UNSW Founders

05/03/2018

This Saturday on campus at UNSW: Microsoft is helping students preparing to enter the Imagine Cup, their global student technology competition. The AU/NZ winner gets a trip to Seattle and a chance to compete for $100,000 USD worth of prizes! 👩‍💼✈️🏆

You're invited to a Microsoft Imagine Camp! Registrations are open for the Microsoft Imagine Cup 2018 – the world’s most prestigious student technology competition. Microsoft Australia and the Microsoft Student Partners are inviting you to a workshop day to launch a tech project, learn more abou...

23/11/2017

This week our Startup China Program Manager Melissa Ran took 3 of our best "China ready" teams across to compete in the Xi'an International Entrepreneurship Competition.

Go Respia, OpenLearning and MiniEpi!!

17/11/2017

If case if you missed our second Startup Launch Demo Day, here is a quick recap of the night!

09/11/2017

Only 5 days left until the second 2017 Startup Launch demo day. This is a must-see event for anyone interested in early-stage ventures. Plenty of food and drink will be provided throughout this innovation marathon as we work our way through polished pitches from 9 of UNSW’s most exciting, real startups & five further startups will be exhibiting all their progress and looking for your feedback during networking time.

Register Now
https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/2017-startup-launch-demo-night-2-tickets-39382996603?aff=erelexpmlt

06/11/2017

The second 2017 UNSW Startup Launch Program is coming to an end!

Please come and join us at our Demo Night to support and celebrate some of UNSW's brightest and most promising startups.

Event Details:
Venue: Michael Crouch Innovation Centre, UNSW, Gate 2 Avenue

Date: 14th of November, 2017
Time: 5:30pm-9:30pm
Registration: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/2017-startup-launch-demo-night-2-tickets-39382996603

The second 2017 Startup Launch program is coming to a close and our high-potential startups are preparing their final pitches for prospective mentors, partners and investors. This is a must-see event for anyone interested in early-stage ventures. Plenty of food and drink will be provided throughout…

10/10/2017

Five of our exciting Validation Stream teams in the Startup Launch program had a great session today with Edwin Onggo, Founder & CEO at GiggedIn - Netflix for live music gigs - and a longtime BlueChilli company. It was a broad-ranging conversation on everything from iterations and pivots to funding strategy, product, marketing, mindset, vision and more!

10/10/2017

UNSW Founder #6

MentorMe Australia

Tom Perfrement

Any learnings you can share to us?
"There is no cause for concern if you need to reset. We have evolved in the timeline (6 to 3 months), structure, and platform. The best companies are very iterative in their approach, they modify as they go"

05/10/2017

The Scale & Investment stream of the Startup Launch had a great 'excursion' today to VentureCrowd, to hear from COO Sunny Yu about equity crowdfunding and get some valuable pitching feedback! Thanks very much to Sunny and VentureCrowd for the session and well done to all the teams on a great first (of many) pitch! Mary Liu Joshua V Flannery Seiya Takeda Shahe Momdjian (thanks Dan for the selfie!)

27/09/2017

Anna Cheng from Spaceship delivering an excellent session on growth marketing for our 5 new Growth Stream startups in the 2nd and final Startup Launch program for 2017. Thanks Anna for so many great tips and case studies!

14/09/2017

Only 3 more days until the Startup Launch application closes. Don’t wait til you graduate to launch your startup. Hear from Shahe Momdjian our program manager, on how to start your business as a Uni student.

http://www.innovations.unsw.edu.au/startup-launch

13/09/2017

Only 4 more days until Startup Launch application closes!
Hear from Clive Mayhew (Resident Investment Coach at UNSW) on why he recommends everyone to apply!
http://www.innovations.unsw.edu.au/startup-launch

Posted on: May 2 2017 Posted by: Seiya Takeda, Digital Marketing Coordinator | Student Entrepreneur DevelopmentClive Mayhew - Profile He is the chairman, non-executive director and principal investor of Open Learning an education technology company based in Kent St, Sydney. Clive holds an M.B.A. and...

