SpacetoCo Bravely venture into the Shark Tank!

Daniel McCullen, Steve Baxter, Jeremy Hurst, Daniel Franco - Shark Tank

Yes and congratulations to the team, Daniel McCullen, Jeremy Hurst and Daniel J Franco, at SpacetoCo, who have secured investment in their business from Shark Tank's Steve Baxter.

I watched and it was nerve-wracking, but these guys are great to work with, extremely passionate and dedicated to their business, plus it works brilliantly, with no fuss.

SpacetoCo allows you to discover and easily book spaces for your events/needs. You can book our Basement and Hotdesks via SpacetoCo

Check out  SpacetoCo Instagram link

$100 Full time desks in Perth CDB

The financial new year has kicked off in full speed and with this we are offering four full-time desks in our co-working room for a hugely discounted rate of $100 +gst each, per week, when you sign on for 3 months or more.

That includes fast Wi-Fi and power, plus we have a shared meeting room, bathroom and kitchen facilities.

Sponsored by the City of Perth, our social studio building is a super cool working space, right in the Perth CBD and a minute from the train. Our other office tenants are clever, creative, successful, business mentors and very nice people. We will have a couple of private lockable offices available very soon too, so CONTACT us now if you want to get in.

www.studiostartup.com.au

10 Points Covered in my Startup Pitch

PITCH TRAINING WITH START-UP EXPERTS AT THE TECH HUB

I definitely don't enjoy public speaking, but pitching has popped it's head up in everything I do. I've had to pitch screenplays for films, TV commercials, corporate and promo videos. I've had to pitch business ideas and sometimes I have to pitch going on holiday. Mostly it's been at conventions, networking events and company meetings, to build relationships or for revenue.

I'm okay with the informal situations, in conversation style, but when I stand in front of a room full of seasoned investors I can forget my own name. But I go forth and face fear head on. So I take a deep breath and plunge headlong into it.

Saying this, I also try to prepare as best as I can, know my subject, practice and be ready to answer questions.

Following are 10 points I always try to cover, the length varies depending on where, who to and how I'm pitching. Many points should be elaborated on later in a follow up meeting. At first, I'm just trying to peak interest. After researching who I'm pitching to I design the content to suit them. Often, I connect at functions, so I always have an elevator pitch ready.

This is the guide I use

  1. Introduction: One brief and punchy line that introduces my product or service, what it does and who it's for. Make it clear and grab attention

  2. The Problem: What is the problem I am solving and who is it affecting. I talk about how it's causing pain for the end user and give an example as proof

  3. The solution: How my product or service helps solve or alleviate the end users problem

  4. Market: Be realistic, show the potential for growth, use my current traction and multiply it by users over time

  5. Competition: Who is already trying to solve this problem & how is my solution different - more effective. Having competitors means someone else has identified there is a problem. Maybe I can align with them

  6. The Business Model: How will this make money

  7. Marketing plan: What I have already done - how it will grow and change. How will I create growth, what channels will I use, how will I capture new users and what are my targets

  8. Team: What skills, experience, passion and strengths does my team have. How we are improving ourselves - that shows passion, energy and commitment and keeps us up to date with industry

  9. Projections or traction: Here I mention any metrics gathered, partnerships, customers, KPI's hit, growth or revenue already made, or beliefs I have based on current industry research

  10. The Ask: Explain what's needed to move forward and how it will be used it to reach the project's potential

On a slide deck, I put a few key words on each slide. The real content is for me to tell, so the investors can understand my vision and get to know me, also to prove that I know my stuff.

THE FUSION FOUNDER PROGRAM - RUN BY SAM MEADE AND ANDY LAMB

I learned the importance of these points during the Fusion Founder Program, a Tech Start-Up program, run by Atomic Sky in Perth.

I hope it's helpful to you and good luck!

Innovator of the Year Awards help Outstanding Innovators to Scale

Innovator of the Year 2018 (IOTY) opened for Applications last week. Applications were formally by Christopher Tallentire MLA, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Water; Fisheries; Forestry; Innovation and ICT; Science.

