A workshop designed to assist local companies to successfully raise funds for expanding their businesses was held at Bond University on March 24.
The workshop, entitled ‘Pitching for Success’, was the third in the series presented under the Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) Smart State Fellowship Program. It was attended by over 60 representatives from local companies, entrepreneurs and students and staff from Bond’s Master of Business Administration program.
Participants heard from world-renowned entrepreneur and founder of New York Angels, David Rose, and the Chair of the Founders Forum and founding member of the Gold Coast Angels, Rick McElhinney.
Lively interactive sessions were held on the risks, rewards, pitfalls and opportunities associated with early stage investment. The presentations showed how to avoid a myriad of pitfalls and maximise the chances of success in raising angel investment and venture capital and moving to successful and rewarding commercialisation.
Participants in the workshop were given the opportunity to enter the ‘Best of the Pitch’ competition to be held at the end of April. The competition enables local companies to present to an international investor panel which will critique their pitch and provide valuable feedback to all participants. The winning entry will receive an internship in the Gold Coast Incubation Centre and be promoted to investment groups in the United States.
Dr Clarence Tan, the EIR Fellow at Bond University and Gold Coast Innovation Centre, and CEO of Bond Wireless, noted the success of this workshop, as well as previous ones held.
“The Gold Coast has many innovative companies that require assistance in getting them investor ready and export ready. This recent workshop follows on the two earlier workshops that each attracted over 50 people and provided excellent networking opportunities,” Dr Tan said.
“There are many examples of innovative companies on the Gold Coast that are creating successful businesses and generating export revenues, many which are members of the Gold Coast Innovation Centre. These workshops have seen the collaboration of both Bond University and Griffith University which has led to sharing of knowledge and ideas for the benefit of the industry.”
The EIR Fellowship is supported by the School of Information Technology, the Gold Coast City Council, the Gold Coast Innovation Centre and the Queensland State Government under the EIR Smart State Fellowship Program.
The aims of the EIR Fellowship are to strengthen the ICT sector in this part of the world, improve collaboration between academia and the ICT industry, raise awareness of the commercialisation process and prepare early stage companies to be investment ready and export savvy.
If you wish to learn more about the program, or are involved with a local company that could benefit from participating in the competition, please contact either Dr Clarence Tan (clarence@bondwireless.com) or Andrew Loch, CEO of the Gold Coast Innovation Centre on (07) 5552 7289. Applications for the competition can be submitted online at www.gcic.net.au/apply.