12/09/2017

Only 5 Days left until startup launch application closes!

If you are still unsure of applying, hear from our program managers Mary Liu and Shahe Momdjian on why you should apply for the Startup Launch Program

http://www.innovations.unsw.edu.au/startup-launch

11/09/2017

UNSW Founder #4 & #5

WipeHero
Reza Keshavarzi co-founder
Farid Mirmohseni co-founder

Any learnings you can share to us?
"If you're doing a start up yes there's a high chance of failure, but even if you fail there is no better way to experience the amount of stuff you’ve learnt on the way. And if you want to take those skills to the corporate world you can learn something that would have taken 10 years in just 6 months with a start-up."

11/09/2017

Thanks everyone for coming to the info and networking session last Friday. Just a few days left before the applications close for the Startup Launch Program.
http://www.innovations.unsw.edu.au/startup-launch

07/09/2017

UNSW Startup Launch [Info Day] is on Tomorrow!
It's not too late to register for a free ticket and food if you haven't already.

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/unsw-startup-launch-info-day-tickets-37328970957?aff=es2

05/09/2017

[Startup Launch - Info Day] - Come down to the information day, meet previous Startup Launch cohort and the program managers, to be part of the second cohort of Startup Launch.

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/unsw-startup-launch-info-day-tickets-37328970957

10/08/2017

ASK ME ANYTHING – SCALE AND INVESTMENT

Submit your business questions at the below link and Clive [Our Resident investment Coach at UNSW] will assist you to head in the right direction.

About Clive:
The seasoned entrepreneur and investor who took Netscape to Asia, sold Sky Software for A$23M and is currently Chairman and non-executive director of leading Australian edutech startup & OpenLearning.

https://unswnsi.typeform.com/to/OiAo0E

07/08/2017

Thanks for those who attended the event: “From Idea to IPO: Launching your Website and App for success” - the tickets were sold out! Thanks to Dhanu Eliezer (Senior Legal Project Manager and Lawyer) from LegalVisionwho facilitated the workshop.
The next workshop is in 2 weeks time titled "Patents and other IP protection options for startups, eg Trademark, copyright, and design rights”.

04/08/2017

04/08/2017

Today a delegation of rural Indonesia based entrepreneurs and business owners joined us at Haymarket HQ for a full day of talks, workshops and networking.

The group are members of HIPSI, a 10,000 member strong Islamic Rural Entrepreneur Association operating across Indonesia.

UNSW DVC (Enterprise) Professor Brian Boyle opened the event and we heard from co-founder of InsideSherpa, Pasha Rayan, on his story as an Indonesian background Sydney sider who has gone from student to employee to entrepreneur himself.

Stephen Macdonald and Marty Spargo, co-founders of REIZE Energy Drink ran a workshop on digital marketing tactics and gave insights into their journey as Australian entrepreneurs operating in the Indonesian market.

To finish the activities, several local entrepreneurs and professionals joined later for a structured networking session.

31/07/2017

Thinking about entering the Peter Farrell Cup this year? Given it's open to any UNSW student-led startup and the top prize is $15,000, we don't blame you! Info session this Wednesday, 6 pm, on campus - register for it at the link:

Do you have an idea you think can change the world? Or do you want to change the way an industry does business? Come and get the support and mentoring to take your idea from dream to reality in the Peter Farrell Cup. Organised by the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE), the Peter Farrel...

24/07/2017

UNSW Founder Series #3 (Special)

Andrew Fong - MiniEpi
Nabeil Allam - The Pelvic Expert
Daniel Bar - UNSW Bitfwd

3 founders of UNSW were selected to participate in the Young Leaders to China Entrepreneurship and Innovation program in Shanghai, Hangzhou and Beijing:

• Visited successful star enterprises to observe innovative ideas and culture shaping
• Engaged in in-depth exchange with entrepreneurs from Chinese hackerspaces, incubators and chuangke cafes
• Attended lectures at universities delivered by masters of Chinese commerce
• Met face-to-face with investors and experts who will impart their real-world experience

18/07/2017

Very happy for our UNSW MVP Fund Grant recipient CheckBox.ai winning the 'RegTech of the Year' category at the Fintech AWARDS 2017!

