Pozible is fast becoming a household name and Australian version of highly successful US crowd funding startup, Kickstarter. And it’s no surprise. As of January 2013, Pozible had helped entrepreneurs collectively raise over $8 million.

With its unique, user-friendly platform, it’s allowing everyone from aspiring filmmakers to artists, scientists and tech geeks to get an injection of cash from the local community. The theory is simple; if the audience likes your idea, they contribute money towards its execution.

As many aspiring entrepreneurs begin, James Rakich saw a problem and wanted to fix it. He was sick managing his daily routines by entering data into countless drop-down menus and text fields so he built Elephant: A web application that consolidates all the important parts of a ‘Getting Things Done’ system including note-taking, calendars, next actions, and projects. The application cleverly converts your notes into useful information, keeping everything organised and easy to find.

After initial alpha testing with an offline prototype, James was satisfied that Elephant was ready for expansion into a full online service that required further development and funding.

James says “It’s early days but I’m hoping the community gets on board and embraces a new technology to make their life easier.”

You can check out the Pozible campaign at pozible.com/elephantneverforgets or Elephant website at elephantneverforgets.com.au

About the Author: Tim Polmear is the event manager for Startup Tasmania. He is interested in everything about entrepreneurial web-based Startups. Feel free to drop Tim a line at tim@startuptasmania.com (Opinions expressed in this post are not necessarily the opinions of Startup Tasmania.)

How to apply, get in and then crush it in a venture accelerator
Yesterday, I happened to be in Melbourne at the same time Lean Startup held their “How to apply, get in and then crush it in a venture accelerator” Meetup event where over 200 attendees got together to listen to a panel of startup entrepreneurs share their experience on getting into a Startup accelerator and the journey involved.

It was also interesting to hear from other start-ups, including what worked and what didn’t work for them. There was good energy in the room with lots of burning questions from determined entrepreneurs. And when you start hearing from the entrepreneurs about their failures and experiences, you can be sure it is not just entrepreneurs in Tasmania doing it tough.

As Angel Cube, a Melbourne-based accelerator, and the entrepreneurs talked about the details involving the ins and outs of working with a Startup Accelerator, it got me wondering whether it’s time for Tasmania to have its own Startup accelerator.

We know Tasmania had 2 incubators, Springboard and In-tellinc, which both typically mentored larger ventures, but now that Springboard has started winding down, perhaps there will be an opportunity for an accelerator program to fill the gap.

Looking at the current Tasmanian landscape, surely it is time for investors to bring Tasmania the seed stage investment it sorely needs by setting up it’s first accelerator and seed capital fund.

Don’t think it’s possible? Well, maybe for starters we should have a look at some of the Australian accelerators that were present at the event:

• Startmate (@startmate), a Sydney based accelerator that runs a 5 month program focused on internet startups chasing large markets with technical founders. Typical terms are $50,000 investment for a 7.5% equity (includes two demo days, one in Sydney and one in Silicon Valley, trip included). Mentors of note include founders of Atlassian, Hitwise and Spreets, and partners at Southern Cross Ventures.
• Angel Cube (@angelcubemelb), a Melbourne based accelerator that runs a 3 month intensive program. Typical terms are $20,000 investment for 10% equity. Includes a demo day to investors. Mentors of note include founders of 99Designs/Sitepoint, Stateless Systems and Crowdmass.

These accelerator programs are not looking for amazing ideas or people with tons of experience. They are looking for determined and smart founders who are quick to execute and has the drive and determination to succeed.

Such founders may or may not have a proven idea. But they do need to be able to demonstrate their ability to quickly test an idea in order to be able to find out if it will stick, if there will be any traction, and if it is scalable with a potential to go global.

These accelerators want to find founders who are not afraid to make mistakes and, more importantly, they want to see them learn from mistakes, quickly.
But there’s a catch, which arguably may or may not be a bad thing. The catch is you need to be physically present in the city where the accelerator is based, or have the intention to move there during the program. And this is the reason why perhaps Tasmania should have a Startup Accelerator of its own.

