North Sydney Startup Survey

Council is still encouraging our local start-ups to register their business with us so we can further develop a more comprehensive eco-map and to be better informed on how we can assist our local start-ups to flourish. For that reason we are leaving keeping this initiative open on and ongoing basis.

If you have start-up business in the North Sydney Council local government area or know someone who does please add details below.

With start ups becoming one of the fastest growing sectors internationally. Existing research identified the North Sydney LGA as an innovation hotspot. North Sydney Council is keen to learn more about our local start-ups including where they are located, the nature of their business and most importantly how we can best support them.

We are mapping our local startups ecosystem. We are gathering data about local startups so we can identify how Council and other agencies can help grow our local ecosystem.

Startups are asked to:

• place a ‘pin’ on the map showing your location and business details
• complete a 5 minute survey about your work

Information provided on the map will be made publicly available.

Responses to the survey questions will be shared with Regional Development Australia Sydney and the NSW Government for the purposes of business planning. Read the privacy statement for more information.

What we know about our local ecosystem:

In 2017, the Deloitte Access Economics report, Imagine Sydney: Create, found that localities within the North Sydney LGA ranked among the top 25 innovation hotspots in Greater Sydney - North Sydney/Lavender Bay, Neutral Bay/Kirribilli and St Leonards/Naremburn.

In August 2020, Council partnered with Regional Development Australia (RDA) Sydney and UTS to undertake preliminary research into the North Sydney startup ecosystem. The North Sydney Startup Ecosystem report (available from the document library) identified that North Sydney has startups across a range of industries with a relative focus on finance, medtech, business services, health and well-being, and IT/software. Other (See document library). Other key elements of the ecosystem include business support, networks, research, investors and funding.

The mapping exercise commenced in October 2020. Key findings to date are:

• 34 pins were placed on the map between 1 October and 20 December 2020, from the following industry categories - 35% technological, 23% other, 11% educational, 11% environmental, 11% health and wellbeing, and 5% economic/financial
• no participation from the following categories - housing, insurance/risk, legal, political or transport
• 'other' types include recreation, photography, music and media
• the start ups are located in North Sydney CBD (8), Cammeray (6), Crows Nest (5), Cremorne (3), McMahons Point (2), Kirribilli (2), Wollstonecraft (2), St Leonards (2) and Neutral Bay (1)
• the majority of local start-ups have been operational for 0 to 4 years, with only two in the process of being created
• the majority of local start-ups have 0 to 4 employees; three have 5 to 19 employees
• of the 13 respondents who completed the survey which sought feedback on the specific areas local start-ups require assistance:
  - the top 3 priorities for the next 12 months are - expand sales significantly inside Australia, expend sales significantly overseas/undertake capital raising in Australia (equal ranking) and move to a larger office in Australia/Other
  - the top 3 areas that local start-ups need support are - promotion/networking (equal ranking), business advice and office space

This project is partly funded by NSW Treasury, as part of the NSW Small Business Month Festival 2020.