Early Life and Education
Scott Farquhar was born in Sydney, Australia, in December 1979. He attended James Ruse Agricultural High School and later pursued a Bachelor of Science in Business Information Technology at the University of New South Wales (UNSW). It was during his time at UNSW that he met Mike Cannon-Brookes, with whom he would co-found Atlassian.
Rise to Success: Founding Atlassian
In 2002, Farquhar and Cannon-Brookes, fresh out of university, launched Atlassian. They started the company with the ambitious goal of replicating the typical corporate graduate starting salary without having to work for someone else. They bootstrapped the company, initially funding it with credit card debt. Atlassian's first product, Jira, was an affordable issue tracker. The company's innovative approach to software development and project management quickly gained traction, and Atlassian grew to serve over 300,000 customers worldwide.
Key Business Strategies
Atlassian's success can be attributed to several key strategies. They focused on creating user-friendly, affordable software, selling it directly online. This product-led growth model allowed the company to scale rapidly without relying on traditional enterprise sales tactics. The company also embraced a culture of transparency and collaboration, which helped attract and retain top talent. In December 2015, Atlassian made its initial public offering on the NASDAQ, which further solidified Farquhar's and Cannon-Brookes' status as tech billionaires.
Philanthropy
Farquhar is involved in philanthropy. In 2014, he co-founded Pledge 1%, a movement that encourages companies to dedicate 1% of equity, employee time, product, and profit to charity. He is involved in Skip Foundation, which is headed by his wife Kim Jackson. The foundation funds environmental, health, and equal opportunity initiatives.