Over the weekend, ilab UQ hosted 60 founders for the Germinate 10 Bootcamp Weekend. And, this cohort of 27 shortlisted startups represented a huge variety of industries from fashion and media to healthtech, education, real-estate, and retail. There was a mix of software and hardware, with teams focusing on everything from improving student life, to improving the state of the world.
Each team shortlisted were battling it out for 1 of 10 spots in the final Germinate 10 Cohort.
So here’s our highlights from the weekend:
#throwback
To recap what happened, each team workshopped their business ideas; pitched them to ilab’s expert judging panels; learnt some startup fundamentals; and, at the end of the weekend the judges all submitted their feedback and picks for the 10 startups that would make it through to the final program.
#boss
It’s no secret that the startup and tech world have a bit of a problem when it comes to diversity. So we’d like to do a special shoutout to all the female founders out there! We were super proud to see so many female founders attend the Bootcamp Weekend.
#startuplife
Alborz Fallah, Founder of caradvice.com.au kicked off the Bootcamp on Friday afternoon with a fireside chat on how he turned his $35 blog into a $35million business. Missed it? You can catch the livestream here.
#pitchpitchpitch
We are so grateful for the time that our judges spent with us over the weekend. We know that some of the founders got some serious grilling from them but also know that everyone left feeling inspired and motivated to work on their ideas more. Thank you to our panel of formidable judges from local startup ecosystem:
- Elaine Stead, Head of Venture Capital, Private Equity, Blue Sky Funds
- Spencer Howson, former ABC breakfast radio host
- Chris Titley, Stockbroker, Morgans & Podcast Host
- Christopher Drake, Venture Capital Operations, Arowana & Co
- Terry Woodcroft, Senior Director, Asset Management, UniQuest
- Mark White, CEO & Founder, Locatrix
- Anthony Musumeci, Investment Manager, Uniseed
- Erez Saf, President at CRiskCo
- Mikaeli Costello, Director of Advancement and Communications, University of Queensland
- Sarel Gronum, Lecturer & Bachelor of Business Management Program Leader, University of Queensland
- Anna Jenkins, Lecturer in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, University of Queensland
- Hugh Whitehouse, Film Director, Ventured
- Lucio Piccoli, Co-Founder, Sitesee
- Petrina Buckley, Founder of Magneto and Credosity
- Dean Foley, Founder & CEO at Barayamal (Black Swan)
- Simone Joyce, CEO & Co-Founder, Highly Likely
- Peter Laurie, Director, Junta & Mentor in Residence, River City Labs
- Rebecca McIntosh, Community Manager, ilab at UQ
- Andrew Hamilton, Social Enterprise Expert, Social Scaffolding
- Bernadette Hyland, Investor & Web services Expert
- Tex Anderson, Founder & CTO, Talent Vine
#inspired
We had workshops on growth hacking; founders agreements & incentives; creating a business model canvas; and legal 101 for startups. Founders that participated previous Germinate programs also dropped in to share their journeys. Inspiring, activating and motivating us over the weekend were:
- Brad Parsons, CEO & Founder, MOVUS
- Alena Rinke, Co-Founder, Microba
- Yuma Decaux, Co-Founder, OSeyeris
- Jake Dean, Co-Founder, OSeyeris
- Christopher Drake, Venture Capital Operations, Arowana & Co
- Stephanie Surm, Senior Legal Counsel, Queensland Brain Institute
- Dr Eban Escot, Founder, Working Mouse
- Assoc. Prof. Tim Kastelle, UQ Business School
We’ll be announcing the 10 teams that made it through to the Germinate 10 Program so stay tuned to find out who made it in!
Engage with ilab UQ and follow the journey of the Germinate 10 cohort on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