PS. RegTech = "regulatory technology" :)

https://australianfintech.com.au/winners-2nd-annual-australian-fintech-awards-2017/

The 2nd Annual Australian FinTech Awards celebrate the achievements of the dynamic people and businesses comprising the FinTech sector.

17/07/2017

This trip isn't all about business and work - the group squeezed in plenty of cultural and gourmet experiences too!

Trying local specialty dishes, visiting the famous West Lake, learning about tea etiquette, visiting a Chinese culture museum at the Confucius Institute HQ and of course the Great Wall!

14/07/2017

Come along and support Share with Oscar pitching at Google next week for the KCA Demo Day. Register here:

You’re invited to the KCA University Accelerator Demo Day. The event will showcase Australia’s best recent graduates of university accelerator programs. This will be a unique opportunity for both entrepreneurs, corporates and investors to come together to learn more about what each has to offer, exc...

14/07/2017

Now in Beijing, the group have engaged in of activities including a workshop run by UNSW startup Bangtuike. Bangtuike is an AI based platform that matches audiences and promotes content on wechat.

The co-founders, Hanson Li (UNSW graduate) and Adam Zhao (UoW graduate) delivered a workshop on 'wechat public accounts 101'.

The following night the group visited Tencent's Innovation Space and heard from the Tianjin and Beijing Manager Shaper Dang (with our jack-of-all trades and Startup China Program Manager Melissa Ran on interpreting duties). The content focused on what Tencent can offer overseas entrepreneurs coming to China.

11/07/2017

Today, the group are back in Shanghai to attend the 2nd "Think Youth international innovation and entrepreneurship competition".

3 of the teams recruited by UNSW were selected as a finalists: congrats Mini-Epi (Andrew Fong), tekuma (Annette McClelland), and The Pelvic Expert (Nabeil Allam)!

11/07/2017

The group including UNSW entrepreneurs conducted a tour of Alibaba and heard an insider view of what makes this amazing company successful

10/07/2017

UNSW Founder Series #2

Lisa Qi - Share with Oscar

How has UNSW Innovations helped you?

"I graduated from UNSW in 2012 and went into management consulting at Deloitte where I met my co-founder Louise Chen. Just prior to the launch of Share with Oscar we came to UNSW Innovations seeking legal and investment advice. Little did we know at the time how valuable the relationship would be and the opportunities it presented us. Joshua V Flannery, Mary Liu, Shahe Momdjian, and the team have been beyond supportive of Share with Oscar - they have provided coaching and guidance on pitching and growth strategies, connected us to numerous mentors, advisors, and investors, and provided opportunities such as Demo days, KCA, Sydney Angels and more. We feel extremely lucky to have the support of the UNSW Innovations team!"

06/07/2017

On this day the group went through an entrepreneur sharing session, followed by a visit to the Dobe creative space, then at night the UNSW entrepreneurs went along to a 'meet and greet' at the Austrade Shanghai Landing Pad. Dane Richmond, Austrade Commissioner, Commercial Consul opened the session followed by talks from Landing Pad Manager, Daniel Zhan and XNode Startup Accelerator & Co-working Space Community Manager Jasper Gill.

After hearing some of the Landing Pad cohort 2 participants and a Q&A session the group finished up with a tour of XNode.

05/07/2017

On this day our Startup China Program Manager Melissa Ran and the group first had a discussion and experience sharing session with 2 foreign entrepreneurs in Shanghai; one a wechat influencer and content business that sells French food (Francelysee), the other is a branding and investment agency (Creative Capital).

