Eleven of NSW’s best regional startups will take part in a bootcamp at the Sydney Startup Hub from 12-14 August and compete for a spot in the finals of the 2019 Jobs for NSW Regional Pitchfest, with $20,000 in cash and prizes on offer.
Minister for Jobs Stuart Ayres said the three-day bootcamp will put the startups through a range of business development workshops and give them a shot at winning Australia’s largest pitch competition for regional startups.
“The Jobs for NSW Regional Pitchfest is all about shining a spotlight on the best new business ideas that are coming out of regional NSW and helping the entrepreneurs behind them take the next big step in their development.
“Regional pitch events have been held in Armidale, Bathurst, Broken Hill, Byron Bay, Dubbo, Wagga Wagga, Wollongong, Young and virtually from Lightning Ridge to unearth the top startup talent from each location.
“Congratulations to the 11 outstanding businesses who have won their regional events and will now progress to the next stage of the Regional Pitchfest.
“These clever startups are fantastic examples of the breadth of creative innovation that is occurring right across our regional areas of NSW.
“They represent a range of business types that are servicing our communities - from online gourmet food companies to business, social support, and health technologies to assist people suffering from chronic pain and dementia.
“We want to help these startups grow and develop to create businesses and jobs that can support the economic future of our regions.”
Dianna Somerville, founder of Regional Pitchfest, said the semi-finalists will now take part in a three-day bootcamp at the Sydney Startup Hub from 12 to 14 August before competing in a further pitching event.
“The bootcamp will include workshops to coach the startups on different aspects of business including attracting and managing investors, marketing, team and board building and more,” Mrs Somerville said.
“Five finalists will then be chosen from the bootcamp pitching session to advance to the NSW State Final in Wagga Wagga on 5 September. There they will pitch to a live audience and expert panel for a chance to be crowned 2019 Jobs for NSW Regional Pitchfest winner.”
For more information on the Jobs for NSW Regional Pitchfest visit https://regionalpitchfest.com/
REGIONAL EVENT WINNERS FROM JOBS FOR NSW REGIONAL PITCHFEST
Armidale - Danielle Morton is a serial entrepreneur with a passion for kids’ health and organic food who has founded Zondii, an online community for healthy food and eco-friendly products.
Broken Hill - Pandora’s Palate is a family-run gourmet food business spearheaded by chef Lee Cecchin who uses seasonal local ingredients and bush flavours to create food products unique to Broken Hill.
Byron Bay - Jonas Widjaja of Fair Game Wild Venison has created a business that delivers premium quality, wild-caught venison straight from the wilderness to provide a source of all-natural unfarmed deer meat.
Coffs Harbour - Tony Rothacker, a lean startup advocate whose specialty is to deliver complex technology in a simple way, has developed Tracee App which is an artificial intelligence solution that diagnoses internet access issues and requests a service without leaving customers in a call queue.
Hunter - Susan Ryan founded Uukoo which offers a communication solution for people with dementia and their families using a tablet with functions designed to help maintain social connections between loved ones.
Wagga Wagga – professional writer and educator Dimity Brassil has created A Lasting Tale which empowers people to record the audio life stories of loved ones through a do it yourself guide, workshops and professional interviews, while also supporting fundraising for Palliative Care Australia.
Wollongong - film-maker, cinematographer, and producer Ella Gibbons has created multimedia company The Atlas of Consciousness to share ideas on solutions to world issues such as poverty and climate change through videos, podcasts, and books.
Young - PA2health is a digital innovation developed by five co-founders with experience in fitness, nutrition and mindfulness who deliver a four-week challenge involving healthy eating, exercise and stress management via a Facebook messenger chatbot.
Dubbo – Leanne O’Sullivan created Summit School with Leanne O to share and teach organisations how to create, implement and measure their own digital marketing strategies using the exact framework that her digital agency, Adventure Digital uses with all of their clients.
Bathurst - Sally Hennessy of Beyond Vision Travel who has spent 10 years working with students with vison impairment has combined a love of travel with her desire to help people to focus on travel tours for people with vision impairment.
Lightning Ridge (Virtual Pitch) - Kathy Hubble of Amelio Health is providing an online support program for people in pain and their health professional which is data driven from an app and wearable devices linked to Amelio Health coaches.
