ZDNet Bootstrappr: Start-up funding still frozen solid

The lack of capital available to early-stage companies in high growth fields in Australia is a sad joke. Inexperienced investors and the tendency to run a mile from anything that isn't guaranteed to perform has strangled local venture capital, and the government has not put up anything viable to replace its Commercial Ready Scheme. And the public markets don't seem any warmer towards tech companies, if the recent listing of Adelaide-based company Digislide is any measure. The company has been been trading for around a third of its $1.25 listing price since hitting the market last week - which is hardly likely to spur other cash-starved companies to join it on the ASX. The rule for entrepreneurs seems to be that if you need time to build scale in your business before you can succeed, you're in for a rough ride. Anyway, you can read about Digislide and the state of the market in my latest post at the ZDNet Bootstrappr blog by clicking here.