I was fortunate to moderate a wonderful panel for the launch which included leaders from Medical Science, Mineral Resources, Energy, AgriTech, Research, Government and Technology. Joining me on the WA IOTY Launch Panel discussion were;

Professor Lyn Beazley, 2015 W.A. Australian of the Year and former WA Chief Scientist, who kicked off the discussion with examples of the significant economic and social impact that innovation can bring across the State. The IOTY program promotes job creation, economic diversification and future skills development in Western Australia. As part of the State's New Industries it strengthens in areas such as innovation in the resources sector, human health, automation, energy, agriculture, education and the environment.

The Joondalup Innovation Hub brings together Edith Cowan University as is a world leader in research and education, innovation expertise, the Australian Security Growth Network, AustCyber, and the Cyber Security CRC. Steve Marmion (Economic Development Advisor, City of Joondalup) discussed how the Hub is building global leadership and jobs in the sector. He also pointed out some of the many advantages of being an innovator focused on high growth sectors with significant underlying demand.

Woodside Energy proactively works with energy sector researchers, startups, SMEs and young innovators to provide demand for future skills. Neil Kavanagh, Chief Scientist & Technology Manager of Woodside Energy, pointed out the power of innovation to engage communities throughout Western Australian regions. He then expanded on the positive outcomes for communities that come from innovation and collaboration, providing excellent examples of outcomes in the Pilbara of innovators working across the value chain. 

Innovation in the Agricultural sector is important to improving the efficiency of food production and distribution. Dr Natasha Ayers, MD and CoFounder of agri-business experts AgriStart, has helped many companies grow through collaboration and innovation. She shared her experiences of where and how companies are leveraging new technologies focused on innovations in agriculture and regional development. Tash also touched on growing the food industry through skills development, engagement and innovation

Mitsubishi is in its tenth year as the Principal Sponsor of the Awards. David Lake, General Manager of Mitsubishi Australia Ltd and IOTY Judge, highlighted the importance of the IOTY Awards to promote and acknowledge the success of Western Australian innovators. In addition, the many outcomes that come from bringing innovative people together to contribute to success across all sectors.

The IOTY Awards have a history of activating and strengthening industry-university research collaborations. Steve Durkin (Safescape) added his company’s experience of leveraging Universities and how researchers helped strengthen their high growth business. He then expanded on the benefits the company gained from being part of the 2017 IOTY Awards and how winning the Emerging Category with Safescape Edge Protector has helped them further scale. 

The IOTY program is an initiative of the State Government's New Industries Fund, which aims to enable SMEs to develop greater opportunities to commercialise their innovations and expand to create new jobs. 

The initiative has supported and showcased innovative businesses since 2006. Some of the many high growth companies that have benefited include FastBrick Robotics, iCetana, SEQTA, TrackEm, Tap into Safety, ScanCam, Group and Fusion Books.

Canva CoFounder, Melanie Griffiths, has previously commented that being part of the W.A. Innovator of the Year Awards as CoFounder of Fusion Books had "opened more doors than she could have dreamed of. Getting great advice in the early stages of our business had a huge impact on our strategies and success. It’s a fantastic program that’s had a huge impact on us.”

In a survey of prior IOTY participants, the firms had reported that being involved in the awards later led to them employing more staff and that the awards led to increased investment from business angels and venture capitalists. The companies also reported they were now focusing on domestic plus international markets with more than 45% of those survey respondents now successfully exporting their products or services overseas.

Apply for Innovator of the Year 2018 HERE

WRITERS BLOC MONTHLY WRITING EVENT

Are you ready to kick writing's butt? Or do you want to catch up with literary folk in a place with good coffee? Well, you can do both at #WriteHere October. 

You'll have plenty of time for writing individually, surrounded by other writers.

There are also events running concurrently in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Adelaide so if you're on Twitter, jump in the #WriteHere hashtag and see who else is involved.  Write Here is an opportunity to get some writing done. It's not a critique group but we'll happily discuss your ideas at the end of the session.

