Regional entrepreneurs looking for help to get their business off the ground will get a super-charged boost by coming to the launch of the Telstra Business Centre Coffs Harbour STARTUP COFFS COAST on March 29 at the Pier Hotel.
“This is already looking to be the biggest startup event we have seen on the Mid North Coast,” said Nikki Greenwood, Council’s City Prosperity Group Leader. “We are expecting around 200 tech and non-tech startup founders, entrepreneurs and business and industry leaders to come along – people who are all passionate about creating opportunities for their business.”
This event is based on the successful Digital Innovation Challenge, but has been expanded to include all types of innovative startup businesses on the Coffs Coast. This year there will be a Prize Pool of over $33,000 ($7,500 cash and prizes) for the winners of the Pitch Competition.
Plus, at the Grand Finale event on June 17 at C.ex Coffs, there will be the chance to hear a dynamic line-up of keynote speakers, enjoy a showcase of inspiring new businesses in Startup Alley and view an exciting selection of tech gadgets in the Innovation Lab.
“The mission of STARTUP COFFS COAST is to strengthen our local entrepreneur culture by encouraging business-starters to stay in the region, rather than feel they have to move to a metropolitan location to get the resources they need,” said Stephen Saunders, Council’s Section Leader Industry Destination Development. “If we can increase the number of technology startups and innovative companies on the Coffs Coast, we can grow jobs and the wider economy will be boosted by the use of local services and products by those same companies.”
The Launch event will include a session on ‘How to Pitch to Win’ and other lessons from expert judges and the 2016 Digital Innovation Challenge Finalists, plus a Q&A opportunity.
“The overriding message we got from our expert speakers in 2016 was that Coffs is set to boom through innovation,” said Mr Saunders.
“We have the connectivity, we have the creativity and now we have the entrepreneurial community primed and ready to take-off,” he said.
Council would like to thank the STARTUP COFFS COAST Sponsors – Telstra Business Centre Coffs Harbour, BlueSky IT Consulting, Mid North Coast Local Health District, Microsoft BizSpark, Coffs Harbour Innovation Centre, NORTEC Small Business Solution, StartCon, Coffs Harbour Chamber of Commerce and Triple M.
To find out more about the Pitch Competition and all the STARTUP COFFS COAST events, go to https://startupcoffscoast.com/
