Iconic stock exchange bell rings through Brisbane to open Myriad

Innovation Minister Kate Jones today officially opened Myriad Festival by joining ASX Chairman Rick Holliday-Smith and NAB Chairman Dr Ken Henry AC to ring the Australian stock exchange bell.

Ms Jones said it was one of few times in history the bell had been brought north from Sydney – a historic moment for Queensland.

Ms Jones said it was fitting to have the ASX bell at Myriad Festival because it was every startup’s dream to one day see their company on the stock market.

“That journey from startup to IPO could begin at Myriad for many of our Queensland entrepreneurs,” Ms Jones said.

“This year Queensland overtook Victoria for the number of tech startups, and we are well on the way to becoming Australia’s most entrepreneurial state.”

Myriad is Australia’s leading tech and innovation festival and has attracted hundreds of entrepreneurs, investors and change-makers from Silicon Valley and across the world to converge on Brisbane over the next two days.

The bell traditionally marks the beginning of trading in a company’s shares. When a company goes public and lists on the ASX, the founders are often given the honour of ringing the bell.

Ms Jones also announced the launch of a new book - Entrepreneur's Guide: Start up, Scale up, IPO – a publication principally sponsored by the ASX and NAB are principal sponsors.

ASX Chairman Rick Holliday-Smith said: “Supporting entrepreneurs and innovators is at the heart of what ASX does, allowing founders to raise capital to fund their growth and offering them the honour of ringing the bell to announce their entry to the public market.

“We hope the Entrepreneur’s Guide, being launched today, serves as a resource of practical advice for entrepreneurs for many years to come.”

NAB Chairman Ken Henry said Australia could become an even more entrepreneurial nation with deliberate and sustained action.

“We can build capability. We can help more people to turn great ideas into businesses, scale them and keep them here,” Dr Henry said.

“If we get this right, we can ensure our children, grandchildren and future generations have great jobs in a world that’s increasingly digital, increasingly fast-moving, and increasingly reliant on smart ideas,” he said.

The Queensland Government is a strategic partner of Myriad, with a three-year sponsorship agreement with Myriad Technology Conferences to host annual events from 2017 to 2019.

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