Write here is a monthly event and regularly held on the first Saturday of every month.  Entry through a donation on the day at The Centre for Stories 100 Aberdeen Street Northbridge, WA, 6003... Read more & reserve your place

High Impact Innovation from Industry and Research Collaboration

By Peter Rossdeutscher | 8 Apr 2018

iPREP WA Marshall Institute team with Christopher Tallentire MLA

Researchers strengthening their broad collaboration skills tackling the innovation demands of workplaces. The H1 2018 iPREP cohort presented their recommendations after six weeks of concentrated work. Multidisciplinary teams of PhD researchers from five different Universities with a number of commercial supervisors tackling on real corporate problems for paying clients.

Each of the teams showed entrepreneurial thinking of the challenges and presented strong recommendations to their corporate project sponsor. The presentations were supported by a report and presentation.

Focused on projects solving real workplace challenges. Four of the projects were innovating in the sector; optimizing wetland performance of future treatment technologies; environmentally sustainable solutions for sequester carbon using hemp, using data science to increase the efficiency of fertiliser use efficiency, optimizing the sniper precision agriculture system for grain growers.

The final team of the night had been working on Nobel Prize Barry Marshall's Noisy Gut initiative. Their work included recruiting study participants for data recordings using the Noisy Guts intelligent acoustic belt. The belt will provide doctors with a non-invasive way of screening for physical diseases with irritable bowel syndrome and other guts disorders.

For the third consecutive year, Atomic Sky was a key supporter of iPREP providing commercial solution delivery coaching.  It always amazes me how quickly researchers adapt to workplace challenges and the exceptional input to the commercialisation of projects they deliver in such a short time.

What do the University PhD students most get out of this type of diverse engagement with industry partners?

- Increased business acumen

- Demonstrated problem solving

- Project management skills

- Cross-discipline teamwork

- Workplace skills translation

Christopher Tallentire MLA, Parliamentary Secretary to the Western Australia Minister for Water, Fisheries, Forestry, Innovation and ICT, Science closed the formalities. Minister Tallentire highlighted the quality of the outputs as well as commenting on the value of research working with industry as well as collaboration across sectors for growing economies.

Vicki Hodgson MC'd the evening and iPREP Coordinator, Narelle Jones, concluded the event noting that the key theme for the success of all of the projects was optimisation and applying cross-discipline thinking to innovative commercial projects.

ANGEL INVESTING SERIES

New Economy Technologies: Blockchain and Cryptocurrency

This Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Masterclass will explore:

The Tech with examples of successful ventures.

The Transformation Opportunity and impact on industry.

The Investment Opportunity and how to engage.

It will be followed by a panel of experts to answer your questions regarding the adoption of these technologies and key investment considerations.

  • When: 28 March 2018 - 12:30 PM to 6:00 PM
  • Location:  State Library of Western Australia, 25 Francis Street, Perth Cultural Centre, WA 6000

FOR MORE INFO & TO REGISTER

RESHAPING ENERGY NETWORKS TO INTEGRATE EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES

How would you reshape existing energy networks to integrate new and emerging technologies for regional areas to maximise renewable power sources? 

The future of energy networks will be driven by customer choice, with renewables having a large part to play in the energy mix.  Increasingly energy networks will act as platforms for retail and residential customers to choose how they want their electricity supplied and delivered.

Operators will continue to foster and enable the connection of renewables – a generation source that continues to grow.  Micro grids will enhance power supply on the edge of the grid, while Stand-alone Power Systems will bring new opportunities for isolated customers.

As part of its plan for the future, Western Power with the aid of the City of Albany and Atomic Sky rallied some of the brightest local minds to imagine a blueprint of a future smart city. Speakers included Western Power Senior Executives Fiona Bishop and Matt Cheney, Albany Mayor Dennis Wellington, Sunrise Energy Director Neil Canby and leading innovator Dr Natasha Ayers.

