Sunshine Coast Entrepreneurs Shine at Myriad Festival
Sixteen Sunshine Coast entrepreneurs and startups were selected to represent the region at Myriad Festival last week, one of the world’s most influential innovation and entrepreneurship conferences, bringing people from all over the globe to Brisbane.
The Sunshine Coast Regional Innovation Program (#SCRIPT) and Advance Queensland funded the delegation as part of the Advancing Regional Innovation Program.
Sunshine Coast was the first region in Queensland to secure this funding in May 2017, giving it an injection which aims to fuel the culture of innovation and entrepreneurial connectivity on the Sunshine Coast.
The sixteen startups or ventures chosen to attend were Hive Haven, Aussie Timesheets, AlgaEnviro, Prysim, MiiFile, Alkira, Symbiote Motorcycles, Mindstar, Near Field Creative, Retail Express, Trac Tag, Ipug, Pixmoto, Heypiggybank, MotoDNA and Inkee.
“Our innovation ecosystem is brimming with talent and passion,” Coby Sullivan, Regional Innovation Coordinator for #SCRIPT said.
“Attending Myriad Festival allowed others, nationally and internationally, to see that the Sunshine Coast is a leading entrepreneurial hub with immense opportunity for startups and investors alike.
“With direct links to Silicon Valley and keynote speakers from some of the world’s most successful businesses, there’s a great deal to be gained from attending Myriad Festival and we are so happy we were able to provide Sunshine Coast businesses with that opportunity.”
One of the delegates, and founder of Symbiote Motorcycles, Robert James said he aimed to bring one of the world’s first self-generating electric motorcycles to the market with all manufacturing to be done in Noosa.
Mr James has developed a unique prototype using his own funds for a completely re-engineered motorcycle which dynamically harvests its own energy rather than relying solely on the battery.
“We are building a high performance, long distance motorcycle and are just about to begin on road trials to confirm the engine’s capabilities. It’s exciting to be in this early stage of development before it can be fully commercialised” he said.
“Attending Myriad has been invaluable as it allowed me to network with people who can help me progress and it’s great to get some exposure for the Sunshine Coast Community.”
Maree Machin founder of tracTAG is another Sunshine Coast startup from the group, providing solutions for people who lose belongings like cameras to be reunited with their property using QR code identification linked with one’s personal or business details.
“tracTAG is personal loss recovery technology powered by goodwill, making it second nature to do the right thing,” she said.
“The 2018 Myriad festival was a fantastic opportunity for us.
“A key outcome was forming a Brisbane-based mentor relationship that will take shape this week and three new business connections which will support the next steps on our success trajectory – very exciting!”
Ms Sullivan said the event provided Sunshine Coast attendees with a significant amount of meaningful networking and collaboration opportunities, access to innovation thought leaders presenting on developments in a number of fields and the opportunity to pitch their business ideas to potential investors.
“Attending the conference allowed the delegates the chance to come together as a local community and speak with hundreds of visitors at Myriad about the benefits of living and bringing innovative dreams to life on the Sunshine Coast,” she said.
“Australian and international investors are hungry for the next exceptional person, project and even region to invest in and attending these events ensures our region is rightly placed among the best of the best.”
