he said.

Startup Muster is of the most important roadmaps to Australia’s startup sector, which began a decade ago before a hiatus during the pandemic then returning in 2023.

The national report will be in late November 2024 and is free for all, acting as an important insight for government and the broader sector.

Head to Startupmuster.com to have your say.

With just a few days to go, we asked Hurps to reveal 10 things about Startup Muster everyone should know. Here’s what he said.

1. The most common feedback we get is requests for a progress bar. Interestingly, we have A/B tested having a progress bar, and receive substantially more answers on average per participant when it’s not present. It was a difficult call, but we’ve stuck without having one in the interests of larger samples.

2. This isn’t the world’s best designed survey, but it is (IMO) the world’s best designed survey-based advocacy tool. Having all questions contributed by the ecosystem over a ten year time span, and combining literally 30 different surveys into one this year, means every corner of the ecosystem is able to get some information to help direct their efforts. The alternative often is no data at all, and I’m proud to be attempting to lift the metaphorical data tide to float these boats.

3. We get a ridiculous number of answers per participant. On average last year we had 152 questions answered for each person that started the survey. We show feedback as people progress, follow-up to resume incomplete surveys, and measure things like question response time to help remove any bottlenecks, but a lot of this participation also comes from the good will we’ve been able to generate over the years.

4. 2024 is the first year since 2015 that Startup Muster hasn’t had a major government supporter. It’s been a significant challenge spreading costs across 13 different supporters to replace government support, and I’m forever grateful for these organisations stepping up to make sure this work continues: CommBank, Vanta, Stone & Chalk, CSIRO, ACS Labs, UNSW, QUT, City of Sydney, City of Parramatta, Baxter IP, Gild Group, Amplitude and Relevance AI.

5. We’re only part of the puzzle. I believe policy needs to be informed by data from many different sources, such as ATO/ASIC data via BLADE, scraping initiatives like Techboard, focused surveys like Cut Through’s investor surveys, and broad surveys of startup founders and supporters like Startup Muster does. Each has their own merits, and all deserve investment to provide better data for better decisions.

6. Startups are at the forefront of technology adoption, and I believe Startup Muster will document a critical transition into heavily AI-enabled companies. Seeing how this affects the composition of teams, hiring plans, funding requirements and success rates will be fascinating over the coming years, and should be a meaningful leading indicator for other industries.

7. Startup Muster won’t ever be a census of startups in Australia (where every single company answers), or anything close. It does a decent job of engaging with startup activity that is currently engaged with incubators, accelerators, investors, educators and startup-focused service providers.

8. People pay attention to Startup Muster. 46 different government departments downloaded the last report, and 30,000 people in total. Questions like “what needs to be changed in Australia’s R&D review” and many more provide meaningful input for government at all levels, and answering a question is a lot faster than joining a group consultation session.

9. Hundreds of millions of dollars has been deployed in Australia with justification documents containing Startup Muster data. Again we’re never the single justification for anything, but as another data point to help triangulate the need for different new grants, funds and programs, we play a meaningful role.

10. Startup Daily continues to be the most recommended startup-focused news source for Australian startups and their supporters, despite covering lists like this from the likes of me. Their other work must be truly exceptional, and Australia’s startup landscape is very lucky to have them.

Have your say at startupmuster.com