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So much love for this - nice work Watsi and Goldbely!

Left-of-field, but Tasmania (the island at the bottom of Australia) is stunning and you will not regret it. It's very much a cold climate, and home to pristine air and wilderness like you can't imagine. Hobart is a perfect base, a place of history, makers and artisan food and brew producers, and you can hike Cradle Mountain, walk the Bay of Fires, relax at Wineglass Bay, whale watch at Freycinet and visit singal-malt whisky distilleries in the highlands. Then to up the ante, hop on the Orion from Hobart and explore Antarctica. Whatever you choose, enjoy! :)

Hey man! My startup will be in the bay area in August / Sept if you're still around to meet up. We're Aussie as well!

I'm wondering if it could have something to do with the level of encryption enabled by ODF documents? It's no secret the Australian Gov't has come under sustained hack attacks of late, so maybe this was the catalyst?

My advice - have a monetisation plan. Nut out all the potential monetization streams. But it doesn't mean to you have to implement them from the get-go - as you say, there's definitely merit in just building something people want and focusing on attracting and retaining users :)

I like to be a contrarian with these things. The true genius ideas, to me, are those that no one was betting on. (that said, there's some good ideas here!)

Hey man! This is what my startup is working on. Travel is a ridiculously cluttered industry, yet no one's managed to nail it. (I think because they're so focused on pure monetisation - skimming off bookings etc - they're less focused on the inspirational or emotional design side of things. We're pairing this with kick-*ss functionality). We're not launched yet, but I would love to get your feedback on our demo when it's finalized :)

I don't disagree, but Finnish students are subject to one OECD test at age 15, as opposed to going through a system geared around very regular, standardized tests. There's a big difference. Personally I think the Finnish system sounds more fun.

The 'Program for International Student Assessment' is an international testing system of 15-year-old students undertaken every three years by the OECD - Finland repeatedly ranks amongst the top of these international rankings based on science, mathematics and literacy.

Education's a random passion of mine so I've read a lot about it - the Finnish system is just so cool as it focuses on non-cognitive skills more than most systems - growing emotional intelligence and resilience - so it's pretty cool that despite no national testing program (apart from the OECD) they come out really well :)

I don't think testing as a way of tracking progress should be stopped completely (what gets measured gets done, right?) But the focus on testing is too strong.

In systems geared around testing, it creates a culture of scarcity in which teachers and schools are competing against each other. This compares with a system such as Finland, where they have no standardized tests (and hence have a more collaborative approach to education) and yet they rate among the world's best for educational outcomes.

For anyone who's interested, I recommend watching the film 'Race to Nowhere' - it documents the current education system's focus on standardized tests and questions what 'success' looks like.

Personally I think we should be gearing curriculums towards what are being defined as the 21st Century Set of Literacies: how well we can find information, validate it, synthesize it, leverage it, communicate it, collaborate with it and problem solve with it.

What's education really for? I'd like to see the focus move from a focus on test scores towards producing future generations who are creative, empathetic, resilient, driven and entrepreneurial.

Such a good question! It illustrates how for ideas to flourish they need a platform and strategy to be organized and improved upon.

For example there's a great innovation tool called the Lotus Blossom Technique - you start with a concept, but then add layers of ideas or improvements to the original idea (like peeling a blossom) until you reach a core (and much improved) idea. The results of this are much more effective and targeted than traditional crowd-sourced problem solving - such as via forums - that can often involve lots of orthogonal voices shouting ideas yet lacking structure.

I love the Lotus Blossom as a creative thinking tool, yet can imagine on a larger scale it's an issue in itself to organize (e.g. who leads the process? how to make everyone feel 'heard'? how to keep the brainstorming on track so ideas are strengthened, not watered down?) So, when it all boils down, it's understanding and adapting to human psychology (at both an individual and collective level) that solves large-scale problems. This would be an awesome problem to solve!

Edit: I'm thinking we could use nanotubes, with a strength-to-weight ratio 117 times greater than steel.

Microchip all guns? Or utilize nanotechnology to hook them up with a scannable barcode that can be scanned with a smartphone app? If it's not chipped, it's not legal. All police nationally should be equipped with necessary devices to scan guns on the spot.

Why would this help? There are currently millions of guns that have been subject to very little character checking or cross-checking. A gun census, of sorts, is needed. So I would suggest a harmonized shooter's license scheme and weapon registration scheme. Similar to a buyback - all gun owners have within a defined period to re-license (read: microchip) every one of their guns, after which time any unlicensed weapons (under the new universal license scheme) are illegal and confiscated. Part of this new licensing includes universal registration - so police nationally have records of all gun ownership and licenses - providing a uniform standard of safety across the country.

Bias: I'm Aussie, and in 1996 laws were introduced banning semi-automatic weapons in Australia (via a buyback scheme). In the 18 years before the law, Australia suffered 13 mass shootings - but not one in the 14 years after the law took full effect. Firearm homicides and suicides reduced dramatically. Life is safer without guns.

Thanks for posting - it's fascinating to see the results of the KIPP program down the line! It reminds me of Finland - they have no standardized testing and less of a focus on pure academic results, and yet they are near the top of the world for education results. Their entire system is geared towards growing the resilience and emotional intelligence in each child - psychological counselling, individualized student guidance, free school meals and easy access to health care are available for every student. It's more holistic than a pure academic focus. Resilience and drive - more than anything else it's what's needed in business, so perhaps this shows it's what's needed in life too?

