What Australian Tech Founders and CEOs Are Thinking About Growth Right Now

What Australian Tech Founders and CEOs Are Thinking About Growth Right Now

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The growth questions Australian tech leaders are asking

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What’s on the minds of leading Australian-based tech founders, executives, and operators navigating growth right now? 

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We spent time around the table with founders, CEOs, and operators navigating growth across SaaS, fintech, consumer platforms, and enterprise technology. There was a shared focus on what sustainable growth looks like in increasingly unpredictable conditions. 

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Here’s what stood out. 

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How AI is reshaping SaaS growth models

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AI is forcing a rethink of how SaaS businesses grow and make money. Investors are looking more closely at pricing models, margins, and long-term defensibility, which is putting pressure on companies still relying on traditional seat-based pricing.

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Around the table, there was healthy debate about consumption- and outcome-based models. They’re appealing in theory, but most leaders agreed they’re still early and difficult to implement at scale.

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Established players with deep integration and high switching costs — platforms like Zendesk, Salesforce, and HubSpot — remain well-protected. And while AI headlines are loud, the reality in Australia is more hesitant: most organizations are still experimenting rather than running AI at full production scale. 

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That caution may persist as more leaders (and investors) question AI ROI, particularly in light of OpenAI’s reported $7B annual loss. Leaders are thinking more carefully about where AI creates real, durable value.

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The cultural and structural realities of innovating in Australia

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Founders were candid about the headwinds facing innovation in Australia. Tall Poppy Syndrome came up repeatedly, alongside a generally lower appetite for risk compared to markets like the US and Singapore.

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There was also reflection on the absence of a strong national productivity narrative and the challenge of making long-term infrastructure decisions within short political cycles. Payroll tax and regulatory complexity were seen as real friction points.

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That said, the tone wasn’t defeatist. If anything, there was a sense that awareness is the first step — and that founders who understand these constraints can design around them.

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Why infrastructure is now a growth consideration

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As AI workloads increase, grid capacity across the APAC region is becoming a practical constraint. Hyperscalers, like Microsoft and AWS, are already reacting to it, with the exploration into nuclear power, new cooling and HVAC technologies, and even longer-term ideas like space-based computing.

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For founders, this reframes infrastructure from a background concern to a strategic one. The upside? Entire new categories of opportunity are emerging alongside these constraints.

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Looking beyond the current technology cycle

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While AI dominated the conversation, it wasn’t the sole driver of technology conversation. Quantum computing, longevity research, advanced materials like graphene, and breakthroughs in gene editing all featured as areas attracting serious attention and capital. These technologies are at very different stages, but the shared view was clear: future innovation will be shaped by several overlapping waves, not just one.

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Why community matters more than ever for founders and CEOs

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One of the most grounding moments came from research shared by Malika Nikolaeva, Founder and CEO of Frienda, on friendship and connection.

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We talked about how men and women form friendships differently, the time it takes to build meaningful relationships, and how life transitions and geography can disrupt connection: 

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• Men make friends through group activities vs women’s one-on-one approach
• 200+ hours are required for meaningful friendship formation 
• Men’s friendships are longer-lasting but with less frequent contact tolerance
• Geographic/cultural transitions are major friendship barriers

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It landed as a simple but important reminder that growth and leadership can be lonely and so community is, as much as it has ever been, a powerful strategy for growth.

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How Australian tech leaders are thinking about growth in the region

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Singapore’s ecosystem was noted for its rapid acceleration over the past decade, while Australia’s limited presence in Asian markets felt like a missed opportunity.

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There was also reflection on long-term capital, from the resource sector’s missed sovereign wealth fund opportunity to the role of ETFs and superannuation forces shaping innovation when aligned well.

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A realistic outlook on growth in 2026

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The vibe was realistic, not pessimistic. Australian founders and executives aren’t discouraged, but they are thinking more deeply about the multitudes of influence on long-term growth and how their strategies need to adapt or pivot.

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They’re questioning old models, balancing optimism with realism, and looking for peers to sense-check decisions in a fast-moving world. And perhaps most importantly, they’re choosing conversation over certainty, which is often where the best decisions begin.

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If you’re a founder, CEO, or executive based in Sydney and craving this kind of connection and conversation on a regular basis, get in touch with, get in touch with De’Angello Harris.

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