Hi #SmartCommunity friends,
We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which we live, work and record this podcast and pay our respects to Elders past and present. We extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples listening.
This year on the Smart Community Podcast, we’re introducing a new monthly “Future Of” series.
It’s a space to pause, take a step back and explore what’s changing across different industries, what’s emerging, and what it all means for our communities.
And to kick things off, we’re starting with the future of startups.
This episode is number 385! In this episode, I’m joined by Colin Kinner, a return guest and friend of the podcast who first joined me back in 2019 on episode 137.
In this conversation, we unpack what actually defines a startup, why scalability and problem solving sit at the core, and how Australia’s startup ecosystem has evolved over the past decade.
A big part of this shift is AI.
We explore how tools like Replit and Lovable are enabling non-technical founders to build and test ideas faster than ever before, and what that means in practice.
We also discuss the challenges of this moment, from AI slop and data privacy risks to the changing nature of work, alongside the very real opportunities this creates.
Importantly, this conversation connects back to smart communities.
Startups are not just about innovation. They play a critical role in economic diversification, particularly in regional areas, helping build more resilient and adaptable communities over time.
As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it.
What we cover in this episode:
What defines a startup and how it differs from a small business
How Australia’s startup ecosystem has evolved
The impact of AI on building and scaling products
Why curiosity and domain expertise matter for founders
Key risks of AI including data privacy and bias
The role of startups in economic diversification and resilient communities
Quotes:
“The most important skill is probably more curiosity and the ability to figure stuff out on the fly so if you look at how quickly the world is changing things are moving so quickly that what you learn today may not be relevant in a couple of years.”
“There’s never been a better time in all of human history to start a startup than right now it doesn’t mean it’s easy but the barrier to entry has come down so much.”
“What they don’t often think about is this will allow me to do things that I would never have even entertained doing because it’s just prohibitively costly or it’s going to take a massive amount of time.”
“Fundamentally the really core thing is it’s trying to solve a problem so it’s saying here’s a problem that exists in the world and we’re going to create a thing that will solve that problem.”
“I think there’s a pretty strong argument that if we want a strong economy in the medium and long term we really have to invest in creating more diverse businesses.”
Links:
Anthropic economic index AI usage vs capability radar map
Connect:
Connect with Colin Kinner on LinkedIn or via Startup OnRamp
Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community
Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn and watch on YouTube
Podcast Production by Perk Digital
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