Later they went to a 3D innovation park called Wisdom Bay. At night the group visited Chinaccelerator 中国加速 where they learnt about their startup programs and had a discussion session with staff Chris Zhang and Analyst Minjia Wu plus the co-founder of Rikai Labs, Weiqi Li.

05/07/2017

This week our Startup China program stepped up a gear with Program Manager Melissa Ran taking 9 Aussie entrepreneurs to China on the Young Leaders to China Entrepreneurship and Innovation tour of Shanghai, Hangzhou and Beijing.

Day 1 of the program earlier this week saw the opening plenary of the whole cohort which includes 36 entrepreneurs from the US and Australia.

The group received a lecture regarding the China startup environment and tips from a leading VC, Innovative Investment Bank at the Soho Innovation Space.

In the evening the group visited Fishburners Shanghai inside the Caohejing Innovation Centre where they attended a fireside chat with Australian Peter Davison who co-founded Fishburners and was an early investor in PayPal and Pinterest together with the COO of the Caoejing Innovation Centre Incubator Mr. Howard Wang. Our own Melissa Ran MC'd the event (pictured below).

26/06/2017

UNSW Founder Series #1

Daniel Bar - Bitfwd

How has UNSW Innovations helped you?

"As I landed in Australia and enrolled in the Quantum Computation PhD program at UNSW, I was looking at which opportunities the university has to offer to support my entrepreneurial ambition. I've then signed up to UNSW Innovation's mailing list, attended a few info sessions and as the Startup-Launch 2016 application opened, Joshua V Flannery and the team were very helpful in equipping us with the right tools and connections to people in the industry to learn how to put together a startup.In addition, UNSW Innovation's legal and investment team provided me with guidance and advise with the legal considerations of our project as we're an open-source project which is quite an unusual startup animal."

16/06/2017

Hi everyone! We have a freebie offer: If you are keen to hear from the founder of Misschu Vietnamese restaurant chain, Nahji Chu, next Monday, register with 100% discount code: COMP by selecting 'Enter Promotional Code'.

(All proceeds of this event do go to the speaker's nominated charity, so it's up to you if you want to use the code)

Haymarket HQ ‘Inspiration Series’ is a forum for entrepreneurial leaders to impart their stories. The Q&A format will explore how these inspirational entrepreneurs ‘created’ success, the importance of leadership, innovation and ex*****on and their personal journeys. ‘Inspiration Series’ is a public…

16/06/2017

DEMO NIGHT: Mentors, investors and UNSW startup supporters are all welcome to join our upcoming demo night with 15 of our most promising teams. They've just been through the first Startup Launch program for 2017 and are currently working on their final pitches. Come and see the very high calibre of real startups!

The first cohort of the 2017 Startup Launch, UNSW's flagship entrepreneur development program, are currently preparing their final pitches for potential mentors and investors. This is a must-see event for anyone interested in early-stage ventures. Drinks and canapes will be provided as we work our w...

15/06/2017

Think you’re inexperienced? Make it your advantage.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/273689

There are pros and cons to life as a student entrepreneur, but play your cards right and maybe you'll be the next Mark Zuckerberg.

13/06/2017

[FREE EVENT TODAY @ WeWork x Vivant]
Join for an open discussion on how learning basic web design principles can help you be a better designer, marketer, product manager or startup founder.

https://generalassemb.ly/education/the-road-to-code-for-creatives/sydney/38516

Future-proof your career by joining GA and industry leaders as we focus on breaking into coding

12/06/2017

Could Australia save Japan's economy with a gift of innovation?

A good read by UNSW AGSM graduate entrepreneur & innovation consultant Kaoru Nishinakagawa

https://medium.com//could-australia-save-japans-economy-a9a78bc33126

Australia’s gift of innovation for Japan

09/06/2017

Great to see Tapview doing so well - not long ago were known as ZipSub, in our offices testing business models!

https://goo.gl/hcKFF3