Agreed - China has a Communist government, but with a mostly Capitalist economy. Deng Xiaoping's 1992 catchphrase - "To get rich is glorious" (致富光荣) - unleashed a wave of personal entrepreneurship that continues belie any socialist tendencies. That said, the state's grip on industry, and barriers to entry for business, are still high.

I can understand the motivations of those who do choose to participate...as a creative outlet, as a way to cement or learn new skills, to meet new people, and yes - it's incentivized. I appreciate his point but see no problem myself lol.

Unless a startup's highly technical, I wouldn't solely equate higher education with success - more than anything it's the behavioural skills of entrepreneurism, resilience, persuasion and street smarts that will help set you apart (unfortunately these skills are not focused on enough in formal education, IMO). It's important to know the ecosystem of the area you're going into - where the needs are, who the customers are, what the value chain looks like etc, and typically this would best be gained by work experience rather than theory.

There's many examples of successful people who never completed or went to college: e.g. Richard Branson, Henry Ford, David Ogilvy, Pete Cashmore, Walt Disney etc et al. Richard Branson once noted that the first three months of running a business teaches you more than three years at business school.

So it's not to say higher education isn't valuable, but 'learning' isn't confined to the classroom and practice oft trumps theory :)

The name itself doesn't describe to me what the app does, but that's not necessarily an issue if all your other brand attributes make it a clear proposition.

Have you thought about playing around with 'Vox Pop'? Latin for something like 'voice of the people', we used to do vox pops when I worked in advertising - grabbing a camera and harnessing the opinion of people on the street.

I love this! It's one of the best pieces of startup advice I've read in a long while; I've sent it to my startup friends. New fave quote: "Determination is really two separate things: resilience and drive. Resilience keeps you from being pushed backwards. Drive moves you forwards".

Amen! Thank you for highlighting this. I've been following threads such as these on HN - I'm surprised and saddened at the level of sexist (sometimes even misogynistic) comments they seem to procure. To me, the overall weight of comments show an undue amount of skepticism. They'll fastidiously pick apart the research or article semantics, and keenly pull out standard diversionary or derailing tactics. Strange considering we're far from living in a meritocratic society (as illustrated by studies such as these: http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/unofficial-prognosis/201...). On the upside, I've created a program to log everyone who flaunts sexist comments on HN and elsewhere - they will never do business with me. All the best!

That people are even questioning the value of a person's input based on their sex is a form of subconscious discrimination. The title of this thread - 'Do female executives drive start-up success?' - is a polemic, dichotomous question, inferring a yes/no response. To invert the scenario, it would be intriguing to see the voracity of comments harnessed from an article entitled 'Do male executives drive start-up failure?' - rather absurd, oui?

I leave you with this thought - diversity, in all its forms, is a strength in business and in life.

Hey man! We're on the lookout. We're based in Kirribilli. We're flying under the radar at the moment so I'll email you with details :)

There are some great books which may help provide you with some structure on how to manage the team:

Peopleware: Productive Projects & Teams http://www.amazon.com/Peopleware-Productive-Projects-Teams-S...

Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose http://www.amazon.com/Delivering-Happiness-Profits-Passion-P...

Rapid Development: Taming Wild Software Schedules http://www.amazon.com/dp/1556159005/?tag=stackoverfl08-20

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable http://www.amazon.com/Five-Dysfunctions-Team-Leadership-Fabl...

Fundamentally, cultivating a healthy team culture is the most important role you can play. Foster open, transparent communication, and avoid falling into the trap of micromanagement. Keep things happy, keep it real. All the best!

What a great opportunity!

If you can show a video, the Apple 'Think Different' ad would make an inspired intro: http://youtu.be/4oAB83Z1ydE

A fun activity could be to get them into groups, and get them to look at a certain product or issue through an 'Entrepreneurial Lens' - How can we make this better? How could we reach customers? You could have them fill out a lean canvas with their ideas :)

This is seriously cool! I've spent hours meticulously (manually) creating playlists around moods, thanks for sharing!

There's some great articles on the psychology of colour which may help you decide. Here's one: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/175428

My suggestion: Productive: Yellow (stimulates energy), Leisure: Turquoise (associated with tropical water, and pairs well with yellow)

Here you go :) It's long but insightful, so I recommend watching the whole thing: https://www.facebook.com/FacebookStudio?sk=app_2522064914642...

Hey man, I'm in the same boat in the sense that I'm ready to make my first hire. It is hard - yes - but hopefully that's because you've set your standards high. I think it's about attitude. I'm determined to put an A-Team together for an idea that is backed by a solid pitch and has industry traction. If you're able to articulate your idea clearly and with passion - make people excited - then you will, eventually, find people very willing to jump on board or recommend friends.

I'm taking my time with it, as the right team is crucial to success. As a random aside, I'm even going tech partner 'speed dating' next week! (I'm actually ridiculously nervous...having been with my husband for 8 years, I don't have a clue how to go on a speed 'date' lol)

Brilliant article! It's so important to highlight the multifarious roles played by women throughout the tech sector.

Although I'll temper that by noting there's work to be done in addressing the gender balance in engineering and encouraging the next generation of women developers - there's a Charlie Rose interview with Sheryl Sandberg and Marc Andreessen, where Sheryl noted that at a recent programming camp for kids there were very few girls.