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Michael Cannon-brookes

Co-Founder, CEO & Director, Atlassian

Search every verified Michael Cannon-brookes interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. In a July 2026 podcast appearance, Atlassian co‑founder and CEO Mike Cannon‑Brookes recounted the company’s origins. He said that in 2001 he emailed college classmates in Sydney asking for help launching a tech startup; only Scott Farquhar responded. The two began by running a tech‑support service from their bedrooms, then pivoted to selling software when that model proved unsustainable. Cannon‑Brookes attributed Atlassian’s success partly to a long‑term, patient approach and to the company’s Australian roots. He described Australians as resourceful, drawing on a national history of farming a harsh landscape. He noted that early on, venture capitalists told him Atlassian could never grow beyond $1 million in revenue, and later repeated the same claim at $10 million. Cannon‑Brookes said the company stopped seeking outside validation after that and that starting the business in Australia was “the only reason we’re successful.”

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