Outcomes from the workshop feed into Western Australia’s first Energy Self-Sufficiency Hackathon in Perth (22-23 March 2018). 

Info on the hackathon is at www.atomicsky.com.au/events

Technology Innovation Growing in the Food & Agriculture Industry

The application of AgTech will create significant competitive advantages for nations as exporters and producers. In Australia, there is huge momentum building in technology-centric innovation activity in food and agriculture.

Australia has the primary production, research and expertise to provide agrifood and business tech on a serious scale. In particular,  Western Australia has a significant opportunity as a scale producer and exporter of value-added agriculture and premium to Asia, and new initiatives are focused on making resources and support available to entrepreneurs to help capitalize on this potential.

The next few years will be critical in developing more mature growth pathways that blend sector domain expertise with innovative technology and entrepreneurs. Hon Alannah MacTiernan, Western Australian Minister for Regional Development, and Agriculture and Food said that investing in AgTech development and applying new technologies is critical for the Western Australia’s competitiveness and productivity within this industry. 

“We are really excited about this project and the ability for us to provide people in this post start-up stage a real boost to their business which is fundamentally allowing farmers to take advantage of modern technology to farm better and to farm smarter,” Minister MacTiernan said.

AgriStart’s HARVEST program is at the forefront of local initiatives supporting AgTech companies to develop and scale, and part of a wider ecosystem supporting the growth of the AgTech industry in Australia.

From edible crickets and big data to aerial surveying and wind turbine technology, Western Australia’s most innovative small businesses form the first cohort of the HARVEST program. These companies are at a point where they are ready to have a broader impact, so HARVEST is providing them export readiness guidance, access to networks and investment opportunities to support their next stage of expansion.

Convergio - Convergio are applying the latest technologies in computer vision, machine learning and data analytics to develop next-generation solutions for virtual simulation and economic modelling to enable farmers to improve yields, extend capacity, diversify products, enter new markets.

GeoMoby - GeoMoby technology provides cost-effective solutions to several problems in agriculture by coupling of real-time data with accurate position information, leading to efficient analysis of large amounts of geospatial. It supports applications including livestock tracking, fencing automation, lone worker tracking and farm mapping.

Grubs Up - Grubs Up is WA's first edible insect farm, providing an alternative to beef and lamb as a protein source for human food and animal feed. Grubs Up aims to scale up insect farming that is sustainable with a zero-waste system, with minimal environmental impact.

MALDIID - Identification of rhizobia, the critical soil bacteria needed for legumes to provide nitrogen to the soil, can be expensive and time-consuming. The MALDIID technology provides rapid and efficient rhizobia identification without the need to culture the bacteria, allowing farmers to manage their legume crops and pastures more effectively. 

Mapizy - Mapizy's machine learning platform can rapidly process satellite, drone and terrestrial imagery data and create an accurate inventory of crops, trees, weeds, pests and diseases. Equipped with this new type of information, agriculture businesses can make better decisions and improve performance.

P&A Pan - P&A Pan is a second generation, family run business that has traditionally grown fruit and vegetables. Their new venture involves soilless micro herbs grown in a sea container within a controlled environment, with the goal to be chemical free and use less water.

Precision Agronomics Australia - Precision Agronomics is focused on improving agricultural practises by developing customised soil mapping, data processing and machinery control solutions that help solve the practical problems for the world's farmers, such as reducing input and labour costs, optimising crop yield and quality, while minimising adverse environmental effects.

Scientific Aerospace - Scientific Aerospace is focused on designing and producing world-leading high precision aerial surveying solutions. Aerial surveying of soil & crop health will help farmers to identify plant vigour, pests, diseases and soil water content.

Windturbine - Windturbine is looking to solve issues with remote water pumping requirements for agriculture using renewable energy sources. The Windturbine solution combines wind and solar along with battery storage to provide a 24-hour pump on-demand solution to remote irrigation.