So really, the issue isn’t funding or lack of talent. The real problem could stem from the sheer amount of work involved with creating an accelerator, or the lack of experience in the community. But, with regards to the latter, if we don’t start to make the first steps, how are we ever going to gain any experience?

Sourcing Mentors

How about mentors? Which is what these accelerators are really all about. For a Tasmanian Startup Accelerator to be successful, it will likely need to be able to harness its ability to help startups reach outside Tasmania and Australia.

In a limited market, going regional or global quickly and decisively is an essential part of proving ideas and gaining traction, hence the historical focus on outsourcing companies.

For optimised mentorship, the Tasmanian accelerator will need to have a “rolodex” of mentors and be able to source them from within Tasmania while continuously looking to connect with an international network of mentors.

The accelerator will also need to connect with grassroots techies, startups as well as small business communities to leverage the diaspora and tap into local entrepreneurs with potential Silicon Valley or global expertise.

The Tasmanian startup sector has been somewhat quiet, but momentum is building slowly, especially as innovative startups like AsdeqLabs demonstrate their ability to sell a visionary enterprise-level product to the world while operating in Tasmania.

When a startup accelerator exists in Tasmania, it will be interesting to see what kind of entrepreneurs apply to the first Tasmanian Startup Accelerator class. I would expect to see ideas in e-commerce, travel, and perhaps even more enterprise solutions in the midst of applicants.

So what do you think? Do you think it’s time for Tasmania to have its very own Startup Accelerator?

Please share your thoughts in the comment section below. Constructive feedback and discussions will be greatly appreciated.

About the Author: Byron Teu is one of the co-founders of Startup Tasmania. He is a serial entrepreneur, an occasional investor, and he is addicted to building Startups. Byron is on Twitter! You can follow him via @byronteu

According to the media release, the highly successful Jobs and Skills Expos delivered by the Australian Government will provide local job seekers with hundreds of jobs and training opportunities.

The Expo will bring together employers, employment services providers and training organisations with job seekers on one day – creating a one-stop-shop for jobs and training in Hobart.

“Job seekers will experience a ‘jobs and skills marketplace’ connecting them with employers, private recruitment agencies, Jobs Services Australia providers and registered training organisations and hundreds of employment and training opportunities.”, said Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations Bill Shorten.

“More than 800 job seekers have been connected with job and training opportunities at the Expos held in Launceston, Burnie and Devonport in recent times, now we’re bringing an Expo to Hobart.”, Minister Shorten added.

The Expo will be held at the Derwent Entertainment Centre, Brooker Highway, Glenorchy, from 10am to 3pm on Friday, 1 March 2013.

For further information about the Australian Government Jobs and Skills Expo or for those interested in exhibiting or advertising a job vacancy or training course at the expos should call 13 11 58 or visit the website.

TEDx Youth@Huntingfied will feature a range of prominent Tasmanian speakers including thinkers, performers, entrepreneurs and creative people as part of TED’s ‘ideas worth sharing’ moto.

It is a chance to meet  Tasmanian leaders in their field  with ideas worth spreading on the theme ‘transforming Tasmania into a powerhouse of creativity by 2020′.   Speaker will include: Brian Ritchie, curator of MONA FOMA, Bill Aronson, founder of Social Enterprise Tasmania, Don Bate, principle trombone Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, and Andrew Holman, editor of The Mercury.

TEDx Youth@Huntingfied is on the Sunday, December 9^th, 10.30- 4pm at Tarremah Steiner School, Huntingfield.

Click here for tickets.

- Steve Blank, The Startup Owners Manual

Startup Tasmania’s aim is “to create a dynamic, engaged and sustainable start-up community in Tasmania who are committed to supporting and fostering new ventures”.  When I started reading Steve Blank’s new book, The Startup Owners Manual, the quote above was the first thing I read. It presented a challenge to Startup Tasmania’s vision: how can you build a sustainable community composed of “temporary organisations”?

After all, if startups exist to discover a business model then surely their focus will shift once they’ve found it. They should move on to the challenges of establishing a business to deliver on it. Why would they want to participate in a community anymore? Wouldn’t they just leave?

