Startup Coffs Coast Final Approaching

The stage is set for the Coffs Coast’s newest inventors and entrepreneurs to go head-to head in a Live Pitch Competition at the final Startup Coffs Coast event for 2019, at C.ex Coffs on Wednesday, August 28 from 4pm, for their share of a $20,000 prize package.

Over the last couple of months Council’s startup incubator Six Degrees has been supporting local entrepreneurs to hone their ideas and pitch skills. From a wide range of innovative business proposals, the 10 finalists have now been selected to pitch their ideas to a panel of expert judges and in front of a live audience.

“Another year and another field of exciting submissions into the Startup Coffs Coast annual Pitch Competition,” said Fiona Barden, Council’s Section Leader Industry and Destination Development.  “The innovation and entrepreneurialism of our local people is growing.  Choosing the 10 finalists from the 21 entries received was no easy task. With our biggest ever group of finalists pitching their ideas to a panel of experts at Startup Coffs Coast, and the chance to win a share of the $20,000 in cash and prizes up for grabs, it’s going to be a thrilling competition.”

Startup Coffs Coast is the biggest start up event on the mid-north coast.  As well as the Pitch Competition, attendees will have the chance to find out about other innovative local businesses in ‘Startup Alley’. Entry is free, but you will need to register at startupcoffscoast.com/register.

This year’s finalists are:

‘YoungYogis’ Coffs Harbour (Rebecca Wilson): Through the power of yoga and meditation, empowering children to love and connect with themselves and to love and connect with others. ‘Real Time Learning’ (Kempsey Adventist School): The ‘Real-time Learning’ project is based on two mobile apps that the students have designed, built and prototyped. They capture the readiness of students to learn before each lesson and help the teacher to tailor the day’s classroom techniques from that information to improve overall learning outcomes. ‘G-PetS’ (Evanezer Gebremedhin): ‘G-PetS’ is a fitness activity and GPS tracker for animals and pets. The technology allows you to locate your pet wherever they are, monitor their activity, record adventures on a smartphone or computer, receive ambient temperature alerts, and much more. ‘Happy Scrunchies’ (Sophie Hallam): ‘Happy Scrunchies’ is a local business and brand which sells hair accessories made from recycled materials. All accessories are carefully designed and handmade in Australia. ‘Soil Search’ (Alisa Bryce): State and Local Government, water utilities, agribusiness, environmental consultancies and property developers use Desktop Soil Assessments for better land management. ‘Soil Search’ generates automated Desktop Soil Assessment reports with all relevant data for the chosen parcel of land and presents it in the standard industry format at a significantly reduced cost. ‘Neanderthoil’ (Gavin Ball): A problem with growing a luxurious beard led Gavin to experiment with creating his own care products for men. He now produces a range of products using natural ingredients and essential oils to help men find their ‘inner Neanderthal’. ‘Yingarna’ (Kirsten Atkinson): ‘Yingarna’ is an online sales platform, similar to that of Etsy, but specialising specifically in the sale of Aboriginal handmade products and Aboriginal art. Through their platform, Indigenous artists and small businesses have the opportunity to create their own online store, with minimal technical knowledge and the potential to reach large amounts of customers both locally and globally. ‘Vesticam’ (Suzanne Douglas): Vesticam is a mid-north coast company developing an innovative and accessible device to help with the diagnosis of causes of dizziness, vertigo and balance disorders. Vesticam evolved from the clinical need for simple, portable and affordable infrared video goggles to record eye movements during oculomotor tests.  It is an innovative modification of existing trialled and tested equipment, to make it portable and accessible for widespread use. ‘aideMate’ (Markus Ganser): ‘aideMate’ is an app to help and support those who are struggling to keep track of their daily tasks. The idea was born through the struggle Markus saw with his in-laws and other elderly people. The core function is to prompt the users to do their daily tasks like taking their medicine, eating their food and drink enough water, keeping track of their appointments and many others. ‘DreamScaper’ (Jennifer Sewell): ‘Dreamscaper’ is an interactive and collaborative online app for planning positive change and success. It is the ultimate goal setting and tracking tool focused specifically at children and youth.