The first workshop of HARVEST program on Friday focused on a strategic business planning session and featured a line-up of expert speakers including Nicole Keating (CSBP), Peter May (DPIRD), Julian Coyne (AIIA), Greg Riebe from Triangle Capital Partners, Dr Natasha Ayers (AgriStart) and Adjunct Professor Peter Rossdeutscher (Atomic Sky).

The mentor-intensive program will feature 40 experts from around the world such as Trendlines AgTech, BayWa, CISCO, Wesfarmers, AgWorld, Austrade, GRDC, RuralCo and Plumb Grove.

Minister MacTiernan stated at the HARVEST launch; "We want to create an environment to support businesses to develop their ideas, technologies, business models and commercialise their products in global markets. Our local AgTech companies have the opportunity to come up with innovative technology-based solutions to make our agriculture and food industry more efficient, and capitalise on opportunities in growing export markets.”

WA Chief Scientist Peter Klinken highlighted the opportunity when opening the HARVEST launch event said it was essential for the WA agricultural industry to stay one step ahead of international competitors by taking seriously the investment into the development and innovation within the industry.

 “Let’s make sure we don’t sit on our hands and watch everyone else go past us. We don’t want future generations to wonder what we did when we had the opportunity. We want them to think ‘They did a good job”.

HARVEST was created and is delivered by AgriStart with support from Atomic Sky.  More information about the companies and programs can be found at www.agristart.com.au and www.atomicsky.com.au.

State Government launches $20K innovation vouchers for 2018

Roll up, roll up! The WA state government is accepting applications for the $20K Innovation Vouchers Program…

Fancy a nice $20,000 grant from the WA government? Well, from tomorrow, and for the next month, applications are open for the state government’s Innovation Vouchers Program (IVP), which is part of the $16.7M New Industries Fund.

Applications close at 11am on Weds 28th March, and successful applicants will have access to the funds from July 1st 2018.

Go to the New Industries Website:  LEARN MORE AND APPLY

Leadership WA Key Note by Atomic Sky Owner

WHAT MAKES A GREAT LEADER?

Sharing views of leadership traits that standout in successful global companies was the topic of Atomic Sky Managing Partner Peter Rossdeutschers' talk to The WA Leaders Executive Alumni audience.

Speaking to a room of senior Executives and business Owners, he discussed learnings from leadership experiences.

PETER ROSSDEUTSCHER from ATOMIC SKY

Peter has been fortunate to work with organisations of different cultures in roles such as Managing Director of Asia for a Fortune 100 Company, Chair of a global Consulting Group based in Europe, Non-Executive Director of numerous large organisations based in Australia and Asia.

In each organisation there were exceptional leaders and many traits in common. 

The talk closed with this list of traits that he values most in leaders in his capacity as a Professional Non-Executive Director;

* MAKE MEANING - with passion & clarity through a strategic vision    

* BUILD TRUST - consistent role models of integrity & respect    

* LEAD - listen then take the responsibility to decide & communicate    

* EMPOWER - well-structured delegation of real decision making    

* DIVERSITY - diversity lowers risk & lifts opportunity scanning    

* GIVING BACK - they teach, mentor and open networks to pay it forward



The Australia China Innovation Growth Fund backs the AgriStart Sector Initiatives

The Australia China Innovation Growth Fund was announced today as a Supporter of the AgriStart HARVEST sector growth initiatives in Western Australia. 

AgriStart Mentors Ally Bishop, Peter Rossdeutscher, Dr Natasha Ayers, Grant Sanderson, Greg Riebe, Stuart Kidd

"China continues to experience incredible growth, and as the economy matures its demand for innovation and technologies is increasing. Australia has developed amazing technologies and its Agri/Food Tech sector is recognised, especially in China, as lean, clean and green.
 
