Telstra wants to encourage more innovation in business, but says investors need to get on board.

Chief executive David Thodey also acknowledged the telco’s push to drive customer service online could carry risks.

“You’ve got to innovate,” Mr Thodey told a business breakfast in Perth on Thursday.

“Innovation has got to be at the process level, it’s got to be at the big idea level and it’s got to be external.”

He said Telstra was helping to fund 11 technology start-up companies in Sydney which were focused on education, health and agriculture.

Still, he said the investment response from venture capitalists in Australia was fairly lacklustre compared to the reception the start-ups received on a recent trip to Silicon Valley in the US.

“In Australia it’s like pulling teeth,” he said.

Mr Thodey, who has recently begun tweeting messages from his own twitter account, said people wanted to be able to use complex products simply.

He said Telstra was eager for customers to use its new app following the lead of banks which had driven their customers online.

But he acknowledged the telco’s model of encouraging customers to deal with the company on the internet, rather than face to face or on the phone, could create dissatisfaction.

“There’s always a risk but I don’t think that’s the case,” he said.

“We’ve got over three million consumers using the online capability.”

He said local high school students were becoming some of the best users of the company’s app.

“At the moment we’re not seeing any push back.”

Telstra receives around 500,000 calls and around 100,000 people visit Telstra shops each day.

Mr Thodey would not comment on how the company was tracking ahead of earnings season or whether there were any asset sales planned.

“It’s all price sensitive so I can’t say anything,” Mr Thodey said.