Valuable skills for young entrepreneurs

More than 100 young entrepreneurs were able to gain valuable skills and network through the sixth Startup Weekend Adelaide.

Startup Weekend, funded by Google for Entrepreneurs, was founded in July 2007 in Boulder, Colorado. The hands-on weekend experience has since involved more than 470,000 participants in more than 500 events in 100 countries around the world.

The format for the Startup Weekend involves open mic pitches and team mentoring to develop prototypes for a new business venture which is then judged by a panel of experts who provide feedback on every team’s final presentation.

This year’s Adelaide event ended with 13 potential business ventures judged by high-profile business leaders Seeley International founder Frank Seeley, online wine retailer Andre Eikmeier, of VinoMofo, and local entrepreneurs Grace Lever and Belinda Jennings.

An online personalised gift service, Giftoid, was overall winner, with the second and third place winners an interactive app Shake Mate and AnySpace Global, a website to share under-utilised office space for short-term rentals.

The winners will develop their startup ideas with a range of ongoing business development, including with consulting company BDO, Flinders New Venture Institute, office space opportunities at Flinders Tonsley, website and promotional support, and more.

This year’s Startup Weekend (17-19 July) was sold out, with 170 entrepreneurs and innovators involved over the three days.

The Adelaide event coincided with Startup Weekend Dallas, Texas, enabling a friendly hashtag battle to be organised to measure the largest number of tweets referencing the event. #StartupADL won the battle.