The Australia China Innovation Growth Fund is pleased to be part of the AgriStart Harvest Accelerator program as it provides us an opportunity to feedback what we are seeing and hearing in the China market, as well develop long term relationships with Australian-based companies that may be opportunities to connect to China growth in the future.”  
Kent Matla, Founder & Managing Director

AgriStart programs draw on some of Australia’s leading experts in growth business mentoring such as Greg Riebe, Stuart Kidd, Nicole Keating, Julian Coyne, Tracie Clarke, Tom Calder, Peter Rossdeutscher, Dr Natasha Ayers and Grant Sanderson. 

The HARVEST AgriBusiness and AgriTech accelerator also leverages global experts from Germany, Israel, USA, China and Singapore such as Ally Bishop, Kent Matla and Stuart Crocker.

The initiative is led by AgriStart Executive Director, Natasha Ayers, and Atomic Sky Executive Director, Peter Rossdeutscher

LINKEDIN

HARVEST Accelerator Program Attracts Sponsors

CSBP & Plum Grove announced as sponsors of WA agtech program & Atomic Sky is proud to be a delivery partner for the initiative.

HARVEST is a 9 week accelerator program targeting late-stage start-ups and SMEs looking to scale their business, develop new opportunities and export markets. The program will feature a range of expert mentors tailored to the needs of the participants.

CSBP’s Development Manager, Nicole Keating, said

‘CSBP are keen to support the Harvest program as we believe innovation is a key way to generate new growth and employment in our regional communities. New technologies are creating a lot of new innovation opportunities in agriculture and programs like Harvest play an important part in equipping innovators with the necessary skills, mentoring and networks to take their ideas forward within WA as well as to markets beyond.’

Plum Grove were also keen to support the associated CONNECT regional innovation workshops to support their regional clients.

Plum Grove and CSBP join the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development as major sponsors of the HARVEST Accelerator program. 

Applications for HARVEST close soon on 5th February. More information about the program can be found on the HARVEST Accelerator Program webpage

UNLEASHED VR VOTED STARTUP OF THE YEAR AT HR INNOVATION AND TECH FEST CONFERENCE

CONGRATULATIONS to one of our fabulous residents Unleashed VR for winning of the HR Innovation and Tech Fest Start Up Competition.

The 600+ audience voted for Unleashed VR as having the best pitch and the most relevance to their organisation’s needs. Attendees at the event included an international collection of professionals and service providers specialising in HR.

Pitching Unleashed VR

Video interview with Ben From Unleashed-VR

CEO, Ben Bauert, spoke to the audience about the unique benefits of VR for training and the company’s work developing an immersive training methodology in conjunction with a range of subject-matter experts.

The keynote presentation by Josh Bersin, HR thought leader and founder of Bersin by Deloitte, and he gave special mention during his presentation to Unleashed VR for its ground-breaking work and gave his backing to VR as a game-changing technology for workplace behavioural and soft skills training.

Unleashed VR builds educational and training programs that focus on improving the emotional intelligence and soft skills of individuals, teams and businesses and can be contacted at enquiries@unleashed-vr.com

Gov Backs Ag Accelorator to Harvest Big Ideas

Agristart

Dr Natasha Ayers

Business News - by Matt McKenzie

The Harvest accelerator program will be run by consultancy Agristart, with support from the department, Austrade, and co-working hub Atomic Sky.

The eight-week program will run across a number of co-working spaces in Perth, according to Agristart founder Tash Ayers. READ MORE

How Israel Provides Opportunities for Australian Companies to Globalise

OMRI WISLIZKI speaking at ATOMIC SKY'S innovation breakfast in the STUDIO STARTUP Basement

Israel is well known as a startup nation and engine for creating technology-centric innovation on a global scale. It has the most NASDAQ listed companies after USA and China, one in ten jobs are a tech job, 1/4 of the countries tech workforce are employed in international R&D centres. As a global hub it attracts corporations and investment groups from around the world looking for tech-centric solutions.

Austrade's Landing Pad Manager in Israel, Omri Wislizki shared some of his experience at the Atomic Sky Innovation Leadership Breakfast in Perth. A Tel Aviv native, Omri plays a key role in connecting Australian growth companies into the Israel ecosystem.

