It was in 2001 when software company Atlassian was formed, just shortly after the great dot-com crash. This was a time when Angel investors were wary of tech companies — a bitter reality that forced co-founders Scott Farquhar and Mike Cannon-Brookes to work with $10,000 of credit card debt straight out of university. They have come a long way since, with debts long repaid and shares currently valued at over $223 each.

Much like the Titan God it was named after, Atlassian bore the Australian pride aloft when their success soared to towering heights, which proved to the world that you don’t need to relocate to Silicon Valley to become a tech industry giant and grow a $30 billion-dollar fortune.

In this second instalment to our “Why Australia has the Right Mix for Business Growth” series, we explore the factors that made Australian soil the best place to grow the Atlassian empire.

Australia’s Savvy, Culturally Diverse Consumer Market Allows for Comprehensive R&D

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Diverse perspectives allow for creativity and innovation, a fact that Atlassian’s founders knew from the get-go. Being a company that builds team-based platforms and tools customised to meet a business’s needs, they gleaned as many insights from the market as possible to make informed product feature decisions.

With Australia being the global epicentre of cultural diversity, Atlassian had access to a rich information resource filled with various viewpoints, wide-ranging personal and professional experiences, and a plethora of new perspectives that inspired them to see the workplace differently. This allowed Atlassian to target and address their markets’ pain points more efficiently, making software like JIRA an indispensable tool for numerous companies today.

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Australia’s Work Culture Does Not Shy Away From Balancing Passion and Fun

Australia’s workplace culture is unique in many ways. Whilst the rest of the world sees Australians as pretty relaxed, they are also hard workers who get a lot of things done even without subscribing to the typical workplace rigidity and hierarchy.

Reflecting heavily on Australia’s existing work etiquette, Atlassian’s founders famously built on five core values:

1. Open company, no bullsh*t.
2. Build everything with heart and balance.
3. Don’t f*** the customer.
4. Play as a team.
5. Be the change you seek.

These values are actively modelled with equal parts sincerity and consistency, which led to not only improved overall company performance, but also better employee recruitment and retention and client satisfaction.

Needless to say, because of Atlassian’s Australian-influenced work culture, their employees enjoy excellent flexibility and teamwork practices that allow them to thrive and stay passionate about their work, as well as mitigate the cost of attrition — leading to a highly productive company focused on growth and excellence.

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Australia’s Start-Up Scene is Attracting More International Investors

Thanks to Atlassian’s explosive success, Australia’s business scene now enjoys incredible international growth and attention, benefitting both start-ups and scale-ups alike.

Combine that with Angel investor-friendly government policies and incentives, highly stable, flexible, and resilient economy and markets, and proactive COVID-19 response strategies,  Australia is positioned as an ideal location for highly profitable direct foreign investment.

Australia’s Proximity to Major Asian Markets and Rapport with Global Markets Breed Success

Because of Australia’s strategic geographic location, being part of the Asia-Pacific region, and its close ties with global powers like the United States and the United Kingdom as well as emerging Asian markets — including those that will shape the future of the global economy, such as Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea — Atlassian had the added advantage of easily piggybacking on their clout, resources, and growth.

It would be safe to assume that from this day forward, existing and future local start-ups and scale-ups will be trekking the same road to success in the coming years.

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This article is the second instalment to our “Why Australia has the Right Mix for Business Growth” series, where we explore the uniquely Australian factors that contributed to the success of Atlassian and other global scale-ups like AfterPay, Canva, The Iconic, Prospa, and Sendle.

Tune in next time as we break down how Canva disrupted the design industry across the globe.