As someone attempting to create a MVP and then bootstrap in Perth, thanks for helping me feel less-bad about my efforts :) It is possible to have a startup here (one of my day jobs is at one), but it is certainly less common than I imagine it to be in the US.

One thing I've noticed is that people here tend to aim for services rather than products. You can make money a lot faster contracting for a big mining company than you can trying to develop a product, fund it, market it, and make profit off it.

I'd even go as far as to say it's cultural - we're less likely to take the risk - probably because the big reward (anything to do with the mining industry) is so low risk to begin with. You even see it in other sectors - for example musicians over here are more likely to try making a living in a related service (music teaching etc) with guaranteed income than "risk" investing in their own music and trying to get big selling a product.

Tempted to move to NYC now and follow your lead!