Some take-always included;

  • With little domestic market, all Israeli companies think global from day one. They look to use technology to solve big problems and create international businesses.

  • In Israel startups you start as fast as you can, then you go faster, so it is a place you can go to change your mindset about innovation. 

  • Connecting and collaborating is far more impactful in a local innovation culture of openness to meet and help other entrepreneurs.

  • Israel's outstanding investor market accelerated itself on a baseline of Founders who have exited well and now invest and mentor the next iteration of startups.

  • Cultural diversity adds to the richness of the culture and to the ecosystem.

Omri Wislizki; "It was great to see so many passionate people today at Atomic Sky. The W.A. start-up scene seems to be growing fast. I see great complementarity between Western Australia and Israel, particularly in Agtech and Cyber.
The Tel Aviv Landing Pad facilitates connections to potential collaborators, clients and activities via Israel. It is a fantastic opportunity for Australian companies to connect to global markets"

Dr Natasha Ayers spoke about the state-wide HARVEST agri-tech accelerator for SME's during Omri's visit. The initiative includes a combination of inclusive activities to accelerate the agribusiness and agritech sector in Western Australia. The holistic approach aims to grow collaboration, jobs and SME exports in the sector.

As relatively small, isolated populations Israel and Australia share the need for their knowledge industries to be successful and continue to grow on a global scale. The platforms of innovation, entrepreneurship and technology enable that outcome so are crucial to the economic development of both countries.

Israel is too small to provide a meaningful global market for Australian companies but we can learn from its technology startup success and leverage its ecosystem as a pathway to internationalise high growth companies. Australia itself has excellence in research, talent and potential sectors in which to pilot and strengthen Israeli innovations.

Director of Innovation at the University of Western Australia, Mark Stickells, recently returned from a business mission to Israel. He commented in the panel session that “Israelis argue that entrepreneurship is their national sport, whereas Australia prides itself as a sporting nation. We can learn a lot from Israel's innovation ecosystem and how it turned the challenges of geography and geopolitics into drivers for innovation and growth. Australia needs to embrace the advantages of its proximity to Asia and exploit competitive advantages in sectors such as agriculture, resources, and med-tech."

The Israel, Innovation and Australia event brought together growth minded leaders from SME, Startup, Universities, Government and Large Companies. It was kindly supported by Austrade and the Western Australian government Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD).

Dr Natasha Ayers, Mark Stickells, Omri Wislizki - Studio StartUp

Israel, Innovation and Australia

Interview with STUART KIDD founder of APPS PEOPLE

"It's a pleasure to have Apps People as part of the Studio StartUp community, not only are they extremely talented but really nice people too" | Naomi Rossdeutscher

 

STUART KIDD

APPS PEOPLE FOUNDER

What is your business?
Apps People specialise in the design and development of mobile and web apps. We create stunning apps for startup and enterprise solutions.

 

How did you come up with your business idea, inspiration?
Back in 2010 there weren't any mobile app development studios in Perth concentrating on solely mobile apps and I could see that the market had huge potential. I jumped on board the mobile juggernaut and there's been no looking back.

What problem are you solving?
We offer high end, in-house developed mobile and web apps for any and all devices! Integrating the newest tech advancements and trends to produce apps like no other; we strive to offer our clients the most creative, technical, engaging and reliable solutions to ensure the successful launch of every mobile app we build, no matter its nature, purpose or complexity.

Where do you see the business in 5 years?
Our long-term goal is to have offices in each and every city around Australia allowing us to work closely to our clients no matter where they are located. We would also like offices in key European cities.

What stage are you at now?
Right now we have an amazing team of technical and creative members, we have a stella portfolio that most agencies would die to have been a part and we have bucket loads of opportunities in our field.

What is your working day like?
Being very creative we split our days between coding and meeting clients.  Meeting clients regularly allows us to keep up to date with what is happening on the streets in terms of mobile app direction.  It also allows us to break up our days through fantastic ideation.

What did you like about working at Studio StartUp?
Studio Startup truly is a creative hub, we love working in such a creative and groovy office space!