We know this isn’t the case based on what we see around the world and what we’ve experienced at Startup Tasmania over the last 12 months so I canvassed for some reactions from regular members.

The nature of running a startup business means you’re always looking for new ideas and opportunities. You don’t find these working in a vacuum or by keeping your business a secret. One sure fire way to improve your chances of success is to share, discuss, debate and collaborate on your startup with like minded folks. Enter Startup Tasmania.
- James MacGregor, BugHerd

I can see a key truth in this: the discovery process which turns ideas into business models is essentially a collaborative one. No entrepreneur has all the answers. In fact they probably don’t have all the skills or industry connections either. Add to that the need for fresh perspectives along the way and suddenly there’s a distinct upside to sharing.

In my experience, the term ‘startup’ is more about a way of thinking than it is about a stage in the business life cycle. For me, Startup Tasmania is a community of people interested in ‘starting up’ new ideas, new projects, new partnerships, new conversations, regardless of which stage their business is at. Innovation seems to be the common thread.
Daryl Connelly, Principle Consultant at Pricklebox

Innovation can happen in companies big and small. In fact, it’s essential to stay competitive and avoid being left behind. Schumpter [1] taught us this and we see it every day. Mary Meeker provides some fantastic examples of this in her latest state of the web presentation.  Thinking differently is easier for startups but much harder for an established business. Coming to Startup Tasmania networking events is a way to immerse yourself in creative ideas, different ways of looking at problems and to meet people who you might be able to collaborate with.

I think the last word should go to Daniel:

Forget what you’ve learned at uni, getting a startup off the ground to the point where you can quit your day job requires experience and support. Paying to get that from professionals is ideal but really expensive. Furthermore, experience and support only get you so far, after that you’ve got to network to get yourself customers – because cold calling just don’t work. Community organisations like Startup Tasmania provides and environment where you can get that critical knowledge and support from your peers who have been there before and may know some people you should talk too – all for the cost of a few beers and a bit of your time…
Daniel Harrison, Founder of QikID

I’ve seen Daniel’s idea evolve over the last 12 months building on ideas which came up over beers at Startup Tasmania – a perfect examples of cross pollination of ideas. But I was particularly pleased to hear him say it’s helped open doors and get in front of potential customers.  That’s critical and a happy segway into the next post I want to work on.  It’s based on the first challenging take home message from Steve Blank’s new book: “Get out of the building”.

As I got up to leave the room, the CEO said, “I want you out of the building talking to customers; find out who they are, how they work, and what we need to do to sell them lots of these new computers.” Motioning to our VP of Sales, he ordered: “Go with him and get him in front of customers, and both of you don’t come back until you can tell us something we don’t know.”

And he was smiling.

My career as marketer had just begun.

http://steveblank.com/2009/10/08/get-out-of-my-building/

–

[1] “One important insight arising from Schumpeter ideas, though, is that innovation can be seen as ‘creative destruction’ waves that restructure the whole market in favor of those who grasp discontinuities faster. In his own words “the problem that is usually visualized is how capitalism administers existing structures, whereas the relevant problem is how it creates and destroy them”

http://innovationzen.com/blog/2006/07/29/innovation-management-theory-part-1/

Australian Startup success story BugHerd is a keen example of the power that a good product, a strong team, and a market opportunity has – in any financial climate. The company’s stellar funding trajectory is not dumb luck in a GFC weary heavy investment sector, with serious interest from local and foreign investors culminating in a $500k deal with Starfish Not only is BugHerd an Australian startup doombuster, it has had significant downstream wins for Startup Tasmania by way of delivering us BugHerd marketing and sales manager, friend, mentor and startup evangelist James MacGregor. James is one of several recent returns to Tasmania after big global careers, working locally and impacting globally. James is often found chilling frantically in the Lair, keeping us up to date with the national co-working and startup incubation phenomenon. So next time someone tells you that your startup has no hope, and you’ll never get funding, take stock from the formula for success that BugHerd has employed. Refine your offering, define your market, develop your propotype, engage mentors and advisors, get involved in the startup and entrepreneur community and switch off the negativity and talk of the GFCageddon, and singularly focus on your path to market. Word.

