Adelaide's business sector is set to gain fresh talent as the city prepares to host a weekend-long competition dedicated to developing new startups.
Hosted by the University of South Australia's Innovation & Collaboration Centre (ICC), Techstars Startup Weekend Adelaide will commence on Friday December 2 and conclude Sunday evening, activating a new community of future founders in just one weekend.
It's the same competition where the globally recognised social enterprise TABOO was first formed.
In 2017, co-founders Eloise Hall and Isobel Marshall, both of whom had just completed year 12, were able to kick-start their venture after winning Adelaide's first Techstars Startup Weekend.
TABOO has gone on to fight period poverty in Australia and overseas through the provision of high quality and sustainable period products.
Eloise Hall says the event helped turn TABOO from just an idea into the impactful business that it is today.
"We had a very early-stage concept of a business and pitched it to a room full of strangers and, much to our surprise, a passionate group of men decided to support our business," Hall says
"The biggest outcome from the weekend was affirmation and assurance that our business would work, thanks to the generous support of our team and mentors.
"After the weekend ended, the team that worked with us throughout the competition continued to support us in refining the new website, putting together promotional videos, and so on.
"It was a really supportive space to be initially introduced to the broader startup ecosystem in South Australia.
"This support gave us solid foundations to grow from."
This December, more than 80 emerging entrepreneurs will follow in the footsteps of these successful ventures, and work at UniSA's ICC to discover what it takes to launch a business.
Participants will spend the weekend networking with industry-leading mentors, investors, co-founders and sponsors to develop their business ideas before delivering a final pitch to the judging panel.
Event organiser and ICC Director, Jasmine Vreugdenburg, says the final pitches will showcase the learning and business development of each team.
"These types of events are important to run because they engage new would-be founders to test out ideas and meet new people in a risk-free environment." Vreugdenburg says.
"We are also focusing on encouraging high school and university students have just finished their exams and have an idea for a startup to give this a go
"This weekend will pave the way for new, innovative businesses in Australia, that will likely have a global impact in years to come."
This year's winning team will have the chance to advance their startup concepts over the next six months through mentoring, support, and workshops through the Innovation & Collaboration Centre, including hot desking in the Centre's co-working space.
Prizes also include tickets to _SOUTHSTART 2023, signed copies of "The Essential Entrepreneur" by founder of ZEN energy Richard Turner, and a lunch experience sponsored by Office of the South Australian Chief Entrepreneur.
Adelaide Techstars Startup Weekend begins December 2 and concludes December 4.
Register now: https://icc.unisa.edu.au/event/student-to-startup/#Startup%20Weekend
