Special Report: Tech sector seeks formula for success

With many investors in Western Australia’s fledgling technology sector having been burned by lossmaking companies such as Chemeq, Clinical Cell Culture and ERG, it has been difficult for new companies emerging in their wake to attract support.

While Western Australia’s mining stocks and their investors enjoy a bull run, emerging technology companies with new ideas are finding it harder to attract investor attention.

Technology companies typically emerge from universities and other research institutions, but one WA success story that evolved away from the limelight was ThinkSmart.

Finding the right people to manage Western Australia’s technology companies is like finding a needle in a haystack, according to Titan Bioventures managing director and Phylogica non-executive director Harry Karelis.