Yet most of us rate public speaking as our greatest fear but we all know the importance of presenting – so this workshop is a must for mentors and business managers alike. This workshop will provide you with some solid “anti-fear” skills in planning and hosting your next presentation.

According to Business Mentor Services Tasmania,   at this workshop you will learn tips on:
- Personal presentation
- Using presentation aids
- Structuring your presentation
- Dealing with large groups, the media, difficult people and more

Launceston
Date: Tuesday, 25th October
Time: 6:30pm to 8:30pm
Venue: O group offices, 53 Canning Street, Launceston

Devonport
Date: Wednesday, 26th October
Time: 6:30pm to 8:30pm
Venue: O group offices, 45 Best Street, Devonport

Hobart
Date: Thursday, 27th October 2011
Time: 6:30pm to 8:30pm
Venue: O group offices, 175 Collins Street, Hobart

Cost: No Charge!!

Register today! FREECALL 1800 709 552

This event has been forwarded by the Business Mentor Services Tasmania (O Group) and is a fully funded initiative supported by the Australian Government through the Golden Gurus Grants Program.

And oh, check this out if you want to find out about Steve Job’s 15 Presentation secrets… Good luck!

This would be a chance to sit down, one-on-one, and discuss something you are working on, brainstorm around an issue or hone your pitch. Short sessions. Startup Tasmania members only.

Could you use a fresh perspective right about now?

Outside of Startup Tasmania, I work at a Ionata, a Hobart web design company. This post is about how one of Ionata’s customers, Uniform City, is innovating to reach out to national markets taking advantage of the Internet and social media via the UC Leavers website.

The killer feature is that students can design their leavers top online and share them with friends via Facebook.

Who are Uniform City?

Uniform City are an established Tasmanian uniform supplier delivering school ware, sports uniforms and branded corporate ware. What makes them unique is they manufacture locally allowing them to create high quality bespoke garments in smaller quantities than their competitors.

One key market for Uniform City is school leavers tops. Since they can weave the fabric to suit requirements on site they can deliver the exact colours and stripes required, then cut and stitch, add any kind of branding and individual top names.

The results are high quality garments designed exactly to client requirements.

Challenges when selling school leavers tops
One key challenge is the time and effort required to sell to schools. It’s a high-touch, labor intensive sales process.

How are they innovating?
Uniform City saw a market opportunity to sell school leavers tops online. This is a game changer for three reasons:

• Bigger market: they can reach a national audience
• Better cost structure: customers can self-serve online
• Better customer experience: It’s a more engaging process

So the formulae is: bigger market + less sales costs + better experience = a compelling reason to try something new.

Check out the new UC Leavers website
You can jump online now and see the UC Leavers website here:
http://ucleavers.com.au/

The killer feature (and reason Ionata is proud of this project) is the online leavers top designer. Students can immediately jump in and make interesting and realistic school leavers top designs and share them with friends. You can choose what type of top you want, customise it with stripes and school colours, add logos and messages.

To further enable the uptake of users to the UC Leavers site, students can use their Facebook account to login to so they never have to remember a password, sharing their designs with their Facebook friends, posting a thumbnail of the top right on their Facebook wall for comments from classmates with a single click.

To ensure ease of usability, the website uses no Flash at all so can be viewed on iPad or iPhone, taking advantage of the increasing use of mobile devices to access social media.

The system also includes a full ordering and fulfillment business process.

Whilst Uniform City has long held market share in Tasmania thanks to their innovation, customer service and reputation for quality, access to the expansive markets of school leavers nationally through Ionata’s clever e-commerce solution is now a reality.

Vote for UC Leavers

Help UC Leavers win an AWW award for UC Leavers by voting online (click a number under User Vote to the right of the screenshot).

[button link="http://www.awwwards.com/best-websites/uc-leavers-design-your-own-school-leavers" type="big" color="red"] Vote for UC Leavers[/button]

SO c’mon. Get stuck up buddy! The challenge finishes on August 21st, winners announced at 1st September Startup Tasmania Shots networking session in da lair.