 

APPS PEOPLE TEAM

 

How did you find your team? Who are they?
We are a collective of creatives, entrepreneurs and out of the box thinkers. Our designers, developers and project managers are plucked from around the globe and are the best in their field. The team leads consists of myself (CEO), Alexander Karan (CTO), Olivier Voyer (CIO). Our developers, designers and communications team is based in Australia and are full of imagination, experience and know-how.

 
 

If you could change one in the world, what would it be?
I would change the way the working week is set out, working every other week only 4 days instead of the usual 5.  That is the goal. People are proven to be more productive over a set number of hours and days.

What do you love doing when you’re not working?
I love playing with my two kids, they are like little surprises gift wrapped, each day they are changing and every moment is special. Even changing their nappies.

If you want people to contact you, what is the best way?
If you want to get in touch with an app idea, you can contact myself and the team via our website:   appsppl.com.au  

Alternatively, you can Call us:

In Perth (08) 9325 1992 or Sydney (02) 8006 9448.

Murdoch University invites you to an AWARE event

“The Changing Research Environment”

Funding | Partnerships | Collaborations | Opportunities for Research Entrepreneurs

With Q&A Panel Discussion

Listen to our expert panel discuss influence, impact and opportunities in Australia’s increasingly entrepreneurial research environment.

Fri. 10 November 2017 from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm

Tell us you are coming to secure your seat: Eventbrite

@Murdoch University 90 South Street Murdoch, WA 6150

Contact: Ash Roberts (Ash.Roberts@murdoch.edu.au)

OPEN FLYER

Spotlight on Experience for Masters of Entrepreneurship Visit

Entrepreneur tips from experience as the Perth business innovation ecosystem in Perth connect with the graduating Masters of Entrepreneurship students

Peter Rossdeutscher speaks to UWA Masters Students at Studio Startup

Diverse parts the business innovation ecosystem in Perth shared their experience with the graduating class of the Masters of Entrepreneurship class at The University of Western Australia. Facilitated by Prof. Theirry Volery, Chair of Entrepreneurship and Head of Marketing Discipline, the day included visits to corporate innovators, entrepreneurs and incubators.

Studio Startup hosted a lunch seminar shared learnings from successful businesses. As Executive Director of Atomic Sky, I discussed corporate innovation and entrepreneurship, the value of lean thinking, agile innovation sprints and stage gate life-cycles. Take aways for entrepreneurs were;

  1. Aim to make meaning and impact. Start with a real problem that needs solving and work to a solution
  2. Confirm there a gap in the market and a market in the gap. Make the time and effort to validate that the market will buy and buy at the margins you have modeled
  3. Focus on key metrics to move forward, such as sales conversion to prove demand
  4. Trial and measure different lead generation and closure styles to find what works
  5. Business is a team sport so find partners to broaden the skill mix. Continue to add alliances and collaborations to move between stage gates faster

Greg Riebe speaking at Studio StartUp

Greg Riebe, Chairman of Perth Angels and a EIR Corporate, then spoke about Business Angel Finance and building the investor community. Funding models and understanding how to strengthen a project or business for investment were key themes Greg’s talk. Other points included;

"Educating the private investor community on how to buy into investments in emerging high growth businesses is critical to diversifying the state's economy and growing jobs. 

A great way to get better due diligence on investment opportunities in early stage ventures is co-investing via an Angel Investor group"

    Other visits, topics and awesome speakers during the ecosystem engagement day;

    • Introduction to the WA entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem, Kate Griffiths (Senior Manager - R&D and Technology, EY, and Director, Founder Institute)
    • The Flux and CORE incubators, Zane Prickett (Director of Unearthed) and Brodie McCulloch (Director of Spacecubed and Flux)
    • The RAC Innovation Hub, Erica Haddon (Executive General Manager, Strategic Innovation at RAC)
    • Woodside Energy; Innovation in a large corporation: Shaun Gregory (Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Woodside)

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