The Australian
Government announced
today that it will invest A$2.9 million in educating thousands of Victorian
startups.
These
founder education support courses will be provided though LaunchVic, the state’s lead startup ecosystem
development agency.
“With
this targeted funding and support, there’s never been a better time to
establish a startup in Victoria,” said Minister for Innovation and the Digital
Economy Philip Dalidakis.
Under
this multi-million-dollar boost, 16 service providers have been selected to run
the education programs, with up to 2,000 places available to Victorian startup
founders and their staff.
“By
building a stronger startup sector we create innovative businesses, attract
international talent, bring money into the local economy and create local jobs,”
Minister Dalidakis added.
The
program aims to help fill the gap in founder education services. It is
estimated that just 15% of startups in Victoria go through an accelerator
program, with many startups believing they are either not ready or have moved
beyond needing intensive support.
To enhance
startup skills, topics will include export and growth skills, corporate
governance, investment support, marketing support, personal leadership and
development and engaging corporates.
The
programs will vary in length and format. They include short courses, intensive
three-day workshops, week-long courses, mentoring and online learning. The
courses are either free or at low cost.
The 16
funded LaunchVic service providers are:
(1)
BioMelbourne Network
to support HealthTech founders of companies who have strategic intent to expand
into global markets. The program will bring international experts to Melbourne,
to deliver skills-based workshops on global regulatory, reimbursement, market
access and commercialisation strategies, with a focus on key export markets in
US, UK, EU, China and India.
(2)
Burch + Co
Lawyers to educate founders on the basic legal considerations through the
lifecycle of a startup, including the responsibilities of being a founder and
director and how to develop internal and shareholder agreements.
(3)
Catapult
Business Accelerator to deliver an investor education program, providing
deep insights into what gets investors on the founder’s side: the right time to
connect with investors; building relationships and communicating with
investors; financial forecasts; equity; pitching and networking.
(4)
Character to provide founders with practical,
hands-on advice on how to tell the story of their startup. The program will
equip them with the tools and templates they need to generate meaningful public
relations and marketing results with a focus on brand story, stakeholder
engagement and key communication messages.
(5)
Cogent to help
founders build sustainable businesses through learning practical product
design, development, and management taught by leading expert practitioners.
(6)
Common Code
to educate technical and non-technical founders on how to align their business
goals to their technology asset, how to effectively communicate with a design
and development teams and how to make informed technical decisions.
(7)
DifferenThinking to provide founders with the
tools needed to develop their people, leadership and culture skills through all
stages of the startup life cycle.
(8)
EM Advisory uses
tried and tested tools to help founders and their teams to create and test
their thinking, so they become investment ready. Startups will finish the
program ready to present to investors and clearly articulate a simple coherent
investment thesis and go to market strategy.
(9)
Innovation
Bay to equip early stage founders with the knowledge and tools to
effectively craft an investment pitch, engage investors and understand the
investment process. Founders will receive expert mentoring and an opportunity
to present to Innovation Bay’s network of investors.
(10) Inventium to teach founders online a best-practice
approach to innovation, based on science. It will help founders identify
customer driven opportunities, learn tools to generate breakthrough solutions
and make effective decisions and how to quickly and cheaply prototype ideas.
(11) Leadership Victoria to share
expertise in leadership development that will shape participating founders into
leaders for the long haul – for themselves, their current and future projects
and for the whole community.
(12) Marketing Entourage to provide
founders with the essential marketing tools to build effective strategies to
successfully go to market, stimulate growth, attract investment, scale or
expand globally.
(13) Onestack to help founders strategise and
execute for growth and export, with experts challenging startups’ strategic and
tactical plans to identify gaps and priorities.
(14) Slingshot Accelerator to run startup
B2B sales masterclasses, educating founders on processes, disciplines, and
techniques required to facilitate sales discussions with business customers,
then execute the sales.
(15) Space Tank Studio to educate
founders in design for manufacturing, IP protection, business and financial development
and in Computer Numeric Controlled (CNC) manufacturing technology for
prototyping.
(16) Start-up Boards to educate
founders on compliance, governance, organisation policy and process and bring a
capacity building mindset to help them be more resilient and realise their
potential through considering an advisory board.
According
to CEO of LaunchVic Dr Kate Cornick, supporting early-stage startups is
essential if Australia is to grow a strong pipeline of innovative businesses
from Victoria that will fuel the local economy.
“We’re
proud to offer diverse yet specialised support to our startups – this will help
our local startup founders and executives grow their businesses and strengthen
Victoria’s reputation as a leading startup hub,” Dr Cornick said.
Since
its establishment in 2016, LaunchVic has funded a total of 46 projects through
its grants program.
According to LaunchVic’s Strategic
Focus 2017 – 2019, the organisation’s focus lies in the areas of funding,
community building and global recognition. This is to ensure that the right
startup infrastructure is in place for Victorian startups and entrepreneurs to
grow their businesses.