Five Aussie SMEs looking to make it big in the USA

Regardless of the economic turmoil the US has undergone in the past four years, America remains a prized destination for many Australian entrepreneurs.

Not only does the US provide a market about 20 times the size of that of Australia, it is also home to some of the best and brightest business minds. If you’re in the innovation game, it’s likely that you will want to try your hand Stateside.

The re-election of Barack Obama as President yesterday is likely to receive a mixed reaction among entrepreneurs both here and in the US.

Some business owners have accused Obama of not giving them enough support and taxing them too heavily.

Conversely, Obama has supported investment into cutting edge technology, such as biotech and clean energy, and has said he wants to create a cabinet post for business in his new administration.

So which Aussie start-ups will be hoping to make their mark in the US during Obama’s second term?

Below, we’ve highlighted five of our brightest hopes. Who knows, defeated Republican Mitt Romney, a serial investor worth $250 million, may even take a look at them.

As an added bonus for Mitt, these businesses’ jobs are already offshored!

1. Collusion

Robert Yearsley has got big plans. The Sydney entrepreneur is targeting a $10 million bounty from his foray into the US, along with co-founders Sumeet Patel and Navdeep Saini.

Collusion offers a new way of writing, drawing and sharing information on the iPad, via a stylus.

The Collusion team is decamping to California in order to secure the treasure trove from US investors, with Yearsley telling us in May that several potential backers have shown an interest.

However, he admits that he would be happy to stay in Australia, if the local venture capital community showed enthusiasm towards the ambitious start-up.

“It seems that Aussie tech VCs can’t even be bothered to look at what’s going on in their own backyard,” he told us.

“I could go round chasing them all and try and get them out of a meeting, but the US investors are just in a different league.”

“We would want to stay in Sydney. We’ve enjoyed living and working by the beach and we could base the business anywhere, really. But we’ve been tearing our hair out at the investors here because unless it’s a proven model in the US or UK, they aren’t interested.”

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