UTAS Senior Lecturer in Entrepreneurship, award winning thinker (and much more) Colin Jones spoke on Tasmania's EdgeRadio's Mind's Eye program last night, taking a broad look at the ecosystem that supports entrepreneurship. A key factor? Informal support groups and connections with others. 

In real estate it's all about location. It's no different with startups: getting out of the garage/shed/workshop or off the kitchen table and into an office, even for a few hours a week, can make all the difference.

General Assembly and Google have combined to deliver a range of FREE online courses for startups wanting to polish their idea and turn it into a pitchable entity at their bootcamp in March.

Unit 1 went live yesterday, and there's still time to get into the loop.

Micro-sites will be available at the Taste 2014-15 as incubator sites, to help new businesses out with a low-cost market entry path.

2014 is shaping up to be one of significant value for Start Up Tasmania, and a new board is looking forward to helping shape an organisation that adds tangible, practical value to its members. We have a great team here bringing some important experience to the table, and well done to the team for great achievements thus far!

We’d like to invite all members to consider nominating for the Startup Tasmania board (or if you’re not a member, join at http://suptas.nationbuilder.com/join and then nominate). 

There are a total of ten positions on the board and they’re all available at the AGM. We’ll also be electing a President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary/Public Officer. Send your nominations as an email to [email protected] - we’ll be accepting nominations right up until the start of the AGM.

It has been a busy and hectic first 17 months for Startup Tasmania.

We started with a new wave of energy and enthusiasm as the elected board of ten first met in August 2012. We talked vision, direction and growth, and we set our sights high.

Tasmania has been the battleground for many issues to do with sustainable development, the environment and same sex rights.

This BOFA session used the film Bidder70 to focus on the ways that change can (or cannot) take place. Bidder70 tells the story of Tim DeChristopher and his extraordinary, ingenious and effective act of civil disobedience in the name of climate justice, opposing oil and gas leases in Utah. 

Using several short films this session addressed the challenges of economic renewal and new business opportunities in the light of the highest unemployment and worst economic outcomes of any state in Australia. 

Short films were screened on:

• mountain bike development in Rotorua (TrailNotes) with entrepreneur, Gary Sullivan
• digital and start-up businesses (The StartUp Kids)
• the potential for urban renewal in Tasmania using the RENEW Newcastle experience, with the protagonist Marcus Westbury

The Breath of Fresh Air Festival in November hosted the inaugural Tasmania Action Day, an exploration of activities to inspire change in Tasmania's economy and society.

Featuring a series of films and Q&A, forums, debates and master classes designed to showcase storytelling as a catalyst for change, the Tasmania Action Day program featured 5 films on selected topics.

Two topics in particular - 'Renewing Tasmania' and 'Can We Really Change' called for proactive change in the Tasmanian community.